Chapter 302: What’s Blackmail Between Friends?

There was rarely any information that could escape Anthony’s detection. The more interconnected people were, the faster technological progress became, and the greater the involvement of machines. For example, the cloud saves, account usage records, plane ticket purchase record…

Cedrick was as cunning as they said, and he had a habit of covering all of his movement records. Not only were there smokescreen, even certain keywords were trapped. Once someone tried to hack and investigate Cedrick’s information, the man would be alerted to escape or retaliate…

Thankfully, Ol’ K knew where his limit was and surrendered from the beginning, requesting Anthony’s aid. Whether Ol’ K was lucky or cautious aside, the result was positive. Anthony looked around and instantly discovered the trap and the smokescreen.

He looked through the many clues and went for a deeper search. In the end, he confirmed the news that Cedrick was currently in Paris. Thus far, that information was not worth much; at most, they had only confirmed the authenticity of Edward’s tip.

Then, Anthony looked for the actual timing of the flights on that day and pulled out the surveillance at the airport for cranial comparison. Then it was the public transportation information that travelled through the airport… After jumping through multiple hoops, he finally came up with an image of Cedrick checking into a hotel. By then, Ye Shuang had already fallen a sleep, refreshed herself, and finished her breakfast.

Anthony blinked at her with his pair of large blue eyes that had no sign of black circles. He puffed up his cheeks in the computer screen and pleaded pitifully, “Honey, I haven’t even had my breakfast yet… Oh, now it should be lunch time already.”

“Help us find Cedrick soon, and after Xiao Su takes her revenge, we can return to San Lin City. Then, I’ll treat you.” Ye Shuang held the cup of coffee while she comforted Anthony.

“That cunning gentleman.” Anthony sent over Cedrick’s address huffily. He looked very unwilling. “It’s just a thief. Why is Xiao Su so insistent on finding him?”

“Apparently, it’s some kind of expert’s honor…” Ye Shuang was actually quite speechless. “Personally, I think a little prank would have sufficed, like getting Ol’ K to create some trouble for him online by leaking certain information… It’d be much better. It’s safer, and we wouldn’t even need to be there in person, so our flight time wouldn’t be affected… But Xiao Su appears like she needs to regain her honor in terms of her thieving skill. There’s no choice; I have to respect her decision.”

“The superior’s order is absolute!” Anthony said officiously with that cute baby face. “Xiao Shuang, you should be more adamant and stop yielding to those little girls!”

“Sister Shuang, I brought some milk for you… Huh? Who are these little girls Ace is talking about?” Su Zheng, who happened to walk in at that moment, asked out of curiosity.

“It’s nothing.” Ye Shuang calmly accepted the glass and cut off Anthony, who was still trying to speak. To prevent the professional from doing bad things, she went as far as pulling the plug out… Ever since she got to know Anthony, Ye Shuang had even stuck cardboard over the camera on her laptop… From this, it was clear how ubiquitous Anthony could get if he tried.

After clearing away the possibility of Anthony suddenly popping up on the screen, Ye Shuang took a sip of the warm milk and asked, “Just now, Anthony gave me Cedrick’s hotel address. Do you plan to go now, or do you need time to make some preparations? Do you need my help?”

Once Su Zheng heard that, she was instantly instilled with enthusiasm, switching from casual style to passionate, gladiator style. “You’ve found him? Good, there’s no need for preparation, let’s go now! A real expert doesn’t need to rely on tools. This time, I’ll let the foreigner witness our incredible and long culture and history!”

“…I’ll say it again.” Ye Shuang had dark lines on her face. “This kind of culture honestly is not something to be proud of…”

…

Leaving the home was not that simple. First, they had to inform Karen since they might not be back for dinner. Even though they were all adults and there was no need for a guardian, as guests, respecting the host’s emotions and dinner plan was basic courtesy.

After that, they needed to inform Qiu Yu and Rong Su. They were all in a different country, and they were friends who had stayed together for so many days already. A sudden disappearance might cause them to worry.

