America: I came here to study, not to show mercy.

Chapter 242 When I came, I said those words

Why are you looking at me like that?

Faced with Suffer's meaningful gaze, Li Xiaoen was both puzzled and amused. "Even now, you still doubt whether I did it?"

Suffer rolled her eyes at this, turned back to look at the computer screen, and didn't reply.

A moment later, she stood up, picked up her bag, and looked down at the young man who was clearly exhausted from staying up all night.

"I've said what I needed to say. I have class this afternoon, so I'll be going now."

After saying that, while the young man was still in a daze, she turned and left on her own.

Is the purpose so clear and so realistic?
Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow, shook his head, and stopped dwelling on the girl's strong motives for coming. To his surprise, Su Feier didn't look back until she left the dormitory, and didn't see the young man anywhere. He gritted his teeth inwardly.

With some time to spare in the morning, Li Xiaoen finished breakfast, tidied up quickly, and headed towards Professor Sedgewick's lab, briefly showing his face. As soon as school ended at noon, he immediately drove to his studio.

"Sean, that company was attacked by a virus early this morning, and the vulnerability in the firewall was expanded. We seized the opportunity to test our previous script again, and we successfully penetrated it!"

Upon entering the studio, Michelle excitedly shouted out before Haskell could react.

"The opportunity has arrived, but there will definitely be more people like us who will seize this loophole and succeed. It's just a matter of whether we can get any reward."

Li Xiaoen had originally planned to buy lunch on the way, but was told that the studio had already bought Japanese ramen. He casually picked up a bowl, opened it, and nodded with amusement, "As we agreed before, this time all the bounty money will be split equally."

Although they had succeeded according to the previous announcement, the right to interpret everything still rested with the arms company that organized the event. Moreover, even if they managed to infiltrate the other party's operations by taking advantage of internal errors, the best outcome would often be that the prize money would be diluted and split evenly.

It wasn't mentioned in the notice, but it's practically an unspoken rule in the industry: if the same vulnerability is discovered one after the other, the first party to discover it gets the full prize money. This is to prevent individual participants from revealing the vulnerability to others to earn multiple prizes.

"Hopefully, we'll have better luck, and that shameless company will have some integrity."

Haskell sighed in agreement, glanced back at his colleagues sitting at their workstations, and lowered his voice, "Sean, what are we going to do now? You must have other tasks to complete, right?"

Back when Li Xiaoen invited them into the studio, he had already anticipated their possible entrepreneurial ideas. Now that the bounty mission for Paladin Arms Company had come to an end, they were suddenly lost after their success that morning.

Nowadays, some individuals are even reviving their original idea of ​​trying to infiltrate the steam platform.

"Did you discuss the details with them beforehand?"

Li Xiaoen turned his head and raised an eyebrow.

"some."

Haskel nodded in agreement, "We're all smart people, we must have had this in mind before."

"That's fine."

Li Xiaoen gave a reassuring smile, and seeing everyone sitting quietly in their chairs, he stood up, clapped his hands, and laughed loudly, "I want to officially establish our studio. Does anyone want to stay?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's hearts jumped, and they looked up at Li Xiaoen in a daze.

Honestly, even if they are hackers, they are far from being masters who can make a name for themselves in the industry. Even the script that successfully hacked into the arms company's firewall was basically controlled by the other party.

They were originally unemployed people who were just doing it out of interest or who disliked their jobs, but now they have an opportunity to "get a permanent position" in front of them—what's more, the boss in front of them is unconventional and generous, and they still have $20,000 in their accounts that he just transferred over that morning.

"What kind of treatment?"

It was Ansel, who is of Indian descent, who was the first to speak up and ask a question.

“Your basic benefits will remain the same, and I will pay each of you an additional $80,000 per year.”

When asked about the salary, which would prove there was an opportunity, Li Xiaoen replied with a smile, "This is roughly the salary of a junior software engineer in Manhattan, New York. It will increase depending on the situation, but accommodation and meals are all included, which I think should be enough to satisfy you."

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but show some interest.

"Sean, what's the current project our studio is working on?"

Haskell spoke up at the opportune moment.

"Machine learning, software push algorithm mechanism."

