*Snap* The long-haired man unplugged the external hard drive's data cable and said, "OK, everything's been cut and pasted. But dude, your computer's casing isn't very nice, yet it can run such high-resolution videos. I really admire you. You must have DIY'd it yourself, you're a master! You're a hidden talent."
Zhao Qiang chuckled awkwardly. Actually, he also had some questions he couldn't figure out. The laptop's hard drive was only 6GB, but the files copied by the other party were at least tens of gigabytes. How could this be? Could it be that Xiao Wei had already modified the hard drive? He would have to ask her when no one was around.
With the transaction completed, both parties relaxed. Hu Xiaojiang checked the time and said to Zhao Qiang, "How about we grab a late-night snack?"
Zhao Qiang rubbed his stomach and realized he was indeed a little hungry, and it was well past closing time, so he said, "Okay, I'll close the shop."
After restarting the monitoring system and turning off all the lights in the store, Zhao Qiang slung his laptop over his shoulder, locked the store, and followed Hu Xiaojiang to a nearby night market. The temperature was quite cool at the end of September, and they chose a roadside barbecue stall to sit down.
Hu Xiaojiang said to Zhao Qiang, "These three are my buddies. The one with long hair is Tong Xiaogang, the one with short hair is Zhang Zhiyang, the last one is Shan Xiangfei, and the other one, Gong Dongyang, is staying at home. You helped me a lot this time, no doubt about it. From now on, we're friends."
Zhao Qiang didn't smear the deal for two reasons: first, he was afraid of delaying the transaction and causing it to fail; second, he wanted to get to know Hu Xiaojiang, hoping to gain a customer for his repair shop in the future. Five computers were enough to make a small business, and cleaning and reinstalling the system once a year could generate a considerable profit. Now it seemed that he had achieved his goals.
Tong Xiaogang asked, "Mr. Zhao, is that computer store yours?"
Zhao Qiang shook his head: "No, just call me Zhao Qiang. I'm still an apprentice."
Zhang Zhiyang said, "If an apprentice is this good, what will he be like in the future?"
Zhao Qiang said, "What's so great about it? I just met a few friends by chance, and they were willing to help me. Also, it's because you guys trusted me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have earned this money. Hehe, I'll treat you to supper tonight." Zhao Qiang felt a little embarrassed to have earned money from them, so treating them to supper was a way of giving back.
Hu Xiaojiang glanced at his companion and then said, "Zhao Qiang, since we're all honest people, I'll be frank. You really helped us this time, and your 10,000 yuan was the lowest price we could offer. In the end, we still got the lion's share, so we should treat you to this meal. We'll just have a simple supper, and we'll treat you properly at a high-end hotel later."
"Ah," Zhao Qiang was speechless. Ten thousand yuan was only a small fraction of the price they charged the creative studio. He thought he was being a shrewd businessman, but it seemed he had lost money this time. He still had a lot to learn about business. Actually, this was mainly because Zhao Qiang didn't understand the market, so he couldn't be blamed.
Tong Xiaogang said, "Fatty Hu, how can we only invite him once? We should invite Zhao Qiang more often in the future. It would be best to invite all his online friends as well. We're all in the special effects animation business, so we're sure we can get along."
Zhao Qiang knew exactly what Tong Xiaogang was up to. He wanted to buy the animation directly from Zhao Qiang's so-called behind-the-scenes team, but how could Zhao Qiang let him have his way? So he said, "Those people won't show their faces. Once they find out that I've exposed their whereabouts, they'll probably immediately cut off contact with me, and then we'll all go our separate ways."
Tong Xiaogang said, "I see. It seems we're not destined to get to know each other. But with Zhao Qiang here, it's the same, don't you all agree?"
At this moment, the meat skewers and draft beer were served. Hu Xiaojiang raised his glass and said, "Zhao Qiang, cheers to the success of our first collaboration!"
(I had something to do today and got back late. I apologize for the long update. Also, kind folks, please vote for this chapter.)
Volume 1 [019] Remodeling
Because he was preoccupied with modifying the electronic watch, Zhao Qiang didn't dare to drink too much. The late-night snack lasted for less than an hour. Although it was short, Hu Xiaojiang and the other three became like brothers with Zhao Qiang. It turned out that they were all technical school graduates who had formed a studio because they loved computers and knew a little about animation. Based on the previous transaction and this meal, they would naturally not forget Zhao Qiang if they had any repair business in the future.
