"Got it," Qiu Jiahao responded.

After leaving the hospital, Qi Yun felt deeply unsettled, like the protagonist in The Matrix constantly being pursued.

He drove straight home, quickly found the black USB drive under his mattress, then took out the second-hand laptop he bought last time, disconnected from the network, and inserted the USB drive.

But when he clicked on the USB drive icon, the computer suddenly prompted a password interface...

Qi Yun frowned deeply, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table.

After thinking for a long time, he took the laptop and USB drive and left again.

...

In the rented small two-story building, Zhong Rui was directing workers to move the new bed upstairs.

This was Qi Yun's task for him last night, asking him to tidy up a room for Chen Wei to stay in when he returns from Rongcheng in a couple of days.

"Boss." Upon seeing Qi Yun, Zhong Rui immediately went up to greet him.

Qi Yun nodded at him and asked, "Where's Yuan Hua?"

Zhong Rui pointed to the window on the right side of the second floor and said, "Probably writing code, he lives in that room."

Qi Yun glanced over, then took out his phone and said, "Oh right, I have a number for you. Just call him Brother Peng. I'm planning to partner with him to set up a trade company. Contact him and see if he needs your help with anything."

"Okay, boss." Zhong Rui took the phone and memorized the number.

"Alright, no other matters. I'll go find Yuan Hua." Qi Yun patted his shoulder and headed upstairs.

Inside the room, Yuan Hua, with dark circles under his eyes, was incessantly typing on the keyboard. Hearing the knock on the door outside, he called out "Come in" without turning his head.

Qi Yun pushed the door open and asked, "Busy?"

Upon realizing it wasn't Zhong Rui's voice, Yuan Hua quickly turned around. Seeing it was Qi Yun, he showed a hint of surprise, then hurriedly stood up and greeted, "Mr. Qi."

Since their last meeting, he hadn't seen his boss for a long time, but even though the person wasn't around, whatever support he needed was completely fulfilled.

Qi Yun stepped forward, patted his shoulder, signaling him to sit down. Then he glanced around the room, not finding a chair, so he simply sat on the bed beside him.

"I need to ask you about something."

Yuan Hua sat back on the chair, his gaze turning to Qi Yun, and replied, "Mr. Qi, go ahead."

Qi Yun quickly organized his thoughts and asked, "I have a USB drive but don't know the password. Can you help me crack it?"

"Sure, boss." Yuan Hua replied swiftly.

Qi Yun nodded, pulled the USB drive from the laptop, and handed it over.

Yuan Hua instinctively reached out to take it, pulled twice but found it wouldn't budge, and so looked at Qi Yun with puzzlement.

Qi Yun, with a serious expression, continued, "The content inside this USB drive is very important. I need you to crack it under the condition that nobody finds out."

"You cannot view the contents, nor leave any backups."

"Can you do that?"

Yuan Hua was taken aback initially, but his relaxed demeanor gradually became serious.

He glanced at the inconspicuous black USB drive, realizing the importance of this matter. After taking a deep breath, he nodded seriously.

"Mr. Qi, I understand. Rest assured, I will strictly adhere to your requirements, ensure not to view the contents inside, and will not leave any backups."

"During the cracking process, I will ensure the entire process is safe and no one will know."

Upon hearing this, Qi Yun nodded in satisfaction, finally releasing his grip and handing over the USB drive.

"About how long will it take?"

Yuan Hua didn't answer immediately. He first opened the command window on the computer, entered a series of commands, then inserted the USB drive into the host, checked it, and replied, "Ten minutes."

"Alright, do your thing. I'll wait here."

Yuan Hua nodded and began swiftly typing on the keyboard.

Time passed minute by minute, and Qi Yun kept his eyes fixed on the screen.

After a while, Yuan Hua unplugged the USB drive, handed it back to Qi Yun, and said, "Mr. Qi, it's done."

Qi Yun took the USB drive, and to be sure, asked again, "No risks left behind, right?"

