The police officers laughed upon hearing this, saying, "How could that be? There are so many migrant workers in China. At most, we can only find out their registered residence and the place where their ID card was issued by us using their ID card number. We can find out if they have a record in a public institution, but we can't find out about migrant workers."
"I can find the information here?"
"Hehe, sure!"
"Hey officer, can you help me check someone's information?" Chen Xu chuckled, pulled the young policeman aside, and secretly slipped a pack of newly bought Zhonghua cigarettes into his hand, saying, "Just check it out, give it a try, help me find someone's ID number."
The police officer pushed the cigarette back and said, "This won't do! It's against the rules. Who do you want to investigate?"
Chen Xu changed the subject, saying, "Oh dear, please don't ask so many questions. Just help me look it up, okay? It'll benefit everyone!"
"No, no!" The policeman shook his head. "This isn't something I can decide. It's not that I don't want to help, it's that I can't. First, it's a matter of principle and discipline. Second... to be honest, I'm new here and don't have that much authority. It needs the approval of those older guys."
Chapter 78: The Idea of a Cake Shop
Chen Xu walked out of the police station, feeling very frustrated. No matter how much he pleaded, they just wouldn't give it to him. The problem was, Chen Xu himself didn't dare reveal any information about that guy named Huo Hu, and they were stuck in this stalemate…
As Chen Xu walked out of the police station, he received a call from Gao Xiaojie. The woman's cheerful voice rang out on the other end of the line: "Handsome, what's up? Didn't you say you were going to give me a big meal tonight to calm my nerves? Where are you? We're starving! We're all starving!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Xu realized that this girl was incredibly oblivious; most people wouldn't recover so quickly after something like this. So Chen Xu said, "Take a taxi to the International Hotel first, I'll be there right away." Sure enough, Gao Xiaojie, upon hearing that they were going to the International Hotel, excitedly shouted, "Then hurry up and come!" and hung up the phone.
When Chen Xu arrived at the International Hotel, Gao Xiaojie and the other two women had already started eating. Guan Yi and Zhan Jing sat at their seats, eating fruit with restrained elegance and gentle movements, attracting the attention of the men around them. Gao Xiaojie, on the other hand, excitedly carried a plate around the counter... They were enjoying the buffet.
The buffet at the International Hotel is renowned, and of course, besides the delicious food, the price is equally famous—188 yuan per person. However, that's not much; seeing Gao Xiaojie's cheerful and happy expression, Chen Xu felt that the price was really not expensive.
Seeing Chen Xu arrive, Gao Xiaojie greeted him excitedly, "Hey, where have you been? Why are you so late? Well, eat as much as you want, don't be shy, look how much food I prepared for you. Make sure you finish it all!"
Chen Xu was startled when he saw the table full of food and said, "Oh my god, you're not going to make me eat all of this, are you?!"
Gao Xiaojie smiled sweetly: "Oh dear, you're a boy! And you've worked hard today, so I should treat you!"
Chen Xu said with a bitter face, "Is this a treat? It's a buffet! If I want something, I can just get it myself! What if you take so much and can't finish it all? You'll get fined!"
Gao Xiaojie nodded with a smile and said innocently, "I know! So you have to finish it, okay?" Seeing Chen Xu glare at her, Gao Xiaojie lowered her head and said pitifully, "I'm from the countryside, you know, can't I be naive? I didn't know I'd be fined at first, and I got excited and took a lot... Look at these crabs and squid, they actually taste pretty good!"
Chen Xu rolled his eyes, somewhat speechless, and said, "Never mind, there are four of us anyway..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Guan Yi laughed and said, "Don't count me in. I'm trying to maintain my figure lately, so I can't eat too much."
Zhan Jing smiled and said, "I can't eat much either."
"Huh?" Gao Xiaojie was dumbfounded: "Hey, you two are so unfair! There's so much food and you're not going to eat it?!"
Both women smiled, one alluring and the other innocent, leaving the men around them somewhat dumbfounded. Gao Xiaojie looked pitifully at Chen Xu: "Don't tell me you don't eat either..."
Chen Xu really wanted to refuse to eat, but considering that he would probably have to pay the fine himself, he gritted his teeth and said, "I'll eat! Don't take any more! It's good enough that I can finish this whole table!"
So the two of them pitifully began to deal with the table full of food. Anyone who's ever been to a buffet knows that the worst thing you can do is eat those easily filling cooked foods…like cakes, rice, etc. But Gao Xiaojie had brought three whole plates of small cakes! Chen Xu ate two plates by himself and then realized he couldn't swallow any more…
Chen Xu could only drink his cola while complaining to Guan Yi and Zhan Jing, saying that it was obvious that this was not their first time eating at a buffet, so why didn't they try to persuade her?