Considering there wouldn't be any buses running at this time, Zhao Qiang generously hailed a taxi back to school. As he handed over the red bills when he got out, Zhao Qiang felt incredibly proud, straightening his back and puffing out his chest. It's so good to be rich! Of course, he still needed to get change. Zhao Qiang walked into the dormitory building with his head held high. Today was Saturday, and the dormitory building didn't lock until 11:30.
The dormitory door was locked, so Zhao Qiang took out his key and opened it. It was pitch black inside. He grabbed the light switch and turned it on. Donghai University never stopped running electricity on Friday and Saturday nights. The beds were empty; it seemed those guys had finally gotten restless and gone out for another all-nighter. This made it easier for Zhao Qiang to modify the room. He locked the door, opened his laptop, and then dragged the old black box out from under the bed.
Xiao Wei recognized it at a glance. "Yes, that's it! It took me a lot of effort to successfully modify it back then!"
Zhao Qiang asked, "What's wrong? Did you remember something?" Zhao Qiang had always been very curious about Xiao Wei's background.
Xiao Wei shook her head: "I can only remember this. I don't have any other impressions. After all, too much information about my background has been lost. Maybe I can remember something by using the remaining data on this circuit board. Let's start modifying it right away."
Zhao Qiang was about to watch the renovation process when he took off his digital watch, placed it in front of his laptop, and said, "Okay, what do you need me to do?"
Xiao Wei said, "Put the black box on the table too, and then brother can just wait for success."
Zhao Qiang lifted the black box onto the computer desk with force, and the desk creaked as he put it down; it was too heavy.
A bunch of data started running on the screen, which Zhao Qiang couldn't understand. He could only ask, "Xiao Wei, have you modified this laptop? Otherwise, how come tens of gigabytes of data were copied today? I remember the hard drive is only 6GB."
Xiao Wei laughed and said, "Of course, this is my home. Because these components are in close contact with my chip, I can slowly modify them when I turn on the computer and go online. These processes are not visible to the naked eye, so I didn't tell you, brother. But tonight's modification is different. This is the first attempt at external modification, so brother, please watch carefully."
The lights in the room suddenly went out, and then Zhao Qiang heard someone in the next dormitory yell, "Damn it, my computer restarted! Who's using high-powered appliances in the dorm!" At this moment, the voltage was severely insufficient, and most computers couldn't handle it and would restart.
A cloud of white mist rose before Zhao Qiang's eyes. At first, he thought he was seeing things because of the alcohol, so he quickly rubbed his eyes. There was no doubt that it was a cloud of mist. This cloud of mist enveloped the black box next to the laptop, and then separated a small cloud to envelop Zhao Qiang's ordinary digital watch. The digital watch slowly rose into the air with the mist, and Zhao Qiang curiously wanted to touch it.
Xiao Wei suddenly spoke up to warn, "Brother, be careful! These mists are energy clusters; your body can't handle them!"
Zhao Qiang hurriedly withdrew his hand and obediently sat down to the side. The electronic watch suddenly started spinning in the void, and it spun faster and faster until Zhao Qiang could no longer see its shape. At this moment, he observed the black box in another cloud of mist. A piece of the tattered outer skin gradually decomposed and entered the rapidly spinning cloud of mist of the electronic watch along the white mist connecting the two clouds of mist.
After the outer shell of the black iron box was disassembled and transported, the two broken integrated blocks also disassembled and disappeared. Then, the fog on the black box was transferred to the electronic watch, which made it spin faster. Zhao Qiang felt a little dizzy and could only look away. About five minutes later, there was a snap. Zhao Qiang looked back and saw that the fog had disappeared. His electronic watch was still on the table, but it seemed a bit too big.
Bang bang bang, someone was knocking on the door. Zhao Qiang hurriedly stuffed the remaining black box back under the bed, then grabbed the electronic watch, put it on his wrist, and made a hidden hand gesture to Xiao Wei on the screen to open the door.
Standing outside the door were two officers from the school's security department. As they peered into the dormitory, they said, "Excuse me, students, we suspect that you have high-powered electrical appliances in your dormitory. Please cooperate with our inspection."