It's not that he didn't trust Yuan Hua, but he worried that young people might be too curious and not understand the seriousness.

But for this sort of thing, he couldn't exactly ask someone else to do it; that would just make him even less at ease.

Yuan Hua shook his head solemnly, his gaze firm as he responded, "Mr. Qi, rest assured, there's absolutely no hidden risk."

"Alright, then carry on." With that, Qi Yun picked up the laptop and left the room.

He went to his office on the first floor, shut the door, sat at his desk, took a deep breath, then inserted the USB drive into the laptop and began browsing the contents.

...

Twenty minutes later, Qi Yun packed up his things, returned to his car, and dialed Chen Wei's number.

"Brother Wei, when are you coming back?"

Over the phone, Chen Wei sensed something odd in his voice, paused for a moment, then asked, "What's happened?"

"Not sure, just feeling a bit uneasy," Qi Yun replied.

Chen Wei thought for a moment and said, "I'll try to handle things by the afternoon and take the evening flight over."

"Alright." Qi Yun nodded and continued, "Do you know any female bodyguards? Help me find one."

Silence fell over the line again, with Chen Wei perceiving the underlying meaning in the request: "I'll reach out."

"Good."

After hanging up, Qi Yun lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and sighed deeply.

He had initially found the black USB drive under that second-hand washing machine, along with those two gold bars. If he could do it over again, he definitely wouldn't take such a big risk for just a couple of gold bars.

With his current strength, he was wholly incapable of contending with those people, and even if he handed over the USB drive to the proper authorities, it would likely just inexplicably "disappear" en route.

Qi Yun wasn't sure if the other side would one day become aware of his existence, so he could only prepare in advance.

Fortunately, he now had a heavyweight representative identity, so even if the other side found out, they wouldn't act recklessly out in the open to maintain face and influence. Plus, with Chen Wei protecting him in secret...

"Still not strong enough..."

After finishing the cigarette, Qi Yun let out a long sigh.

He stubbed out the cigarette butt, picked up his phone again, and dialed Director Yu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"Director Yu, how's your health been lately?" Qi Yun greeted with a chuckle.

On the other end, Director Yu snorted, "You brat, suddenly calling me must mean trouble."

Qi Yun wasn't offended, continuing to smile and say, "Director Yu, look at what you say. Can't I just have simple greetings for you?"

"You being this kind? Spill it, what favor do you need?" Director Yu urged.

"I really don't need any favors from you. Didn't you mention last time about setting up an exclusive interview with me? I am free these days and wanted to let you know," Qi Yun explained.

Director Yu paused upon hearing this: "Last time, Miss Dong contacted you, you weren't willing and refused her. Why the change of heart now?"

Qi Yun remembered that a few days ago, while he was at the Big Goose, a young woman named Dong contacted him, asking if he had time to visit the TV station the next day.

He was busy rescuing Private Mendeleyev in Nokovic's office at the time, so before she could finish, he replied, "No time," and hung up the call.

"Heh, misunderstanding, misunderstanding."

"I truly had no time while abroad, and now that I'm free, I'm reaching out to you. This kind of activity promoting patriotism and spreading positive energy, I'll definitely participate unconditionally," Qi Yun said, embarrassedly smiling.

Director Yu was silent for a moment before slowly speaking again: "You brat, acting so keen out of the blue must mean you have other intentions."

"But since you're willing to cooperate, it's naturally a good thing. I'll inform Miss Dong, you contact her directly."

Qi Yun thought, seems like nothing can be hidden from this old fellow.

But he quickly expressed his gratitude, "Thank you. By the way, where will this program be aired once recorded?"

"Can it be on CCTV1?"

A severe coughing sound came from the other end, seemingly Director Yu choked while drinking water.

After a while, his voice came through again: "Should I arrange for it to be on the news segment for you?"

Qi Yun laughed, unfazed, replying, "Not a bad idea."

The old man left with the remark "Don't call me again!" and then hung up the call.

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