Chapter 177: Sweet Sweet Karma

“Look, our company firmly believes in personal freedom. I still have to consult the higher-ups of our company, get their opinion on the matter. If they agree to your request, then there’s nothing I could say to change the outcome. I hope you all understand that although we are lagging behind in scientific research, I will absolutely never allow you to trample over the fruits of our labor!”

Liu Guosheng’s voice was clear and his words reverberated loudly through the room. The way he spoke sounded like he was taking a last stand.

An interpreter translated his words into English for the United Nations personnel verbatim.

How dare this little Asian stand up to them!

Although none of them spoke Chinese, they were well aware of Liu Guosheng’s stance based purely on his tone when he spoke.

They stared at Liu Guosheng with their faces full of disbelief, especially the representative of the American engineering department. He had never met someone who refused to bow down to America in his life. Was something loose in his mind?

The Engineering representative’s face twisted out of rage. Fine, if negotiations didn’t work, then there’s no choice but to bring out the big guns. He was about to issue an ultimatum when someone whispered into his ear. “Perhaps they just need to find a way down from their position. Let’s use them to lure out the man behind Nine Heavens. They’re just a private establishment, are they not? No way they would dare cross the world’s strongest nation would they?”

It did make sense. And so, the representative’s tense expression loosened up a bit. He looked over to his Chinese counterpart and requested to hold a discussion with Nine Heavens’ legal representative.

Mu Zong and a bunch of his men were all busy researching about this when news finally arrived at their headquarters.

“Uncle Mu, Miss Gu left a software at my place yesterday. It’s pretty interesting. I can directly send a virus over to any IT network of whoever is trying to mess with us, no matter which corner of the Earth they are in.” Yu Ning chuckled. Out of curiosity, he had studied the virus that Gu Xiqiao left at his laboratory. It was a brand-new kind of virus that spreads rapidly wherever it is sent to, disabling whatever tricks their opponent had employed.

Although it was a dirty tactic through and through, it was still pretty cool. Ever since working at Nine Heavens, cases of hackers infiltrating the Chinese National Security Agency had pretty much ceased. Yu Ning rubbed his thumb around his fingers.

Mu Zong’s mouth twitched awkwardly upon hearing what Yu Ning said.

“Why are you guys so scared?”

How weird!

Luo Wenlang shook his head. “I’ve just caught wind that this situation might just evolve into an all out conflict. We must keep our cool. Just yesterday, Miss Gu helped me sort out our financial centres around the globe.”

It sounded to him like they were planning to expand beyond their country’s borders.

“They’re coming for us just because of the chip.” Mu Zong looked at Yu Ning.

“If that’s so then they still have to be able to understand what the hell’s going on within that component!” Yu Ning was surprisingly confident about this. If they wanted the chip, sure, they could have it! But, can they manage to comprehend how it functions? Suddenly, an idea popped up in Mu Zong’s mind. “Uncle Mu, gimme a moment!”

Yu Ning dashed back in front of his computer, into which he inserted the chip they were talking about. Then, after a few taps of his keyboard, he successfully implanted the virus into said chip.

A few minutes later, Yu Ning reappeared in the meeting room where he handed the item over to Mu Zong. “Uncle Mu, take this. You should give this to that IT company’s representative. Have no fear! I’m not afraid of them unveiling our secrets! Hell, I’m interested in seeing what they’re capable of!”

Where on Earth would Mu Zong find the guts to face these big shots? It should’ve been the perfect job for Gu Xiqiao. After all, that personality of hers made her fearless of whoever she was facing.

Still, Gu Xiqiao had already come over yesterday and gave them the solutions to this issue. It wouldn’t be right to push her into the ring whenever times got tough. If that’s the case then what purpose did they serve, being here at Nine Heavens?

“You want me to give this chip to them?” Mu Zong didn’t understand what Yu Ning was trying to do. Are they just gonna compromise with these bastards so easily?

Yu Ning shook his head. “It’s a chip made specially for them with a couple other ‘secret-ingredients’. Just you wait, they’ll come begging at our feet in no time.”

Mu Zong was a little calmer after realizing Yu Ning’s not-so-innocent intentions. And so, he willingly accepted the chip. “And I thought I had to chase them out with a dirty broom.”

‘Chase them out with a dirty broom? What year is this old man?!’ Yu Ning and Luo Wenlang looked at each other awkwardly. The both of them were surprised to discover that Mu Zong was prepared to resort to such a thing.

In an instant, the men in the meeting room started acting all high and mighty when they saw Nine Heavens’ employees arrive with the mythical chip in hand. See? They’re afraid of us!

You just needed to pressure these rats and they’ll come scurrying out of their hidey holes. They’ve no other choice than to subserviently hand over the darned chip! With his nose pointed toward the ceiling, the American representative said, “As set out before this, our tech company will provide 10 million dollars as compensation to Nine Heavens.”

