Chapter 248 - 229: There’s Only 1 Way Now

Chapter 248: Chapter 229: There’s Only 1 Way Now

Thomas was utterly baffled when he found several weapons pointed at his head.

He thought he was going to make a cool 10 billion USD, but who knew it would end like this?

’Just who could have created a system like that?’

’Who is the real God of Hackers?’

"Bobby!" Thomas’s expression turned grim as he saw a burly man walk up to him.

"Black Thorn, didn’t see this coming, did you?" Bobby snarled, punching Thomas and knocking him to the ground.

Bobby’s face was full of satisfaction. His department’s entire purpose was to hunt down this God of Hackers, but his target had toyed with him too many times, leaving him infuriated on countless occasions.

Now, he could finally let it all out.

He had suspected that Black Thorn would definitely get involved in the Xuanfeng Bank affair, so he had hoped to at least catch a trace of him. Who would have thought he’d get such a pleasant surprise and capture Black Thorn himself?

’That Xuanfeng Bank is really something else.’

"Take him away!" Bobby shouted with glee.

After his men led the captive away, he stepped into a corner and quietly made a call. "Honey, move our money to Xuanfeng Bank. I have a feeling it’s safer than Rui Shi Bank."

In his line of work, he naturally had to think about retirement. He’d skimmed off a fair bit of money, which he had previously kept in Rui Shi Bank. Now, he felt Xuanfeng Bank was safer.

「Back in the country.」

「Qingfeng Network Company.」

Wang Kai watched his older brother, Wang Xin, whose hands were flying across the keyboard, and said with a grin, "Bro, just give up. Even the God of Hackers got caught. It’s no disgrace!"

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Wang Xin’s computer screen went completely blue, displaying the words: "You have been captured."

It wasn’t that he was stronger than Thomas, a.k.a. Black Thorn, or had lasted longer.

Rather, Xiaozhi had been selective, prioritizing major targets like Thomas first.

"Sigh. Xuanfeng Bank is definitely connected to President Lu," Wang Xin said with absolute certainty. "I can’t think of anyone else who could create such an amazing system. Besides Xuanfeng Bank, only our Qingfeng Network Company has one. It has to be President Lu. I suspect our Qingfeng Intelligent Assistant System and Xuanfeng Bank’s network system were created by the same person or team."

Then, Wang Xin looked at a group chat.

This was a group for the country’s top computer experts. Publicly, they were all legitimate, but who knew if any of them secretly had hacker identities.

Right now, the group chat was buzzing with activity.

One by one, the nation’s computer masters were expressing their amazement:

"Damn, this Xuanfeng Bank is too incredible. I got wiped out."

"They got all my info, not a single detail wrong. Amazing!"

"That’s nothing! I wasn’t even at home; I was in a hotel, and they even exposed my damn room number. How are they that good?"

"Who would dare to go after Xuanfeng Bank online now? Trying to hack them is just asking for death."

"Two of my friends pulled out the moment they saw what was happening. They were sure they’d gotten out clean and had checked to make sure they were safe, but they still got tracked down and had their info exposed."

Across the international web, countless hackers were going through the same thing. After the God of Hackers was captured, they sensed trouble and tried to retreat. But just as they thought they had safely disconnected and were about to breathe a sigh of relief, their screens went black.

’So you can’t retreat, and you can’t escape?’

Incidents like this were happening all over the world, and naturally, more and more hackers were being exposed and their identities revealed.

For a long time afterward, this event was referred to as the "Hacker Apocalypse."

At the same time, it made everyone realize that the God of Hackers resided with the Xuanfeng Alliance—and it wasn’t Black Thorn. It was a *true* God of Hackers. Even with so many top-tier hackers, plus Black Thorn, the number one hacker, all attacking together, they were no match for that single individual.

This God of Hackers was terrifying to the extreme.

The international community was in a complete uproar.

Especially after the news broke about the arrest of the number one hacker, Black Thorn, the onlookers realized that the news released by Xuanfeng Bank was all true, not just baseless claims.

The captured hackers were all well-known figures, every one of them matching their infamous reputations.

Now, perhaps everyone understood why Xuanfeng Bank was so confident that it dared to offer a 10 billion USD reward.

When you’re this badass, how could you not be confident?

There was simply no one who could claim that reward.

This also proved one thing: Xuanfeng Bank’s network system was incredibly secure.

Moreover, the Xuanfeng Alliance had not only withstood the economic crisis orchestrated by a magnate like Osborne but had even managed to boost its economy in the process.

This met the basic requirement of economic stability.

And now, with Xuanfeng Bank’s network system being so powerful, its cybersecurity was clearly not an issue. It seemed Xuanfeng Bank could actually be trusted.

This thought began to surface in many people’s minds.

Especially for those with... special banking needs.

「Mou Dong Region.」

Within a local gang’s territory, several men were in discussion:

"Alright everyone, let’s talk. Where should we put our money? Rui Shi’s recent actions show they’re no longer completely neutral."

"Yeah, I’m not comfortable keeping our money in Rui Shi anymore. Xuanfeng Bank might be worth a try."

