Someone Really Was Planning a Robbery

Mo Fei sent out a message every so often to see whether the other party had turned on their computer. If there was no response, he continued studying. Before long, though, he noticed another problem. He had downloaded quite a lot, yet none of it seemed to take up this computer's memory. This was a critical issue!

"Why don't I take up this computer's memory?" Mo Fei could not understand it at all. The basic knowledge he had learned online offered no explanation whatsoever. "What exactly is so unusual about me?"

Mo Fei had always thought that he existed in the same way as Arnim Zola, but it now seemed there were major differences. The other party's thought processes and knowledge storage relied on a vast amount of equipment. Though the equipment was somewhat outdated, its sheer quantity proved that the database was far from small. But what about himself?

To investigate further, Mo Fei issued a new command and examined the computer's hard drive and memory, trying to find where he existed. Yet there was no trace of him anywhere. The various systems were running, and the space they occupied matched the computer's records exactly—not a bit more, not a bit less. Yet there was no sign of Mo Fei.

"This..." Mo Fei could not understand it. He should have been nothing more than a mass of data, similar to an Artificial Intelligence system, except without such a vast information database. But now, it seemed there was something else inside him, something he could not comprehend at all. "What an infuriating problem!"

Mo Fei sent another packet of data, but this time, he actually received a response. He hurriedly used hacking techniques he had learned online. Whether such commonplace hacking methods were truly useful was still questionable, and remotely controlling a computer was not easy. First, he had to enable the other party's remote access. He had only meant to give it a try, yet it actually worked. Mo Fei felt rather pleased. He had not expected such widely available techniques to be genuinely useful!

The other party had turned on their computer, so Mo Fei could leave now. However, he memorized Paul's IP address. He would return here someday. Paul was his first choice as a potential agent, but Mo Fei knew too little about him for now and would not try to recruit him lightly, especially while he lacked capital.

Controlling Paul's chat software, he sent Jennifer a message. A streak of light shot out at once, and Mo Fei stepped forward to follow it. He discovered that he should have been faster than that streak of light, but for now, he could only follow it. After all, there was no clear, unobstructed passage between them.

In an instant, he followed the streak of light to a strange place. Countless streaks of light filled the area, yet each one followed its own path. Mo Fei did not dare let down his guard. He guessed this was where the switch was located; one wrong step, and he would become lost here. This had to be the network provider's server, and its defenses should be formidable. He still did not understand what kind of existence he was, so he did not dare test it recklessly.

Mo Fei closely followed the message sent to Jennifer, weaving through the countless streaks of light without missing a single step. Before long, he entered a one-way passage again. It did not feel fast to Mo Fei, but in terms of time, only a fraction of a second had passed. The network's speed carried him across the United States in an instant, from the west coast to the east.

The moment he entered Jennifer's computer, Mo Fei reached out and grabbed the message that had been sent from Paul's chat software. He slapped it against himself, and the message vanished. Then Mo Fei began issuing commands and took control of the computer—quietly, of course.

Mo Fei had not taken control of Jennifer's computer for any other reason. He needed to search for local information; for now, this was his only place to stay. Still, Jennifer was supposedly one of those legendary "pretty young ladies." That was quite appealing to Mo Fei, so he immediately checked whether there was a camera.

As Mo Fei learned about Jennifer, in an apartment in Brooklyn, New York, a man in his forties held a landline receiver in one hand while his other hand hovered over the number keys. He did not press down for a long time, caught in a fierce internal struggle!

However, a minute later, he rapidly punched in the number and made a call. He raised the receiver to his ear. The call connected. "Jack? What made you think of calling me? Did you find a job?" A weary voice came from the other end.

"Roy, not yet. But I got a red envelope from the bank. They want to take my house!" Jack sounded just as tired, though his was a mental exhaustion. He had already been worn out completely.

"..." Silence fell on the other end. "Jack, I can't help you. I'm also worried sick over my wife's illness. She's almost out of medicine..."

"I understand, Roy. The company abandoned its American operations and pulled out, so we all lost our jobs. I've been looking for work for three months, but..." Jack could not continue. They had been contract workers, with decent wages at the factory. He had been able to support his family.

But the factory had been an overseas investment. Now that the owners had abandoned their American operations, they had lost their jobs outright. The company had not even offered them the slightest compensation, and it had handed the matter of contract payouts directly to the bank. But what had the bank done? It had not given them a single cent. It kept saying the matter was still being processed, but no one knew when that process would end.

"Jack, can I sue them? We should get compensation. We had contracts. We're Americans!" Roy suddenly roared as if venting his frustrations. Jack was not surprised. On the contrary, he had already done the same, only by himself.

"That won't work. The bank is just stalling for time. They want to sell the factory at a good price, with some skilled workers thrown in as a bonus. But people like us, who have loans, won't get new jobs!"

"Why? We worked there for so long. Why won't they let us keep working?"

"The factory had always done business with that bank, and now they've entrusted the final cleanup to them too. Our wages were always paid through that bank."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"They know our financial situations. Now they're waiting for us to go bankrupt. That way, they can make a fortune, and they can take back my house too. Otherwise, why would they take over this mess at the end? There's huge profit in it!"

"Jack? How do you know that?"

"My wife ran off with someone yesterday. He's a bank employee. He sneered as he told me all this. Do you understand how I feel? If I only had one daughter, I could sell the house, pay off the loan, and send her to a prestigious school. Her grades are good enough for one. But I have a son and a daughter. I need to give them a stable home, Roy... Let's rob a bank!"