Volume 1, Chapter 49: There Should Be No Reason to Refuse Either

...

"Studying abroad?"

Once inside the vehicle, Fang Mo took the driver's seat. Ning Shiyu tried to pull her elder sister into the back row, but Ning Yuelan didn't even spare a glance, directly pulling open the front passenger door.

Ning Shiyu immediately pouted, looking somewhat displeased.

"Which country are you planning to study in, Ning Shiyu?"

Starting the engine, the group drove toward downtown Jiangcheng. That was the only area with commercial districts, and most of the decent restaurants were located near the city center.

Ning Yuelan had nothing special scheduled for this afternoon, so she could spend more time accompanying Fang Mo.

The two were newlywed, deeply in love and inseparable, especially since they weren't your ordinary couple.

The initial barrier brought by their flash marriage had slowly faded over the past couple of days, yet they still hadn't reached the point of complete emotional openness typical of long-term lovers.

After all, they hadn't been in touch for a few years, so a sense of awkwardness was inevitable.

Hearing Fang Mo's voice, Ning Shiyu in the back row pouted her red lips.

"I don't know. It depends on how Grandpa arranges it. I guess the final decision maker will still be the old man."

"It must be nice to have money!"

Children from wealthy families could arrange to study abroad at any moment, even if they were unhappy with their schooling domestically. This point filled Fang Mo with immense envy.

"Hmph, she's only going because she got expelled for causing trouble at school, so Grandpa had no choice but to send her away."

Ning Yuelan unmercifully exposed her younger sister's background.

Ning Shiyu wasn't angry at all; she playfully poked Fang Mo's shoulder with a cheeky grin.

"Speaking of which, Fang Mo, the firewall on your computer is so incredible. Who wrote it for you?"

"My sister's company has so many top graduates from Tsinghua and Peking University who couldn't solve that problem, yet some random firewall turned the tide single-handedly. It sounds straight out of science fiction."

Seeing his sister-in-law steer the conversation back to this topic, Fang Mo's expression flashed with a trace of unnaturalness.

"A friend who really understands computers. Sort of a hacker, haha. Why do you ask?"

"A hacker?"

Ning Shiyu widened her pretty eyes, growing even more interested. "Can you introduce this friend to me? I love hackers! Have you seen the movie *The Matrix*?"

"I think the hackers in it are so handsome and awesome. By the way, since your friend is a hacker, does he know 'Zheng'? He's my idol! Can you arrange for me to meet 'Zheng'?"

Hiss!

Fang Mo sharply sucked in a breath of cold air.

He hadn't expected himself to be so famous that even his sister-in-law, Ning Shiyu, had heard of his moniker.

However, wasn't Ning Shiyu oversimplifying things?

How could just any random hacker possibly know 'Zheng'!

Ning Yuelan's slender eyes narrowed slightly.

"Ning Shiyu, can't you be a bit more realistic? What kind of existence is 'Zheng'? He's a pillar standing behind the scenes in the cyber world, quietly guarding Huaxia. If 'Zheng's true identity were ever exposed, have you thought about the consequences?"

"Besides, how could Fang Mo's friend possibly know 'Zheng'? 'Zheng' enjoys worldwide renown. Even your sister here isn't qualified to even look at his back. Even if they really knew each other, there's no way he'd give you a chance to meet him."

Hearing this, Ning Shiyu pouted her red lips in a dejected manner, looking somewhat disappointed.

Fang Mo let out a long sigh of relief. *My dear sister-in-law, the person you want to meet is far away in the horizon yet right in front of your eyes. Don't blame your brother-in-law for not pampering you.*

"Actually, I've also heard of this king of hackers, 'Zheng'."

"They might be hiding right among us. No one knows whether the relatives or friends around them might secretly be masters of the dark web world. After all, they might just hold ordinary jobs in the real world, merely manipulating winds and summoning rains within the virtual cyberspace."

After saying this, Fang Mo added another sentence.

"So anyone could be 'Zheng'. It could be Yuelan, it could be Elder Ning, and who knows, it might even be the man driving the car for you right now."

As he spoke, Fang Mo wore a smile, as if he were simply joking.

Yet upon hearing these words, the car interior fell completely silent, and the two sisters looked at Fang Mo with rather peculiar expressions.

Ning Shiyu smacked her red lips.

"Fang Mo, you aren't trying to tell me that *you* are 'Zheng', are you?"

...

What?!

Was it really that obvious?

Fang Mo's heart suffered an uncontrollable, sudden contraction.

He wished he could raise his hand and slap himself across the face. *Damn it, if I'd known, I wouldn't have run my mouth trying to comfort her.*

Had he exposed himself just like that?

Unexpectedly, the next moment, Ning Shiyu rolled her eyes.

"If you're 'Zheng', Fang Mo, I'll marry you together with my sister."

"Legend has it that 'Zheng' is one meter nine tall, with a tiger's back and a bear's waist, radiating high spirits, and his slender, agile fingers can type over two hundred Chinese characters per minute on a computer. That typing speed alone is enough to break the Guinness World Record."

After saying this, Ning Shiyu muttered indignantly, "Don't make jokes about my idol next time, okay? My older sister knows—I'm a die-hard fan of 'Zheng'."

Hearing this, Fang Mo finally let out a long breath of relief.

Not exposed. That was good.

Ning Yuelan glanced at Fang Mo. "Still, that firewall of yours is truly exceptional. If there's a chance, I'd still like to meet your friend who understands hacking technology. I'd like to hire him as our company's cybersecurity consultant."

"Ah?!"

One wave hadn't settled before another rose.

