Seeking Help!

Xiao Yu's computer screen had turned dark. The image showed a glossy black iron door and an enormous iron lock, creating a heavy, mysterious feeling.

Above the door was a blood-red countdown, with a Chinese prompt below it. After reading the prompt, the four women's expressions fell.

"Looks like it really got infected." Zhou Tongtong said blankly, "It's similar to the ransomware from last time. Even the prompt is about the same."

"Restart it. Try restarting it."

Li Ruoxi hurriedly restarted the computer. Half a minute later, it booted up again, but the screen was still the same. She could not enter the desktop at all.

"Could it be a virus from an action movie?" Wang Xiaolan asked.

The other three women all looked at Li Ruoxi.

"Impossible. I've watched them all. They couldn't possibly carry viruses." Li Ruoxi gave a bitter smile. Even she was starting to feel uncertain now.

"I have friends in the Computer Science Department on my social feed. I'll post and ask for help." Zhou Tongtong came to her senses.

"I'll look up what kind of virus this is." Wang Xiaolan did not hesitate either.

Xiao Yu and Li Ruoxi looked at each other, both at a loss.

"I'll try opening the movie on my computer."

Li Ruoxi returned to her seat, turned on her computer, inserted the USB drive, and began copying the movie.

"Found it, found it." The moment Li Ruoxi turned on her computer, Wang Xiaolan's voice rang out.

The other three women hurriedly gathered around.

"A ransomware variant. The first case was discovered in Europe at six thirty in the evening, Beijing time. It has currently infected over eighty thousand computers. Around seven, it broke out in North America. According to incomplete statistics, more than fifty thousand computers in North America have been infected, and the number is still rising. The virus spreads through email attachments, phishing websites, and other methods, rapidly infecting local networks..."

"I have news here too." Zhou Tongtong held up her phone for them to see her social feed. "A lot of people at our school have had their computers infected. Look, all the latest posts are about this. It says that once you log into the campus network, it turns into this."

"Damn."

Li Ruoxi hurried back to her seat and unplugged her computer's network cable. Her heart still pounded with fear. Fortunately, she had not logged into the campus network in time, or she would have been hit too.

The other three women came to their senses and looked at Zhou Tongtong. Zhou Tongtong blinked and looked toward her own computer. Its screen had become just like Xiao Yu's: a mysterious iron door.

"I think I got infected too." Zhou Tongtong said blankly. "Huh? It's infected, it's infected! What do I do?" Once it sank in, Zhou Tongtong jumped up and rushed back to her computer, frantically pressing buttons.

"What do I do? I haven't finished my drama yet."

The other three women held their foreheads as they watched Zhou Tongtong bounce around. This girl's reflexes were half a beat slow, and she was still worried about her TV drama.

"It's like the ransomware from last time. This time, instead of locking documents, it locks the computer itself. The computer system has been locked. The hacker's goal is still money. Payment is in Bitcoin. Transfer Bitcoin within a week, or all files on the computer's hard drive will be destroyed."

Li Ruoxi looked at the prompt on the computer screen and visibly relaxed. Fortunately, it had not been caused by her little movies, or she would have felt guilty to death.

"My study materials for the accountant exam are on my computer. What should I do?" Xiao Yu asked anxiously.

"People from the Computer Science Department on my social feed all say that before an antivirus solution is found, the only option is to reinstall the system."

In the next instant, Chen Mo's confident figure surfaced in Xiao Yu's mind. She took out her phone, preparing to contact him. Just as she was about to dial, she saw three faces wearing mischievous smiles, their ears leaning in close.

Chen Mo was currently walking back to his rental apartment, his steps somewhat hurried. He could not wait to get back. Suddenly, the phone in his pocket rang.

Xiao Yu?

Seeing Xiao Yu's incoming call, Chen Mo smiled knowingly and immediately answered.

"Xiao Yu."

