Zhuang Li was almost amused by the shameless mother and son.
He had just checked the original owner's life and naturally knew how hard the other person's life was.
In her youth, Zhu Miaomiao was treated like a canary by Gong Xuanlin, accustomed to a life of extravagance. Even after marrying the original owner, some of her bad habits were hard to break, and she would spend a fortune every month on designer clothes and jewelry. When the original owner's salary wasn't enough for her, she would apply for a credit card and go on a shopping spree. When the credit card debt came due, she would simply throw the bill on the original owner and be done with it.
In order to help her pay off the debt, the original owner had to take on private work outside. In addition to working normally every day, he had to work overtime until late at night after returning home, and only then could he barely make ends meet.
He died suddenly in the middle of the night because of this mother and son.
Now that this body belonged to him, Zhuang Li certainly wouldn't indulge the mother and son as much as the original owner had. He tilted his head to look at his pale, frail self in the mirror. Then, looking back at the well-maintained Zhu Miaomiao and the sturdy Zhu Jianrui, a sinister smile slowly curled up at the corner of his mouth.
He stretched out his hand and dug out the bottle of lotion, which was said to be very expensive, without hesitation, and then smeared a lump of sticky white paste on the palm of his cheap son's hand.
"Here, take it. Your mother said it's worth twenty thousand dollars."
Under the incredulous gazes of Zhu Miaomiao and Zhu Jianrui, he threw the half-empty can into the toilet and flushed it. After that, he walked to the sink and washed his hands slowly. His lips were red as if dripping with blood, and his cheeks were white as if almost transparent. He looked particularly evil.
It took a full ten seconds for Zhu Miaomiao and her son to recover from their surprise.
"Zhuang Li, are you crazy? When we got married, you said you would take good care of me and never let me suffer any grievances in my life. But this is how you treat me? You bastard!" Zhu Miaomiao punched Zhuang Li on the back, crying bitterly.
Although Zhu Jianrui was also angry, he was even more disgusted by the white stuff, so he hurried to the kitchen to wash his hands. He felt that there was no need to argue with a small-time figure like Zhuang Li. It would be too cheap. Anyway, as long as his mother cried, he would kneel down and apologize to them in no time.
The faucet was gurgling, and the intermittent crying behind him was irritating Zhuang Li. Even when 7480 was playing noise in his head, it hadn't been this disturbing.
"Alright, stop arguing." Zhuang Li picked up a towel and wiped his hands carefully. His tone was unusually cold. "I raised someone else's son for more than ten years in vain. Did I say anything?"
Zhu Miaomiao seemed to have grasped a huge handle, and her voice suddenly rose: "You are starting to blame me now, right? You are not willing to accept it? Then why didn't you tell me earlier when you got married? If you had told me that you didn't want to help me raise a child, I wouldn't have married you!"
Her anger was genuine, not just a pretext. She felt that if she hadn't married the original owner, she could now marry Gong Xuanlin openly, instead of having to be so secretive and ambiguous. It was the original owner who had wasted her youth.
If she were attentive enough, she would notice that Zhuang Li looked different today than he had ever before, like a dusty pearl washed in dew, now exceptionally dazzling. His face was still as pale as ever, but his blood-red lips and dark eyes gave him a unique charm.
At this moment, Zhuang Lizheng looked at Zhu Miaomiao with a cold gaze, as if he was getting to know her all over again. Finally, he pushed her away without mercy and went to work.
He looked very calm on the surface, but his heart was in turmoil: "I have never seen such an idiot as the original owner!" He pressed the down button of the elevator hard, and all the blood on his fingertips was forced back.
7480 felt his drastically changing brain waves and finally smiled with relief: "Master, I don't understand what you are talking about." Hahahaha, you green-headed turtle, are you feeling good now?
"He actually knew a long time ago that Zhu Jianrui was not his biological child, but he willingly raised the mother and son for fourteen years. I don't understand what he was thinking!" Zhuang Li walked into the elevator and kept rubbing his eyebrows.
He had always known that some people had a spirit of self-sacrifice, such as his former compatriots and Xuan Ming. However, the sacrifices of those people were worthwhile and of great significance, as they exchanged their deaths for a better tomorrow.
But what did the original owner gain in return for his sacrifice? Did the two people he protected with all his might even for a second thank him? Did they even for a second feel sorry for him suffering so much? Did they even for a second sincerely think, "I have to repay him"?