10 million? What is this, a joke? You could pick any software that Nine Heavens created and they’re all worth more than 10 million dollars. What did this guy think they were? A bunch of beggars?

Mu Zong lowered his head, attempting to hide the disgust in his eyes. What Qiao Qiao said was correct. These people were nothing but obnoxious bullies. Since he knew about the secret behind the chip, it’d be the greatest show to watch in the coming few days. He wanted to see them cry!

“Mr. Mu, I don’t care if you don’t want the chip. We will protect Nine Heavens’ rights and interests.” After the team of foreigners left the meeting room triumphantly, Liu Guosheng grew increasingly worried.

Mu Zong leaned over slightly. “Sorry for bothering you.”

What he wanted was for these people to get the chip back to their laboratory as soon as possible.

After getting what they came here for, these scientists left without turning back. And this was when their next problem arose. The person who received the chip was none other than the arrogant American tech master. Of course, upon receiving it, he would bring it straight back to his laboratory.

While the others were enraged by his actions, none of them dared to make a squeak. Although hard to notice, these people started becoming more and more estranged after this incident.

The laboratory that received both the chip and a detailed code file started work immediately. All of the technicians were top-of-the-line researchers and their project kicked off smoothly. Everything was going so well in fact that they seemed to be on track to success.

They’ve even appeared on live television, where they explained, “Our tech lab is studying the virtual world and it would not be long before the results come rolling out. Nine Heavens is truly a disordered bunch! If we had this chip, we would’ve created a complete virtual world a long long time ago!”

A tidal wave swept through the tech world after this was made public on the internet.

Nearly every tech worker cursed under their breath at how shameless this bunch was.

Simultaneously, a heated debate sprung up on Nine Heavens’ official website.

“Didn’t you guys say that you would start research on a virtual world? Where has that gone? Even the Americans have said that they are on the brink of success!”

“You’ve let us down big time Nine Heavens!”

“Aren’t you supposed to hop out at this moment and say that you have completed the virtual world? Why aren’t you guys making any announcements?!”

“No! What you’re doing isn’t right Nine Heavens! This is the moment when you smack them across their big fat faces!”

“Hey! Wake up! The Americans have already announced the release of their virtual world!”

“Yo, did you guys forget the countless times Nine Heavens turned the game around at the very last second?”

“No matter what, I still have faith in them!”

These fans were almost fanatic when it came to their loyalty toward Nine Heavens. There were too many miracles to be counted ever since their arrival at the Imperial Capital. They were the new-age idol for aspiring entrepreneurs. Because of how much hope they had on Nine Heavens, it was natural that they were even more disappointed right now.

The international IT lab had by now, created a virtual browser and subsequently, started a live broadcast for the entire world to witness this miraculous moment.

The whole of humanity was watching this very scene. The leading technician started speaking in fluent English. “Just press the ‘Enter’ key and you’ll be brought to the website where you can install the virtual world on your browser.”

The camera zoomed in on his finger when he said that. Confidently, he pressed on the “enter” key and then––the entire screen turned black.

What happened? He was stunned. This time, a man ran with all his might back to the office. “T-The… every computer in our lab has been infected with a virus! It happened right when you started the virtual browser!”

What?! The team leader was stupefied. How the hell was it possible for all that to happen at the same time? Unless, they had been working on a frickin’ virus this entire time! If that’s the case then they would no doubt, become a laughing stock!

No, something’s not right. He read the chip’s contents a line at a time. Everything was correct from the very start. No doubt about it now. The cunning Nine Heavens had bamboozled them!

Bastards! Despicable bastards!

This entire scene unfolded before the very eyes of millions of viewers from all over the globe.

It was at this time when Nine Heavens issued an announcement.

(Verified) Nine Heavens: “Our virtual network is now 60% completed. As research involves rigorous testing, it will take a lot of time before our product is released. We will not publicize what we aren’t absolutely sure of. As for Nine Heavens’ capability, I believe both the virtual helmet and the holographic glasses is proof of just that!”

What they said was more or less the truth.

“That’s the Nine Heavens that I know!”

“I have a virtual helmet at home! I can’t wait for the day the virtual world gets released!”

“Ahhh 60%?! Does that mean we’ll get to see it next year?!”

“Why are you acting so emotional dude?”

“Just look at their faces! ^_^”

Even after quite a while, the top-tier tech masters failed to patch up the network blackout that had already spread throughout the country. The virus they had accidentally activated was pretty much bulletproof. It astounded even the greatest minds in the laboratory.

For the first time in forever, their minds registered fear. Back then, they were only jealous of Nine Heavens’ rate of development. This was the only reason why they lodged a report against the firm. According to them, the secrets to creating a virtual world would be uncovered as soon as they got their hands on the chip. After that, they would create a super computer. However, the minds behind Nine Heavens now made them slightly worried.

