145: Chapter 145 Courage and Planning

Facing her impassioned father, Zheng Yi nodded quite calmly and replied, "Alright."

Slogans are shouted deafeningly, but the key is in the execution.

"So, Dad, what plots of land can the military provide right now? And how many people can be spared?"

General Zheng, who was in the middle of expressing his emotions, paused.

He sat back down in his chair and said earnestly, "Listen, Ah Yi, as a soldier, besides having the bearing and temperament of a soldier, one must also have a heroic spirit. Your old man here possesses exactly that kind of heroic spirit."

Zheng Yi was speechless. If others knew that the usually rock-steady General Zheng was like this at home, they would probably drop their glasses, and might even have their eyeballs pop out.

"When you relay this to Wang Shuo, remember to be heroic, heroic," General Zheng said steadily. "As for the land and personnel, let me think."

General Zheng stroked his chin, appearing to be deep in thought.

"How about this..."

After thinking for a long while, General Zheng said, "I remember a military base abandoned by a division of the former missile unit. It cost a fortune and is highly valuable. Let's use that. You can find a few other random plots of land to include so he can choose, but he must choose this one."

"As for how to achieve that, your dad won't worry about it; you figure it out."

Zheng Yi: "..."

Other people's children are a burden to their parents, but you are a burden to your daughter!

"Dad, isn't that inappropriate?" Zheng Yi frowned and said. "Wang Shuo definitely wants the land for business. It's one thing not to coordinate for him, but you won't even make a phone call?"

"What phone call?" General Zheng replied, sounding very reasonable. "The military does not interfere in local governance; that is an ironclad rule of the military. Don't you know that?"

"But that doesn't mean you can give him a place in the middle of nowhere!"

"What do you mean 'middle of nowhere'? That is a military base!" General Zheng's authority flared up. "A military base built by the state with countless funds and endless resources! Even if it's abandoned now, it's still top secret! If it weren't for the sake of you and Zheng Jun, I wouldn't give anyone else even a single brick!"

Zheng Yi curled her lip. It would have been better if he hadn't said anything; the more he talked like this, the more worthless the place seemed.

She knew her father too well. When it came to personal matters, he didn't care, but once the state was involved, his abacus would start clicking away loudly.

It seemed she would have to use her own connections to find Wang Shuo some good plots of land.

After thinking in silence for a moment, Zheng Yi nodded and asked, "Then what about the personnel?"

"Personnel..." General Zheng became a bit more serious and stared at Zheng Yi. "Did Wang Shuo make any requests?"

"He did." Zheng Yi nodded and took out a piece of paper to hand to her father.

"He didn't state his requirements specifically; this is what I deduced through intelligence analysis."

General Zheng took it, read it carefully, chuckled, and placed the paper on the desk.

"Interesting kid. Since there are no specific requirements and the compensation is good, I actually have a candidate here."

General Zheng tapped on the desk and finally spoke.

"Let Instructor Duan Chengwu go."

Instructor Duan Chengwu? Zheng Yi looked up at her father.

"Dad, are you serious?"

"Yes." General Zheng nodded. "I will handle this matter personally."

...

At this moment, in a villa district in Beijing.

Chen Yuqiong was sitting in his study, looking at the laptop in front of him with a gloomy expression.

On it was displayed the person he least wanted to see—Ning Hao.

"You hacked my computer?"

Chen Yuqiong's voice was cold and sharp, no longer composed.

"Long time no see, Director Chen." Ning Hao on the screen had slightly sunken eye sockets, looking quite eerie. "As for your question, isn't it obvious?"

"How did you do it?"

Chen Yuqiong asked calmly.

His computer had been specially configured by professionals, and all data entering and leaving the firewall was encrypted. For an average person, let alone hacking it, even finding him would be difficult.

"As a programmer, isn't it normal to be able to do this?" Ning Hao smiled slightly. "Director Chen, what you should be asking is how I found out about you."

Chen Yuqiong's heart sank slightly.

This was indeed his inner doubt. In order to contact this person, he had not only changed his voice but even simulated the personality he displayed. He couldn't figure out where the slip-up had occurred.

"It seems Director Chen has realized it."

