"Also, boss, we're nearly done making our new virus. Soon, we'll be able to make a fortune with it."
"So, what should we do with the black money overseas?" Tang Yi made a rubbing-his-fingers-together gesture.
"Once we have ninety Splitters, I'll send the Brood Mother abroad. The last ten Splitters will serve as the foundation for our overseas operations." Tang Shizhe waved a hand. He already had plans for the money they couldn't spend openly. Wasn't the Dark Continent in need of investors like him? Who there would care whether the money was clean?
Tang Yi nodded, agreeing with Tang Shizhe without reservation.
More than ten hours later, inside the Splitter Chamber.
The Brood Mother expelled a naked man from her body onto the floor.
Fortunately, Tang Yi and the others had seen this coming and laid thick padding across the floor, so their new "brother" wasn't jolted awake by the fall.
After completing the split, the Brood Mother's body once again transformed into Zhao Yin's appearance. One by one, her tentacles withdrew from the floor and back into her body.
After seeing the Brood Mother's hatching form, Tang Shizhe had completely lost interest in the "person" who now looked like Zhao Yin. In other words, he just didn't feel anything for her anymore.
"This is your cover identity. From now on, use the information in this file to disguise yourself as Zhao Yin."
"Remember, unless absolutely necessary, don't have any physical contact with anyone. And try to limit your interactions with outsiders."
"You have one day to get used to your new identity. Once the car is fixed, go to the repair shop and pick it up." Tang Shizhe handed the file to Zhao Yin—or, rather, the Brood Mother.
"Understood!" Zhao Yin replied in a hoarse voice. She hadn't yet gotten used to the vocal cords inside her body.
Tang Yi gave Zhao Yin the clothes he'd taken from her home. Once she had changed, he drove her back in the van.
After watching Zhao Yin return to her home, Tang Yi drove back to the base.
Back in her "home," Zhao Yin began practicing according to the information in the file.
"Ah~ Ah~ Ah~" She started by practicing her pronunciation. Using the audio recordings Tang Yi and the others had compiled, she needed to learn how Zhao Yin sounded.
Meanwhile, in the newly added meeting room on the second floor of the base, Tang Shizhe sat on a massive leather sofa. A huge projection took up the entire wall in front of him.
Several computers sat on a nearby table. Their screens showed what was projected onto the wall: a world map pieced together from three screens.
Rows of figures flanked the map, including the price of Leiden Coin, infection totals, recoveries, activations, and projected revenue.
"You did a great job with this page!" Tang Shizhe said, nodding with satisfaction. He picked up a chilled bottle of cola with a straw from the table and took a sip.
He didn't know why, but whenever his wallet stood to get fatter, he got so excited he started sweating. Maybe the air conditioning was set too high.
"Boss, it's done. We've uploaded the new virus to Shield Software's official website and several partner download sites."
"As soon as people download the security software or install the patch, they'll get infected!" Tang Yi let out a sinister chuckle, looking like a classic movie villain.
Meanwhile, Tang Shizhe, sucking on his straw, looked more like a disposable henchman.
"Excellent! Shield Software will push out its latest update in two hours. Then we'll see how many people get infected!" Tang Shizhe said, narrowing his eyes in anticipation.
Tang Er, who knew how to read the room, stood behind Tang Shizhe and carefully massaged his shoulders and neck. Tang Shizhe would never admit that he'd made them learn those massage techniques!
The two hours flew by as Tang Shizhe watched his phone. Then Shield Software released its first major update.
On the surface, the update was supposed to strengthen the software's virus protection. Rumors, however, claimed that it would actually add an advertising feature.
After all, software couldn't stay free forever. Making money from ads was the only way for free software like this to survive.
1,000,000,000. The infection count on the screen kept climbing, and red dots began appearing all over the world map.
As the dots multiplied, entire regions turned red.
In just ten minutes, a whopping ten million computers had been infected.
Of course, that was because Shield Software updated automatically whenever it was connected to the internet. Those ten million users all had their computers turned on and connected.
"That's a little low!" Tang Shizhe frowned on the sofa. Only ten million infected devices? That was far too few!
"Don't worry, boss. We've secretly bundled Shield Software with downloads from several websites, and our online shills are posting promotional articles on forums around the world." Tang Yi let out another gleeful cackle.
At that very moment, Shield Software's employees were also puzzled.
Why had downloads of their software suddenly surged? And why were promotional articles for it appearing on forums everywhere?
If they weren't also responsible for marketing and publicity, they might have suspected the company was spending a fortune on promotion.
Some kind soul was helping them advertise. But that wasn't a bad thing, was it?
If downloads kept rising, their bonuses this month would be enough to buy a car!
The Shield Software employees hadn't yet realized that, as the Chinese saying went, there was no such thing as a free lunch.
In their excitement, none of them had any idea what kind of nightmare they were about to fall into.
As time went by, more and more people turned on their computers, and more and more people updated Shield Software.
With Tang Yi and the others promoting it through their articles, the number of infections gradually passed the hundred-million mark. Half of those infected were on mobile devices.
"That's enough. Activate the viruses!" Tang Shizhe nodded. They'd reached the target he'd set.
"Understood!" Tang Yi hit Enter again. In an instant, one hundred million computers and phones around the world suddenly went black.
"Want to know the truth of the world? Want to restore your contacts and documents? Click the button below and pay 0.01 Leiden Coin to unlock your device!" A message translated into languages around the world appeared on the infected devices.
"Fuck? How did I suddenly get a virus? Didn't I download Shield?" A man on the street stared at his phone in disbelief.
Nearly a hundred million people wore the same expression. They'd all downloaded Shield Software.
They couldn't believe their devices had been infected with a virus! Hadn't Shield Software bragged about how powerful it was? How were they supposed to explain this now?
Before you continue