Quan Shaoqing smiled, knowing she would respond this way, "Certainly! As long as the seminar goes successfully, I’ll promote you one rank."
"Pfft!" Gu Xiaoxi rolled her eyes. Such a paltry reward. She had to endure the pressure of facing two hundred elites and share all the knowledge she had gained. It was not worth it.
"Not interested?" Quan Shaoqing raised an eyebrow.
Gu Xiaoxi lifted her chin and snorted, "Right, I’m not doing it! Why should I teach them what I’ve learned? Hacking skills depend on how sensitive a person is to network data. If I teach them all, what use would I be?"
Quan Shaoqing furrowed his brow, pondered for a moment, and said, "How about I promote you another level? You should know that under the lure of money, various criminal organizations are recruiting talent at a steep price. Those high-tech individuals they buy with money, skirting the edges of the law, are therefore more cautious and meticulous. Their potential and skills have been effectively explored and enhanced."
Quan Shaoqing paused for a moment and continued, "The overseas returnees in the military, drawing high salaries and reaping the benefits without contribution, they just spout theories on paper. When it comes to real combat, they’re caught off guard. And when it matters most, even the defense systems they set up are ineffective. So, this is also why we want you for the seminar. You’re Gu Lirou’s daughter, who was once a world-class hacker and definitely did quite a few illegal things. Your experience must surely surpass that of those guys in the Information Department."
Gu Xiaoxi clearly understood Quan Shaoqing’s concerns and agreed with his approach. It’s never too late to mend. It’s bold to admit one’s flaws and then rectify them.
So, without being modest at first, when she received the orders from above, she came straight away. "After the seminar, I also want to take three days off. You can’t interfere with where I go, can you?"
Quan Shaoqing looked up, his gaze coolly sweeping over Gu Xiaoxi, "Where are you planning to go on your leave?"
"You want to interfere with that too? In that case, I might as well continue my training." Gu Xiaoxi sipped her soy milk and bit into her bun, no longer looking at Quan Shaoqing.
Quan Shaoqing’s gaze, fraught with suspicion, relaxed, and he nodded, "Alright, whatever you need to do, I’ll accompany you, but you can’t go out alone."
Gu Xiaoxi’s face darkened and she quickly rejected, "With you? Being chased by a horde of people, it’s like carrying a ticking time bomb. I absolutely won’t allow you to follow. If you don’t agree, I will return to the military right now."
This was a blatant threat from Gu Xiaoxi.
Quan Shaoqing stared at her for a while before finally relenting, "Then you need to tell me where you’re going."
"To sort through my mother’s belongings," Gu Xiaoxi said.
Quan Shaoqing lowered his head, his gaze intensifying, hoping her purpose wasn’t what he suspected.
He had looked into Gu Lirou’s background. The Gu Family’s eldest daughter, yet despised by her family because of her sister. Eventually, after pushing her sister down the stairs, causing her sister’s legs to be paralyzed, she was driven out of the house.
"Your mother’s death was indeed not an accident, and the entanglements of the Gu Family are the reason for her demise. As for what exactly, it’s difficult to investigate after over a decade. But personally, I suspect this incident is closely related to her stepsister," Quan Shaoqing said.
Gu Xiaoxi looked up at him, her gaze deep, inadvertently clenching her fists, "What else do you know about the Gu Family’s affairs?"
Quan Shaoqing put down his eating utensils, and with a grave look, said, "The Gu Family has laundered their gangster image but still engages in criminal activities. Over the years, under Gu Ruicheng’s control, it has gradually expanded into drug trafficking. However, he is a meticulous and thoughtful person, almost impossible to find any incriminating evidence on."