Chapter 191 - Chapter 191: Chapter 157 Decisive in Killing! (Subscribe Please) (2/2)
Gao Qinglin and Hu Shu’s expressions stiffened, and their brows furrowed once more.
“What’s the reason?”
Gao Qinglin immediately asked.
“This video has ‘technical’ protection, it invaded directly through back-end networking, making its way to the homepage’s trending section. You can think of it as a virus or a rogue program. Our people need some time to crack it,” Director Zhang explained.
“How long will it take?” Gao Qinglin asked.
“At least one hour,” Director Zhang replied.
“One hour… Okay, thank you for your efforts, Director Zhang.”
Gao Qinglin murmured softly, hanging up the phone with a very grave expression.
One hour, and the dish would be cold.
With the massive traffic of the Quick Shake Video platform, a video featured on the homepage’s trending section—coupled with the ‘Qing dynasty Chinese tangled branch pattern thin-walled jade vase’ being a recent hot search—could easily amass several hundred thousand views in an hour.
By then, the situation would ferment.
And it would be too late to take it down.
The raindrops beat against the window glass with a loud pitter-patter, the wind howled, and the amplitude of the swaying leaves increased.
Creak—
In the manor, a lush branch broke off in response to the wind and rain, crashing to the ground.
Hu Shu’s brows were tightly knotted. Confident in his antique forgery skills, he hadn’t expected someone to use a microscope-like comparison with light and shadow to discern that the artifact was counterfeit.
If the situation escalated, it would inevitably draw the attention of departments like the Cultural Relics Bureau.
At that time, they would be in trouble.
“Who did this?” Gao Qinglin’s expression was stern, tinged with anger.
Hu Shu shook his head, “In the world of antique forgery, there are many skilled individuals. Who did it is not important, what we need to know is what they want to do?”
“Are they targeting us?” Gao Qinglin hesitated for a moment before asking.
Hu Shu shook his head again: “It doesn’t seem like it. If they wanted to target us, they would have directly reported us to the Cultural Relics Bureau.”
“So… they want money?”
Gao Qinglin voiced his own opinion.
“That’s a possibility.”
Hu Shu’s expression grew slightly more severe, “But if they think they can extort money from me that easily, they’re mistaken. Contact AW immediately; if they used hacking methods to release the video, we’ll get hackers to deal with them.”
Gao Qinglin’s eyes lit up as he immediately said, “With AW involved, this matter is as good as settled.”
AW, an overseas hacker group.
Hu Shu’s antique business was extensive, with connections to major overseas companies and syndicates. Over a long period of overseas operations, he had established a connection with AW.
AW was hostile to Hua, but they weren’t hostile to money.
All pursuits in this world are for profit, everyone rushes around for it.
AW was no exception.
Rather than being blackmailed, Hu Shu would rather pay hackers to counteract.
He pulled out a specially made phone from the drawer under the tea table on the right and found a number in the contact list, pressing the dial button.
“I need you to take action.”
Hu Shu spoke in English, his words concise and to the point.
“What’s the matter?” the voice on the other end was very cold.
“On the domestic Quick Shake Video, bring down a video within two minutes,” Hu Shu said speedily.
“One million dollars.”
“OK, payment upon completion of the job.”
The two parties reached a deal swiftly.
Hu Shu immediately sent over the title of the video, waiting for AW’s top hackers to act and take the video down.
It was only then that Gao Qinglin breathed a sigh of relief, “After the video is taken down, there are some follow-up tasks that need to be handled. I’ll order someone to take care of it immediately.”
Hu Shu nodded, remaining silent.
His gaze drifted to the window where the large raindrops coldly pelted the glass, causing layers of mist to form, blurring his vision.
The Ancient Moon Museum at this moment seemed like a prison trapped in the storm, surrounded by haze, unable to explore beyond.
“Ah…”
Hu Shu let out a soft sigh.
As long as the video was taken down, he could completely calm the subsequent matters.
The premise was, the video could be taken down.
Time to wait for AW’s good news.
Two minutes, in the eyes of Hu Shu and Gao Qinglin, felt exceptionally long.
Finally.
The phone rang with an incoming call.
Hu Shu was quick, picking up the phone and pressing the answer button: “How did it go?”
Gao Qinglin, by his side, leaned forward, ears perked up, afraid to miss a single word.
Suddenly.
A clap of thunder resounded through the sky, startling Gao Qinglin into a tremble.
Hu Shu’s heart skipped a beat as well, his heart hanging by a thread.
From the other end of the phone, a chilly voice delivered the news: “Can’t take it down.”
Hu Shu and Gao Qinglin’s pupils shrank immediately!
“I’ll give you another five minutes!” Hu Shu said instantly.
To his surprise, the person on the other end replied: “It’s not a matter of time.”
With that, they hung up the phone.
The unsaid part was, this was a technical problem!
“Mr. Hu, what do we do now?” Gao Qinglin’s heart was in turmoil as he looked towards Hu Shu.
“Since that person wants money, find out how much they want, lure them out, and then…”
As Hu Shu spoke, his eyes gradually turned icy.
His ordinarily refined and amiable countenance now bore a hint of savagery, his eyes fierce.
Indeed, the large forgery ring he had built, operating for many years, depended not on gentility but on decisive action.
Gao Qinglin’s expression darkened.
He immediately grasped Hu Shu’s intention and nodded seriously, “I’ll get right on it!”