Somewhat surprised by Haskel's initiative to play the straight man, Sean Lee nodded solemnly.

"Are you planning to develop algorithms and collaborate with other internet companies?"

Another young white man raised his hand.

"Yes, but not limited to."

Li Xiaoen explained, taking a deep breath, "That's secondary. The most important thing is machine learning, which is being pushed to its limits."

"I hope that one day we will be able to replicate human thought!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire studio fell silent, and everyone was stunned.

"Can we really do it with our current level of expertise?"

After a long while, a hint of unease appeared on Michelle's face, and her voice, barely audible, brought everyone back to their senses.

"How will you know if you don't try?"

Li Xiaoen smiled.

……

As expected, despite the lofty and difficult goals, everyone insisted on staying. After a morning of confusion, the studio quickly picked up the pace again.

The foundation of everything, of course, was the sub-project that Sean Lee took on in Professor Sedgewick's lab, which required a brief explanation and guidance to everyone beforehand.

He joined in as well, and it wasn't until 10:30 p.m. that Li Xiaoen drove away.

Busy life passed by quickly, and a week had already gone by in the blink of an eye.

Still not satisfied with the studio's efficiency, Li Xiaoen used his long-treasured [Item Selection Card LV2] to exchange for another [Advanced Learning Domain Aura].

The effect of stacking two rings is not additive; it reduces the overall effect, but it is still much better than before.

Increasing the speed to Mach 1 consumes twice the energy, so the speed cannot reach Mach 2. When the state is close to the limit, every bit of improvement will cost much more than before.

Li Xiaoen was not surprised by this, and the studio also developed a somewhat rough app during this period.

There was no UI, just a simple interface drawn with code, much like the mechanical and rudimentary assignments of Chinese university students.

Let's just say it's the first product from his studio.

Li Xiaoen looked up at the group of people gathered together, shouting excitedly, and couldn't help but find it amusing. He was doing some simple operations on his phone with his head down.

Working together towards the same goal, even if it was only for a short week and most of the time was spent coding alone on the computer, undoubtedly strengthened their relationship.

"The phased goal has been achieved. We have a three-day holiday starting tomorrow. Everyone, go back and get some rest."

Li Xiaoen clapped his hands and called out, immediately eliciting cheers and shouts of joy from everyone. Seeing this, he raised an eyebrow and jokingly said, "Why don't you mention those who didn't have the self-awareness they had when they first arrived, and who were willing to come over in the middle of the night to continue working overtime?" As soon as he finished speaking, sighs of disappointment filled the entire studio again.

After declining the group's invitation to have dinner together, Li Xiaoen drove back to school and went directly to Su Feier's dormitory.

Having been informed in advance, Li Xiaoen raised her hand to knock on the door, pushed it open, and walked towards the kitchen where a rich aroma was emanating from. She was met by Su Feier, who was wearing an apron and holding a spatula.

"This is the first time I've seen you so virtuous."

Li Xiaoen chuckled and sighed.

"There are many aspects of me that I haven't shown to anyone."

With a soft hum, Suffer gestured towards the dining table with her chin, "Please sit down, dinner will be ready soon."

"it is good."

Li Xiaoen did not refuse and sat down in the chair, then tilted his head back and let out a long breath.

It wasn't just the few people in the studio; after a week of dedicated work and prolonged periods of high-efficiency mental activity, even he, who prided himself on his excellent physical condition, was inevitably exhausted both physically and mentally.

Now that the studio's tasks have come to an end, he can finally catch his breath.

"Your steak is here."

A sound came from the kitchen, and Suffer had taken off her apron, revealing her short-sleeved shirt and shorts, looking extremely cool.

"It's still Wellington steak."

Li Xiaoen was somewhat surprised. When Suffer placed the steak on the table, he also got up to distribute cutlery and salad that had been placed aside beforehand to the two of them, and poured them white wine.

Neither of them were yet twenty-one, but now he wanted to get drunk. After witnessing many young Americans knowingly breaking the rules, he no longer insisted on adhering to any rules and drank whenever he wanted.

To his surprise, as he picked up his knife to cut the steak, Sophie picked up her own cutlery and sat down in the chair next to him.

The scene now is quite similar to what happened back in the hot pot restaurant in New York.