If they gain the edge in creating either a virtual world, or an AI supercomputer, then no doubt, they would lead humanity in scientific research!

How could they not be envious of what Nine Heavens accomplished in such a short amount of time? Everything that rolled out of their factories were all game-changing devices that raised the scientific standard ever higher.

Out of pure selfishness, these IT masters from different countries joined forces to threaten Nine Heavens.

It never crossed their minds that their American team member would vanish into thin air right after getting his hands on the chip. Though, after what has happened, every other country let out a sigh in relief. Thank god that greedy rat took the chip for himself. If not, they themselves would also be caught in the crossfire.

After relief came the dreaded sense of powerlessness. It seems like their prediction was indeed correct. Nine Heavens’ research progress was truly terrifying. Just like that, they had shut down an entire laboratory halfway across the globe.

The IT masters who worked alongside their American counterparts all started regretting their actions. Beads of cold sweat started rolling down their foreheads. If only they knew how well-developed Nine Heavens was in networks, they would never have attempted to bully them. It felt like they had been sucker-punched. Although it was obvious that the blow came from China, they had no proof and thus, no way to get back at their assailants.

To think that they had live-streamed their own embarrassing defeat under the hands of Nine Heavens! What a blunder!

The software engineers were getting more and more desperate as realization set in on them. They should never have challenged the darn Asians! Especially Nine Heavens!

To add insult to injury, they had nowhere to voice their complaints after receiving such a heavy blow.

This was when an international finance company stepped in. Nine Heavens’ Finance Branch had silently expanded across the globe. Before everyone was aware of it, they had already become a key economic lifeline to many nations, big or small.

Their virtual helmet as well as their holographic glasses had stolen the show; although not many knew about this, they have long consolidated their position as an international entity.

By now, wise men understood that it was time for a reshuffling of powers amongst large international corporations.

“Look at these Americans! Have they no balls?” mocked a Japanese who was reading a newspaper.

His friend looked over at him with disbelief. “No balls? No! Suzuki-san, it is unwise to underestimate Nine Heavens. I believe you have already met with the American engineers. They’re fairly competent aren’t the…”

“Fine, fine, it’s just a small virus.” Suzuki waved him off. “They fight without honor.”

“You…” The man beside him tried to explain the situation to him but Suzuki had already left before he could start speaking.

And so, the man let out a sigh before returning to his computer.

***

“This is my first time receiving so many calls from national leaders. I’m starting to feel like a pretty accomplished man.” Mu Zong said to Gu Xiqiao over the phone.

Gu Xiqiao was slicing fruits in the kitchen. Outside the window, she could see a bright streak of lightning, followed by the low rumbling of thunder. She smiled. “Things should return to normal after this. Still, I’m surprised by how you guys took the bull by its horns.”

It was good news though. It served as a warning against anyone else that was thinking about messing with Nine Heavens.

And so, the two of them talked for a while before hanging up. Gu Xiqiao then brought the plate of perfectly sliced fruits out.

Sitting in the living room was Luo Wenlin and Hua Youlin. The weekend was here and Luo Wenlin had been sent over by Luo Welang to study together with Hua Youlin. The two kids were surprisingly talkative whenever they were put together.

Gu Xiqiao was satisfied by Hua Youlin’s development. At the very least, he wasn’t as gloomy as he appeared when she brought him off the streets.

“Dalin, I don’t really understand this question.” Hua Youlin asked while chewing on his pencil.

Luo Wenlin looked over and discovered that it was a combined question at the end of a biology practice sheet. “Oh, this question is beyond our level of knowledge. I didn’t do it either.”

“Then what should we do? I wasn’t paying attention when the teacher was speaking.” Hua Youlin’s brows were furrowed.

Upon hearing this, Luo Wenlin flipped open Hua Youlin’s sheet to discover that most of the problems were left blank. “Woah, what are you doing? You left so many blank? Why didn’t you ask for help?”

“From who?” Hua Youlin peered down at Haha who was snuggled beside his feet. “Him?”

“Sister Gu of course!” Dalin found it hard to believe his friend. “You’ve got such a great teacher, why don’t you ask her for help? She’s a genius I tell you!”

“She knows how to solve these problems?” Hua Youlin seemed skeptical at first. He knew that Gu Xiqiao loved painting so he just assumed that she was an artist. Would an artist know a whole lot about science?

Luo Wenlin’s expression was somber. “She’s insanely smart.”

Hua Youlin was shocked to hear this. “More so than your big brother?”

Luo Wenlin stuttered for a moment before replying, “Yeah, slightly.”

After spending a couple of days together, Hua Youlin noticed how Luo Wenlin revered his big brother. To that boy, his big brother was the smartest man on Earth. And yet, to hear him say that brought up lots of questions in Hua Youlin’s mind. He looked up at Gu Xiqiao, who had brought them fresh fruit. “Sister Gu, I’ve a few questions I don’t know how to solve.”