Zhan Jing smiled slightly and said, "It's rare for her to be so happy, so let's not spoil the mood."
Seeing Guan Yi nod, Chen Xu continued eating her cake, feeling rather dejected. Gao Xiaojie was also eating nearby, but she only ate one of each type before giving her lengthy critiques.
Guan Yi said, "While you were gone, the three of us discussed it and decided that opening a cake shop is indeed a good idea. As long as the cakes taste good and are unique, we can quickly attract a considerable number of customers. The initial investment of 100,000 yuan, plus rent and other expenses, can be recouped within a year if things go well. And when we close down, we can resell everything without losing any money. So..."
"so?"
"So we've decided to invest in and start this cake shop together. Are you interested?"
The four of us?
"Yeah. Hey, you're getting three beautiful women with you. Most people would kill for that, so don't be so reluctant, okay?"
"How could I be unwilling?" Chen Xu chuckled. "Sure, I have no objection. It's good to get some experience... Hmm, how do I become a shareholder?"
Guan Yi and Zhan Jing exchanged a glance. Guan Yi smiled and said, "You, Zhan Jing, and I will each contribute 30,000 yuan as initial capital, and Gao Xiaojie will contribute 10,000 yuan. But we will each own 25% of the shares, because basically the three of us are contributing capital, while Gao Xiaojie is the one who is really doing all the work. So naturally, she will own more shares..." Guan Yi glanced at Gao Xiaojie, who hadn't returned from the restroom yet, and said in a low voice, "Actually, we originally planned for the three of us to own 50%, and Gao Xiaojie to own 50%. But she didn't agree, so for now we can only do it this way, and we'll gradually return the shares to her later."
Chen Xu immediately said he had no objections. What objections could he possibly have?
It's obvious that all three of them wanted to help Gao Xiaojie, otherwise, how long would she have to pay back that 50,000 yuan? As for money, Guan Yi, that vixen, certainly didn't lack any; if she really wanted to make money, she had plenty of ways. As for Zhan Jing, during that game they did together, she didn't even blink an eye at the tens of thousands of yuan she earned, so she naturally didn't lack any either.
So Chen Xu readily agreed. Guan Yi chuckled and said, "I'll take care of the business license and health certificate, and Zhan Jing will choose the storefront. What about you? You need to find something to do, right?"
Chen Xu sweated a little and said, "I can do odd jobs, but I can't help with anything else! Besides, I have things to do right now." Chen Xu did indeed have things to do; he had no time for this. Thinking of the throat-slitting man, Chen Xu's interest waned. Guan Yi, observing his expression, realized that the throat-slitting incident might have been unpleasant for him, so he reassured him, "Don't worry, nothing should happen."
Chen Xu knew this woman was shrewd, so after thinking for a moment, he asked, "Let me ask you a question: If you know someone's ID number, what methods can you use to find out that person's real identity?"
After thinking for a moment, Guan Yi said, "Go to the police station to inquire."
"But the police station won't let us check other people's specific information."
Guan Yi smiled and said, "That's because of citizens' right to privacy. But if you really want to investigate, there are still many ways." The woman smiled confidently, and Chen Xu felt that she meant that if she wanted to investigate, she would have a good way... because it was obvious that this woman's family was rich and might even have power.
If she could investigate Chen Xu, she would have given up long ago!
But Chen Xu dared not say anything about this issue, otherwise, when he returned and caught the man who slit the throat, even if everything about him was not exposed, it would definitely arouse suspicion.
So when Guan Yi asked him who he wanted to investigate, Chen Xu stammered and said it was nothing, just asking casually.
The two women present were looking at him with meaningful eyes, clearly trying to figure something out... Although Zhan Jing seemed quite reserved, she was also a girl who was quite intelligent.
However, seeing that Chen Xu didn't say anything, the two wisely refrained from pressing him. Zhan Jing gently stirred the coffee in her cup with a delicate little spoon and said softly, "Actually, there are other methods, such as... hacking."
"Intrusion?"
"Yes. If I remember correctly, the country started building a national ID card information database in 2001, and it's now largely complete. Now, you can search for a person's name and photo online using their ID card number. The Ministry of Public Security's database should be able to find more specific information, such as household registration and current residence. If it's legitimate, you can even find the unit where the personnel file is located. But you probably can't find the specific personnel file."
Chen Xu's face turned even greener upon hearing this: "You mean... hacking into the Ministry of Public Security's network? Getting caught like that is a capital offense!"
