Chapter 7 Elegant Revenge - Lu Jin
The outline of the fortress gradually became clearer on Cuiping Mountain, and the time had come to put pen to paper for another blueprint in Wen Yu's heart—a purge map drawn from hatred.
The first name: Lu Jin.
This name once represented Wen Yu's last illusion about love, but ultimately turned into the bone-chilling despair at the bottom of an icy abyss. For the past two weeks since his rebirth, Wen Yu has been like a master hunter, building his lair while observing his prey's every move from afar. He hasn't rushed to pounce and tear at his prey, but is waiting for the perfect moment to find its most fatal weakness.
Lu Jin's life at this moment is gliding along the predetermined track of her previous life: at the age of twenty-eight, she is a project manager at a medium-sized technology company called "Qimingxingchen", highly valued by her superiors, and in charge of an important government smart city data platform project.
He wore a well-tailored suit, drove an Audi A4 bought on loan, frequented high-end office buildings, spent weekends in gyms and trendy cafes, and posted pictures of exquisite lunches and seemingly profound industry insights on his social media—a typical image of an urban elite on the rise.
Wen Yu knew the truth beneath that glamorous exterior. Lu Jin was vain, selfish, cunning, and extremely greedy.
In his past life, it was these very traits that taught him how to climb over others to get ahead in the early days of the apocalypse, and ultimately, he was willing to sacrifice anyone, including Wen Yu, without hesitation in order to survive.
In this life, Wen Yu will personally dismantle all the steps that lead him to his peak of success.
Step 1: Intelligence gathering.
Wen Yu didn't hire a private investigator; that would leave too many traces. He used the sharpest knife—his reborn memories—and the internet, a world without secrets.
He remembered that around this time, the "Smart Transportation Data Integration Platform" project that Lu Jin was in charge of suffered a serious data leak and security vulnerability just before its acceptance.
Although the company used its connections to suppress the incident and prevent it from becoming a large-scale public incident, internal accountability led to the dismissal of several technical staff. Lu Jin, as the project manager, also received a severe warning, lost her bonus, and had her promotion blocked.
But that was a week before the apocalypse, and everyone in the company was in a state of panic, so the matter was dropped. Now, Wen Yu wants to make it erupt ahead of time, and in a more violent way.
He accessed several clandestine tech forums and vulnerability trading platforms via an anonymous VPN. Relying on the rudimentary hacking knowledge he had been forced to learn in his previous life's apocalypse (in order to acquire information and resources), combined with his vague memory of the project's technical framework (which Lu Jin had once proudly boasted about), he spent several nights gradually piecing together potential security vulnerabilities, like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle.
He didn't try to hack into the system—that was too dangerous, and he didn't have the technical skills. What he did was "fishing" and "patchwork".
He posed as a tech peer who had participated in similar projects on a forum frequented by programmers, and under the guise of "technical discussion," he posed several seemingly harmless questions about specific modules of the platform.
Soon, several people joined the discussion. One of them, in a rather agitated tone, complained that his company's platform used an outdated framework that contained a known vulnerability, but his management wouldn't allow it to be fixed in order to meet deadlines...
Following this lead, Wen Yu contacted the person privately under another identity. After several rounds of questioning, he confirmed that the other party was likely a low-level developer at "Qimingxingchen" company who harbored deep resentment towards the project.
Instead of asking directly, Wen Yu pretended to be a "former partner" who was dissatisfied with the company, claiming that he had been scammed by their project and wanted to find some "dirt" to vent his anger, and was willing to pay for the information.
The lure of money, coupled with a shared sense of righteous indignation, quickly convinced the programmer to relent. He revealed several key pieces of information: in order to meet the government's deadline, the project did indeed use third-party components with known high-risk vulnerabilities; some testing processes were compressed or even omitted; backend management permissions were poorly defined; and even an internal risk assessment report was forcibly suppressed by the project manager (implying it was Lu Jin).
Wen Yu didn't ask for any specific code or documentation; that was too obvious. What he wanted were "clues" and "directions." Combining his memory, he quickly compiled a logically clear and targeted "security vulnerability alert," which listed possible vulnerability types, exploitation methods, and potential harms, and included the publicly disclosed vulnerability numbers (CVE numbers) of those older components.
This "hint" itself does not constitute direct evidence, but it is enough to raise the alarm of any knowledgeable security personnel or competitors.
Step 2: Targeted delivery.
Wenyu selected three drop-off points.
The first one was anonymously sent to the security department of "Chuangzhi Technology," the biggest local competitor of "QiMingXingChen."
He knew the two companies were vying for the next, bigger government contract, and any news that could damage the competitor's credibility would be highly coveted. He believed that "Creative Intelligence Technology" had the technical capability and motivation to verify, and even proactively probe, these vulnerabilities.
The second report was sent to the public reporting email address of the city's cybersecurity regulatory department. The content was more restrained, using the tone of a "concerned citizen," expressing concern about potential security vulnerabilities in a critical data platform involving public safety, and included the same vulnerability warning.
The third document was sent via physical mail to the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) of QiMingXingChen Company, who was known for his fiery temper and zero tolerance for security issues.
In his previous life, Wen Yu had seen this CTO from afar at an industry conference and knew his style. Sending a document directly to the company was harder to track than emailing, and it was also more likely to attract attention.
He chose to send the email on Friday afternoon, near the end of the workday. At this time, the email might not be processed immediately, but it would escalate over the weekend and explode on Monday.
At the same time, another investigation into Lu Jin's private life is also underway.
Wen Yu knew Lu Jin's character all too well. In his previous life, before the apocalypse, Lu Jin had already been maneuvering among several wealthy and powerful women, using sweet words and a carefully crafted image of a gigolo to acquire money and resources. After the apocalypse, he had mastered this technique to an even higher level.