"Chen Mo." Xiao Yu called his name, her face flushing with embarrassment, because three female squids were listening beside her.

"Did you miss me?" Chen Mo asked with a smile.

Li Ruoxi and the other two immediately covered their mouths, their eyes curving into crescents. Xiao Yu did not dare answer directly, her face turning bright red.

"My computer got infected."

"Infected?" Chen Mo stopped walking. "What happened?"

"It's a ransomware variant..."

Xiao Yu told Chen Mo everything about the virus.

During this period, she had seen Chen Mo studying computer programming and hacking techniques every day, so she had a feeling that perhaps he would have a solution.

"I'll come find you now. Give me the computer, and I'll take a look."

After hanging up, Chen Mo headed back toward the dormitory area while checking news about the ransomware variant on his phone.

The moment he opened the browser's headline news, he did not even need to search. The ransomware news had already been pinned to the top.

Chen Mo clicked into it without hesitation.

In the women's dormitory, after Xiao Yu hung up, the other three burst into laughter.

"Little kitty, did you miss me?"

"Chen Mo, my computer got infected. Come over quickly."

"I'm coming to find you now. Be good..."

"Mwah."

Using cloying voices, Wang Xiaolan and Zhou Tongtong mimicked the two of them talking on the phone. The dormitory erupted with laughter, making Xiao Yu blush deeply.

"Hey, enough already." Li Ruoxi stopped laughing. "Are you really going to give him the computer later?"

"What else can I do?" Xiao Yu asked.

"Did you forget? There are action movies on the desktop. What if he really unlocks it, clicks on them, and watches? Ahem..." Li Ruoxi winked at Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu imagined the scene, and her face reddened as she instantly grew nervous. If that happened, she would never be able to clear her name.

"How about giving him mine?" Zhou Tongtong said.

"Give him both. I believe he won't snoop around." Xiao Yu hesitated before saying, "Even if he accidentally opens something, I'll explain it to him then."

Before long, Chen Mo returned to the dormitory area.

Xiao Yu and her three roommates had already been waiting downstairs. They all wanted to see what kind of person the pig that had rooted up the finest cabbage in their dormitory was.

"She's Wang Xiaolan, she's Zhou Tongtong, and you know Ruoxi."

"Hello." Chen Mo politely greeted the three of them.

"Hello."

After the three women greeted Chen Mo, Wang Xiaolan and Zhou Tongtong stared at him somewhat blankly.

Chen Mo was not an exceptionally handsome man, but his confident, steady temperament was captivating. Not many people possessed that kind of presence. At that moment, they were all a little envious of Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu handed the two computers to Chen Mo.

"This one is mine, and this one is Tong Tong's. My accountant exam materials are inside. If you can recover them, recover them. If not, forget it. Just help me reinstall the system."

"If you recover everything, there'll be a reward." Li Ruoxi grinned. "I'll tell you the final piece of intel from last time."

"Don't listen to her nonsense."

Xiao Yu immediately stopped Li Ruoxi, worried that Li Ruoxi would sell her out again.

"I read about the ransomware." Chen Mo said. "I'll do my best. I'll get it sorted out for you as soon as possible."

After taking Xiao Yu's computer, Chen Mo looked at the other three women. "Please take care of Xiao Yu in the dormitory. If anything happens to her, contact me anytime."

"We will. We'll head back first. You two can keep whispering sweet nothings." Li Ruoxi pulled the other two women back toward the dormitory, leaving Xiao Yu and Chen Mo alone.

"Is there a reward?"

Chen Mo looked at Xiao Yu with a half-smile. He could not ask while Li Ruoxi and the others were there, but now he did not need to worry.

"We'll talk after you fix it."

Xiao Yu tossed out those words and hurried back into the dormitory.

Chen Mo took the two computers back to his rental apartment. Their screens still showed the glossy black iron door and enormous iron lock, looking mysterious.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Mo lay back on the bed and entered the Sci-Tech Library.

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