No, they took the original owner's sacrifice and dedication for granted, and once the original owner showed even the slightest dissatisfaction, they would think he was hypocritical, selfish, heartless and ungrateful.
They sucked blood from the original owner for so long that they even developed a sense of superiority!
Zhuang Li raised his head and gave the thin man, whose reflection was reflected in the elevator door, a pitiful yet sinister smile. He had to clean up these two pieces of junk for their original owners, or else life would be ruined.
While thinking, Zhuang Li took the subway to the company and started his day's work.
He wasn't in it for the meager salary, but rather to use the original owner's identity to understand the fundamental rules of this world. Later, he would consider what he could do. Continuing scientific research was a given, but first he had to find a sponsor as generous as Xuan Ming.
Zhuang Li lost himself in memories, his mind completely occupied by Xuan Ming's deep-set face. When he regained consciousness, it was already lunchtime, and the delivery guy was distributing the company's lunch boxes to everyone's seats.
This is an entertainment company called MIK. Thanks to its visionary boss, several films and TV series have been huge hits, and its revenue is growing rapidly. It's believed that MIK may become a leader in the industry in the near future.
The original owner was a veteran of the company, having worked there since its inception, a period that had lasted eight years. While most veterans like him had risen to senior management positions, he was the only one who remained honest and dedicated, not fawning or competing for credit, and was still a minor administrator in the network operations department.
He was called an administrator, but in reality, he was just a repairman. Whenever other departments had broken computers, network outages, or equipment problems, they would turn to him. Employees in the same department would push the heaviest workload onto the original owner. Over time, everyone in the company started calling him "computer fixer" and had forgotten his real name.
The original owner had no ambition and just wanted to support his wife and children. He was very satisfied with the current situation.
But Zhuang Li is different. He was born with a rebellious nature and was unwilling to be constrained by anyone. His extremely high IQ cultivated his extraordinary arrogance, so he demanded perfection in everything he did.
Now that he had taken over the original owner's job, he spent most of the day checking MIK's network, writing down the vulnerabilities he found in a report, and handed it to the department head during work in the afternoon.
But his conscientiousness turned out to be a joke to his supervisor, who, holding up the thick report, mocked him, "Zhuang Li, just focus on fixing the computer. Why are you meddling in so much?"
"If these loopholes are not patched quickly, the company will be attacked by hackers." Zhuang Li sat opposite the supervisor, his long legs crossed leisurely, and his attitude was very relaxed and casual.
"Our company has been established for fourteen years and has never been hacked. Aren't you being overly concerned? Besides, your skills are only average. We'll naturally hire a professional technical team to find and fix network vulnerabilities, and it won't be your turn. Just focus on fixing your computer."
The supervisor casually tossed the report into the wastebasket and waved his hand, saying, "Get out! I need to make a phone call."
Zhuang Li glanced at the wastebasket and patiently reiterated, "MIK's network is completely open. Just now, I easily hacked into the intranet through a PDF and cracked the backend management password. I can install a Dropbox in the backend, connect any computer in the company to my personal computer, and copy all local files. I also found a complete location map on Pastebin. Do you know what this means?"
"This means that any hacker in the world can launch any form of attack on the company's internal computers based on this location map."
"The company's operating procedures haven't been updated for seven consecutive years. Seven of its 37 firewalls have been lost, and 119 monitoring components have mysteriously disappeared. The security center, which was supposed to be online 24 hours a day, has been shut down since the last power outage and has not been restarted yet."
Zhuang Li tapped the armrest of his chair lightly and declared, "MIK's network is like a zombie in the eyes of the rest of us. If the company doesn't make improvements in this area, hackers will find you soon."
The supervisor tilted his head to look at him, seemingly listening intently, but the sneer on his face grew more and more pronounced. He simply didn't take Zhuang Li's warning seriously.
But 7480 knew that the host's premonition was accurate. The conclusion he had drawn based on the current situation and logical connections would soon become a reality. And this hacker was none other than Zhu Jianrui, the son whom the original owner had painstakingly raised.
"Okay, I'll submit your report to the higher authorities." The supervisor spread his hands and said, "As you know, our department can't just use five million yuan. It must be approved by President Fang."
Zhuang Li could sense his perfunctory response and knew that his opinions would not be taken seriously by these people, but he didn't say anything more.
This company wasn't his, so what if it lost a few hundred million? What was it to him? He had done his job very well, and that was all that mattered.
After returning to the office, he closed his eyes and rested for a while before starting his afternoon work.
