Miss Hacker, You Don’t Want to Turn into Fireworks, Do You?

"You guys..."

After a brief silence, Gu Yi shouted with a fierce but weak tone, "No matter who you are, trespassing is illegal!"

"Do you need me to find you a lawyer?"

Xu Shi sneered, using his pistol to lift her chin and force her to turn towards the ransom email on the screen. "And is stealing someone's private information and extorting them legal?"

"Gulp..."

Faced with irrefutable evidence, Gu Yi bashfully lowered her head.

There was really nothing to argue about; it was just a pointless attempt to stall for time... Seeing the Ouroboros symbol on their combat suits, she knew it was people from "Serpent Coil" who had come.

She'd messed up!

Before she could even feel annoyed, Xu Shi leaned down and whispered in her ear, unhurriedly continuing.

"Gu Yi, female, 19 years old, codename 'Black Rabbit,' ranked fourth on the global hacker leaderboard 'Invader-T.'

For the past four years, you've accumulated nearly a hundred companies' internal information stolen from 'Night Sin City,' and you've also made it onto the Inspection Bureau's S-class wanted list..."

Hearing this, Miss Black Rabbit was completely stunned.

This, this was impossible!

As a wanted criminal, caution was a mandatory skill.

Not only did she have to change her residence regularly, but she had also never left any information online other than her codename.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to remain at large until today... She might even be able to go dance in front of the Inspection Bureau right now, and those idiots wouldn't even know it was the person they were looking for.

So, how exactly had she been exposed?

Was the power of the damn corporation that terrifying?

Gu Yi of course couldn't imagine that only Xu Shi knew these things, as it was written in the original work... But that didn't stop her from feeling a deep sense of disgust towards the man in front of her, who wore gold-rimmed glasses and a suit over a shirt, in addition to her fear.

The reason she chose to become an electronic kidnapper wasn't just for money; it was more about the sense of accomplishment she got from toying with others.

Leaving taunts like "small fry," "trash," and "waste" after stealing data, watching the victims become enraged and tormented, yet still having to obediently pay... Such scenarios always made her unable to stop.

But this time, it was the other way around.

Not only had she fallen into the hands of the corporation, but they had also stripped her completely bare.

For a hacker, what was the difference between this and defecating in the street?

A strong sense of shame washed over her, and Gu Yi wished she could bite Xu Shi to death.

But strangely, this guy was actually quite handsome, at least the best-looking man Gu Yi had seen in her nineteen years of life.

Yet, there was an inescapable sinister aura about him that made him unpleasant to look at.

What was that word again... villain face?

But Gu Yi didn't have the headspace to ponder this further. After a moment, she collected herself and asked, "You caught me... you must have something you need me to do, right?"

"For example, those other hackers?"

Shameful as it was, she hadn't lost her ability to think.

The other party didn't seem to have any intention of handing her over to the Inspection Bureau. The gun at her temple hadn't fired yet, nor did it seem like they were going to torture her... This situation was quite abnormal, completely inconsistent with the usual behavior of the damn corporation.

But when combined with the situation "Serpent Coil" had encountered earlier, everything seemed to make sense.

"You got it right, Miss Gu is very smart."

Xu Shi snapped his fingers. "I need you to find their exact location. Can you do it?"

"...If I find them, will you let me go?"

Gu Yi pursed her lips, testing his attitude.

"If you don't find them, I definitely won't let you go."

Xu Shi pulled her up and forced her into the chair. "Now is not the time to make demands, and you're not in a position to do so... Tell me, how long will it take?"

Gu Yi paused, then let out a sigh of resignation.

A defeated prey had no right to bargain. To grasp that precarious sliver of hope, the only way was to do as the other party said.

"About... half an hour?"

Recalling in her mind, Miss Black Rabbit hesitantly gave an estimate. "They're doing remote collaborative decoding, they might not be gathered together... I need to find them one by one."

"Alright, then you have half an hour."

Xu Shi nodded lightly, then casually picked up a white ring from the waist of a combat team member beside him, operated it a few times, and then, without any explanation, clicked it onto Gu Yi's neck with a clack.

"What is this?!"

A cold sensation spread from her neck, and Miss Black Rabbit's heart suddenly tightened.

"'Red Ant,' a multi-purpose portable explosive developed by 'Serpent Coil.'"

Xu Shi smiled playfully and made a gesture of explosion. "I've set a timer. If you haven't completed the mission by then, then... boom~"

"...You censored , you damn corporation censored!"

Gu Yi realized what was happening and couldn't help but curse, "This is such bullying! If you have the guts, just kill me..."

Just how awful could this guy get?!

Xu Shi wasn't angry. He simply placed a hand on her shoulder, looking down at her, his voice suddenly turning cold and sharp.

"Swearing also counts towards the time."

"..."

Miss Black Rabbit finally relented.

Within two seconds of meeting Xu Shi's gaze, the suffocating pressure in his eyes shattered her last shred of defiance.

She didn't want to turn into fireworks... Gu Yi shivered involuntarily and nervously shuffled over to the computer.

As for why they had the ability to find her but still needed her to find someone else... she didn't have time to ponder such things.

She needed to figure out how to survive first...

Silence fell again in the apartment, leaving only the clatter of the keyboard.

The room quickly became stuffy, so Xu Shi waved everyone else away and sat on the bed nearby, acting as a supervisor.

He had to admit, this hacker girl was quite cute, truly living up to her role as the heroine in the original story.

It was just her attire that he couldn't quite stomach – a messy street-style trench coat and pants, with meaningless trinkets and accessories... Her hair was dyed a rebellious deep blue with cheap dye, making her look like a delinquent.

Or perhaps a bratty girl?

After all, her figure was rather underdeveloped. Even with her clothes soaked in sweat and clinging to her body, there wasn't even a hint of flesh to be seen...

While thinking this, Gu Yi recited a string of numbers.

"42., -71..."

"That was quick."

Xu Shi lightly clapped his hands. "Su Lin!"

"Yes."

Su Lin responded and casually pointed a finger. "You five, come with me."

Before leaving, she called over the combat captain who had remained at their post and, lowering her voice, instructed him.

"Protect the Young Master. If he loses even a single hair when you return, I'll take your life."

The chilling intensity in her voice as she said this sent a shiver down the combat captain's spine, even through his tactical helmet.

"...Understood!"