Chapter 683: Scary Net Controller
Ye Mo couldn’t help but doubt An Zhiqi’s words. They weren’t close, and Dongfang Wang was her classmate; why would she tell him his secrets?
Seeing Ye Mo’s expression, An Zhiqi bit her lip and said, “I’m sure you’re no ordinary person, but I know Dongfang Wang isn’t either. Although I’ve only seen you twice, I trust you more. Didn’t you want to help us that time after the avalanche? So, I trust you’re a good person.”
Ye Mo wouldn’t believe her based solely on her words, but he continued, “What do you want to tell me?”
An Zhiqi chose her words carefully before saying, “I know you might not believe me, but Dongfang Wang is one of the best computer masters in the world, maybe the best or second best.”
Ye Mo was interested. They lived in a technological civilization, and Ye Xing was at its peak. Without Ye Xing, Luo Yue wouldn’t have lasted that long.
An Zhiqi continued, “Dongfang Wang was at most a computer lover in our colleagues’ eyes, simply an amateur. He carried a computer everywhere. Meanwhile, I’m the computer genius of Beijing University. Everyone knows me—not for my looks, but for my computer skills.”
An Zhiqi breathed easily and slowed her pace. “I thought I was the best in Beijing University; even the teachers asked me questions. I never expected someone to be better than me. My capabilities are child’s play compared to his.”
Ye Mo felt uneasy. He stopped walking and asked, “Is this person Dongfang Wang?”
An Zhiqi laughed at herself. “Yes, I believe so. But I suspect Dongfang Wang because of what happened last year. Last year, the Swiss Bank suddenly lost 500 million pounds. The whole world discussed it, but that was when Luo Yue was fighting its first war with the Union Army, so it didn’t get much attention.”
Ye Mo frowned. She insinuated this had something to do with Dongfang Wang. However, no matter how good he was, he couldn’t have done that. If the bank’s money was that easily transferred, it would have closed.
An Zhiqi continued, “I started suspecting Dongfang Wang after the managing teacher of the computer department died.”
“The teacher died?” Ye Mo asked strangely.
An Zhiqi nodded. “Yes, a week after the Swiss Bank incident, the teacher committed suicide. I didn’t suspect Dongfang Wang at first, but one picture changed my mind. That man was my computing teacher, and because I progressed quickly, he often asked for my advice. I respected him. He had a good job and a loving wife; why would he commit suicide? So, I went to his blog. I saw a photo that explained a lot. The photo was taken when he visited the student dorms—Dongfang Wang was also staying there. He was on his computer. The computer screen’s content was visible. My teacher liked the photo and posted it on his blog.”
“What did you see?” Ye Mo asked.
An Zhiqi said slowly, “I saw an English article on Dongfang Wang’s screen. Parts seemed to be about the Swiss Bank incident, so I enlarged and clarified the image. It was the Swiss Bank announcing its 500 million pound loss. I thought Dongfang Wang was reading online news afterward, but the date proved otherwise.”
“And you suspect him only because of this?” Ye Mo looked strangely at An Zhiqi.
An Zhiqi shook her head. “No, because I remembered something else. Before all this, the teacher took us to dinner, and Dongfang Wang was there. A student asked, ‘Could a computer master use a zombie computer as a springboard to commit a crime undetected?’ I said, ‘Even if they found the zombie computer, it wouldn’t matter. Who would care about a zombie computer?’ The teacher replied, ‘No matter how good you are, if you use a computer as a zombie computer, people can find it. Of course, a computer master probably has defense mechanisms. Even if there was a computer master 100 times better, if they used their computer as a zombie computer, there would be traces.’ After the teacher said this, I saw contempt in Dongfang Wang’s eyes. It was quick, but I saw it. Because his computer skills were average, I didn’t think much of it. But now, he might have used the teacher’s computer as a zombie computer, unbeknownst to the teacher.”
Ye Mo understood and asked, “The teacher meant he could tell if someone used his computer as a zombie computer, right?”
An Zhiqi nodded, approving Ye Mo’s understanding. “Yes. When I realized this, I closed my teacher’s blog and investigated Dongfang Wang. I was careful. I bought a mask, makeup, and a new computer. I ensured my network card was anonymous. But when I used the computer to access my teacher’s blog again, the picture was deleted. As soon as I entered, the screen froze and it was blocked. Whoever did this quickly accessed my computer and tried to activate the webcam. Luckily, I hadn’t installed the driver, so he couldn’t open it. It took him less than five minutes to hack my computer after accessing my teacher’s blog. It was fast, even I couldn’t do that. After he hacked me, I immediately exited the website and switched to another anonymous network card.”
“What next?” Ye Mo asked.
An Zhiqi was sweating. She said, “I immediately used the school’s computer room server because the teacher was responsible for it. Just in case, I covered the camera. However, right after I accessed the server, before I could see anything, I was hacked again. Three minutes had barely passed; the computer camera driver was installed, and he opened the camera. It was too fast. I’ve never seen anyone this strong.”
An Zhiqi was sweating and breathing heavily. “I was confident in my computer skills. Yet, before I reached his computer, he’d already gone through mine. I knew I was far from this person. I’ve been a hacker, but this person isn’t a hacker; he’s a net controller. Out of fear, I threw my new computer away. But four days later, another suicide occurred. A student committed suicide in the dorms. The official statement was that he was addicted to games, but the computer in the newspaper report was familiar. It was the one I threw out!”
“Is Dongfang Wang that good? Are you sure it’s him? Don’t you think you’re lacking evidence?” Ye Mo asked again.