Take My Breath Away

The IT director answered in a trembling voice, "Mr. Huo, we've never seen this sort of infection before. It changes every time it hops from one computer to the next. It moves code blocks out of the way, inserts itself, regenerates code and data references, including relocation information, and rebuilds the executable. It's different every time, so established pattern definitions don't defend against it. What's more, we just can't keep up with it, since it replicates at an alarming rate..."

"Oh, is that so? Then you're all fired. Start looking for other jobs. We'll contract out for IT!" Carlos hung up the phone furiously.

Star Anise's message popped up on Carlos' computer screen again. "Mr. Huo, what's your decision?"

"One billion!" Carlos replied decisively.

"Deal." Star Anise added, "It's what I'd expected you'd offer anyway. So I was prepared to accept it. Perfect!"

Carlos' face completely darkened. If he could find out who the hacker was, he would skin him alive to vent his anger!

Carlos had thought he could track down who Star Anise was by investigating the bank account, but Dixon told him it was a dummy account. It had been shut down as soon as the hacker received the money.

He did leave them a group of numbers, which also couldn't be traced. It was for tech support and service.

Carlos wondered if he'd been tricked, but all the computers returned to normal. There was no sign of the virus that had infected them. Not only that, cloud backups were operating normally.

Successfully going through the employee recognition system at the ZL Group's parking lot, Sheffield drove inside and parked his car at a particular spot. Then, he went straight to the floor where Evelyn's office was.

This time, besides Nadia, there were two more people working as secretaries. Nadia was the first one to spot Sheffield. She stood up and greeted him. "Good morning, Mr. Tang."

"Hello! Your boss in? I have something for her." Sheffield shook the paper bag in his hand. "I know I normally let you have first dibs, but this is Evelyn's favorite food."

Nadia smiled. "Thanks, Mr. Tang. But, our CEO is busy right now..." She forgot to explain the CEO inside the office wasn't the one he wanted to see.

"Don't worry. I won't disturb your boss. I just came here to give her something and I'll leave. Don't

been around, Sheffield wouldn't mind being punched by Carlos to get her sympathy. Now that his woman wasn't there, no one would feel sorry for him. And Carlos wouldn't agree to let him be with Evelyn just because he had beaten the guy. Sheffield didn't want to be pounded on for nothing. So, he ran even faster to put more distance between them.

When Evelyn came back, she bumped into Sheffield who had just jumped into the elevator. Before she could speak, she saw Carlos chasing after him.

In shock, she called out, "Dad! What are you doing?"

His daughter's shouts pulled Carlos back to his senses. He rested his hands on his knees, panting as he watched the elevator doors slowly close.

From inside the elevator, Sheffield cocked an eyebrow at Carlos and said in a loud voice, "Bye, Evelyn!"

Carlos straightened his clothes and snorted at his daughter. Pointing at the closed elevator, he asked angrily, "How did he get in here?"

"Well, I... I gave him a pass." Actually, Evelyn didn't know how Sheffield managed to get through security and come up here.

Carlos took out his phone and dialed Dixon's number. "Print out a photo of Sheffield Tang and send it to the security department. If he gets in the building, rough him up and throw him out!"

"Yes, Mr. Huo," replied Dixon.

Evelyn didn't know what to say.

In Evelyn's office, Carlos checked the smart lock. It didn't work anymore.

When she saw a paper bag on her desk, Evelyn didn't dare open it around Carlos. "Dad, what happened?" she asked. "Why were you chasing him?"