Zhao Qiang then realized that the voltage had been very low, which must have been because Xiao Wei had used up a lot of energy during the modification. And now the light bulb's brightness had not been restored, which meant that Xiao Wei was continuing to modify its wireless device. Damn it, someone had noticed and the secret was about to be exposed!
Although he was afraid, Zhao Qiang pretended to be indifferent and said, "High-powered appliances? Does a laptop count? You are welcome to come in and inspect."
The two officers spotted the laptop on the table immediately. However, since four or five other laptops were still running in other dormitories, they didn't pay any attention to it. They simply searched under the table and bed, even pulling out the black box that Zhao Qiang had just hidden. But the two officers didn't take the black box seriously at all. Seeing that it was just a damaged electronic box, they stuffed it back in.
After a careful inspection, the two officers exchanged a glance and said, "What's going on? The indicator clearly shows that the current loss in this dormitory is too high."
Zhao Qiang said nervously, "There must be an electrical leak somewhere. I hope it won't burn out my computer."
One of the officers glanced at Zhao Qiang's laptop and said, "So what if your crappy computer burns out? Okay, sorry to bother you, classmate. It shouldn't be related to what you're doing in your dorm. It's probably just old wiring. We're going to go down and cut off the power to call an electrician to come and fix it. You should get some rest."
After the two security officers left, Zhao Qiang quickly locked the door and turned around to call out to Xiao Wei, "Hey girl, how come it used up so much battery power!"
Xiao Wei reappeared on the desktop, the background still a black DOS command box, with data flashing inside. "Brother, I reminded you before, this is only because I used the energy stored in the chip to supplement it, otherwise the power in this building would not be enough to support this renovation. Fortunately, I have completed the modification of the power adapter, otherwise such a large current would have burned it out long ago."
Zhao Qiang was speechless. He should never have agreed to Xiao Wei's request for the "reform" so easily. Luckily, the two security officers didn't notice anything amiss, otherwise Xiao Wei's identity would have been in danger.
"How much longer? The two security officers who were checking just now went to shut off the power," Zhao Qiang reminded Xiao Wei.
Xiao Wei said, "Just one more minute, just one more minute. I've already modified the wireless network card and am now modifying the Bluetooth device." Because the modification was being done inside Xiao Wei's 'body,' Zhao Qiang didn't see the white mist as before. Perhaps it was because the modification time was too short, which is why the power consumption was so huge. If the modification had been done slowly like before, the change in the bulb's brightness probably wouldn't have been noticeable.
Snap! The light went out. Zhao Qiang's heart clenched. He was afraid that the sudden power outage might cause some part of Xiao Wei to malfunction. He really didn't know how he would live if he lost Xiao Wei.
Fortunately, the screen was still lit, but the black DOS window had stopped scrolling. Zhao Qiang called out cautiously, "Xiao Wei, Xiao Wei? Are you alright? The power went out, are you okay?"
*Snap*, the black command window disappeared, and the beautiful white cat once again filled the entire screen. Its fur looked even whiter, and its face was even prettier and cuter. "Brother, the timing is perfect. The transformation is a success."
Because of the power outage and complete darkness, Zhao Qiang pointed at the screen and said, "My laptop clearly doesn't have a battery, so why is it still working?"
Xiao Wei tilted her cat head and smiled, "Of course it's the energy I stored in the chip. It's much more effective than your laptop batteries. Although I can't remember my background, many functions have started to recover. Brother, I can help you with many things in the future."
Using chips to store electrical energy is truly amazing! Zhao Qiang was so excited he almost jumped for joy. He figured the government should at least award him a Spark Program Science and Technology Award for this technology. Of course, Zhao Qiang wouldn't participate in the selection; that would expose Xiao Wei's existence. He figured he'd better get a suitable battery in the next few days to make it look good, otherwise, it would be too strange for Zhao Qiang's laptop to run without a battery while everyone else was experiencing power outages.
"Xiao Wei, your brother is so happy!" Zhao Qiang hugged the screen and kissed it twice, making the kitten shyly back away, its entire face turning red with embarrassment. Zhao Qiang, however, didn't care at all, and took off the digital watch on his wrist, saying, "Quickly try this thing to see if it works. Whether I can pass the exam depends on it."