"Let’s move half of it over first and see how things go. We can’t keep all our eggs in one basket!"

"..."

As they discussed, a large sum of money exceeding 5 billion USD was soon transferred to Xuanfeng Bank.

This wasn’t an isolated case; similar events were occurring all over the world.

In no time, Xuanfeng Bank became incredibly sought-after.

「Xuanfeng Alliance.」

Baguda immediately went to Lu Feng’s manor to report. "His Excellency the Governor, the system you gave us is incredible! After we staged this whole affair, in just two days, international deposits into our Xuanfeng Bank have reached 46 billion USD."

billion USD was an absolutely terrifying amount of capital for Xuanfeng Bank. And this was only the beginning; as time went on, this number would only grow larger.

Especially once everyone believed Xuanfeng Bank was truly stable and secure, the deposited funds would likely increase exponentially.

This was beneficial for the Xuanfeng Alliance.

As everyone knows, banks can use their depositors’ money. There was nothing wrong with using these funds to develop the Xuanfeng Alliance.

As long as this development was benign and profitable, the bank’s capital wouldn’t collapse.

This was the art of using other people’s money to do your own business.

After Baguda left, Lu Feng also departed from the manor and went to a special training base.

When he arrived, Red Lizard was already waiting and welcomed him inside.

Upon entering, he saw rows of figures doing handstands. The crucial part was that each of them was balancing on just three fingers, and they were perfectly steady.

Nearby, another group was running with heavy iron plates strapped to their bodies.

The scene would absolutely shock any ordinary person. A special forces soldier’s weighted run is at most 40 kilograms.

But the iron plates on these men were likely several times that 40-kilogram weight.

The key was that despite carrying such immense weight, these people were still moving freely, completely unhindered.

On another side, several others were holding weapons and firing continuously at targets, with every bullet hitting its mark.

These were all selected from the special soldiers and had undergone further training using the bones of the Mutated Leopard King. Their strength surpassed even that of the other special soldiers.

It could be said that their strength, stamina, and agility were completely beyond human limits.

Once one’s physique becomes superhumanly strong, mastering the use of weapons with professional training also becomes much easier.

Red Lizard reported with an excited expression, "His Excellency the Governor, after taking the new bones you provided, their physiques have become even stronger. Now, even special forces soldiers are no different from ordinary people in their eyes."

"Mm," Lu Feng nodded. He personally tested some of them and confirmed that, for the real world, they were indeed exceptionally strong.

’Honestly, having people this powerful guard a bank seems like using a cannon to shoot a mosquito.’

’However, for now, guarding the bank is the only use I have for them. After all, it’s not like I’m planning to take anyone out at the moment.’

Just as Lu Feng was inspecting the soldiers, Xiaozhi’s voice suddenly sounded in his earpiece: "Master, I’ve found some information on the international web. It seems someone is contacting notorious bandits and master thieves. In their brief messages, Xuanfeng Bank was mentioned!"

"????" Lu Feng frowned slightly. "Investigate this thoroughly for me."

’Notorious bandits and master thieves?’

’Well, this is interesting.’

...

Internationally, news of Xuanfeng Bank’s formidable network system had completely spread, fanning the flames of the deposit frenzy even higher.

After all, this bank had withstood the assault of a magnate like Osborne and even had him arrested. Its network system had repelled invasions from numerous top-tier hackers, and even the God of Hackers, Black Thorn, had fallen to it. The system’s security was absolutely unquestionable.

Therefore, the only remaining issue was physical security. But surely the Xuanfeng Alliance wouldn’t just let someone successfully rob their bank, right?

But this was also the only vulnerability that certain people could exploit.

At the Rui Shi Bank headquarters, Richards received a phone call. He immediately left the bank and went to a hidden warehouse.

Inside, a large number of people had already gathered.

These were people with considerable reputations in the international underworld.

For example, the internationally renowned thieves, the Dast Brothers.

For example, the infamous international bandit Dominic, who had a team of expert getaway drivers.

For example, Sean, a man with thinning hair, who was also a top-tier mercenary.

Now, all these people had gathered for a simple purpose: Richards wanted them to target Xuanfeng Bank.

Xuanfeng Bank had become a threat to Rui Shi Bank. The data from his reports alone showed that a significant amount of capital had been transferred from their bank to Xuanfeng Bank.

Richards knew this was not a good sign, so he had to do something to make Xuanfeng Bank’s credibility collapse.

He had no way to attack its economic stability and no way to breach its network security. The few top-tier hackers he could call upon were all finished, and he still had to figure out how to get them out.

That only left the problem of physical security.

If someone could successfully rob Xuanfeng Bank and escape, it would be a huge blow to the bank’s reputation. At that point, all he would need to do is add fuel to the fire.

So, he had used his connections, built over many years, to find these formidable characters.

Richards said, "I’ll be counting on all of you for this. Remember, the goal is just to pull off a successful robbery, then retreat immediately. Even if you have to destroy what you steal, I will pay all of you your reward."

Just as Richards was speaking, he was shocked to find that his own cell phone was ringing—and so were the phones of all the bandits and thieves around him, all at the same time.

This scene stunned every single one of them.