Lin Qi’s cousin made a call, and it connected. He explained the situation and listened for a moment before covering the mouthpiece. "They’re asking for a high price," he told the Qin family. "Ten million."
Before Qin Han could speak, Old Master Qin exploded, "She’s so young! Why doesn’t she just rob a bank instead?!" He was so loud the person on the other end definitely heard him.
Lin Qi’s cousin looked quite helpless and rather awkward.
Qin Han decisively agreed, "If ten million solves it, then ten million it is."
Lin Qi’s cousin relayed this, then his expression soured. He cleared his throat softly. "The price has gone up to twenty million. Non-negotiable."
Old Master Qin, who hadn’t believed such a young kid was capable in the first place, now found the situation utterly farcical. He snorted. "Just tell them we can’t afford it." He then said to Lin Qi’s cousin, "Isn’t there KING? We’d rather spend big money on a true master."
Lin Qi’s cousin hung up, looking somewhat defeated. "I can only post on the forum and ask for help. Whether KING shows up, or is willing to show up, is another matter entirely." With that, he posted on the forum.
For the Qin family, the minutes dragged on like years. An hour passed, then two, but their plea met with dead silence... KING hadn’t appeared.
Then, a comment from hacker W popped up: "Do you want the whole world to know the Qin Corporation has been hacked and is now completely exposed? HMMMMM?"
"Delete it! Delete it now!" Old Master Qin was so agitated he nearly fainted.
Lin Qi’s cousin quickly deleted the post. He then looked at Qin Han. "Chairman Qin, I’ve done all I can."
Qin Han let out a long breath and looked at his son.
Qin Siyuan said coolly, "Contact that person from before. As long as they can fix it, twenty million is fine."
Before making the call, Lin Qi’s cousin gave them a heads-up: "It might go up to thirty million."
The old master couldn’t stay still, pacing back and forth. "Arrogant! Utterly arrogant!"
Qin Han gave Lin Qi’s cousin a steady, reassuring glance.
Buoyed by this, Lin Qi’s cousin redialed... A few seconds later, his face turned deathly pale. He mumbled, drained of energy, "Fifty million..." Just as Old Master Qin started to speak, Lin Qi’s cousin added, "The next offer will be one hundred million."
Qin Han, truly a man who had seen the world, nodded gravely.
The office fell into a profound silence. No one dared to provoke the big boss; he had just been bled dry... This was blatant robbery, daylight robbery even.
Old Master Qin’s voice was icy. "I’d like to see who in Qingcheng dares to challenge the powers that be and try to extort the Qin family!"
Qin Han and Qin Siyuan’s faces were grim; neither uttered a sound.
Just then, Wanqing spoke softly, "If that person can’t solve it, that’s one thing. But if they can, I believe we should pay a fair market price. We must resist unreasonable demands."
Her words struck a chord with Old Master Qin. "Exactly! Wanqing is absolutely right." As he spoke, his shrewd, worldly eyes fixed on his son and grandson. "Our family has deep foundations; this amount of money won’t cripple us. But we cannot tolerate such arrogant individuals."
Lin Qi’s cousin interjected timidly from the side, "They only asked for ten million at first, and now..." His voice trailed off. "You’re the ones begging them!"
Hackers, by nature, engage in shady dealings; there’s no standard pricing. If you can’t afford it, you don’t have to pay.
Old Master Qin was clearly displeased with his attitude. If he weren’t the intermediary, the old master would have had him thrown out long ago.
Wanqing, ever perceptive and considerate, brewed a cup of tea for the old master to help him compose himself, thereby earning another measure of his approval.
「An hour later, a commotion erupted outside the server room on the 18th floor of the Qin Corporation.」