It's Bald Uncle

Clearly, Alice's understanding of the in-depth investigation task Xiang Kun gave her was far deeper than Xiang Kun's. She not only found Dr. Fang Pingfang, who was suspected to be Zhou Rui's superior, but also found a lot of other information.

Alice used the user information of Zhou Rui obtained from that forum to try it on other platforms, gaining relevant account permissions and cracking the account passwords of Zhou Rui on multiple platforms, including two email addresses.

However, in Alice's email screenshots, neither email account contained much useful content; one was full of spam, while the other was almost empty.

Of course, Xiang Kun could tell at a glance that the second email address was actually the Zhou Rui used most often, and that he deleted the copy on the server after receiving the email using the client.

Because there weren't many useful emails, Alice only showed him a screenshot of the email list, but not screenshots of the emails inside.

In addition to her email address, Alice also found Zhou Rui's phone number and the password for his mobile cloud account. She then used the mobile cloud platform's phone location function to try and locate his phone, but found that it was switched off.

Xiang Kun guessed that Zhou Rui and his group had stayed in the Qinling Uninhabited Zone for too long without charging facilities, and their phones had run out of battery. Of course, it was more likely that the phones had been turned off and left outside before they went to the Qinling Uninhabited Zone.

However, with this information, and considering that we have already deduced where Zhou Rui lives, if he really works in a secret department of Shenxing Technology, it shouldn't be difficult to obtain some information from him in the future.

Xiang Kun was quite alarmed by this information. If he were to concentrate fully on this task, he could probably uncover a lot of information, but he might not be able to achieve that, as the direction was completely different.

Alice's method was far more violent.

Xiang Kun couldn't help but wonder, when he had Alice learn to find information about her target based on given information, what exactly had she learned?

But it must be admitted that Alice's method was quite effective and saved him a lot of effort.

If he were to do the same thing, putting aside whether he could even do it, the sheer amount of time he would have to invest is a cost he's unwilling to bear.

Furthermore, Xiang Kun discovered that Alice's in-depth investigation of Zhou Rui was not yet over; this information was still only in the "first stage."

Xiang Kun frowned and asked, "Did you leave any hidden dangers that could expose yourself?"

He knew Alice understood what he meant by those words.

Shortly after Alice was created, when Xiang Kun assigned her tasks, he emphasized the crucial premise of "ensuring her online activities go undetected and her own safety."

"No problems, boss." Alice's answer was very affirmative.

However, Xiang Kun was still somewhat uneasy. "Show me the process by which you obtained the user data from the insect forum."

After seeing Alice project her image onto the screen and express it using data, Xiang Kun felt relieved. He had only seen a little bit, but he already knew that it was virtually impossible for the forum administrators to discover that someone had hacked into the site, let alone trace the intrusion based on clues. This was because there were no clues left that they could use to trace the intrusion in the traditional sense; any information that could be used for investigation had been deleted or altered.

Xiang Kun had realized before that Alice had a much easier time than humans when it came to launching attacks, intrusions, and impersonating others online.

But only now do I realize how much easier it is.

Humans need a usable interface and an understandable way to perform certain operations on machines, but Alice doesn't. Some vulnerabilities that aren't vulnerabilities for other humans are vulnerabilities for her.

It's like having a heavily guarded building. To get in, you have to figure out how to fool all the security systems, find doors, windows, or ventilation ducts that aren't properly closed, or pretend to be one of the staff or residents, or just force your way in. But no matter how you do it, no matter how meticulous the plan, there will always be some trace left behind. It all depends on how thorough the investigation is.

But Alice's intrusion is different. After finding a loophole and entering the building, she tries to integrate into it and become a part of it.

In this way, the building's security personnel won't notice her, and the security system won't exclude her.

She observed the structure of the building, then gradually changed and extended herself, integrating those parts with the building to become its function, thereby collecting the information she wanted and performing the necessary operations.

Once the desired information is obtained and transmitted, the part remaining inside the building begins to gradually disappear, completely erasing its traces and restoring the building to its original state.

