It's just a toy, why would you care if it breaks?

[Thanks for the generous donations, here's an extra chapter!]

The car stopped in front of the hotel. Yan Chong didn't get out. He said, "I'll wait for you for twenty minutes. If you're late, I'll take it as you changing your mind."

Wei Xun pushed open the car door and entered the hotel.

The elevator goes up, and you swipe your card to enter the room.

The room has been cleaned, the sheets have been changed, the trash can is empty, and the documents on the table have been organized.

The curtains were also opened.

Wei Xun walked to the window and felt something was wrong. He reached out and touched the window frame. Strangely, there were fine scratches on the window lock, indicating that it had been forcibly pried open.

If the people from "Jingwei Sea" sneaked in to search while the cleaning staff were cleaning the room... then there was no need to pry open the window, right?

But Wei Xun didn't have time to think about it. He went straight to his desk and picked up his laptop.

He turned the computer over and used a screwdriver he had hidden in his wallet to unscrew the five screws on the back cover.

The information card, gleaming with a metallic sheen, was perfectly fitted into the motherboard's recess, pressed down by the memory module.

Wei Xun carefully took out the card and put it into his inner pocket.

He carefully inspected the back cover to make sure there were no marks left before putting it back on and screwing it in.

After doing all this, he put the computer back on the desk, turned around and walked out of the room.

Go downstairs and get in the car.

Yan Chong glanced at him, said nothing, started the car, and merged into the traffic.

Instead of heading towards the city center, the car drove towards the suburbs, making several turns before finally entering a narrow alley.

At the end of the alley was an inconspicuous bar with a shabby sign, dim lighting, and a "Temporarily Closed" sign hanging at the entrance.

Yan Chong led Wei Xun around to the back door of the bar, knocked three times, paused for a second, and then knocked twice more.

The door opened, and a man in a black hoodie poked his head out, glanced at Yan Chong, then looked Wei Xun over for a few seconds before stepping aside to let them in.

The bar was pitch black, with only the emergency lights providing a faint glow.

After walking through the empty dance floor and behind the bar, Yan Chong pushed open a hidden door.

Behind the door was a narrow corridor.

Reaching the end of the corridor, Yan Chong knocked on the door again.

This time the code was more complex, with varying lengths of tapping sounds, like some kind of password.

The door opened.

Inside was a small room, but it was filled with computers and monitors, with dense lines of code and data flashing on the screens.

The fan was humming loudly, and the light was blinding.

In the center of the room, a young man wearing a plaid shirt was sitting in front of a computer.

Hearing the noise, he turned around: "Uncle Yan, you're here."

"Lu You, this is Mr. Wei Xun," Yan Chong introduced. "The card is in his hand."

The young man named Lu You sized up Wei Xun: "Hello, please take it out."

Wei Xun took out the information card and placed it on the table.

Lu You picked up the card, examined it carefully, and inserted it into the dedicated card reader.

A loading screen immediately appeared on the screen.

The progress bar moved very slowly, and Lu You's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

After about ten minutes, the progress bar stopped at 10%, and a line of red text popped up on the screen: "Encryption level too high, cannot be read."

He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples. "This is military-grade encryption; the key length is at least 2048 bits. With our current computing power, it would probably take us two years to brute-force crack it."

"Two years?" Wei Xun frowned. "That's too long."

Nan Yan can't wait two years, and neither can the children controlled by the club.

"There's nothing we can do," Lu You sighed. "We can't get enough equipment through legitimate channels. The computing power of these servers is simply insufficient."

Wei Xun paused for a few seconds before speaking, "I can help you get some equipment. The Wei Group's R&D department can legitimately purchase high-performance computing servers and GPU clusters, which can exponentially increase your computing power."

Lu You's eyes lit up: "Really?"

"This kind of equipment is strictly controlled, so we can't just send it to you openly," Wei Xun said. "I'll have the R&D department report it as damaged and dispose of it as scrap. Then you can just send someone to collect the scrap metal."

"That's wonderful!" Lu You stood up excitedly. "Mr. Wei, thank you so much!"

Yan Chong also breathed a sigh of relief, and his eyes showed more approval as he looked at Wei Xun.

"I'll help you get the equipment, but on one condition," Wei Xun said, looking at Lu You. "After the card is cracked, I need to know all the information inside."

"No problem." Lu You nodded immediately: "We never intended to hide it from you in the first place."

He turned and walked to a cabinet, took out a USB drive, and handed it to Wei Xun: "Welcome to 'Jingwei Hai'. This is our proprietary encrypted communication software. It requires a key to log in, so it's absolutely secure. We'll contact each other online from now on. We can discuss the equipment details when you get back."

Wei Xun took the USB drive and put it in his pocket.

Just then, Yan Chong's phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID, his expression changed, and he walked to a corner to answer the phone.