With a flash, the screen of the digital watch in Zhao Qiang's hand magically turned colorful, displaying a miniature white cat. "Meow," a cat's meow came through the watch's miniature speaker, and then Xiao Wei on the watch screen said, "Brother, say something to the watch, and I'll test the microphone's sensitivity."
"Hello, hello," Zhao Qiang called out twice.
"OK, I'll send you the data. Observe which font is most suitable for reading."
The digital watch's color screen dimmed, and rows of text slowly flashed across it. Zhao Qiang identified a font that he considered the least bulky and most legible. Then, Xiao Wei instructed him to use the digital watch to scan the exercises in his workbook using the light from his laptop screen. The scans were then transmitted via Bluetooth to the laptop for analysis, and finally, the answers were sent back to the digital watch screen. The experiment succeeded on the first step, and Zhao Qiang cheered! Damn it, finally I don't have to worry about the exams!
Volume 1 [020] The Bet
When Zhao Qiang woke up, he felt refreshed. He touched the thick wad of money under his pillow and was overjoyed. Having money felt so reassuring! Although he had suffered some losses due to a pricing error, Zhao Qiang knew the consequences of greed and was content with what he had earned.
After getting up, brushing his teeth and washing his face, Zhao Qiang went to the bank and deposited nine thousand yuan. He didn't need the rest of his pocket money since he wasn't short of cash for the time being. Zhao Qiang didn't plan to go to the Home Inn computer company today. He planned to scan all the textbooks into his notebook so that Xiao Wei could help him cheat. Otherwise, if he failed because there was no relevant information on the Internet, who would he complain to?
Knock, knock, knock. Someone was knocking on the door. Zhao Qiang was sitting at the table, busy turning the pages of a book for Xiao Wei. He casually asked, "Who is it?"
"I am Xu Xiaoya." It was a female voice.
Zhao Qiang jumped, quickly closed his laptop screen, and ran to open the door. It really was the class monitor. Today she was wearing a V-neck dress, the light pink color making her look very cute. However, the neckline was a bit deep, revealing a patch of fair skin. In addition, Xu Xiaoya was originally a voluptuous girl, so this outfit was cute yet sexy. Coupled with her pretty face, she was really tempting.
"Zhao Qiang, where is the others?" Xu Xiaoya glanced around the dormitory, then covered her nose and walked in. The boys' dorms all smelled like this, so few girls wanted to come. If she weren't the class monitor, she wouldn't have come to visit either.
Zhao Qiang said, "They probably went to the classroom to study. The exam is tomorrow, so they won't waste any time."
Xu Xiaoya stared at Zhao Qiang for a couple of seconds, making him feel uneasy. Xu Xiaoya then asked, seemingly with a hidden meaning, "Is that so?"
Zhao Qiang said somewhat guiltily, "Probably, maybe, perhaps, it's about the same. I got up late this morning and didn't see them."
Xu Xiaoya went over and flipped through Zhao Qiang's textbook. Seeing that he had highlighted all the important points, she nodded, relieved that her efforts in giving him the notes hadn't been in vain. Suddenly, Xu Xiaoya noticed the laptop on the table and asked in surprise, "Yours?"
Zhao Qiang nodded: "I put them together myself. They're all old parts that other people didn't want. It's a bit slow, but it's still good enough for learning."
Xu Xiaoya tapped the keyboard that was wobbling from side to side and said, "It is a bit old, but if you put it together yourself, it is not easy. Zhao Qiang, to be honest, I really admire you. You have supported your college life by earning money with your own hands all these years. You are the only one in our class who can do that. I heard that you are working at a computer company recently?"
Zhao Qiang nodded: "The boss is a good person. He's only been here a few days and he's already given out bonuses several times."
Xu Xiaoya smiled and said, "Really? Then you'd better work hard. After you learn the skills, you might be able to open a computer company after graduation, and I'll work for you then."
Zhao Qiang had plans to open a computer company, but he never thought of hiring Xu Xiaoya to work for him. With her looks alone, she would definitely be sought after by major companies. Zhao Qiang's planned small shop couldn't afford to support such a beautiful woman.
A series of hurried footsteps came from outside the dormitory, followed by Liu Dazhuang's loud voice: "I took on their entire team by myself! Damn it, what if you're not happy? In the end, we still beat them to a pulp."