Not long after, several colleagues walked in, pointed at his back, whispered something, and then let out a mocking chuckle. Other colleagues, curious, approached to ask a few questions, but returned to their seats with subtle expressions. Not long after, a document quietly circulated within the department before being tossed into a corner.
Zhuang Li never cared about other people's opinions. Even though he noticed something was wrong, he didn't take it seriously.
One intern couldn't stand it anymore, so he chased him out while he was in the restroom and whispered, "Brother Zhuang, they're all laughing at you."
"What are you making fun of me for?" Zhuang Li lowered his head and sucked his hands.
"Didn't you submit a proposal for improving network security? The supervisor just threw it to Team Leader Ye and told him to shred it. Team Leader Ye then passed it to Deputy Team Leader Wang—"
"Anyway, the whole department has read what you wrote. They think you're incompetent and a jerk. Asking the Finance Department for five million dollars to upgrade the company network is pure madness."
The intern showed an admiring expression. "But I can understand your submission. My major is computer science, and I know you, Brother Zhuang, are a very capable person. Those who say you're joking are the real idiots. They don't understand shit! Brother Zhuang, I'm quitting after this month. This company has lax management and doesn't value talent. The entire network operations department is filled with amateurs. There's no future in working with them, and it's just a waste of time. Brother Zhuang, I advise you to quit as soon as possible and stop putting yourself through this. If my advisor gets his hands on your submission, it could even be published as a textbook."
Zhuang Li nodded and was about to speak when he heard an exaggerated laugh from behind him. "Oh my god, what the hell did I hear? Zhuang Li is a capable man. This joke will keep me laughing for a year!"
Zhuang Li glanced at the mirror and saw a man with a mean expression reflected in it.
The man was laughing while pulling up his trousers, as if he had taken some wrong medicine.
The intern turned around and angrily retorted, "Brother Zhuang's proposal would have attracted the attention of the higher-ups if it had been handed to any professional network company. Even the most skilled hackers couldn't penetrate the secure network that Brother Zhuang constructed in his proposal. Only a small, shabby company like yours doesn't understand his value!"
"Hahaha, according to you, Zhuang Li's IT skills are very good? How come I can't see it? He is still the same loser as before, he hasn't changed at all?" The man looked Zhuang Li up and down, and then rummaged through his crotch with his hand, with an obvious insulting intention.
"Are you looking for a beating?" The intern raised his fist angrily.
Zhuang Li pressed his shoulder and said calmly, "Don't bother with this kind of thing. Let's go back and write your resignation."
The intern looked at him in surprise, "Brother Zhuang, what do you mean?"
"I'll go with you." Zhuang Li took out a tissue and wiped the water droplets on his hands.
The intern immediately turned from anger to joy and followed him quickly towards the office, chattering a lot of professional questions along the way.
The mean man walked into the office and dug out Zhuang Li's opinion letter from some corner. He tore it up page by page and threw it into the shredder right in front of Zhuang Li, snorting mockingly. For some reason, he seemed to have a deep prejudice against the original owner.
The intern was furious, his head practically smoking, but Zhuang Li didn't even spare him a glance. He simply wrote a letter of resignation and handed it to his department head. It was ridiculous: eight years of hard work didn't earn him a raise of a few hundred yuan, but instead earned him a bright red stamp without hesitation.
The moment he received the letter of dismissal, Zhuang Li sighed at the reflection of the original owner in the glass cabinet.
The intern quickly packed up his belongings and invited him to take a ride home with him.
As the two men walked through the office, carrying the storage boxes, no one looked up to say goodbye, nor did anyone smile or say, "Take care." The air conditioner whirred, blasting a cool breeze, and the coldness of human nature was vividly reflected in this moment.
However, an accident happened at this moment.
The computers in front of everyone went black at the same time. No matter which key you pressed, it was useless, and you couldn't force a shutdown.
The office, which had originally been filled with an atmosphere of gloating, suddenly became noisy, with people shouting, "Oh no! The computer is infected!"
The intern quickly put down his box and went to check everyone's computers.
Zhuang Li, however, walked on without any intention of helping. He continued, "This company isn't his. What's it to him if it loses a few hundred million?"
But a few seconds later, the situation changed again. On the black computer screen, lines of blood-red characters appeared, scrolling repeatedly: Zhuang Li, you must be held responsible for this hacker attack! Zhuang Li, you must be held responsible for this hacker attack...
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