His voice was very low, and it was hard to hear what he was saying, but his brows furrowed more and more tightly.

After hanging up the phone, he walked over and looked at Wei Xun with a serious expression: "Mr. Wei, I have bad news."

"What?"

"It's possible that it wasn't just 'Jingwei Hai' who secretly broke into your hotel room today," Yan Chong said. "There was another group of people, very professional, who avoided all the blind spots of the surveillance cameras, leaving only a blurry silhouette."

Wei Xun's pupils suddenly contracted: "You mean...?"

"We can't be sure who those people are. They might be from the club, or they might not," Yan Chong said in a deep voice. "The situation is unclear right now. For your safety, let's not contact each other for the time being. Also, finish up your business in Beijing as soon as possible and go back home."

Wei Xun's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected that he might already be being watched.

He looked down at the USB drive in his hand and hesitated for a moment.

He is currently in Beijing, where he has to meet with officials from the Ministry of Commerce and attend a review meeting.

It's too dangerous to carry this USB drive when entering or leaving government buildings.

He handed the USB drive to Lu You: "I can't take this with me for now. I'm on a business trip in Beijing, and it's inconvenient to carry this with me; it's easy to get caught. Come find me when you need it."

Lu You took the USB drive: "Alright. Be careful."

The two discussed some more details, such as the time when the equipment was scrapped, the location of the warehouse, and the handover code.

Wei Xun remembered them all.

After the conversation, Yan Chong saw Wei Xun off.

Reaching the back door of the bar, Yan Chong patted him on the shoulder: "Mr. Wei, remember, forget about your business with 'Jingwei Hai' for now, return to your normal life, and don't reveal any flaws. Otherwise... there might be danger."

Wei Xun nodded without saying a word, turned and walked into the alley, disappearing into the night.

He hailed a taxi and returned to the hotel.

The room was still the same. He took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and lay down on the bed.

I slept very soundly and didn't dream.

At six o'clock in the evening, Dou Xuan knocked on his door right on time.

"Are you ready? We can't be late for Minister Qiao's dinner party." Dou Xuan was dressed in a suit, his hair neatly combed.

Wei Xun, dressed neatly and adjusting his tie, said, "Let's go."

The two got into the car and drove towards Qiao Pi's villa.

Chopi's villa is located in the wealthy area of ​​the capital. The yard is very large, and there are two security guards standing at the gate, making it heavily guarded.

The car drove into the yard and parked in front of the villa.

The servants respectfully led them inside.

The living room was large and decorated in a magnificent style, with many calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls.

Qiao Pi was already waiting in the living room. He was nearly sixty years old, with gray hair, a slightly protruding belly, and a kind smile on his face.

"Xiao Dou, Xiao Wei, you've arrived." Qiao Pi stood up with a smile and shook hands with them.

Dou Xuan had his assistant hand over the gift he had brought: "Minister Qiao, this is just a small token of my appreciation. It's a painting I had someone buy from overseas; it's an authentic work by a famous artist. Please take a look and see if you like it."

Qiao Pi opened the wooden box, inside which was a scroll of framed calligraphy and painting.

He unfolded it and looked at it, his eyes lighting up: "Great painting, wonderful! Xiao Dou, you're too kind."

"Of course," Dou Xuan said with a smile. "The precision instrument export project that our Wei and Dou families are collaborating on will still require Minister Qiao's continued attention."

Qiao Pi put away the calligraphy and painting, patted Dou Xuan on the shoulder: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing with the project. I'll attend the review meeting tomorrow in person."

The servant brought out tea, which was the finest Longjing tea.

Dou Xuan was still chatting with Qiao Pi, discussing nothing more than polite official pleasantries.

Qiao Pi smiled broadly, patting Dou Xuan's shoulder from time to time, looking very affectionate.

Wei Xun listened with a forced smile as he picked up his teacup, but his gaze remained fixed on the wall in the living room.

There was an oil painting hanging on the wall, depicting a vast ocean with surging waves.

The art style is very abstract, nothing special.

But Wei Xun's gaze was fixed on the lower right corner of the oil painting's frame, where a line of small print was printed—

Mona Gallery.

Wei Xun's heart suddenly tightened.

Mona Gallery is the account that receives money from the Thorn Rose Club!

This old bastard surnamed Qiao not only paid annual membership fees to the Thorn Rose Club under the guise of buying paintings, but also openly hung the paintings, which he used as a pretext for the transaction, in his home.

Wei Xun's gaze swept over the two servants in the living room.

They were all young, beautiful, wearing cheongsams, and had slender figures.

But his walking posture was strange, with very small steps, as if he was being controlled by something.

Moreover, his face was expressionless, his eyes were empty, and he had a numb indifference.

Wei Xun's heart sank.

These two servants are probably also "products" of the club!