Chapter 118: Hacker

In a room on the third floor, the Han sisters looked dejected, staring at the website they had poured so much capital and painstaking effort into, unable to hold back their tears.

"Weiwei, is there really no other way?" Han Ning took a deep breath.

Han Wei shook her head gently. "The person attacking us is no ordinary amateur. I’ve already contacted every top-tier hacker I know, and they all say there's nothing to be done."

"If things continue like this, we'll have to scrap the project."

Han Ning closed her eyes tightly; her heart felt as if it were bleeding as she said these words.

Building this website was the key for Ziyu Company to break through its bottlenecks. Only the Han sisters knew how much heart and soul—and how much capital—they had invested in this transformation. Once they declared failure, Ziyu Company would be forced back to square one. If they weren't careful, it could even lead to bankruptcy.

"Let's give up. Dragging this on won't solve anything. At worst, we’ll start over from scratch!"

After a moment of silence, Han Ning took a deep breath, forcing herself to regain her composure. The decisive demeanor of a business queen returned. "Weiwei, notify the technical department immediately. Tell them to shut down the site to minimize our losses."

"I suppose that's the only way." Han Wei let out a long sigh. Just as she picked up her phone to contact the technicians, a knock came at the door.

"Wife, it’s me! Open up!"

Han Ning frowned. She was in a foul mood and, walking over, she yanked the door open to find Yang Jiekai standing there, eating a banana.

"Speak your mind and be quick about it!"

Han Ning was in no mood to deal with this disruptive man.

Yang Jiekai wasn't offended. He finished the banana in a few bites, tossed the peel aside, and asked, "Wife, I heard the company hit a snag. I came up to see if I could help."

"This has nothing to do with you. I'm busy!"

Han Ning started to close the door, but Yang Jiekai blocked it with a grin. "Come on, wife, we’re family now. If there’s a problem, we can solve it together. Don't be shy with me. You know I’m a compassionate person; I take care of stray cats and dogs, let alone my own wife’s affairs. I know you’re dying for me to help, so don't be embarrassed. Just say the word, and I guarantee..."

Han Ning was speechless. When had she ever wanted his help?

At that moment, Han Wei tilted her head and suddenly said, "Sister, why don't you let Brother-in-law try?"

Han Ning froze, then turned to lock eyes with Han Wei. No words were needed; she could read the suggestion in her sister’s eyes.

Han Ning had always found Yang Jiekai a strange character. He usually acted like a loafer, but in critical moments, he always seemed to pull off a miracle. Han Wei’s logic was simple: let him try; if it didn't work, there was nothing to lose anyway.

With that thought, she stepped aside and let him in.

"What’s the trouble? Let me see. Oh, right, got any more bananas?"

Yang Jiekai plopped down next to the computer and began typing furiously.

After Han Wei briefed him on the situation, Yang Jiekai opened a browser and entered the URL of the newly built Ziyu Company site.

*Pfft!*

The moment the site popped up, Yang Jiekai spat out his drink. "This hacker is truly vicious. If you're going to attack, fine, but turning a perfectly good business site into a porn site? What is this?"

"Hey, hey, I know this actress. She's been huge in Japan lately. Oh my, a new film? No, no, I have to watch this first."

Faced with the explicit images, Yang Jiekai completely forgot why he was there and clicked on a movie to enjoy it.

Han Ning, seeing the lewd scenes on the screen, felt her face flush with shame. She snapped, "Can you do it or not? If not, get out!"

Yang Jiekai kept his eyes glued to the screen. "I can, of course I can. I’m definitely more capable than the leading man in this!"

Hearing this, Han Ning realized what he was implying and roared, "Shut it off right now! If you do that again, get out!"

Seeing his wife was truly angry, Yang Jiekai reluctantly closed the explicit film and got down to business.

After inputting a long string of characters, he started working, nodding as he muttered, "Not bad, quite a pro. They actually set up seven layers of encryption!"

Within minutes, the Han sisters were stunned. They knew computers, and despite their best efforts, they hadn't even been able to break the first layer. This guy had reached the third in just a few minutes.

Yang Jiekai’s former instructor had once called him the most talented recruit he ever trained. Besides combat skills, he had brought in top international hackers to teach Yang Jiekai his technical prowess.

