Chapter 524: I Need Some Information

Chapter 524: I Need Some Information

“I need some information,” Wu Chen said, smiling at Shang Yunlu.

A flash of understanding crossed Shang Yunlu’s eyes. He thought he’d figured it out. Wu Chen must want Hezhong Media’s trade secrets, which was why he’d come to threaten him—or rather, to use both threats and inducements.

“Ahem, Mr. Wu.”

Shang Yunlu cleared his throat again. He looked distinctly uncomfortable as he studied Wu Chen, and after choosing his words, he said with some unease, “Mr. Wu, I’m sure you know that I’m only middle management at Hezhong Media. I’m afraid it would be very difficult for me to get access to the sort of information you need…”

Shang Yunlu seemed afraid of something and was clearly troubled. But then he abruptly sped up, trying to explain himself. “I… I’m not saying I don’t want to help you. It’s just that I probably won’t have the opportunity or the ability to…”

Wu Chen believed Shang Yunlu loved Bai Nawei deeply and very much wanted Guan Hongrun in prison. So the helplessness he was displaying right now wasn’t genuine. He was merely trying to bargain.

Although Wu Chen wasn’t actually trying to force Shang Yunlu into anything through threats, Shang Yunlu didn’t see it that way.

“I don’t need any of Hezhong Media’s trade secrets,” Wu Chen interrupted Shang Yunlu’s performance, smiling at him.

“Nor do I need you to sneak into anywhere you aren’t supposed to go. In fact, the information I want has nothing to do with Hezhong Media itself.”

Shang Yunlu stared at Wu Chen, momentarily stunned.

He was confused. He understood every word Wu Chen had said, but couldn’t immediately make sense of it. Information that had nothing to do with Hezhong Media?

“Mr. Wu, you…” Shang Yunlu hesitated, then asked, “Aren’t you asking me to get something from inside Hezhong…?”

“I am asking you to get it from inside Hezhong,” Wu Chen interrupted.

“But…” Shang Yunlu was even more confused.

“You should know what I’m talking about.” Wu Chen smiled at him. “The information I need is on the internal network storage server in your publicity department. The file numbers begin with ‘sc’…”

“Sc…” Shang Yunlu repeated.

Perhaps because he was so nervous, it took him several seconds to realize what Wu Chen meant, even though these were files he ought to have known extremely well.

“You want the scandal files on artists from other companies?” Shang Yunlu asked quickly.

“Exactly.” Wu Chen nodded with a smile.

Strictly speaking, calling them scandal files wasn’t entirely accurate. They were collections of gossip, damaging revelations, and evidence gathered over many years by Hezhong Media about artists and celebrities working for rival companies.

They covered everything from secret romances, concealed marriages, affairs, bigamy, illegitimate children, and domestic violence to even more serious criminal offenses.

Hezhong Media had files like these. So did Huaxing Entertainment.

Rumors could be common knowledge throughout the industry, but only a handful of major entertainment groups and certain paparazzi studios could obtain large quantities of solid evidence.

Everyone had leverage over everyone else, creating a kind of balance in which nobody exposed anybody. That was also why so many things widely known to industry insiders remained unknown to ordinary people outside the entertainment world.

And now, whether An Huaiguo wanted it or not, Wu Chen intended to strike Hezhong Media a devastating blow. He would inevitably have to withstand Hezhong Media’s retaliation as well.

Xu Weilai had already jumped from a building to kill himself. Wu Chen wouldn’t allow another incident like that to happen during this period.

“Those files… those… you want me to make a copy… for you?” Shang Yunlu asked, looking uncertain.

“Not just that,” Wu Chen said with a smile. “I need you to copy them, then completely delete the originals from the server.”

At last, Shang Yunlu understood Wu Chen’s purpose.

With Huaxing and Hezhong at war, deleting those files would directly eliminate most of Hezhong Media’s means of retaliation. The secretly taken photographs, the contact details of countless people, detailed written accounts of incidents, recordings of the people involved, videos—many were unique and existed only in digital form.

Even if the files were deleted, the events themselves would still exist in people’s memories. But without evidence, nobody would dare make accusations recklessly. If they couldn’t prove their claims, they could face legal liability.

Many of the sordid affairs from years ago were now being vehemently denied by everyone involved. There was simply no way to obtain the evidence again.

“Well… deleting them… it’s not that I can’t, but I…”

Shang Yunlu was still speaking when—

Creak.

The private-room door suddenly opened.

Peng Wei walked in carrying a laptop bag. He came to the table and took the laptop out.

It was the computer Wu Chen had asked him to bring.