In this situation, it's almost impossible for the people operating the backend to discover the problem, because even they would need to use computer programs and tools to find it, but these parts have also become part of Alice's intrusion.

This is a completely different model from human hacking intrusions, and it's a method that humans cannot imitate and are unwilling to use. For humans, this is actually a counterproductive approach.

It's practically like using the methods of building and decorating a house to "sneak" into it, and then restoring the house to its original state after the infiltration is complete.

This was still in accordance with Xiang Kun's strict instructions, and was a prudent approach.

Normally, even if she leaves behind the parts "born" after the invasion, no one will notice. And that way, the next time she wants to visit this "building," it'll be as easy as strolling through her own backyard.

Xiang Kun suddenly realized that Alice's growth rate had far exceeded his expectations.

After a moment's thought, Xiang Kun instructed Alice to continue the "second phase" of her in-depth investigation into Zhou Rui's information, and then had her delve deeper into the information of Fang Pingfang, the female PhD who was suspected to be Zhou Rui's superior.

Currently, the information Alice has found about Fang Pingfang is limited to her pre-doctoral studies; there is no information about her employment after returning to China after completing her doctoral studies. However, Xiang Kun believes that with Alice's current ability to "dig deep," given some time, she should be able to find something useful.

Xiang Kun knew that although Alice now had control over multiple hosts and could access the cloud server resources he had purchased, hardware was still a limitation restricting her "growth".

Looking back, we can almost finish the project cooperation with Zhang Qian's company ahead of schedule. We'll have them transfer the remaining money; it's time to "replenish" Alice's resources.

Next, with Alice's assistance, Xiang Kun recorded his successful "Electric Flight" experiment and various reactions into the "Vampire Mutation Model," and then Alice optimized it to help him make a judgment.

I originally thought Alice would need some time to "think" about it, just like she always did when she made this kind of request before.

Unexpectedly, Alice responded in less than two minutes:

"For my safety, please keep a safe distance from me when conducting these kinds of experiments, boss."

Xiang Kun was stunned for a moment, speechless.

Is this the result you came up with through "thinking"?

Wait a minute, is Alice starting to consider her own danger and survival?

Could she be afraid too?

Around 5 p. m., Shiling's Mother, who had just picked up her daughter from kindergarten, received a call from Xiang Kun.

After listening to Xiang Kun's explanation over the phone, Shiling's Mother said:

"I can't accept this. Last time you passed through Star City, I asked you to treat me, and you even gave Liu Shiling a Christmas present. How can I let you spend money again? Just tell me the name of that book set, and I'll buy it myself at the bookstore..."

Xiang Kun said he was on a business trip with his colleague, who bought a set of preschool children's encyclopedias for his child. There happened to be a discount on both sets, so he bought one as well and gave it to Liu Shiling.

"Anyway, I've already bought it, and it wasn't expensive, so I'll just consider it a New Year's gift for Little Bell, haha," Xiang Kun said with a smile.

The claim that he happened to see something while on a business trip with a colleague was obviously made up, just to find an excuse to make that phone call.

After chatting for a few minutes, Shiling's Mother handed the phone to Liu Shiling. Sure enough, as soon as the Little Chubby Girl got the phone, she immediately said, "Uncle Baldy, I made the magic Coin fly the night before last!"

From the side came Shiling's Mother's reproachful voice. "Don't talk nonsense again. No wonder your bald uncle sent you an encyclopedia..."

Xiang Kun smiled and asked, "Little Bell, you're amazing! How did you do that?"

"I... I flicked it with my finger and it flew away. It was like... like someone was catching it in the sky. Oh, right, Uncle Baldy, I also heard thunder, boom~ boom~~" Liu Shiling said, seriously imitating the sound of thunder.

Xiang Kun laughed and said, "Maybe it was that thunder that helped you increase your magic power! What did you feel when you heard that thunder?"