*I conjured a friend out of thin air, Yuelan, how do you expect me to introduce him to you!*

"Ahem, that probably won't do. This friend of mine doesn't really like interacting with people from the real world. We met in the first place because we played the same video game; actually, we've never even met in person."

Fang Mo chuckled dryly, barely managing to gloss it over.

Ning Yuelan nodded, showing no sign of disappointment.

In fact, the mere fact that Fang Mo had such a friend was enough to shock Ning Yuelan profoundly. To say that this person was a real-life close friend of Fang Mo's would indeed exceed her understanding of Fang Mo's social circle.

"Right, after we finish eating later, accompany me to meet an elder. Since your firewall is so useful, perhaps it can help with the issue their company has run into these past couple of days."

Huh?

*Yuelan, my firewall was just some source code I casually wrote in the past, and I just happened to see that it worked against the virus targeting your company today, so I was pushed into the spotlight.*

This wasn't a universal patch!

However, at a time like this, if Fang Mo directly refused, it would certainly arouse the woman's suspicions.

After all, he had shown utmost confidence in his firewall in front of so many people. If he now immediately shook his head and refused just to try it out, the woman would undoubtedly sniff out a flaw.

He could only brace himself and say, "Alright, then I'll give it a try."

"Fang Mo, what's wrong with you? My older sister is giving you a chance to shine, you know."

Not understanding the situation, Ning Shiyu sat in the back row and discontentedly poked the young man's shoulder with her small finger.

"Sis, you aren't talking about the Jin family's situation, are you? I've heard about it too; the Jin family's system recently crashed due to a bug, and they're running around in a frantic mess."

"If Fang Mo's firewall really works, the Jin family will owe you a massive favor."

Ning Yuelan calmly explained.

"Indeed, the Jin family is precisely what I had in mind. But it's not for the sake of some so-called favor. Back when I first entered the Ning Group and my foundation was unstable, Elder Jin helped out quite a bit."

"If we can use Fang Mo's firewall to resolve the Jin family's trouble today, it can be considered my husband returning a favor on my behalf. You don't need to feel any psychological burden, Fang Mo."

"You can contact your friend in advance. If he is unwilling to let the firewall he developed be used by you, then I'll think of another way."

"If he is willing, actually, offering him some compensation wouldn't be out of the question. The price is negotiable."

Hearing those final five words, Fang Mo once again felt a wave of overwhelming financial power wash over him.

As expected of Yuelan!

In the woman's eyes, anything that could be solved with money probably wasn't a problem at all.

Actually, there was one point worth mentioning: Fang Mo wasn't poor.

Over the years as the leader of the Dragon Team, Fang Mo received a salary every month.

Moreover, the Dragon Team would issue bonuses and commissions based on the missions they executed and their various performances.

The exact figure wasn't entirely clear to Fang Mo, but it had to be at least seven figures upwards. It was just that all these years, Fang Mo had never used that salary card given to him by the elderly man in the Zhongshan suit.

After all, that card could only withdraw cash at bank counters; it couldn't be used for online payments.

And once Fang Mo went to withdraw cash, the Ministry of State Security backend might track down his true appearance through bank surveillance.

Aside from the elderly men in Zhongshan suits who showed up at his home after he hacked into a supercomputer and almost launched a nuclear missile at age thirteen, practically no one in Huaxia's cybersecurity department's upper echelons had ever seen 'Zheng's true face.

Fang Mo didn't want to expose himself to risk simply by using a salary card.

Therefore, for all these years, Fang Mo hadn't spent a single penny of his salary.

Fang Mo gave a bitter smile. "Since Yuelan has put it that way, I suppose he has no reason to refuse."

"Brother Shen!"

"Hmm!"

Walking along the path, Shen Changqing would nod or exchange greetings whenever he met familiar faces.

Yet no matter who it was,

everyone's face remained devoid of excess expression, as if they were indifferent to everything.

To this,

Shen Changqing was already accustomed.

Because this was the Demon Suppression Division, an institution dedicated to maintaining stability in the Great Qin Empire. Its primary duty was to slaughter demons, ghosts, and monsters, though it also handled a few other sidelines.

One could say

that in the Demon Suppression Division, everyone's hands were stained with copious amounts of blood.

When a person grows accustomed to seeing life and death, they naturally become indifferent to many things.

When he first arrived in this world, Shen Changqing had felt somewhat out of place, but over time, he grew used to it.

The Demon Suppression Division was massive.

Those able to remain within the Demon Suppression Division were either powerhouse experts of formidable strength or individuals with the potential to become experts.

Shen Changqing belonged to the latter.

The Demon Suppression Division was generally divided into two professions: Guardian Envoys and Demon Slaying Envoys.

Anyone who entered the Demon Suppression Division started from the lowest tier as a Demon Slaying Envoy,

gradually climbing the ranks step by step, with the ultimate hope of becoming a Guardian Envoy.

Shen Changqing's predecessor had been a probationary Demon Slaying Envoy within the Demon Suppression Division, the absolute lowest grade among Demon Slaying Envoys.

Possessing his predecessor's memories,

he was exceedingly familiar with the environment of the Demon Suppression Division.

Without taking too much time, Shen Changqing halted before a pavilion.

Unlike other areas of the Demon Suppression Division brimming with a stern, killing aura, this pavilion stood out like a crane among chickens, radiating a different kind of tranquility amidst the bloody atmosphere.

At this moment, the pavilion doors were wide open, with people occasionally entering and exiting.

Shen Changqing hesitated for just a moment before stepping inside.

Entering the pavilion,

the environment abruptly shifted.

A scent of ink mingled with a faint smell of blood rushed toward him, causing his brows to knit instinctively before smoothing out again.

The bloody scent clinging to everyone in the Demon Suppression Division was virtually impossible to wash away completely.