Chapter 48: All Fools

Little Ma returned to Yu Chengmin’s office to continue gathering his belongings, ignoring the others. It was lunchtime now, which made Yu Chengmin pause, but since he was working overtime, she didn’t interfere.

She hovered anxiously beside Sinan, waiting for him to resolve the troublesome computer issue. This was truly Sinan’s domain; he carried himself with confidence as his fingers danced across the laptop, tapping out lines of code with dazzling speed. The technique was so impressive it left Yu Chengmin stunned—was there really someone capable of such phantasmagoric skill?

Even Little Ma, busy with his own “brick-moving,” couldn’t help but pause at the sound of the keyboard, his expression subtly shifting. It was strange; just listening to that rhythmic typing brought a sense of resonance, plunging him into a mild search through memories, though nothing concrete surfaced.

The odd sensation passed quickly. Before Yu Chengmin could reproach him, Little Ma resumed packing. Sinan’s methods certainly sounded flashy—he did have some real ability—but they weren’t truly invisible hands. At least, in Little Ma’s recollection, he could operate a keyboard faster and more accurately with one hand while scrolling news on his phone with the other.

Oddly, without even turning around, Little Ma instinctively knew from the sound alone that Sinan’s error rate was not low. After mistyping a line of code, Sinan would backspace and re-enter the correct one. Clearly, he was putting on a show; his efficiency was not as high as it seemed.

Little Ma found it absurd—just by listening to the frequency and variation of keystrokes, he could nearly discern which keys and code Sinan was typing. He had to admit, Sinan did have skill and was quite knowledgeable about the macOS system.

“Why did you stop? If you’re not going to eat, at least don’t just stand there getting in the way. Packing is your job,” Yu Chengmin said to the distracted Little Ma.

So Little Ma resumed collecting his things.

Yu Chengmin turned to Sinan. “This data is important. I don’t have extra time. Please, make sure you resolve it.”

“Don’t worry, Ms. Yu. I’ll do my best,” Sinan replied, frowning as he tinkered.

Yu Chengmin frowned as well. “Wasn’t macOS supposed to be more secure than Windows? Yet here I am, faced with this ransom.”

Sinan continued working as he answered, “Not necessarily. Both systems have their flaws and quirks. Modern macOS isn’t much better—it’s devolved into Windows. If it follows the logic of those Indian programmers, how good could it possibly be?”

Pfft—

Little Ma couldn’t help but laugh. Sinan shot him a contemptuous glance. “What are you laughing at? Don’t make noise and disrupt me. As if you even understand what I’m talking about.”

Little Ma rolled his eyes and went back to his task.

Yet, as if a specific event had triggered the unlocking of sealed memories, fragments about his family started to surface in his mind:

One of the founders of Apple, Old Joe, had left the company for a long time because Little Ma’s body’s old drunkard father had kicked him out. Old Joe had his faults, but also his obsessions. After the “Gate of Xuanwu” incident ended the drunkard’s era, the Great Demon King brought Old Joe back to Apple as its head, marking Apple’s golden age—the best it ever had.

Of course, even then, the macOS was mediocre, since it wasn’t designed by the Great Demon King.

The Great Demon King was a prodigy in his youth, achieving remarkable feats. Intel’s Core architecture, which amazed a generation of tech enthusiasts, was designed by Ma Shihong as a teenager.

But in later years, nobody knew what the Great Demon King was up to; he rarely concerned himself with such things. As a result, these companies gradually became “Indianized,” much like Intel, focusing only on making toothpaste rather than innovation.

Hmm?

Recalling this, Little Ma felt pleased. Encountering more such triggers seemed to promise that eventually all the Great Demon King’s fragments would resurface in his mind. Even if it wouldn’t be a “king’s return,” he’d at least be able to solve many problems. He looked forward to it.

Yu Chengmin checked her watch anxiously. “Sinan, any progress? Can you recover the files? I need the halfway-done proposal for a presentation. Time is running out.”

Sinan, sweating and a bit embarrassed, stopped and shook his head. “It’s strange. This isn’t the ransomware virus that was trending recently. Someone specifically targeted your computer, as if they came prepared. The algorithm is bizarre. I’ve tried several methods, but I can’t find an entry point—it’s nearly unbreakable. I could brute-force it, but I’d need enough computing power, and even then, it’s almost impossible.”

Yu Chengmin thought computing power was no big deal. “How much do you need?”

“Uh…” Sinan looked mortified. “Probably a hundred times the computing power of Taihu Light for about twenty-four hours to brute-force the algorithm.”

Yu Chengmin was so angry her face almost turned green.

Sinan thought for a moment. “Maybe I could ask my mentor. She happens to be in Haizhou today. She’s a top expert in China and even the world—a legendary figure who, as a child, commanded a forty-thousand-strong Red Hacker counterattack. She’s a national computing center security advisor and Academy of Engineering academician, Zhou Dongyun.”

Yu Chengmin frowned deeply. She knew exactly who he referred to. Such a dazzling figure, surrounded by countless honors—she was uncontrollable and impossible to threaten. Yu Chengmin absolutely did not want her data to end up in Zhou Dongyun’s hands.

Sinan smiled with pride. “Don’t worry, Ms. Yu. She’s not much older than me—I’ve known her since childhood. We have a good relationship. Next, I plan to apply as her doctoral student. If I approach her, she’ll likely help. She’s a great person, only interested in challenges, not in snooping on your data.”

Yu Chengmin frowned slightly. “Are you sure?”

Sinan, retreating to advance, replied, “It’s highly probable, but not certain. Alternatively, you could pay the ransom. They’re only asking for a hundred thousand dollars.”

Yu Chengmin shook her head. “Money isn’t the issue. I don’t trust them and don’t want to make that transaction. There are plenty of cases where people lose everything. Forget it. See if you can reach Zhou Dongyun. I’m entrusting this to you—help me resolve it and I’ll reward you handsomely; anything can be discussed afterward.”

“Alright, I’ll do my best.” Sinan took out his phone to make a call.

Little Ma happened to drift nearby, glanced at the chaotic code on the screen, his expression odd. As he walked away carrying his things, he muttered under his breath, “Idiot!”

Sinan’s sharp ears caught it. He put down the phone, furious. “You wretch, starting again! What did you say?”

Yu Chengmin stopped Sinan, telling him to make the call without any further fuss. She also said to Ma Weimin, “If you don’t hurry up and finish packing, what are you up to? I don’t want to scold you, but don’t cause trouble at a time like this.”