Before long, he reached the seventh layer—the hardest one.

The hacker who attacked the site was a top-tier expert, and even Yang Jiekai hit a snag at the seventh level.

"Don't just stand there, help me!" Yang Jiekai said, his fingers flying across the keyboard.

"Tell us what to do!" Han Wei was now completely won over by his skills.

Yang Jiekai continued typing. "I’m going to crack the seventh layer. You two, get on two other computers and link to my network. While I break the code, you need to scrub every trace of my intrusion clean."

"Why?" Han Ning asked, confused.

"Don't ask questions!"

Yang Jiekai was sweating profusely. "This guy is a master. I can only crack the code if he doesn't realize it. If he catches on, he only needs to change a few characters, and I’ll have to start all over again!"

The sisters quickly grabbed two computers and sat on either side of him.

"Be careful! You must erase everything completely. Don't leave a single clue!" Yang Jiekai commanded, his forehead beaded with sweat.

The sisters were elite professionals. While their tech skills weren't on par with Yang Jiekai’s, they could handle this.

The hacker’s encryption grew more difficult with each layer. By the seventh, the password was a terrifying thirty-plus characters long.

The three worked side-by-side until late into the night. When the final password was cracked, Yang Jiekai slammed the Enter key, refreshed the page, and the company website instantly returned to normal.

"Done!"

Yang Jiekai exhaled and wiped the sweat from his brow. The sisters cheered in delight.

"Brother-in-law, tell us, how should we reward you? How about you sleep in my sister’s room tonight?" Han Wei teased with a grin.

"Sleep in it yourself!"

Han Ning felt a wave of relief and pinched Han Wei’s waist, but as she looked at the exhausted Yang Jiekai, a feeling of gratitude welled up in her heart.

"I’ve added seven layers of encryption to your site, too. It won't be so easy for hackers to mess with it again," Yang Jiekai said, standing up with a strange expression on his face. "However..."

"However what?"

Seeing his expression, the sisters’ hearts sank again.

Yang Jiekai waved his hand. "Don't be nervous. The website issue is resolved. It’s just that I discovered something..."

He paused, then looked at Han Wei. "Little sister, if there’s nothing else, go downstairs and rest. I need to talk to your sister alone."

"Yes, sir!"

Han Wei gave a playful salute and said with a mischievous smirk, "Wishing you and my sister a lovely night!"

"Drop dead!"

Han Ning threw a throw pillow at her, but Han Wei was already bounding out of the room like a deer.

Only Yang Jiekai and Han Ning remained.

"Speak. What is it?"

Through their time together, Han Ning had come to know him a bit. Though he was a loafer who liked to tease her, he never crossed any real lines.

Yang Jiekai poured a glass of water and handed it to her, then asked a strange question. "Wife, what do you usually do when you're in a bad mood?"

Han Ning was stunned. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," Yang Jiekai said, waving his hand. "I just wanted to know how you relieve stress."

Looking at his sincere expression, Han Ning thought for a moment and answered honestly, "I’ve never had many friends growing up, and I’m used to being alone. Whenever I feel wronged or particularly upset, I drive to a quiet place to look at the stars."

Yang Jiekai nodded. "I’ll wait for you downstairs. Go change your clothes."

"Why?" she asked, confused.

"Don't ask so many questions. I have something to tell you. Hurry up; I’m going to get the car."

With that, he turned and left.

When Han Ning came downstairs, Yang Jiekai was waiting in the car. Without a word, he pulled her in and drove off.

"What is going on?" Han Ning was completely bewildered.

"Don't ask. I'll tell you in a bit."

He drove the car like a bolt of lightning up the winding mountain road. Once they reached the summit, he opened the door, looked up at the vast sea of stars, and asked, "Wife, does seeing these stars make you feel any better?"

The weather was perfect tonight, and the sky was filled with diamond-like stars. Han Ning let out a long breath and said, "Now can you tell me what’s going on?"

Yang Jiekai lit a cigarette unhurriedly and said softly, "When I was cracking that seventh layer, I accidentally traced the hacker’s IP address and the name of the owner. Do you want to know who it is?"