Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

The setting sun was cut by Bai Hanchuan's back, and the originally warm light now inexplicably added a bit of anxiety to my eyes. He hung up the phone in a hurry, with a layer of dark clouds between his brows.

"What's wrong? What happened?" I asked anxiously, with a bad feeling rising in my heart.

Bai Hanchuan took a deep breath, held my hand and said, "Something happened at the base. Someone sneaked in and destroyed a lot of flowers. They also stole a few new varieties."

My heart sank. We had spent years cultivating this new variety, pouring in countless efforts, and it was stolen just like that! Anger and worry intertwined, and I could hardly control my emotions: "How could this happen? Did we call the police?"

Bai Hanchuan nodded solemnly: "I have reported the case and the police are investigating. Don't worry, I will strengthen the security measures at the base and will not let this happen again."

I forced myself to calm down, and kept replaying some recent events in my mind. Since the establishment of the "Jinchuan Horticulture Foundation", our base has been receiving anonymous threatening letters. At that time, I just thought it was a prank and didn't take it seriously. Could it be that these things were all done by the same group of people?

Before he had time to think about it, Bai Hanchuan's phone rang again. This time it was the children's school teacher who called and said that the children were being followed on the way home from school. Fortunately, the teacher discovered it in time and prevented them from succeeding.

When I heard the news, I suddenly felt dizzy and my vision went dark. The children are our dearest and we will never allow anyone to hurt them! I tightly grasped Bai Hanchuan's arm and said in a trembling voice: "Let's go to school now!"

Along the way, countless terrible possibilities flashed through my mind. My heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and I could hardly breathe.

When we arrived at the school, the children had already been comforted by the teachers. Only when they saw that we were safe did they timidly throw themselves into our arms.

"Don't be afraid, mom and dad are here." I hugged the children tightly, feeling their warm body temperature, and my heart was filled with fear. If the teacher hadn't discovered it in time today, the consequences would be disastrous.

Bai Hanchuan patted my shoulder soothingly and said with a firm look, "Don't worry, I will get to the bottom of this matter and will not let any bad guy go."

As night fell, the darkness enveloped the earth, but it could not cover up the turmoil. I looked at the sleeping faces of the children, and my heart was filled with worry and anxiety.

"Is there any news from Lin Xiao?" I whispered to Bai Hanchuan who was checking the surveillance video.

"Not yet," he frowned, his fingers rapidly tapping on the keyboard, "but I found some suspicious vehicles and am tracking them."

I walked up to him, pointed at a blurry figure on the screen and said, "Look at this person, does he look familiar?"

Bai Hanchuan zoomed in on the image and carefully identified it for a while, his face gradually becoming gloomy: "It's him! Wang Qing..."

Wang Qing, the technician who was fired from our base! I almost gritted my teeth. We found him stealing property from the base, but I didn't expect him to hold a grudge and do such a thing!

"This person has evil intentions and is very familiar with the base's terrain and security system. It is very likely that he ordered someone to do this." Bai Hanchuan said with a sullen face, "I'll go find him now!"

I held him back and shook my head. "There is no direct evidence now. Going to him rashly will only alert the enemy. We must find solid evidence to bring him to justice."

Bai Hanchuan took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and nodded.

The next morning, Lin Xiao rushed over. She had dark circles under her eyes, and it was obvious that she had not slept well the night before.

"How is it? Any clues?" I asked anxiously.

Lin Xiao nodded, then shook his head: "I checked the records of vehicles entering and leaving the base recently, and found a suspicious van that often enters and leaves late at night, and the license plate number is also fake. I followed this clue and found that the owner of this car is..."

She paused, her tone becoming a little hesitant: "It's someone from Splendid Flowers."

"Fair Flowers"? I was shocked. They were our biggest competitor, always eyeing the success of our base. Could it really be them?

"However," Lin Xiao continued, "I only found out that the car was registered under their company's name. I don't have any direct evidence to prove that they ordered anyone to do it."

I understand what she means. Without solid evidence, we can't act rashly.

"I understand. Thank you for your hard work, Lin Xiao." I patted her shoulder and motioned for her to go and rest first.

Night fell again. I sat by the window, looking at the dark night outside, feeling uneasy. Bai Hanchuan went to investigate Wang Qing's whereabouts, and I sent the children to my parents' home in the countryside. Now I was the only one left at home.

Suddenly, my cell phone rang. It was the mysterious ally calling. He spoke in a low, panicked voice: "Ms. Mu, be careful! They...they..."

Before he finished speaking, the phone was disconnected. My heart tightened, and a sense of foreboding came over me.

I called back immediately, but only got a busy tone.

I suddenly remembered what Lin Xiao said during the day. Could it be someone from Jinxiu Flowers? Why would they target a retired gardening master?

I was in a state of confusion, and an inexplicable sense of fear entangled me like a vine, making it almost impossible for me to breathe.

At this moment, the computer screen suddenly went black, and then a piercing alarm sounded throughout the room...

The piercing alarm sounded like a sharp knife cutting through the silence of the night. My heart skipped a beat and an ominous premonition came over me. The black hole on the computer screen seemed to be mocking my powerlessness.

"Damn it!" I cursed under my breath, picked up the phone with trembling hands, and wanted to contact Bai Hanchuan, but there was a busy tone on the other end of the phone, and my heart sank to the bottom in an instant.

The base network system has been hacked!

I rushed to the server room and saw Lin Xiao operating the computer with sweat all over his forehead. A series of complex codes were jumping on the screen. My heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand.