“Which one?” Gu Xiqiao picked up his practice sheet, which was more or less empty.

Since Hua Youlin was still in junior high, Gu Xiqiao solved the biology questions in just the blink of an eye. Shortly after reading through the practice sheet, Gu Xiqiao handed it back to the boy. Remembering that he was just starting school, she started explaining the problems in a soft voice.

Then, noise came from upstairs.

The three of them looked up simultaneously before Jiang Shuxuan walked down the stairs.

“Brother Jiang, you’re awake.” Gu Xiqiao flashed him a smile.

Jiang Shuxuan nodded at her before fixing his gaze on the boy, who was huddled close together with Gu Xiqiao.

Hua Youlin straightened his back and with a straight face, he said to Gu Xiqiao, “It’s alright, I think I’ll figure out the rest myself.” In reality, there were still lots of answers that remained unanswered.

“Alright.” Gu Xiqiao picked up Haha and sat down on the dining table.

After washing his face, Jiang Shuxuan sat down and began eating his meal.

“Brother Jiang, I’m going out later.” Gu Xiqiao said as she brushed her fingers across Haha’s fur.

“Yep. Wait till I finish up though.” This meant that he wanted to tag along.

Halfway through his meal, he suddenly looked up. “When we were at N City, I remember you talking about holding an art exhibition. Are you still interested?”

Every painting she created was exquisite and incorporated ingenious techniques. It wasn’t right to leave them at home, collecting dust.

It was back then, when she painted Yu Man’s portrait that this idea dawned on her. The dean of the art academy wanted to use this painting of hers to enter a competition but in the end, Gu Xiqiao rejected his offer.

“I don’t have enough material to do that myself. But, I think I’ll manage if we can get together a couple of other artists.” A glow returned to her eyes. Some strands of her tied-up hair fell down onto the side of her face. It made him notice how flawless her skin was, how much it looked like freshly-fallen snow.

Jiang Shuxuan reached out and gently placed her hair behind her back. The back of his hand brushed against her plush, delicate skin as he did so.

A warmth started spreading down into his hand from his fingertips.

The place where Gu Xiqiao wanted to go was B University. Since it was relatively nearby, Jiang Shuxuan didn’t feel the need to drive his vehicle. And so, with a black umbrella in hand, the both of them headed out the door into the rain.

There were only a handful of pedestrians around due to the heavy rain. No matter how cautious you were, you could never predict where the wind would blow next. It was inevitable that you would get wet walking in the rain. Due to this, most people found it easier to just stay indoors.

Only two silhouettes could be seen strolling calmly in the rain. The downpour was so heavy that you couldn’t even see their faces. Still, that didn’t seem to faze them. Fortunately, the pitter-patter of rain gradually died down as a ray of sunshine pierced through the dark grey canopy above.

“Uncle Tai, don’t they look like them?” The two of them were no far behind the duo. The man sitting in the wheelchair looked up with a puzzled expression.

The middle-aged uncle, who was holding the umbrella, blocked the raindrops that were blowing in their faces. “Can’t see very clearly. It’s been years since I last saw the young mistress.”

Baili Bin sighed. “My memory is as hazy as yours. You were the one who looked after the legacy base after all.”

He stared back at the receding backs of these two that were walking in front of him. His brows raised when he suddenly spoke out: “It’s true, it looks like them.”

“Let’s go then.”

Uncle Tai, pushing Baili Bin on his wheelchair, entered the residential area. Before leaving, they turned around to look at the duo one last time but by then, they were already nowhere to be seen.

***

At B University, Shen Nianzhi walked out of the director’s office with a defeated look on her face. Although she was holding an umbrella in her hand, she did not open it up. She let the rain drip down on her head, blending in with her stinging hot tears.

“Shen Nianzhi, I don’t know why the director gave me this opportunity. I am really sorry.” Her roommate, who was holding a pretty-looking umbrella caught up to her. Although she sounded apologetic, her gaze was painfully mocking.

After taking a good, long look of Shen Nianzhi’s dejected expression, the roommate skipped away with her high heels clicking loudly on the ground.

Shen Nianzhi raised her umbrella slowly and left the place.

“Miss Meng, we’ve done what you told us to.” A middle-aged man came walking into the office, directing a congratulatory smile at her.

“Very well,” responded the other person.

She wanted to see just how pure one could remain in the face of desire. Would Shen Nianzhi remain that stubborn?

The reason why Shen Nianzhi was so popular in B University was due to her closeness with Grandpa Sima. Now that that was taken away from her, she was sure that Shen Nianzhi would come groveling at her feet for forgiveness!

A cold grin broke across Meng Yufan’s face. She looked up at the painting with glowing eyes. One day, one day…