The programmer said, “I am sorry. After what happened today, I know now that I am not as good as I thought I was. There is always someone better than me. I finally witnessed the disparity between me and an actual skillful expert.”

He went on, “I really can’t solve it. Even if you deduct my salary and my bonus or even fire me, I will have no complaints. You can also ask someone else to give it a go and see if anyone else is able to solve this issue. I am unable to do it.”

Hou Wu had no intention of firing the programmer.

After all, the programmer was not lying about his skills.

The hacker was just too powerful.

“Do you have anyone you can recommend?” Hou Wu asked.

He didn’t know much about this industry.

“To be honest, no one in my industry that I know can solve this,” the programmer said. “I am not making excuses for myself. I know everyone who works in big companies, even the IT managers. This is not a big industry. There are only a few famous ones, and we all know each other.

“But they are all on the same level as me. If I can’t do it, I doubt that they will be able to. Of course, if you don’t believe me, you can seek them out. I will give you a list. They are working for their own companies, but they should be fine with helping out and earning some extra cash.”

Of course, whether or not that extra cash could be earned was a different story.

The computers could not be used.

And so, the programmer took up the pen and paper that he had not used for a long time.

He hadn’t handwritten anything for a long time and felt uncomfortable writing.

He kept lifting his pen up and forgetting how to write certain words.

The programmer was very considerate. Not only had he written the names…

But he had also written the company name and company position after every name.

And he added the phone number at the end.

Hou Wu looked at the list and saw that they were all managers and were clearly very capable.

The one that the programmer had written first was currently working for a very famous high-tech company that was also well-known for their very rigorous recruiting process.

When Hou Wu saw the one ranked first, he knew that this was it.

All the names that the programmer had written worked in companies located in B City.

If they were outside the city, they would have to rush over here from far away and that would take a while, right?

Fortunately, B City was the capital city, and most of the talented individuals in the country gathered here.

And so, it was not difficult finding someone.

Hou Wu immediately contacted the first person on the list.

Hou Wu and the people in the office worked very well together.

He didn’t even have to say anything.

His employees had already given the company a phone call. They didn’t call the personal phone number that the programmer had given them.

They were able to figure out through the front desk that the person on the list was indeed the manager of the company’s IT department. Then, they asked to be connected to the manager’s extension.

They wanted to make sure that the programmer was not tricking them.

They wanted to make sure that the programmer was not simply writing a name and claiming that the person was the manager of this company’s IT department.

When the call went through, the people at the office did not try contacting his personal phone.

They just talked to him through this telephone extension.

They explained their situation.

Then, they heard the person on the phone say, “Based on what I know, Yu Mingxin is already working for your office.”

The person asked in surprise, “Brother Yu is famous in the industry, and he can’t even solve it?”

When the office heard this, they immediately felt doomed.

If that’s the case, then this person would probably have a hard time trying to fix this.

“Yeah. Brother Yu could not solve this. And so, he recommended a few people, and you were on the top of the list,” an employee of the office said. “Therefore, I wonder if you could come help take a look at it. Of course, it will not be for free.”

“I can come and take a look at it.” The guy obviously wanted to show Yu Mingxin some respect. “To be honest, Brother Yu is already ranked highly in the industry. I am on par with him. If Brother Yu can’t solve this when he was the one who wrote the software, then I am afraid…”

The person ended it with, “Anyway, don’t get your hopes up.”

“We know this, but there’s really nothing we can do. If you and Brother Yu are unable to solve this, where can we find someone else who is better than you two? You two are already the top-ranked in your industry,” the office employee said.

“No matter what, come check it out. Of course, regardless of the result, we will definitely give you the pay you deserve.”

When the guy heard this, he didn’t pretend to be courteous anymore. He just agreed, saying, “Sure.”

The employee then asked, “Are you busy with work now? If possible, can you come over pronto?”

The employee smiled, embarrassed as he explained, “I am not trying to rush you. It’s just that… we are in such a rush. There are so many important files on the computers.”

The guy immediately understood as he thought about the kind of work they did.

He then said, “Sure. I will head over now. It is lunch break at the moment. It will probably take an hour.”

“That’s awesome.” The office staff were so thankful.

The person that Yu Mingxin had recommended was named Wu Sheng.

Wu Sheng hung up the phone. When Wu Sheng thought about how even Yu Mingxin had been unable to solve this issue, he realized that it would be difficult for him to fix it as well.

If the situation was very difficult, there’s no knowing as to how much time it would take.

And so, he asked for another two hours off.

He then left quickly.

***

The studio had yet to give up.

Yu Mingxin was still trying to break into the software that Wei Wucai had rewritten.

At this moment, Wu Sheng appeared at the door. “Hello, my name is Wu Sheng. You just called me and contacted me.”

Hou Wu walked over hastily and said, “Hello, hello. Sorry for asking you to come over.”

The two did not continue this courteous act.

Hou Wu hurriedly led Wu Sheng over.

“Brother Yu,” Wu Sheng called out.

Yu Mingxin stood up and greeted Wu Sheng. “Come take a look at this. I can’t solve it. We really encountered a very skilled expert.”

Yu Mingxin then sat down in front of the computer on the side.

The group watched as the two worked together and started feeling hopeful.

Even if the skilled expert was very powerful, he was not here.

All that’s left was the software. This was equivalent to leaving an empty box.

If the hacker was here and was competing with the two and the two lost, that would make sense.

However, all that’s left was this software that no one was managing.

If the two were working together, would this still be unsolvable?

In the end, however, they really couldn’t fix it.

Wu Sheng turned and stared at Yu Mingxin with a smile. “Brother Yu, you have now attained such a high level. I thought we were on par, but I now know that you are much more powerful than me.

“You started working here five years ago. You wrote this software five years ago, right?” Wu Sheng shook his head and sighed. “To be able to write a software like this, Brother Yu, you are…”