The two women chuckled, but Guan Yi laughed heartily, while Zhan Jing smiled faintly. Indeed, in China, hacking into a state agency's website is a serious crime, with virtually no room for negotiation.
Guan Yi laughed and said, "Who exactly do you want to investigate? I can help you find out, so you don't have to risk being beheaded."
Zhan Jing laughed and said, "Actually, it's not as exaggerated as you say. It's not that easy to hack into the Ministry of Public Security's database because it's not connected to the external network, so you can't get in by ordinary means. However, as long as you use the internal network of the Public Security Bureau and know the query password, you can do it without anyone knowing."
Chen Xu's heart skipped a beat, sensing that this quiet girl was deliberately giving him a hint. Then he heard Zhan Jing continue, as if in conversation, "If you install an expired, undeletable Trojan on the police station's computer, then it really will be completely undetectable..."
Chapter 79 Locking onto the Throat-Slitting Man
After a hearty dinner that evening, Chen Xu and Gao Xiaojie practically collapsed onto the ground.
The table was laden with food, half of it seafood and shellfish, which the two of them stuffed into their stomachs. The greasy smell... Chen Xu almost went to the toilet and threw up several times. Once in the taxi, Chen Xu vowed he would never eat seafood for the next six months, while Gao Xiaojie, clutching her bulging belly, kept groaning and saying dejectedly, "This is it, I'll gain at least three pounds from this meal, I need to lose weight..."
However, seeing her like this, she basically didn't remember what happened that afternoon, which relieved everyone. They heard that of the other three girls who weren't seriously injured in the attack, one had already dropped out of school and gone home, while the other two were also having a hard time, living in constant fear and needing classmates to accompany them wherever they went.
This is, after all, a psychological trauma; it's good that she doesn't have that trauma.
The next afternoon, Chen Xu went to the police station again. The first thing he said to the police officer was, "After I went back yesterday, I drew a diagram about that man who slit the throat. I hope it can be of some help to you."
Chen Xu took out a USB drive, plugged it into the police station's computer, and then double-clicked on one of the pictures called "Throat-Slitting Man.jpg". The police officer was a little confused when he saw the picture. Chen Xu scratched his head embarrassedly: "I have never studied drawing, especially drawing on a computer. It is already very good that I can draw something like this."
The policeman rolled his eyes and said, "You're not a human, you're clearly a half-beast!"
The image was drawn using the most basic drawing software, and you could vaguely make out that it was a person... wearing a red coat, a dark blue woolen hat, large black-rimmed glasses, and a mask. To be honest, seeing this image was no different from not seeing it at all, but Chen Xu added a note next to it: "Height 180-183 cm, male, around 25 years old, and physically stronger than the average person."
The police officers were both amused and exasperated, thinking that this student was quite funny. His drawing wasn't even as lifelike as the one the expert had drawn based on his confession the day before. When Chen Xu saw the expert's drawing, he said embarrassedly, "Wow, it's so lifelike! Much more lifelike than mine! If I hadn't told you you had such talent, I wouldn't have made such a fool of myself! Hehe, sorry."
Chen Xu's attitude made the police officers a little embarrassed. After all, he was a student, and it was commendable that he offered to help. So the group smiled and replied that it was no problem at all, and that his attitude was very encouraging! Yesterday, we were so grateful for the stone you brought. We found that the blood on the stone was type A, which made a breakthrough in our work.
Chen Xu awkwardly unplugged the USB drive and said it was what he should do. "Since that's the case, I'll be leaving now. I won't bother you any longer."
Then he ran away in a flash, but the group of police officers who were laughing foolishly didn't notice the smug smile that appeared on Chen Xu's lips after he walked out the door.
This chapter's illustration was meticulously designed by Chen Xu. Of course, the "meticulous design" doesn't refer to the throat-slitting man in the picture who looks like a half-orc, but rather to another aspect.
During this period, Chen Xu also formally began learning the "Chinese language". He was not only able to write scripts to generate corresponding software, but also gained a certain understanding of computer hardware and software while learning.
This time, Chen Xu exploited an undiscovered vulnerability in the XP system, specifically a vulnerability in XP's built-in image and fax viewer. Using this vulnerability, a Trojan horse could be secretly imported into the system, embedding itself into the critical desktop process explorer.exe, and stealthily opening ports to turn the infected computer into a botnet.
Chen Xu pretended to open the image, but his real purpose was to open the image fax viewer and activate the Trojan horse system. This Trojan horse also had the function of automatically recording keystrokes, allowing Chen Xu to steal the password as well.
