43: Chapter 43 The other party enabled friend verification.
"Enough!" Chang Yuan slammed his hand on the table, his knuckles turning white. "Wang Chengsi, have you been in cahoots with Zhang Fan all along? Are you trying to use this opportunity to pull me down?"
Wang Chengsi shuddered at his roar, but he stiffened his neck and said, "I'm just telling the truth! From start to finish, Zhang Fan was in charge of the star path project's encryption module. He even wrote the test cases!"
The air in the meeting room felt like solidified cement, making it hard to breathe. Everyone in the Technology Department kept their heads down, no one daring to make a sound.
Who didn't know about the grudge between Chang Yuan and Zhang Fan? He stole the man's project, snatched his girlfriend, and finally kicked him out of the company. Now that something had gone wrong, he wanted to shift the blame entirely?
"Enough!" Wei Xiang interrupted them, but his heart skipped a beat.
He finally understood why Chang Yuan had been unable to solve this encryption module. This game hadn't been designed by Chang Yuan at all; it was designed by that Zhang Fan who had been fired.
Alan didn't speak, he just stared at Chang Yuan with a gaze like an X-ray, as if he wanted to see right through him from the inside out.
Chang Yuan's back was completely drenched in sweat. He knew it was useless to keep hiding it, but admitting it would mean exposing the fact that he had plagiarized the work.
"President," he spoke up, bracing himself, "Zhang Fan was indeed involved in the early stages of development, but this encryption module... it might be a loophole he intentionally left before he resigned! Yes! He must have wanted to take revenge on the company!"
Although this reason was far-fetched, it made Alan's expression soften slightly.
He pondered for a moment and looked at Wei Xiang. "Director Wei, have the company's technical experts tried?"
"They have," Wei Xiang gave a bitter smile. "Old Chen and the others stayed up for three nights in a row, and they haven't even figured out the encryption logic."
Silence fell over the meeting room again, with only the wall clock ticking away like a countdown.
"How about... asking Zhang Fan to try?" Wang Chengsi suggested again in a low voice. "He definitely has the key."
"Enough!" Chang Yuan slammed the table again and pointed at Wang Chengsi, cursing, "What does a piece of trash who was fired know about core modules? Wang Chengsi, do you want to lose your job just like Zhang Fan?"
His voice was loud, but it couldn't hide the panic deep in his bones.
How shrewd was Alan? He had long since noticed something was wrong. He signaled for Chang Yuan to sit down and said to Wang Chengsi, "Are you sure only Zhang Fan can crack it?"
Wang Chengsi nodded. "He bragged to me back then, saying that this encryption logic used three nested algorithms, and only he knows the key."
A dead silence fell over the meeting room. Alan's fingers stopped tapping the table, and his gaze landed on Chang Yuan with scrutiny. "Director Chang, what do you think?"
Chang Yuan's back was already soaked in cold sweat. Countless voices seemed to be screaming in his head—
He couldn't go to Zhang Fan! Absolutely not!
Once he looked for him, it would mean admitting he had plagiarized the project. It meant the hatred of stealing his wife and ruining his career would be brought back up.
Zhang Fan was the kind of person who looked indifferent but was incredibly stubborn deep down. When the time came, he might demand an exorbitant price or even report everything directly to the Chairman.
But what if he didn't look for him?
When the Chairman arrived tomorrow and saw the server crash and the project ruined, the first person to be held accountable would be him, the Technical Director.
Wei Xiang and Alan might be able to keep their positions, but he would be doomed. He might even have to pay massive compensation and never be able to hold his head high in the gaming industry again.
What should he do?
But besides Zhang Fan, who else could crack this encryption module?
A thought suddenly flashed through Chang Yuan's mind—Gu Feifei.
Zhang Fan used to be a notorious simp who was obedient to Gu Feifei. If he got Gu Feifei to beg him, maybe...
But as soon as the thought emerged, he snuffed it out.
