Revenge Sevenfold

Hui Yin didn't need a maid to escort her to his study. She knew the mansion like the back of her hand, and she took the shortest route to get there.

She didn't look at the familiar beautiful furnishings, at the living room that could fit a whole house, at the 40,000 gallon aquarium where Hui Yin's beloved fish had died, and definitely not at the kitchen where Lu Shen had attacked her once without rhyme or reason before continuing it into their bedroom...

Hui Yin increased her pace and finally reached his study.

Lu Shen was already waiting for her there, and when she sat on the chair in front of his desk, he spun his laptop around to face her.

There was no sign of the overbearing and tense man who proposed to her in the sunroom. His face had been restored to its usual calm, as if nothing happened.

"I don't have much information," he said, watching her face as she took in the numerous data displayed on the screen. "No DNA traces, no physical evidence left behind. I don't know what he looks like either, so I could only depend on his electronic trail. He had left some information on the settings of the CCTV cameras he hacked before, but it can only track the IP address that showed his location."

Hui Yin clicked on a miniature map at the corner of the screen, and it widened to show a straggling red line jumping from city to city across the country.

"I know he's Chinese, as the file metadata has no indication that the text embedded in the software code was translated from one language to another. His attacks are also getting more advanced and more coordinated across multiple media platforms, so there's likely a group behind him."

Lu Shen reached over and covered Hui Yin's hand that was over the mouse, startling her. But he merely pressed her finger to click the right button.

A series of digits and letters filled the whole screen, which Hui Yin knew to be some sort of computer code. She wrinkled her nose and pushed the laptop away. All those indecipherable information was making her feel dizzy.

"If you look at the attack vectors and the timing of the consecutive breaches, you'll see that he dives in quick before leaving. My team tried setting a few honeypots—that's a network-attached system set up as a decoy to trap cyberattackers—but he's cautious and seems to find the too many open ports in the nmap result and the extremely obsolete operating system suspicious..."

"Okay, that's enough." Hui Yin rubbed her temples. "Just tell me the summary without the various abstract words that I don't understand and don't care about."

Her lips moved in what was nearly a pout.

A small smile flitted across Lu Shen's lips, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. Hui Yin, who was too busy scowling at the laptop, didn't notice it.

"Alright, Xiao Yin. Aside from the facts I mentioned earlier, we also have some guesses that he's a man in his late twenties...twenty-nine at the most. The IP address we got from his subpoena records in the ISP used an anonymous proxy, but his constant MO is to create a lot of back doors for future use. From this, we can infer that he's planning to use the same server again." The corners of his mouth curled up into a freezing arc. "I'm truly hoping that he would."

Hui Yin shivered. "Aren't you worried that he might steal sensitive data from your company?"

He gave her a bland look. "Do you think it's that easy? He could send me cards and trespass my home because my location has always been made public and has only average security, but when I put my guard up, not even a fly can get in without being searched in the state database."

Hui Yin rolled her eyes. O-o-okay, Mr. I'm Still Number One. No one else can be the alpha male in your natural habitat. Got it.

"His height is 1.82 meters, weight unknown but estimated to be around 71 kilograms, and his active hours correspond to the working hours of a typical office worker. There's also strong hints that the Hong Kong triad branch might be behind him, with a recent membership to their black society. They have illegal control over local markets and are receiving police protection, which is why it's difficult to capture him through the government."

"The triad is the one targeting you?" Hui Yin asked in horror. Never mind a hundred rebirths, even if she was turned into an immortal, Hui Yin could not see herself going against one of the largest organized crime groups in the world!

Lu Shen looked at her like he was getting a headache. "Why would the triad target me? He might be a member of the triad, but he's working alone. Based on my informants, none of them are planning to target the Lu Corporation. This culprit merely has a private grudge and isn't targeting me for profits."

He closed his laptop.

"As of now, that's all the information that I have."

Hui Yin stood up and headed towards the door. She didn't want to stay with him any longer in case he got bipolar again. Her mind digested all the information she learned, but when her hand touched the doorknob, Lu Shen's cold voice sounded behind her.

"If you're worried that what happened in the villa might repeat again, it won't. I personally enhanced the security system, so no one can enter without my permission."

Hui Yin didn't turn back. "And no one can leave."

He didn't pretend to misunderstand what she meant. "Yes, and no one can leave either."

Hui Yin snorted and went out.

She had her own ways of leaving him.