"How is it? Can it recover?" I asked anxiously.

Lin Xiao shook his head solemnly: "It's too late. The customer information has been leaked, and the order system has been paralyzed. The other party's methods are very professional. We..."

Before she finished her words, my cell phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number.

"Mu Jinli, long time no see." A cold voice came from the other end of the phone, which made me shudder.

"Who are you? What do you want to do?" I forced myself to calm down.

The other party sneered: "It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that your good days are over. Enjoy the last moments of your life!"

After that, the phone was hung up. My knuckles turned white as I held the phone, anger and fear intertwined in my heart.

The next day, the news that the planting base’s network system had been hacked spread throughout the industry. Customers’ inquiries and complaints flooded in like a tide. I was exhausted from dealing with them, but to no avail.

To make matters worse, Bai Hanchuan was openly provoked and slandered by his competitors during a public meeting.

"Mr. Bai, I heard that your planting base has been in trouble recently. First, the technical backbone resigned, and now the network system has been invaded. It seems that there are big problems with your management." A sarcastic voice sounded. The speaker was Zhao Tianming, the general manager of "Jinxiu Flowers".

Bai Hanchuan's face turned pale, but he remained calm: "Boss Zhao, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say anything you want. It's not your turn to make decisions about our base!"

"Haha, I'm just giving you a kind reminder, why is Mr. Bai so angry?" Zhao Tianming said sarcastically, "But I heard that this incident seems to be related to an employee who was fired from your base before. I wonder if it's true?"

His words were like a bomb, exploding in the crowd. Everyone was talking about it, and their eyes were full of suspicion and speculation when they looked at Bai Hanchuan.

Bai Hanchuan suppressed his anger and was about to retort when I suddenly grabbed his hand and shook my head gently.

Now is not the time to break off relations with them. We must conserve our strength to cope with the next challenges.

Late at night, Bai Hanchuan and I sat in the office, discussing countermeasures with serious expressions.

"It seems that this incident was not accidental. The other party came prepared, and their goal is very clear, which is to bring us down." Bai Hanchuan said in a deep voice.

I nodded, my heart filled with worry: "But why would they do this? What deep hatred is there between us and them?"

Bai Hanchuan didn't say anything, but just picked up the photo on the table. The photo showed a young couple with happy smiles on their faces.

"Do you still remember this photo?" Bai Hanchuan's voice was low and hoarse. My heart trembled suddenly. The man and woman in the photo were...

"Dong dong dong..."

Suddenly, there was a hurried knock on the door, breaking the depressing atmosphere in the office. My heart tightened and a bad premonition came to my mind.

"Come in!" Bai Hanchuan said in a deep voice.

The door opened, and Lin Xiao ran in in a panic. Her face was pale, and her eyes were full of fear...

"Sister Jinli, it's bad, something happened!" Lin Xiao was out of breath, beads of sweat on his forehead slid down his temples, "The base...something happened at the base..."

My heart tightened, and a bad feeling came over me. Was it another cyber attack? Or were those competitors using some shady tricks again?

Without waiting for me to ask in detail, Lin Xiao explained intermittently: "The warehouse... the warehouse caught fire, and several batches of precious flower seedlings were burned..."

"What?!" I exclaimed, my face suddenly turned pale. Those flower seedlings were new varieties carefully cultivated by Bai Hanchuan and I, and we put countless efforts into them. Before we could put them on the market, they were burned just like that?

Bai Hanchuan stood up suddenly, grabbed Lin Xiao's shoulders, and asked anxiously: "Why did the fire start? Have you found the cause?"

Lin Xiao's eyes were red, and he choked up and said, "The surveillance... the surveillance was tampered with, and nothing can be found... But I asked the warehouse manager, and he said... he said..."

"What did he say?" I asked anxiously, feeling more and more uneasy.

Lin Xiao took a deep breath, as if mustering up his courage, and then slowly said: "He said that he saw...saw Zhao Tianming's men sneaking around the warehouse..."

Zhao Tianming! It's this despicable villain again!

I was so furious that I wanted to tear him into pieces immediately. In order to suppress us, he actually resorted to such unscrupulous means and did such a heinous thing!

Bai Hanchuan's face was also terribly gloomy. He suppressed his anger and said through gritted teeth: "It seems that Zhao Tianming is determined to go against us!"

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. Now was not the time to be angry. The most urgent task was to find out the truth, find evidence, and bring Zhao Tianming to justice!

"Lin Xiao, contact the fire department immediately and cooperate with the investigation of the cause of the fire." I ordered calmly, "Also, check the interior of the base carefully to see if there are any other suspicious persons."

"Okay, I'll do it right away!" Lin Xiao nodded firmly, turned around and left in a hurry.

I watched Lin Xiao leave with mixed feelings. This crisis is more serious than we thought. We are like prey struggling in a spider web, while the mastermind is still hiding in the dark, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Bai Hanchuan walked up to me and gently held my hand. His eyes were firm and deep. “Don’t worry, I will find out everything and won’t let anyone hurt you and the children.”

I held his hand in return and drew strength from his eyes. I believed in him, we would definitely overcome the difficulties and crush those conspiracies one by one!

There was a knock on the office door again, and Lin Xiao came back with a document in his hand and a serious look on his face.

"Sister Jinli, I found something..." She walked up to me and handed me the document, "You'd better take a look at this..."

I took the document, opened it, and my expression suddenly became even uglier.

This document is...