That woman Gu Feifei wouldn't do anything without benefit. Last time he went to the Maldives with her, he spent nearly a hundred thousand just on bags. As for their usual dates and meals, when did he not pay the bill?
To get her to coax Zhang Fan, she wouldn't agree unless there were hundreds of thousands in benefits.
Money versus reputation...
Chang Yuan's fingers dug deep into his palm, the pain clearing his head slightly. If his reputation was gone, he could earn it back. If his money was gone, he could make more. But if the company held him accountable, he wouldn't even have a chance to make a comeback.
"Mr. Alan," he suddenly spoke, his voice dry, "I think... we can try to contact Zhang Fan."
Wei Xiang suddenly looked up at him, his eyes filled with surprise.
Chang Yuan avoided everyone's gaze and said in a low voice, "After all, he was an early member of the project. Maybe... maybe he can provide some clues. I'll go contact him right now."
As he spoke, he hurriedly stood up and walked out of the meeting room, his steps stumbling as if he were escaping from something.
Chang Yuan hid in the fire escape in the hallway outside the meeting room, his fingertips turning white from the pressure.
Gu Feifei's sleepy, coquettish voice came through the receiver, "Hubby, are you coming back today? I miss you."
"Feifei, I'm still busy." Chang Yuan's voice was very low, and the faint sound of talking could be heard from the meeting room. "I have something to tell you... Yes!... Call Zhang Fan right now and tell him to hurry to the company to handle this bug!"
"I don't want to," Gu Feifei's voice immediately sounded reluctant. "I only like you. Why would I want to contact that poor loser? Last time, he even deleted me on WeChat. It made me so angry."
"Be good." Chang Yuan grit his teeth and threw out the bait. "As long as you trick Zhang Fan into coming over and he finishes this, didn't you want that Hermes bag? I'll buy it for you."
"Really?" Gu Feifei's voice instantly brightened like a lit firework. "Hubby is the best! Wait for it, I'll contact him right now!"
After hanging up, Chang Yuan leaned against the cold wall and let out a long breath. He had correctly calculated Gu Feifei's weakness—vanity and greed for small gains.
As for Zhang Fan, a former simp, as long as Gu Feifei showed even a little kindness, wouldn't he obediently take the bait?
He returned to the meeting room door and looked inside through the gaps in the blinds. Alan was frowning at the computer, and Wei Xiang was reporting something in a low voice beside him. The oppression in the air was almost tangible.
"Soon, soon..." Chang Yuan muttered to himself, his palms sweating for some reason.
On the other side, Gu Feifei hung up and immediately bounced out of bed. She fixed her hair in front of the mirror and applied a layer of lipstick, making sure her voice sounded sweet enough. "You dead simp, think I can't handle you?" She sneered at herself in the mirror.
Some time ago, she wanted to mock Zhang Fan for being kept by a rich woman, only to find out she had been deleted on WeChat. She tried sending an emoji, and as expected, the prompt 'The other party has enabled friend verification' popped up.
"Stop acting so noble." Gu Feifei curled her lip and opened the dialer. She didn't believe Zhang Fan could really give up on her completely. In the past, whenever she gave him a little sweetness, this man would wag his tail like a dog.
"The number you have dialed is busy, please redial later."
Gu Feifei was stunned for a moment and dialed again.
"The number you have dialed is busy, please redial later."
It was still the classic system prompt from the carrier. In the middle of the night, who could Zhang Fan be talking to? Had he blacklisted her number?
She didn't give up and dialed three times in a row, but the result was the same—the line was busy.
"Argh!" Gu Feifei threw her phone onto the sofa, her delicate face full of rage. "This dead simp! You think you're so great just because you sucked up to a rich woman? I don't believe you're really willing to ignore me!"
She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. Maybe Zhang Fan was still angry? As long as she lowered her posture and said a few soft words...
But she couldn't add him on WeChat, and she couldn't get through on the phone. She didn't even have a chance to lower her posture.