Li Xiaoen sighed inwardly. As soon as he sat down, Su Feier put one of her legs on his thigh.

"Are you being so impolite?"

Li Xiaoen gave him an amused look.

"Don't you want to?"

Looking down casually at the young man's hand rubbing her thigh, Suffer pulled her thigh back, but the young man immediately grabbed it and pulled it back, making her chuckle.

"One thing at a time, isn't that right?"

After a busy week, perhaps the girl noticed his focused attention and didn't disturb him. Li Xiaoen's heart was burning with passion at that moment, and he chuckled, immediately earning a roll of his eyes.

"cheers."

Ignoring it, Li Xiaoen picked up the wine glass in front of him and raised it in front of the girl.

Looking up, Suffer also reached for her own glass and clinked glasses with it. Just as she was about to take a small sip, she saw the young man quickly take a big gulp and lean towards her.

"Um……"

Their lips met, and she subconsciously loosened her teeth, causing the wine in the young man's mouth to rush in. She couldn't help but let out a soft groan, and kept pounding his shoulders with both hands.

His throat moved involuntarily a few times, swallowing all the wine in his mouth. The two were briefly separated. Suffer was panting and glared at him through gritted teeth.

"Aren't you disgusting?"

"Ha ha……"

Li Xiaoen laughed twice, his heart burning even hotter. He hugged the girl in front of him tightly and kissed her long-lost full red lips again, venting all the longing he had felt during this time.

Having not seen each other for a week, she naturally missed him terribly. Sufi raised her hand and touched the young man's chest, responding slightly, only to see him reach down and slip his hand inside her short sleeve. The hot touch assaulted her body, and she quickly pushed him away.

"Shall we eat first, okay?"

Panting heavily, Sophie looked up at the young man with a slightly dazed expression.

Are you afraid someone will see you?

Li Xiaoen paused for a moment, and before the girl could answer, he quickly went to each door and window, made sure they were closed, drew the curtains, and even checked them with his [Eye of Insight] before rushing back.

"Sean..."

Watching the young man's impatient and self-righteous actions, Su Feier laughed in exasperation, her full chest heaving. As he walked back, she glared at him, "I said, eat first, take a shower, and then come..."

"is it?"

Li Xiaoen paused for a moment, sat down, and continued to ponder the possible hidden meaning behind the girl's words.

"It's a very normal sentence, leaving no room for you to overthink it."

Suffer pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. "Besides, I strongly suspect that you deliberately misheard from the beginning..."

"That was my subconscious thought at the time."

He knew he couldn't force the girl if she didn't want to. Li Xiaoen took a deep breath and shrugged.

Just as he was about to turn around and call Su Feier to eat, his collar was suddenly grabbed tightly by the other person. Before a hint of surprise could rise in his heart, Li Xiaoen was pulled over and the girl's red lips pressed precisely against his.

While he was still in a daze, their kiss ended abruptly. Suffer let out a soft snort, narrowed his eyes, and looked up at him with a contemptuous gaze.

His mind was blank. Li Xiaoen took a deep breath, instinctively hugged the girl tightly, lowered his head and kissed her roughly again, his hands greedily caressing her graceful curves.

Standing up, Li Xiaoen lifted the girl to the dining table. After a brief separation, his excited mind cleared up, and his gaze drifted to the pair of large, mesmerizing blue eyes so close to his.

"Sophie, I think next time I come, you'd better ask that question first."

"Eat first, take a shower first, or...you?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Suffer suddenly regained her senses and opened her mouth to retort, but her mouth was helplessly sealed again.

Their lips and tongues intertwined passionately, and Li Xiaoen's hands continued their actions, no longer satisfied with the status quo, grabbing the girl's top and lifting it up.

"Sean...Sean..."

Quickly pulled back to her senses, Sophie hurriedly grabbed the young man's hand, "No, not here, okay?"

"Don't worry, I've closed all the doors and windows and drawn the curtains. No one will see us."

Seeing the girl's unwavering resolve, Li Xiaoen's heart stirred. He smiled and coaxed her softly, turning his head to kiss her cheek and earlobe. His hand, which had initially been holding onto her shirt with some resistance, gradually broke through smoothly.

(End of this chapter)