Chapter 16: Proceeding to the Next Step

Qi Fei never expected that Tong Sheng, who was often offline, would be the one who understood her best.

A faint smile curved her lips. "T is right—this is only the beginning."

"By the way, I came looking for backup."

"Oh? Miss Qi, who usually handles everything herself, now asking for help?" Shi Lin teased, though his tone carried genuine admiration for Qi Fei’s capabilities.

Qi Fei noticed that Shi Lin was definitely the life of the group. Su Xiang was straightforward, Wan Yang was taciturn but sharp-tongued, and Tong Sheng spoke little but always hit the mark.

Qi Fei ignored Shi Lin and asked, "Do you know any hackers? Introduce me to someone skilled—I’ll pay."

"You’re planning something big?" Everyone pressed for details, but Qi Fei only replied mysteriously, "For now, it’s a secret."

She refused to believe the CEO of San Du Entertainment was completely unaware. Once she secured evidence of illegal activities, she’d send him straight to jail.

If they were in her apocalyptic world, she would have taken him out with a single shot by now. But here, killing was against the law.

Qi Fei didn’t want her clean reputation tainted by bloodshed—she intended to survive and thrive in this world.

"Impressive, sis. So you’re going for the big game, huh?" The entertainment industry was treacherous; even a small move could trigger a chain reaction. The last time Qi Fei looked into the entertainment company’s boss, it seemed likely that the hacker she sought would be connected to him.

Did Qi Fei really have the confidence to crush him in one go?

If she failed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Logically, clearing her name should suffice—there was no need to escalate matters. Doing so would only drag her deeper into trouble.

"I’m not one to swallow insults silently. If anyone dares to mess with me, we’ll see who laughs last."

Tong Sheng laughed bitterly at her words—Qi Fei was both inexperienced and brave, adorably foolish.

Things weren’t that simple. Evidence wasn’t something any hacker could just find. If it were easy, countless companies would have already been exposed.

Who gave her the courage to believe she could take on an entertainment company that had been entrenched in the industry for years, with all its complex connections?

Even assuming she got the evidence, what then? With so many people involved, she wouldn’t need San Du Entertainment to move against her—someone else would quickly silence her.

"Arrange for your contact to reach out to him."

"I’m looking forward to it," Tong Sheng said after some thought, deciding to lend a hand.

He was curious to see how this would end.

"Come on, everyone send me your contact info, I’ll create a group chat." Shi Lin was unusually enthusiastic.

A few minutes later—

"Let me introduce myself first. Shi Lin, but you can call me Shitou," he said.

"Now that we’ve exchanged contacts, are we still just online friends?" Wan Yang chimed in.

"Friends call me Yangzi," Wan Yang added.

Seeing everyone so lively, Tong Sheng followed suit: "Tong Sheng, but you can call me Brother Jiu."

"Su Xiang," came the simple reply.

"What’s up with you, Su Xiang?" Everyone used codenames, but Su Xiang stood out by only giving his name.

Shi Lin seized the opportunity, typing rapidly: "Su Xiang’s nickname is Guoguo."

Qi Fei was speechless.

She never imagined a boy having such a cute nickname.

Once Shi Lin’s message appeared, the two immediately started bickering in the group. If Shi Lin hadn’t been away from home, Su Xiang would have likely confronted him in person by now.

"Shitou, you really don’t let anything slide," Tong Sheng smirked.

They had started playing games just to pass the time, never expecting to make such good friends.

After some laughter, the topic returned to Qi Fei.

"Fei, you’re seriously brave."

"Fei Fei, do you have a plan?"

"I prefer Seven Seven," she said. After being here so long, she still wasn’t used to being called Qi Fei; sometimes she barely registered it was her being addressed.

"Alright, Seven Seven, what’s your plan?" Su Xiang asked, genuinely curious.

"By the way, where did those videos come from? Impressive, little Seven Seven," Shi Lin was most interested in this.

Had Qi Fei hacked into their home surveillance?

"I took them myself."

Impossible.

The four reacted with disbelief.

"These three videos are close-up shots. Unless you knew their whereabouts in advance and installed cameras beforehand..." Qi Fei was asking them for hacker help, so hacking into surveillance was unlikely.

Besides, how many celebrities install cameras at home?

The videos weren’t shaky like handheld footage—they were steady and close, clearly from pre-installed cameras.

"Exactly. These are seasoned veterans of the entertainment industry. They’re not that easy to catch on camera. If it were so easy, this would have surfaced long ago."

"Rumor has it, because of these videos, the CEO of San Du Entertainment has been replaced."

Li Siqi was embroiled in moral controversy—despised, but not illegal. Money Hua and San Du Entertainment CEO You Hong, however, were a different matter; they had crossed legal lines.

As soon as the videos were confirmed authentic, the authorities took both away.

The company reacted quickly.

When the blame fell on these two, San Du Entertainment could wash its hands clean.

After a brief chat, the topic circled back to the videos. Qi Fei spoke honestly, but no one believed her.

She didn’t bother explaining further—believe it or not.

After logging off, Shi Lin still hadn’t figured out the plan and was being led around by Qi Fei, so much so that he forgot what he was trying to ask.

Tong Sheng watched from the sidelines, thinking Qi Fei was playing with children.

After a game session, a chat box popped up on Qi Fei’s computer: "What do you need me to do?"

She paused, then realized it was the hacker T had found for her.

This was the first time she truly felt the power of a hacker.

"Help me find all the addresses and frequent locations of the San Du Entertainment CEO."

"That all?" The hacker seemed unimpressed. Was this task really worthy of his skills?

"And I want all the real financial statements of San Du Entertainment, plus any evidence of illegal or criminal activities."

Now that was more like it—otherwise, he might have thought she was bossing him around.

This might be difficult for others, but for him, it was just a matter of time. He wondered who the CEO had offended.

"Got it. Please be patient."

"You’ll have news within three days at the latest."

Wait—

As the chat box disappeared, Qi Fei froze—she hadn’t even asked about payment.

Maybe it was settled afterward?

Now she couldn’t ask, lacking the means to contact him again.

Only now did Qi Fei realize that if she’d known about hackers earlier, she wouldn’t have risked climbing over thirty floors to gather evidence.

She could have simply hacked the CEO’s computer and recorded using the webcam—much easier and safer.

She blamed herself for her ignorance in this new world.

Qi Fei also realized she had been overthinking. Even if she were a top hacker, who leaves their computer in the living room? Most had separate studies or gaming rooms.

To truly fit in, she needed to understand this world better. With that resolve, Qi Fei’s computer never went dark again.