Peng Wei’s entrance didn’t interrupt Shang Yunlu. He was still tense, all his attention fixed on Wu Chen. Or rather, he simply didn’t care whether Peng Wei came or went.

“But I… I’m not sure. I don’t know much about computers. Wouldn’t someone find out? The access logs and all that, I…” Shang Yunlu looked at Wu Chen.

“If you went in and deleted the files directly, of course there would be traces of what you’d done,” Wu Chen said with a smile.

Shang Yunlu’s expression changed.

“However,” Wu Chen continued, changing tack, “I have a program.”

Peng Wei was standing nearby and had already opened the laptop. Wu Chen gestured for him to sit, then drew the laptop toward himself. He took out his phone and connected it to the laptop via Bluetooth.

Before coming here, Wu Chen had written the program at An Menglan’s place and transferred it to his phone.

Now he transferred it from his phone to Peng Wei’s laptop.

The private room was very quiet.

Peng Wei, seated beside him, and Shang Yunlu, sitting opposite, watched Wu Chen click the mouse without saying a word.

“Look here…” Wu Chen shifted the laptop toward Shang Yunlu, gestured at the screen, and began operating it again.

“Enter the folder name here…”

“Set the deletion time here…”

“Once that’s set, click here.”

The program Wu Chen had written on short notice had no graphical polish, so its interface was naturally crude. But it was extremely powerful. Wu Chen demonstrated how to use it for Shang Yunlu.

“That’s all… I’ll send you the program. When you get back, install it on your company computer and access the storage server…”

“You can schedule the deletion for tonight, after you’ve left work. As long as you leave your computer running, the program will automatically access the server through the internal network, copy and delete the relevant files, erase the traces, and then delete itself. In the end, all that will be left on your computer are a few junk files that won’t mean anything to anyone else. You can clear them away with any cleanup software…”

As Wu Chen demonstrated and explained everything, Shang Yunlu could only stare in amazement.

It wasn’t that the program was especially complicated. Quite the opposite—it was extraordinarily simple to use. All he had to do was enter a folder name and click a few times.

The important thing was that Wu Chen had produced this program on the spot.

He’d come prepared!

Thoroughly prepared!

Had Wu Chen even hired a hacker in advance to write this program for deleting files and erasing the traces?!

“Mr. Wu, this program… can it really… what if…” Shang Yunlu clearly couldn’t bring himself to trust Wu Chen.

“I wrote it. There won’t be a problem,” Wu Chen said directly.

“You wrote it?” Shang Yunlu froze for a moment, then instinctively glanced at Peng Wei.

Before Wu Chen arrived, Peng Wei had told Shang Yunlu certain things about him, but he hadn’t mentioned that Wu Chen could write software.

“You have no reason to doubt me. Ruining you would do me no good. Working together would. As long as you do this for me, the terms I offered earlier remain unchanged,” Wu Chen said with a smile.

Shang Yunlu fell silent and looked at the laptop screen again.

He didn’t really think Wu Chen would use such an elaborate method just to harm him. There was no need for anything so complicated. He could already sense—and was becoming certain—that Wu Chen had approached him for a mutually beneficial arrangement.

But… it was all so sudden!

Everything had developed so quickly, and so absurdly!

“Mr. Wu, I have one more question…” Shang Yunlu was silent for more than ten seconds before speaking. As if something had suddenly occurred to him, he turned sharply toward Wu Chen.

“You mean… you’re not sure whether there are other backups?” Wu Chen asked directly.

“…Yes.” Shang Yunlu was plainly unaccustomed to the speed of Wu Chen’s thinking. He paused before answering.

“There are backups. I know where they are,” Wu Chen said.

“Where?” Shang Yunlu asked.

“At Guan Hongrun’s house. There’s a black external hard drive in his safe,” Wu Chen replied directly.

“Ah, well… then that…” Shang Yunlu grew nervous and hurried to explain. “Mr. Wu, I’m afraid I can’t get the one in his safe. I don’t even know where the safe is…”

“I don’t need you to get it,” Wu Chen interrupted with a smile. “Bai Nawei is his wife. She knows where the safe is. Give her a call, and she can take it right now.”

Shang Yunlu stopped speaking abruptly, utterly stunned. He stared at Wu Chen, his eyes wide and vacant.

A sudden chill swept through him.

Only now did Shang Yunlu realize that, ever since Wu Chen called him yesterday, everything seemed to have been planned out in advance. Everyone was caught up in Wu Chen’s calculations and arrangements, and he seemed to know far, far too much ahead of time.