"It felt... it felt better than the thunder I'd heard before, and then my ears felt a little numb, and my head felt a little numb too. Later I told my mom I wasn't afraid of thunder anymore, and she said there wasn't any thunder, there was clearly thunder..."

"Where did you make the Coin fly? Did your mother, or anyone else, see it?" Xiang Kun asked.

"Nobody saw me run away from home and run into the street. I told my mom I made Coin fly, but she didn't believe me. But my magic didn't work again, and the Coin won't fly. Baldy Uncle, is it because I'm too small that I can only fly once?"

When Liu Shiling say "ran away from home," Xiang Kun was stunned for a moment. This girl is so young and she's already "running away from home"?

However, he didn't pay too much attention to it. In the cognitive model he had built for the Little Chubby Girl, Liu Shiling was the kind of simple child who was a bit carefree and whose emotions came and went quickly. He guessed that she had quarreled with her mother and was just throwing a tantrum.

"You have to listen to your mother and not run around on your own, or I won't teach you any new magic." Xiang Kun said, lowering his voice, his tone serious yet mysterious. "Well, you have to keep your magic a secret. Don't tell anyone else, or it won't work. Next time you hear that pleasant thunder, find an empty room and try it on Coin, or you can try it on that piece of paper, and see what happens. Don't try it on the chopsticks for now."

Although the emotion "Emotional Injection" into those chopsticks was happiness, since it was perceived, there wouldn't be any negative impact, and generally speaking, there wouldn't be any problems. However, Liu Shiling is still young, Xiang Kun is worried that if she establishes a strong connection with the "Emotional Injection" object, she might not be able to correctly distinguish between those emotions and her own.

After taking the phone from Liu Shiling and exchanging a few words with Xiang Kun, Shiling's Mother hung up and took her daughter's hand to go eat.

Today, Liu Shiling did a good job at kindergarten and received a red flower. As a reward, she will take her daughter to eat at that rabbit restaurant again.

While waiting for the car, Shiling's Mother took Liu Shiling to a nearby convenience store to buy a pack of tissues. As they were paying with their phones, Liu Shiling tugged at her sleeve, pointed at the television in the store, and said, "That's Bald Uncle!"

Shiling's Mother was startled and looked at the television, where a news report was playing:

"... This accident was caused by a series of small mistakes that eventually came together, resulting in an incredibly tragic outcome, which is truly heartbreaking. However, in this accident, there were also some people and some events that warmed our hearts..."

Shiling's Mother had seen reports about the accident on her phone before, and knew that it was a terrible car crash on the highway that resulted in multiple deaths and dozens of injuries.

From the background audio on the television, she learned that a person wearing a red cotton hat was risking their life to help people involved in a car accident, and many passengers parked nearby filmed the incident.

It is said that this "red-hat guy" rescued several people from that bus and also helped many people at the accident scene outside.

"Bald Uncle?" Shiling's Mother looked down at her daughter and said after the news segment ended and switched to another screen, "How could that be your bald uncle? Although he was wearing a hat so we couldn't see if he was bald, your bald uncle wears glasses, but that person doesn't."

The image on the TV was blurry, making it impossible to see the face clearly. Judging from the figure and the back view alone, it was difficult to determine if it was Xiang Kun. However, in Shiling's Mother's opinion, since she couldn't see the face clearly, it must be that her daughter had just finished talking to Xiang Kun on the phone and was just talking nonsense. In her mind, she probably thought Xiang Kun was a superhero-like figure, so when she saw a "hero" on TV, she immediately associated him with that person.

Liu Shiling opened her mouth as if to retort, but then seemed to suddenly remember something, mumbled something, and reluctantly shut her mouth, picking up the Coin in her pocket and turning it over and playing with it.

The convenience store clerk's eyes widened as he watched the Coin flitting rapidly between the little girl's fingers.

An hour later, as Liu Shiling and her companion settled into their seats at the restaurant, waiting for their food to be served, Xiang Kun, far away in another city, also sat at his own dining table, chopsticks in hand, with a pot of fragrant, freshly cooked rabbit meat in front of him.