Chapter 172: A Long, Sleepless Night

Xiao Yu didn’t sleep at all until the next morning. He spent the night analyzing the assassin organization, planning feasible strategies, and figuring out how to track them down.

By the time he got up, his mind was exhausted. Signs of mental fatigue were apparent. His focus was scattered.

After finally getting two hours of sleep, Xiao Yu woke up around nine. He made himself a cup of milk and added half a cup of sugar.

Worried about diabetes? Not right now. 

The best way to combat mental exhaustion was by consuming sugar. Glucose was the only energy source that the brain could use effectively. Most people who craved sweets might not just be indulging a sweet tooth, it was likely their brain signaling their body to replenish energy and relieve fatigue.

Stepping out of his apartment, Xiao Yu headed to a food stall. A normal young man wouldn’t be satisfied with just a glass of milk, right? He needed more.

At the food stall, Xiao Yu devoured a hearty breakfast. Just as he was about to leave, a woman sat down beside him.

“Hey, handsome, can I add you on WeChat?” she asked.

Xiao Yu glanced at her.

The woman looked to be around 25 or 26 years old, wearing a light blue jacket and a black leather miniskirt. Her long hair, dyed a dark gray, cascaded naturally over her chest, contrasting against her unusually pale skin.

She wasn’t exactly stunning, but she had a mature allure. However…

Despite her sweet smile and casual approach, her eyes were unnervingly calm, with a hint of coldness beneath the surface.

“Sure,” Xiao Yu nodded, pulling out his phone to open WeChat and preparing to scan her code.

“Oh, come on, handsome, you don’t even know how to use ‘Shake’?” the woman teased with a smile.

‘Shake?’

Xiao Yu’s eyes suddenly lit up in realization.

It was a handy new feature that made adding friends more convenient. Using near-field communication technology, two phones could connect by simply being close to each other.

Xiao Yu smiled, activated the feature on his phone, and brought it close to the woman’s device.

Ding.

The verification prompt appeared.

“Thanks,” the woman said, giving Xiao Yu a playful wink as she got up to leave. “Talk to you tonight, handsome.”

“Ha!”

Xiao Yu chuckled and shook his head, but as he walked home, the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

He suspected she might have used some method to hijack his phone.

This so-called hijacking referred to using certain techniques to take control of another person’s phone, stealing their data, and even accessing hardware features like the camera and microphone. Some hackers even go further, using hijacked phones to mine virtual currency.

If a phone that was previously working fine suddenly starts lagging, slowing down, or freezing… it’s time to be cautious.

Smirking inwardly, Xiao Yu made his way back home.

Once there, he deliberately fiddled with his phone for a while. Though he didn’t notice any obvious issues, Xiao Yu couldn’t help but feel a sense of mockery toward their methods.

They were pretty skilled if they could hijack a phone just by adding a friend.

How did Xiao Yu realize this?

Even though his phone wasn’t acting up, it was heating up. Even when the screen was off and there were no active processes, the device continued to overheat.

Throughout the day, Xiao Yu stayed glued to his computer, playing League of Legends.

“Face the wind…” 

“Hasa—gei…” 

“The road is long, only the sword remains as a companion…” 

“Death is like the wind, always by my side…”

His Yasuo seemed fierce, yelling out phrases and executing flashy moves, his gameplay was intense—at least in his mind. 

In reality? His stats were so terrible they were almost painful to look at.

Who would’ve thought that someone like Xiao Yu could be the kind of player whose hands just couldn’t keep up with his brain?

No, Xiao Yu wasn’t actually that bad. He was still putting on an act. He was intentionally being loud and over-the-top to make sure the phone beside him “heard” everything.

Until the afternoon…

Ding!

The black phone from the assassin group chimed with a notification.

He quickly set aside the mouse and keyboard, grabbing the black phone. The screen turned black once more, and a text message popped up.

[Five million, to be completed within three days. Payment in virtual currency. One million down payment, with four million to be paid upon completion.]

A second message appeared, this time with a transaction link.

Xiao Yu opened it, which redirected him to a virtual currency exchange platform.

‘Not even the account info can be traced,’ Xiao Yu thought, maintaining a calm expression. 

He returned to the black screen and typed into the dialogue box, “No problem, I’ll arrange the virtual currency tomorrow.”

Once again, the screen flashed back to the normal home screen, the communication ending abruptly.

Glancing at the phone that had been hijacked, Xiao Yu got up and headed to the bathroom.

Although the phone had communication capabilities, it also had noise cancellation features. As long as he kept some distance, even if someone was listening in, they wouldn’t hear anything.

Sitting on the toilet, Xiao Yu spoke softly, “Prepare one million worth of virtual currency.”

“No problem,” came Wang Dong’s voice in his earpiece. “When do you need it?”

“Tomorrow,” Xiao Yu responded, “and set up a special account on a dedicated platform. I’ll use it later. My phone’s been hijacked, so I’ll need to play along and make it look convincing.”

“Got it!” Wang Dong replied.

After ending the communication with Wang Dong, Xiao Yu returned to his computer, logging into QQ.

As soon as he was online, a message popped up in his friend list.

Xiao Yu pretended to chat casually for a few moments, then opened a voice chat.

“Old Wang, do you have a platform for trading virtual currency?”

“Of course, what are you up to?”

“Cut the crap, send me a link. I need to exchange some for virtual currency.”

“Alright, hang on…”

A link came through shortly after.

Xiao Yu smirked.

No wonder these security guys were so efficient. They were really on top of things.

Ending the voice chat, Xiao Yu proceeded to exchange a million yuan for virtual currency. Now, all that was left was to wait for tomorrow’s transaction.

Then, in the evening…

Ding.

His phone chimed with a WeChat notification.

The message read:

Savage Sweetie: “Hey handsome, are you there?”

Xiao Yu: “Who’s this?”

Savage Sweetie: “You added me this morning, already forgot?”

Xiao Yu: “Oh, it’s you. So, what’s up? Can’t sleep on such a long night, and need someone to talk about life with?”

Savage Sweetie: “Haha, you’re so bad… How about we meet somewhere?”

Xiao Yu: “No need for that. Just come to my place. I live at…”

Savage Sweetie: “Alright, see you soon.”

Xiao Yu put down his phone, his expression growing colder.

Something was off.

Logically, the woman approaching him this morning should have just been another test, mainly to hijack his phone.

Why would they want to meet in person?

What went wrong?

What was their real purpose for wanting to meet?

As he analyzed the countless possibilities, only one conclusion made sense. Xiao Yu’s face turned even colder.

He’d been exposed.