Hu Le said, "Alright, stop discussing it. Go get some sleep. Xiao Nian and I still need to copy questions onto your thighs this afternoon."
Wang Xiaonian said, "I stayed up all night, and my hair has turned quite a bit whiter. I need to catch up on my sleep, otherwise I'll definitely fail tomorrow's exam."
In the dormitory, Xu Xiaoya gave Zhao Qiang a meaningful look and said, "Going to the classroom to study? You did a good job covering for me."
Zhao Qiang's face flushed red, inwardly cursing Liu Dazhuang and the others. Why did they have to come back of all times, of all times, their class monitor had to catch them? Just then, Liu Dazhuang and his two companions stepped into the dormitory. Their first sight was of Zhao Qiang, and the three of them were still shouting, "Zhao Qiang, we had a blast last night! We gave those guys from the University of Science and Technology a real beating..."
Zhao Qiang frantically tried to wink at Liu Dazhuang, but Hu Le chuckled and said, "Zhao Qiang, are you blind? Why are you blinking?"
Wang Xiaonian was the first to see Xu Xiaoya standing to one side with a stern face. He quickly pulled Liu Dazhuang and Hu Le aside, and only then did the two realize that there were other people in the dormitory. When they recognized the class monitor, their expressions changed. Liu Dazhuang hurriedly changed his words, saying, "Ugh, memorizing textbooks all night has exhausted me... Hey, class monitor? What are you doing here?"
Xu Xiaoya said sternly, "Alright, stop pretending in front of me. You went to the internet cafe all night again, didn't you? The exam is tomorrow. I'm only lecturing you because we've been classmates for over three years. If you fail this time, you're in big trouble!"
After saying that, Xu Xiaoya hurriedly left the dormitory. Hu Le said somewhat unconvinced, "We have been studying very hard these past few days. Last night was just a relaxing pre-exam exercise. How do you know we will fail, class monitor? Maybe we will even do better than you."
Xu Xiaoya turned around abruptly, her shoulders trembling slightly. She looked quite angry. Well, she had meant well by reminding them to hurry up and review, but she was rebuffed. How could she feel at peace with that?
"Fine! Whoever gets a higher score than me in the midterm exam, I'll call him 'brother'!" Xu Xiaoya said fiercely. "But if any of you fail, you'll have to call me 'sister' forever!"
No one would agree to call this fierce-looking woman "sister," so Liu Dazhuang hurriedly said, "Class monitor, don't be angry. Hu Le was just saying that casually. How could our grades possibly be higher than yours? You've always been number one in our class, and this midterm exam is no exception. But we've really been studying hard these past few days. Of course, it's necessary to prepare some cheat sheets. We'll try our best not to fail any classes. Is that okay?"
Xu Xiaoya was originally a feisty person, and even in a pink dress, she wasn't the cute and shy type. She said, "I don't care, it's a deal. Anyone who fails this exam will have to call me 'sister' three times in front of the whole class! And if anyone gets a higher score than me, I'll call him 'brother' three times in front of the whole class!"
Liu Dazhuang looked miserable: "Squad leader, are you trying to force us to join the Liangshan bandits?"
Hu Le, however, said nonchalantly, "Dazhuang, what are you afraid of? We might not fail. As long as we pass, we won't have to call her 'sister,' right? As for getting a higher score than her, let's not even think about it."
Wang Xiaonian said, "Then let's not sleep anymore, let's hurry up and review and prepare cheat sheets, otherwise we'll lose face big time if we fail."
Xu Xiaoya added, "Don't blame me for not warning you, the proctoring will be exceptionally strict this time. If you're caught cheating, you'll be in big trouble! So, you'd better just memorize the questions honestly and don't try to find any shortcuts!"
Liu Dazhuang, Hu Le, and Wang Xiaonian looked surprised: "Oh no, really? Class monitor, is your information accurate?"
"Of course it's accurate! Don't you trust my relationship with the teachers?"
"I believe you, of course I believe you," Liu Dazhuang said with a long face. "I think we'd better hurry up and start memorizing the questions, we're in big trouble this time..."
Xu Xiaoya walked out of dormitory 404 triumphantly. She was pleased with the success of her provocation and intimidation tactics. She figured these four boys would definitely study hard, and as for them wanting to get better grades than her, that was just a pipe dream.