The Favored Heiress
Chapter 570: Be Decent, Both of You

Chapter 570: Chapter 570: Be Decent, Both of You

He had participated in the assessment of the Secret Hall twice, after all.

Though he hadn’t passed, he considered himself more knowledgeable about the content of the assessment than Li Qiao.

Upon hearing her, Li Qiao replied nonchalantly, "No need."

Just some information exchange and operation, what’s there to cram for?

Qiu Huan seemed to have anticipated her rejection and didn’t take it to heart, "Sis, don’t blame me for not warning you, the problems set by hackers are not that simple."

Li Qiao nodded, with a look of being educated, "Oh."

Qiu Huan: "..." He might as well have been talking to himself.

Forget it, she would realize how difficult it was during the assessment herself.

At this moment, Shang Yu walked in from outside. He was dressed very formally today, in a suit and leather shoes, his presence dashing and outstanding.

The man glanced at Li Qiao, his thin lips curving slightly, and he walked over to the coffee table. Nonchalantly, he took off his suit jacket and tossed it onto the armrest.

He took a seat and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, a series of actions like peeling off a mask of pretense, returning to his usual languor and casualness.

Li Qiao leaned against the sofa, peeking at Shang Yu. The air around her, infused with his arrival, took on the crisp scent of dark wood. She shifted her position and asked, "Has the assessment been scheduled?"

The man leaned back, propping his head against the chair, and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, rubbing his index finger across her face, "Are you free on Sunday?"

Li Qiao licked her lips, a trace of defiance flitting across her eyes and brow, "I can make time."

The quite redundant Qiu Huan sitting opposite: "?"

He snickered, lowering his legs and leaning forward to support his knees, "I mean, why don’t you ask me?"

Shang Yu, with one hand caressing Li Qiao’s cheek, cast a dismissive glance at Qiu Huan with lowered eyelids.

The latter touched his nose in dismay, "Pretend I didn’t ask then, I’m free, way too free."

He absolutely had to participate in the Secret Hall assessment.

Of course, it wasn’t to prove his extraordinary skills, but rather the scope of power the Secret Hall represented was a network of information he desperately needed.

As long as he could pass the Secret Hall’s assessment, he would be able to directly utilize the resources behind it.

For him, it was all advantages and no disadvantages.

At dinner time, with Qiu Huan present, the atmosphere in the dining room was always lively.

Li Qiao didn’t eat much. During the meal, the constant vibrating of her phone also attracted Shang Yu’s attention.

She hurriedly wolfed down a few bites, put down her chopsticks, and walked out of the dining room.

Qiu Huan, holding his bowl, watched her retreating back and pursed his lips, "How is she busier than you?"

The man didn’t speak, elegantly chewing the food in his mouth, though his handsome face seemed to grow more expressionless.

Soon after, Qiu Huan tapped his bowl with his chopsticks, "What do you think her chances are of passing this time?"

Shang Yu wiped his mouth with a napkin and said solemnly, a very piercing remark, "Better than yours."

Qiu Huan clenched the bowl in his hand, grinding his teeth, "You sure aren’t afraid of being slapped in the face."

The man placed the napkin on the table edge and pursed his thin lips, lifting his head with a profound gaze, "Let’s wait and see."

On the other side, at the mansion’s outdoor terrace.

Li Qiao leaned against her Mercedes, holding her phone to her ear, listening to the endless chatter from the other end, her eyes betraying her impatience, "I will return when I have the time."

"When will you have the time?"

Li Qiao looked up at the sky, "We’ll talk later, just hurry up and send me what I want."

With that, she hung up.

And this whole conversation, she had it all in Burmese.

So much so that Zhui Feng, who happened to pass by, was utterly confused.

"What the hell is this bird language? I didn’t understand a single chirping word."

...

One day later, Sunday.

Li Qiao and Qiu Huan were to participate in an assessment together.

At eight in the morning, a group of people arrived at the Secret Hall in the valley by helicopter.

The morning sun stretched for miles, with no wind or clouds in sight.

As they approached, the iron door of the air-raid shelter slowly opened, and Zuo Xuan’s figure appeared near the cave.

"Hall Master, Miss Li, Master Qiu."

Zuo Xuan greeted everyone with the utmost respect, his posture poised and measured, clad in a black training suit.

Before long, they crossed through the air-raid shelter, entered an elevator, and Shang Yu looked ahead through the elevator walls at Zuo Xuan, "Is everything ready?"

Zuo Xuan bowed his head and said, "Hall Master Cheng is waiting in the information room, and the hackers have also made their preparations."

The man responded faintly, glancing at Li Qiao beside him, "Nervous?"

Li Qiao, holding his hand, her delicate and fair cheeks still drowsy, was about to speak but couldn’t help but yawn, "Yeah, pretty nervous."

She claimed to be nervous, yet her demeanor suggested anything but.

Hearing this, a slight smile curved the lips of Shang Yu, "Then how about going back?"

Li Qiao leaned lazily on his shoulder, "We’ve come this far, we might as well go check it out."

Standing beside them and sweating profusely, Qiu Huan said nothing.

This was his third time attending the assessment, and he was damn near having a nervous breakdown.

You two be human, please.

...

Less than five minutes later, in the underground information room.

Li Qiao had never been to this place before, having only had a quick look the last time she visited.

At this moment, the information room was dimly lit, with a huge electronic screen on the wall ahead displaying a topographic map of a mountain range.

In the center were two desks, each with four split-screen monitors.

As the ceiling lights came on, a man in his thirties who looked ordinary walked over from the referee’s bench.

He had a nondescript appearance, not particularly tall, with glasses, the kind of face that would be easily overlooked in a crowd.

Cheng Mo, the master of one sect of the Secret Hall, the actual power-holder of the hackers, the initiator of the online war between hackers and other hackers back in the day; even Wang Yue had to address him as Brother Cheng when they met.

"Hall Master, the assessment can begin at any time."

Cheng Mo nodded towards Qiu Huan and Li Qiao, sparing any unnecessary pleasantries, seeming not fond of talking much.

About five minutes later, Li Qiao and Qiu Huan took their seats at their respective desks.

Cheng Mo stood near the front electronic screen, giving a precise briefing.

The main focus of the assessment was on the correct delivery and encryption quality of information during the interactive process, with one hour allocated.

Li Qiao and Qiu Huan needed to interactively communicate with a group from the hackers via online transmission, while another group acted as the opposing force, attempting to interfere with their information.

The topographic map of the mountain range on the electronic screen represented the virtual communication channel for conveying information.

They not only had to spread the information sources but also had to ensure the security and reliability of the transmission paths to make sure the final message would reach the designated recipient.

As soon as the assessment started, the mountain range map on the electronic screen flashed, suddenly filled with numerous red coordinates.

Cheng Mo explained in a timely manner, "Thirty-two red coordinates, of which only ten are your own team members. If the information gets sent to a wrong coordinate, your progress bar will reset to zero, starting you over from the beginning."

Li Qiao looked at the four split-screen monitors in front of her and slid the mouse twice, "All ten pieces of information need to be sent out?"