Chen Xu named this Trojan "Special Killer of Throat-Slitting Men," and it was the first Trojan he had ever independently created. Of course, Chen Xu didn't discover the vulnerability he used himself; he only found out after receiving a tutorial from Xiao Min. Moreover, he developed this Trojan virus based on the template of the earliest "Grey Pigeon Trojan variant."
Moreover, the method of deploying this Trojan is truly laughable... What kind of hacker would go out of their way to install a Trojan on someone else's computer? But it has to be done this way, because without a backdoor, Chen Xu's current skills are so advanced that he can't even hack into a system protected by Rising Firewall.
Regardless, this was Chen Xu's first work, and it should be considered epoch-making and a milestone. To be on the safe side, Chen Xu set the virus to automatically disappear after one day. That way, once the virus was gone, no one would know anything about it—perfect!
In fact, if Chen Xu hadn't been forced into this situation, why would he have resorted to this method? But it's pointless to talk about it now. After leaving the police station, Chen Xu went into a small hotel next door, booked a room by the hour, connected to the network with Xiao Min, and started his Trojan terminal to begin intrusion.
Because everyone is currently replacing their ID cards with second-generation ones, there's no worry about the police not accessing the query system. However, speaking of second-generation ID cards, Chen Xu thought of Xiao Min's census system. He had already changed to a second-generation ID card and knew it contained an IC chip that could record personal information, although the information wasn't comprehensive enough; blood type, fingerprints, and other details might not be recorded. This technology is actually achievable now, but it's probably not being implemented due to high costs. The future census system will likely be based on this.
Sure enough, Chen Xu soon received a hacked email in his Trojan terminal mailbox.
So Chen Xu swaggered into the other party's computer and found that the ID card query system was already open. He then entered the ID card number of Huo Hu, the man who slit the throat, and the system immediately found the relevant information.
"Huo Hu, male, born on July 22, 1980. Ancestral home: XX City, XX Province..."
I was admitted to Southwest Jiaotong University in 1998...
In 2002, I was admitted to the Department of Mathematics at Southwest Jiaotong University as a graduate student...
Graduated in 2005, and according to the employment report of Southwest Jiaotong University graduates, went to teach at XX City Industrial University...
"It really is in our city!" Chen Xu slammed his fist on the table excitedly. Seeing there was no more usable information, he quietly logged out and deleted the search results... Although Xiao Min always helped him clean up the mess, Chen Xu had been taught in his first lesson on hacking that the most important thing for a hacker is to protect themselves. So, this was a habit he had to maintain.
After finding Huo Hu's information, Chen Xu immediately logged onto the official BBS of the Industrial University.
The University of Technology is also a well-known university in the city, similar to Hopson University. However, Hopson University is a comprehensive university, while the University of Technology leans towards science and engineering. The two schools are not adjacent; they are about five or six bus stops apart, so there is not much connection between them.
After logging into the Shanghai University of Technology BBS, Chen Xu registered an account and the first thing he did was click on the forum search, using the keyword "Huo Hu".
The university's BBS was quite popular, with many posts. Chen Xu searched, and whether it was luck or Huo Hu's bad luck, he actually found posts related to "Huo Hu".
There were several posts, and Chen Xu clicked on them one by one, finding that they were all posted by students. But what surprised Chen Xu was that all the descriptions of Huo Hu in the posts were positive!
One post said that Professor Huo Hu's lectures were very engaging, and that he was also very witty and humorous. Another post said that Professor Huo Hu was a very nice person, and that all the students in his class liked him very much. Yet another post described how they went on a spring outing together and had a wonderful time…
Chen Xu was dumbfounded. Could it be that he had made a mistake? Was it just a coincidence of names, or to put it another way, was the blood on the stone not the throat-slitting man's, but this unfortunate Huo Hu's? And he had accidentally picked the wrong stone, or perhaps the stone had unfortunately gotten Huo Hu's blood on it a long time ago, and he just happened to scan it?
The more Chen Xu read the post, the colder his heart became. He thought to himself, "It's all over now. All the clues have gone cold!"
The post included several photos, one of which was titled "Me and Teacher Huo Hu." It was immediately obvious which person was the teacher and which was the student. While Huo Hu was also over 1.8 meters tall, he looked noticeably thinner than the man who slit the throat… Could it really not be him?!
“No.” Chen Xu thought for a moment and said to himself, “I can’t jump to conclusions so soon. I need to investigate further… I need to investigate whether the back of his head was broken.”
At that very moment, in a residential area outside the university, Huo Hu, whom all the students considered a good man, a model teacher and elder brother, was struggling frantically on his bed.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was deathly pale. His hair was a tangled mess, like straw, and a white gauze was conspicuously stuck to the back of his head!