Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies

Chapter 235: The Network Intruder

On the first day that Huahua arrived at the shelter, it began causing havoc everywhere. The shelter was enormous, and Huahua’s curiosity led it to explore every corner, leaving paw prints and even breaking an antique vase. However, Zhang Yi was incredibly patient, allowing the cat to roam freely and make a mess without concern. He knew the key to building a relationship with a cat was establishing trust from the start. If that initial trust was broken, it would be nearly impossible to rebuild it later.

After hours of rampaging through the house, Huahua finally seemed to tire out. It leaped over to the fireplace, stretched out lazily, and lay on the floor. Zhang Yi took a long breath, recognizing that Huahua was finally content with its new environment. He carefully approached, hoping to pet its head from behind.

“Meow—” Huahua turned its head to look at him, causing Zhang Yi to pause his movements. For a few seconds, they locked eyes, and then the cat rested its head back on the floor. Zhang Yi exhaled in relief, thinking, "Dealing with women isn’t even this tricky!"

Despite the tension, Zhang Yi was delighted when Huahua started purring contentedly, accepting him as its new caretaker. "Success!" Zhang Yi thought, a genuine smile spreading across his face. The joy of successfully adopting a cat was indescribable.

Huahua’s presence brought a new sense of happiness to the shelter. The girls in the house competed to feed and pet it, but for some reason, Huahua still preferred to stay by Zhang Yi’s side. It even started sleeping at the foot of Zhang Yi’s bed at night, a place it chose over anyone else’s. Even Yang Xinxin, who had previously fed the cat, could compete with Zhang Yi for Huahua’s affection. It seemed that cats often preferred the company of men.

During this time, the two new arrivals, Yang Xinxin and Lu Keran, also kept themselves busy. Yang Xinxin was responsible for the shelter’s network security. With her presence and the shelter’s supercomputer, it was nearly impossible for anyone to breach their defenses. However, as a top hacker, Yang Xinxin wasn’t content with playing defense. She used her advanced hacking skills to track down the source of any incoming network intrusions, launching counterattacks.

It took her only a few minutes to pinpoint the origin of a recent intrusion. When Zhang Yi received the news, he immediately rushed to the control center.

“Xinxin, what’s the emergency? Did you discover something new?” Zhang Yi asked.

Yang Xinxin flashed a sly smile. “I found the person trying to hack into the shelter’s network!” She showed Zhang Yi the laptop on her knees, displaying a map of Tianhai City.

Zhang Yi noticed a pentagram marking the location of Cloud Manor, with a blinking red dot indicating the intruder's location. After examining it closely, he realized that the red dot was located where the southwest of Xishan District and the northwest of Lijiang District met, just about thirty kilometers away from the shelter.

“They’re that close?” Zhang Yi’s expression grew serious. He hadn’t expected a powerful organization to be hidden so near.

Yang Xinxin, however, seemed unimpressed. “Their hacking methods were quite rudimentary. It’s likely the work of an amateur engineer. Their equipment wasn’t sophisticated, and I had no trouble hacking into their system. The data on their computer is encrypted, so it’ll take some time to crack, but based on what I’ve seen so far, there does seem to be a large organization in the Xishan District.”

Yang Xinxin looked up, her light blue eyes calm. “We might be running into them soon.”

Zhang Yi crossed his arms and said calmly, “If it’s inevitable, we won’t shy away. I’m not one to seek trouble, but if anyone tries to disrupt my peace, I’ll make sure they pay for it.”

Zhang Yi was no longer the person he used to be. He now had a fortress-like shelter and a team of elite fighters. Among them were three Superhumans, including himself. Even if they encountered a formidable armed group, he was confident they could handle it.

“Xinxin, keep tracking their signal and crack the data. I want to know more about that organization,” Zhang Yi instructed, patting Yang Xinxin on the shoulder before leaving the control center to find Lu Keran.

Thanks to Zhang Yi’s support, Lu Keran had set up her mechanical workshop. As a genius specially recruited by Tianqing Academy, Lu Keran was highly skilled in mechanical engineering. Although she couldn’t handle extremely sophisticated machinery alone, manufacturing weapons and ammunition wasn’t particularly challenging. In 2050, industrial technology had advanced to the point where, with the right equipment, even something as complex as a firearm could be produced with a 3D printer. Making bullets and explosives was relatively straightforward.

Lu Keran was now busy fulfilling Zhang Yi’s request to produce a large quantity of bullets, focusing primarily on sniper and pistol rounds, as these were the types of ammunition he was currently most in need of and the ones he used most frequently in combat.

When Zhang Yi reached the workshop, he knocked on the door. “Keran, it’s me.”

The door opened, and the clanging of metal filled the air. As Zhang Yi stepped inside, he immediately noticed the sweltering heat in the room, making him sweat even though he was only wearing a light shirt.

Lu Keran was working at the bench, dressed in shorts and a green tank top, with a black apron tied around her chest. Her entire body was drenched in sweat, with her hair sticking to her skin. When she saw Zhang Yi, she greeted him with a bright smile, “Big Brother, what brings you here?”

Zhang Yi chuckled. “Just wanted to see how your work is coming along.”

At eighteen years old, Lu Keran had a naturally bubbly personality, almost like a big kid. Zhang Yi couldn’t help but think of her as a little sister.

Lu Keran grinned, revealing her pearly white teeth. She eagerly reached for something on a nearby shelf. “Big Brother, check this out—I’ve got something cool for you!”

Zhang Yi took the item from her and saw that it was a silencer for a sniper rifle. His eyes lit up. “This is great!”

For him, this was incredibly valuable. Zhang Yi’s Superhuman ability, Precision Shooting, allowed him to double the power of any firearm. He could take targets up to 3,000 meters away with a sniper rifle. The only downside was that the sound of the gunfire could give away his position. With this silencer, that problem could be solved, allowing him to eliminate enemies from the shadows without fear of being detected.