Ning Hao continued to smile.

"Let's listen to a recording first."

Immediately, a recording was sent to Chen Yuqiong's WeiChat. He clicked on it.

The more he listened, the uglier Chen Yuqiong's expression became.

It wasn't until the recording finished that Chen Yuqiong spoke. "How did you do it? The tech company guaranteed me that this recording could not be restored."

"Cannot be restored?" Ning Hao looked slightly surprised. "Director Chen, you don't actually believe there is foolproof technology in this world, do you?"

"If that's the case, then I really don't know whether to call you naive or stupid, Director Chen."

"In this world, as long as it is technology, there will definitely be flaws, unless you are more advanced than everyone else."

After a pause, Ning Hao thought of Wang Shuo's software. He still hadn't cracked this software, always feeling like he was one step away, but never able to find the method.

Wang Shuo must have withheld the most critical parts when explaining it to him.

This kid was not as honest as he looked on the surface. He used truths and falsehoods with mastery. Everything he told him was true and had logical internal consistency, but he had withheld the most critical parts, so that even if he knew the method, he still couldn't crack it normally.

But he had to crack this thing. Once successful, whether selling it to some foreign institutions or companies, or authorizing others to use it, he could make a fortune.

That kid Wang Shuo didn't know what he had, sitting on a mountain of gold without realizing it, but he, Ning Hao, was not like that.

Coming back to his senses, Ning Hao continued, "Director Chen, tell me, what do you think will happen if I send this to Chairman Chen?"

"You took Chen Zhongxuan's things and still dare to contact Chen Zhongxuan." Chen Yuqiong sneered. "You don't think Chen Zhongxuan wouldn't kill, do you? Perhaps tomorrow I'll see the news about a corpse being found in some ditch."

"Perhaps that will happen." Ning Hao curled his lip. Since deciding to go down this dark path to the end and having kidnapped Wang Shuo, his psychological resilience had improved significantly. "But Director Chen, I'm afraid your position as director won't be safe either, right? Let me think... perhaps you'll even face imprisonment?"

"After all, judging by what you said, Chairman Chen is not a soft-hearted person."

Chen Yuqiong sighed. The other party had grabbed hold of his weak spot, and he didn't even know where the other party was, how they hacked his computer, or how they restored the recording.

In this situation, saying anything was useless.

"Speak, what do you want?"

"I don't want much." Ning Hao grinned. "Just give me the 20 million you promised me, and that will be fine."

20 million; even for Chen Yuqiong, that was definitely not a small number.

But Chen Yuqiong didn't hesitate and nodded directly.

"Alright, how should I pay?"

"Here are 20 bank account numbers, belonging to different people. You transfer the money in forty installments under different pretexts, and you don't need to worry about the rest."

Chen Yuqiong took a deep look at Ning Hao on the screen and nodded slightly.

"Fine, I will pay it all within three days."

After Ning Hao hung up the phone, Chen Yuqiong leaned back in his chair and let out a slight breath.

"What on earth is wrong with this guy Ning Hao?"

Chen Yuqiong muttered to himself.

Was the Ning Hao he just interacted with the same person as the Ning Hao he had always ordered around? Why did it feel like this Ning Hao had something extra?

Was it madness? Or bloodthirst? Or both?

But regardless, it seemed this money couldn't be saved. Who knew what kind of deranged things Ning Hao in this state would do.

Chen Yuqiong thought for a moment, took out his phone, and dialed a number.

"Mengling, I think it's time we gathered everyone for a meeting."

"Have you finally made up your mind?"

There was a woman's voice on the other end of the line.

Chen Yuqiong sighed.

"The group is in imminent danger; we have no other choice."

"You are still as hypocritical as ever, Chen Yuqiong." The woman's voice did not yield at all. "That has nothing to do with me. I will contact you in three days to give you the location and time."

"But remember, after it's done, I want my share."

"Fine."

The call ended.

"Chen Zhongxuan, oh Chen Zhongxuan..." Chen Yuqiong leaned back in his chair, sighing slightly, his voice barely audible. "Brother-in-law, don't blame me. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for blocking my path and provoking people you shouldn't have."