Crow: [What's happening?]
A Pig: [Aow, boss, you're finally online!]
A Pig: [If you didn't come online soon, I would have suspected you'd been caught.]
Next, he sent a post from a hacker forum, with the title: Satellite usA-224 Hacked, Country M Issuing International Arrest Warrant for Criminal Hacker "Crow."
A Pig: [Why on earth did you hack someone's satellite?]
Yu He clicked in, scanned the content, and moved her fingers.
Crow: [Oh, that? It was an emergency at the time, just borrowed their satellite to take a photo.]
A Pig: [Why don't you just fly up to the sun and be its equal!]
A Pig: [But I'm just watching. According to an insider, another hacker also infiltrated usA-224, but luckily, they weren't identified by their codename. Only you were unlucky and got caught. You should learn from them.]
A Pig: [Also, you should go offline more often lately and lie low.]
Crow: [Okay. I'm logging off then.]
Yu He looked at the astonishing number of views and comments on the post, feeling a headache coming on. With such high visibility, she wondered if her master had seen it. Should she go and confess her transgression first?
She exited the chat window and found Master S's avatar. Their chat history was still from last time when Master S sent her Qin Meimei's information, and she hadn't heard from him since.
She sent a kneeling emoji with the message "Sorry, I was wrong," but there was no reply.
She figured he wasn't online yet and didn't know about this.
Just then, a message from A Pig arrived.
A Pig: [Wait, there's something else. Do you remember Gu Yan, the eldest daughter of the Gu family? She wants your help recovering content from a memory card. Are you taking it?]
Yu He: "..."
Recovering data from a memory card was such a simple task, and she was being asked for help?
Crow: [Take it yourself. Isn't the money going into your pocket more satisfying?]
A Pig: [It is! And I've already had her plug the memory card into her computer, and I tried remotely. I couldn't recover it; the memory card is encrypted and set to be permanently unrecoverable.]
A Pig: [She seemed quite anxious. She said the price is negotiable. It seems she's asked a few people to recover it, but none could. It's been three days, and she hasn't posted a bounty on the forum. The content inside is probably more sensitive than when their Gu family was hacked before.]
Crow: [When did she contact you?]
A Pig: [Let me check the record... December 26th, 7 PM.]
Yu He looked at the time. That morning, Gu Yan had met her and left in a huff. At 7 PM, she had fled into the deep mountains. Gu Yan hadn't returned to the mountains but had gone to find someone to recover data…
Yu He remembered what Luo Xiaoyao had mentioned in her email about something buried under a tree. Her peach blossom eyes narrowed, and her fingers moved.
Crow: [Take it, but not remotely. Have her mail the item to you, and I'll come to you then.]
A Pig: [Okay.]
As the other party was still typing, the bathroom door suddenly opened from the inside. Yu He immediately switched her WeChat back to her personal account.
Qin Beiting stood at the bathroom doorway, unbuttoning his cuffs with one hand and rolling them up, revealing a section of his long, slender arm.
"Do you want to take a bath or a wipe-down?" he asked.
His question, paired with his action, gave Yu He the impression of a parent helping a child bathe.
"..."
She had been unconscious for three days and was just about to get up and move around. "A bath."
As soon as she lifted the blanket and was about to get out of bed, Qin Beiting strode to her side and swept her into his arms.
Yu He let out a small gasp internally and struggled to get down. "What are you doing? Put me down."
Qin Beiting held her tightly and walked towards the bathroom. "You're still sick, I'll carry you."
"My leg is fine, I can walk myself."
"Be good. When I was injured before, you took care of me. Now it's my turn to take care of you."
"But you didn't let me help you bathe then."
Qin Beiting paused. His dark, deep eyes looked at the person in his arms.
Only then did Yu He realize she had spoken too impulsively.
But then again, he really hadn't needed her help at the time.
Thinking back, had he already hinted at something back then?
Seeing her brow furrowed, Qin Beiting said in a low voice, "So you mind that much."
He remembered the last time they were at the hot spring, the young girl had suddenly leaned in, and he had pushed her away. She must have misunderstood. Although she hadn't said anything, she was still remembering that incident.
Was the young girl ignoring the fact that he was a normal man and couldn't resist her flirtations?
But if he refused again, the young girl might not talk to him anymore.
After some deliberation, Qin Beiting said, "You want to help me bathe? Then let's do it together tonight?"
Yu He: ???
Yu He: !!!
Who wanted to help him bathe?! Who wanted to bathe with him?!
"Pervert!" Her ears turned red, and she pushed him away forcefully, landing on her feet in the bathroom and slamming the door shut with a "bang."
Qin Beiting looked at the closed door: "..."
Wasn't he right?
He was understanding the young girl's thoughts less and less.
***
North City, a dilapidated alleyway motel.
In a single room, the curtains were drawn tightly. An old light bulb cast a yellowish glow. The 1.5-meter bed had faded sheets and pillowcases, and the bedding still carried a damp smell.
Gu Yan curled up in a corner of the bed, holding her phone, her eyes vacant, tear tracks remaining on her cheeks.
Just then, her phone screen lit up with a WeChat notification. She tapped it open.
A Pig: [Crow has agreed. Please mail the item to this address first.]
Gu Yan's vacant eyes suddenly flickered with a trace of light.
She saw the address provided was in North City and immediately asked: [Can I give it to you in person? And see your setup?]
A Pig: [No.]
Gu Yan hesitated for a long time. The police were looking for her. Qin Meimei had said nicely that she would protect her, but she didn't believe it.
This memory card was her last lifeline. She didn't know what was inside, but based on her understanding of Qin Meimei, the fact that Qin Meimei had cautiously had the data deleted and even tampered with it indicated that the deleted content was very important.
If she handed it over and couldn't get it back, she would be taking the blame for Qin Meimei and would be doomed!
But if she didn't hand it over, she would have no hope at all. If the police caught her, the outcome would be the same.
She couldn't keep running. She couldn't stand these three short days of escape. She didn't want to spend her whole life hiding like this, confined to a shabby motel that didn't require an ID.
Gu Yan: [Okay, but you must keep it confidential!]
Gu Yan: [It must be kept confidential. Only the three of us should know about this matter. No matter who asks, you must not say anything, especially the Gu family.]
A Pig: [We have a non-disclosure agreement.]
Gu Yan made up her mind: [Okay.]