After informing everyone who needed to inform, basically no one other than these people knew that Ye Shuang and Su Zheng were leaving that day. The two walked to Karen’s garage to grab a car. Before the engine started, Edward’s call to ask to tag along came.

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“I know you guys are going to go find Cedrick,” Edward said confidently, using the certainty that felt like ‘there can only be one truth’. “Other than him, what else in France could be worth your attention? Based on your employee’s personality, she must be feeling dissatisfied, and I believe an interesting contest of skill is in order.”

“…You know too much.” Ye Shuang chuckled darkly.

“Actually, I know more than that.” Edward continued in a lazy tone that was bound to find him enemies. “Cedrick is a cunning little rat. Finding his information is not simple but not too hard either. At least five or six people I know can do something like that… But the thing is, Cedrick himself is very sensitive, and it is not going to be easy to escape his detection. Secondly, even if you manage to escape Cedrick’s radar, there is the FBI watching him…

“You got his address or location but did not tip off anyone. There aren’t that many people in the world who can do that. Let me think, let me think…”

Edward then screamed an exaggerated, “Wow! I just came up with a surprising possibility! Quite some time ago, I heard Anthony became employed to a Chinese woman. Is this his handiwork?”

Ye Shuang was silent for a moment before turning to ask Su Zheng, “Since you’ve known Ol’ K for so long, do you mind asking him if Tony is that famous in the hacker’s circle?”

“He’s not only famous, Sister Shuang!” Su Zheng was shocked. “Don’t tell me you only know that Anthony is good at computers?”

Ye Shuang was ashamed. “I indeed don’t know much about it. Can you give me some examples?”

“…Actually, I’m not that sure either.” Su Zheng thought about it and then said, “In any case, Ol’ K said he’s very good… Sigh, I’m a skillful worker. These types of computer and professional work are not for me.”

Then why did you sound so confident earlier‽ Ye Shuang was indignant.

On the phone, Edward did not understand Chinese, so he had no idea what the two girls were talking about. When the two girls went silent, Edward finally continued to ask impatiently, “It really is Anthony, right?”

“If the Anthony you said is the one with golden hair, blue eyes, and baby face… then probably yes.” Ye Shuang sighed. “I’m surprised so many people have been following Tony’s movements.”

“Intelligence crime can always catch people off-guard, especially through the use of internet…” Edward did not hide anything from her. “You probably don’t know how desperate the government and the powerful are in recruiting hackers. The best hackers in the world are either in jail or working for powerful organizations or the government. Anthony is the only one who is free to do anything he wants. He is the only exception to the rule, so you cannot imagine how many eyeballs he manages to attract on his own.”

Suddenly feeling like firing him… Ye Shuang brushed Edward off on the whole while she grabbed Su Zheng’s phone to send message to Anthony. The content of the message was simple. Ye Shuang only had one question—Ever since Anthony decided to stay at San Lin City, how many people had secretly stolen her information before?

Anthony probably planned to get to work after helping Ye Shuang, so he was not asleep, and his reply came soon. “Ha ha! None of them got it!”

Meaning people had been investigating her, and there was more than one. Suddenly, Ye Shuang felt the world turn dark.

“In any case, give me Cedrick’s address.” Edward had no idea Ye Shuang was already thinking about another thing, and he continued the earlier topic. “I will observe the happenings from afar, and I promise to not disturb you… Don’t be too stingy, you have to know that even though it is not easy for me to investigate Cedrick, it is very easy for me to alert him!”

What the f*ck! The fat foreigner dares to threaten us? Ye Shuang gritted her teeth, “Champs-Élysées No. XX. We’re only going to be there for thirty minutes, so we’re leaving at 12:50 pm sharp. Don’t blame me if you cannot find us!”

“Champs-Élysées No. XX?” The sound of that did not befit Edward came from his end. Different from his usual laziness, there was the sound of him putting on the coat quickly and hurring out the door. “That is perfect, I’m just nearby. No need for thirty minutes, I’ll be there in five!”

Ha ha… Looks like it’s not only the Chinese who liked to spectate interesting things…Ye Shuang thought to herself.