Super Island Tycoon

Chapter 1204: Chapter 1203: Virus Attack

"I didn’t expect things to be so complicated between you all, but I think back then the Princess of the Hua Clan betrayed your great-grandfather and stole his research, didn’t she?" Zhao Shuai said.

"None of that is important anymore, and besides, we don’t know what kind of research my great-grandfather was working on, nor do we know what the Princess of the Hua Clan’s true intentions were. In the end, my great-grandfather died young because of it, and that’s something none of us in the Qi Family can let go of.

No matter what happened back then, Jiang Cheng, the four great families really shouldn’t be fighting each other anymore. With the situation as it is now, it’s full of internal threats and external dangers. People shouldn’t live their lives holding onto past grudges.

As Jiang Cheng looked at the young man from the Hua Clan standing on the stage with nothing compelling to present, he was finally convinced that such a century-old family had indeed declined.

"But really, Rongfeng, nowadays only your Qi Family and the Ji Family remain prosperous. Look at the Hua Clan and the people from the Yue Family who just went up; they’re all hesitating, without any significant research results. You should feel relieved by now, right?" Zhao Shuai said.

"It’s not about being relieved or not; it’s been so long. The conflicts between our families can’t be resolved. I just find it very strange," Qi Rongfeng said.

"Strange about what?" Jiang Cheng asked.

After all, the Hua Clan and the Yue Family have been technological powerhouses for many years. They shouldn’t have rapidly declined in recent years. I think something must have happened after the Princess of the Hua Clan passed away that led to the decline of both families.

Jiang Cheng felt that Qi Rongfeng’s thoughts aligned with his own. Whatever happened during that time, maybe no one really knows, but there must be a reason for why such illustrious families have ended up like this today.

Jiang Cheng looked downstairs but didn’t see Li Pu. "Zhao Shuai, where are the people you sent to keep an eye on Li Pu? Contact them.

Zhao Shao made a phone call, and Ruo Mei said to Jiang Cheng, "The people I sent only saw Li Pu leave his seat. They don’t know where he went."

"Lost him? How could this happen?" Jiang Cheng was a bit flustered. No matter what, there were so many people here, even some national leaders, and the people Zhao Shuai sent were definitely reliable ones. They lost track of him, and even though security was tight today, Jiang Cheng was still uneasy. So he got up, intending to go downstairs.

As he reached the staircase, the director appeared, "Scientist Lin, I brought you here; you should at least show us something, right? Otherwise, what are we going to do with the research institute unprepared like this?" The director questioned Jiang Cheng.

"It was you who asked me to come here as part of the institute first, and you didn’t say anything else. Why should I represent you?" Jiang Cheng was a bit annoyed at this point, wanting to check on Li Pu but being blocked by the director.

"Alright, Scientist Lin, consider this me asking a favor today—just show us something, anything. When we get back, you can ask for whatever you want." The director’s tone softened as he pleaded with Jiang Cheng.

"I know you have money, Director, but I don’t lack money. I have something to do now, so I’m not discussing this with you." Jiang Cheng’s disdain for the director increased, wondering how people like him could be in charge of the research institute, impacting technological development. Saying this, he bypassed the director and headed downstairs.

On the ground floor, Jiang Cheng found Li Pu sitting in his spot, realizing he had wasted time with the director. Li Pu must have done something, but now he definitely didn’t know what it was.

"Jiang Cheng." Someone called him from behind, and when he turned around, he saw it was Wu Shan.

"Miss Wu, do you also have research to present today?" Jiang Cheng asked Wu Mu.

"No, I’m just here to take a look today," Wu Shan said.

For some reason, perhaps Wu Shan’s unusual behavior during their meal the other day, Jiang Cheng increasingly felt that Wu Fen wasn’t as simple as she appeared.

"What about you? What are you here for?" Wu Shan asked.

"Like you, I’m just here to have a look," Jiang Cheng replied.

As Jiang Cheng spoke, his eyes remained fixed on Li Pu up ahead. He seemed normal after sitting down, even chatting casually with the people around him.

Jiang Cheng couldn’t figure out what Li Pu had done.

"Jiang Cheng, what are you looking at?" Wu Shan followed Jiang Cheng’s gaze.

"Nothing, just looking at the research those people are presenting on stage," Jiang Cheng responded, still unsure about Wu Shan’s true identity, so he didn’t want to discuss Li Pu.

Just at that moment, the young man who was presenting his research on stage placed his work on the display table when suddenly the big screen went black. The staff beside him quickly approached the control computer, but despite much effort, there was no improvement. Jiang Cheng saw that upstairs, the leaders and national dignitaries were surrounded by security, prompting him to take out his phone. He found all the information stored on his phone wiped out. "Wu Shan, check your phone to see if all your data and information have been locked," Jiang Cheng urged.

"Oh, okay." Wu Shan was clearly frightened by the situation and quickly took out her phone. "Yes, everything’s gone. What do we do?" Wu Shan looked alarmed and anxious.

Zhao Shuai, Qi Rongfeng, and Cloud all came down the stairs. "Lin, you must have noticed; this is a virus infection," Qi Rongfeng told Jiang Cheng. "Yes, and this time the virus didn’t spread through the network—it targeted all communication devices," Jiang Cheng said.

"What do we do? I just found out I can’t control George anymore,"

Cloud said with a long face.

"My dad has been protected, but we don’t dare to act rashly yet. Lin, what do you think is going on here? Is someone trying to deliberately sabotage this conference? The virus outbreak was so sudden," Zhao Shuai remarked.

Jiang Cheng recalled experiencing the "ransomware virus" on Earth, a virus that invaded through email, the internet, and even mobile phones, encrypting and locking people’s files. At the time, Jiang Cheng didn’t suffer much from this virus, so he hadn’t paid it much mind, but he later learned that the virus used a leaked NSA hacking tool called "Eternal Blue" to scan for open 445 file sharing ports on Windows machines. Without any user action, once powered on and connected to the internet, malicious actors could inject ransomware, remote attack trojans, cryptocurrency miners, and other harmful programs into computers and servers.

This virus attack had swept across the globe, affecting many countries.

"I’ll give it a shot and see if it works," Qi Rongfeng suggested.

"Yeah, Rongfeng, you’re an expert in advanced electronic technology. You can definitely do it," Zhao Shuai said, changing his previous tone towards Qi Rongfeng.

Qi Rongfeng quickly walked to the display table, with Jiang Cheng and others following. Many scientists had already gathered at the front of the display table, all trying to resolve the virus issues. As Qi Rongfeng approached, the crowd parted to make way for him. With a serious expression, Qi Rongfeng moved to the computer, and Jiang Cheng saw his fingers moving swiftly, but the computer system remained chaotic. Nearly half an hour passed with no progress, and sweat began to drip from Qi Rongfeng’s forehead. At this moment, Jiang Cheng noticed an elderly man who appeared to be in his sixties approaching, "Mr. Zhao!"