Wen Yu's goal is to find evidence that can simultaneously enrage all of Lu Jin's "sugar daddies," especially "Sister Zhang," who is said to have a powerful background and whose husband is a local influential businessman.
He exploited Lu Jin's tendency to show off and her extensive social media activity, meticulously analyzing Lu Jin's posts on Weibo, her secondary Instagram account (which Lu Jin assumed was unknown to others), Douban, and even fitness apps over the past six months. He then cross-referenced these posts with location data, photo backgrounds, and ambiguous captions.
He filtered out several suspicious female accounts from Lu Jin's list of followers and interactions.
They are older, their lifestyles are luxurious, and they occasionally appear at the same time and in similar locations as Lu Jin's posts (afternoon tea at a high-end hotel, a luxury store, or a high-end club).
Wen Yu didn't follow them; that would be too time-consuming and dangerous.
He used a more ingenious method: on a local anonymous forum dedicated to discussing luxury goods and high-end consumption, he posted several carefully crafted "gossip posts".
Post titles such as: "Let's talk about that young man I've been running into frequently at afternoon tea at XX Hotel lately. It seems like he's hooking up with several older women at the same time?"
"I need your authentication. Is this Patek Philippe watch recently sold by that watch shop on XX Road? I think I saw a familiar-looking young man accompanying a woman to pick it up."
The content was half true and half false, interspersed with blurry fragments of images (hotel exterior, watch models, restaurant interiors) scraped from Lu Jin and those women's social media accounts, with their faces blurred, as well as some dubious time and location information extracted from their posts.
This post quickly sparked a small-scale discussion on gossip forums. Soon, an "insider" anonymously replied, revealing more details: "Is that young man's name LJ? Does he work at XX company?"
"Was it him who accompanied Mrs. Wang to the Maldives?"
"Did Sister Zhang buy him a car recently? I think it's an Audi."
The information was pieced together bit by bit by passersby, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Wen Yu merely threw out a starting point, then quietly observed. He carefully avoided leaving any trace pointing back to himself; all his posts and views were completed through layers of proxies.
Over the course of a few days, he basically identified three women closely associated with Lu Jin: one was "Mrs. Wang," who owned a chain of beauty salons and whose husband was often abroad; another was "Ms. Li," whose family was in the building materials business, who was single and liked younger men; and the third, and most importantly, was "Sister Zhang," whose husband was a well-known local real estate developer who was rumored to be involved in some shady industries and had a strong-willed approach.
How to obtain conclusive evidence? Wen Yu turned his attention to the upscale gym that Lu Jin frequented. He remembered that Lu Jin was a top member there, with a private locker, in order to maintain his figure and seduce wealthy women.
Using a false identity, Wen Yu also obtained a short-term trial membership to that gym. He chose to go during Lu Jin's usual workout time (7 PM to 9 PM). He didn't approach Lu Jin, but merely observed her from a distance.
He noticed that when Lu Jin was working out, she would often leave her phone and personal belongings next to the equipment or on the bench in the locker room, and sometimes she would even leave briefly to answer a call or go to the restroom. Although there were cameras in the locker room, they did not provide full coverage, and the locker area was relatively private.
Wen Yu needs a bit of luck, and he also needs an opportunity.
The opportunity arrived one evening three days later. Lu Jin seemed to have received an urgent call, and with an unhappy expression, she hurriedly left the strength training area and went to a quieter rest room to answer the call, casually placing her phone on the treadmill rack.
Wen Yu's heartbeat quickened steadily. He walked over casually, picked up his towel and water bottle, and lingered by Lu Jin's phone for less than two seconds.
In his cuff, a modified miniature device with a fast data transfer interface gently touched the back of Lu Jin's phone, which had no lock screen password (Lu Jin found it troublesome and was confident that the gym was secure).
This is a small tool he bought on the black market that can bypass basic security measures and copy cached files of a phone's recent contacts, call logs, text messages, and social media chat history in a very short time. The risk is high, but if successful, the rewards are huge.
Two seconds later, Wen Yu walked away nonchalantly, putting the device back into his sleeve. Lu Jin was still talking quietly on the phone in the distance, completely unaware.
That evening, back in his secluded hotel room, Wen Yu connected the device to an old computer that was completely offline and running a self-made analysis program. The data was exported; although messy and incomplete, it was enough for him to find the treasure.
In the chat logs, Lu Jin used almost identical sweet talk with three women, complaining about work pressure, implying a lack of material resources, and skillfully soliciting gifts and money transfers. The overlapping timelines show that he was dealing with three women simultaneously.
The conversations with "Sister Zhang" were particularly explicit. Lu Jin even took some indecent selfies and sent them to her, and repeatedly used a frivolous tone to comment on "Sister Zhang's" husband who was often away on business trips.
What made Wen Yu even more cynical was that Lu Jin was smugly sharing her "time management" tips in a small social group visible only to close friends, mocking those rich women as "foolish and rich," and even slandering her company's leader as "old-fashioned" and "blocking his path to wealth."
These records are scattered, but deadly.
Wen Yu didn't use them immediately. He was waiting, waiting for the bomb at work to detonate first.
Step 3: The storm is coming.
Just after 9 a.m. on Monday, Wen Yu detected unusual fluctuations by using a mini-program that monitors online public opinion near the "Qimingxingchen" company (by setting keyword alerts).
Rumors began circulating on some tech forums and local business communities about a "major security vulnerability in a company's smart city project," with increasingly specific details.
Around 10 a.m., the company "QiMingXingChen" was clearly in an uproar. Wen Yu learned from a programmer he had previously contacted who was dissatisfied with Lu Jin (who was maintaining contact under another anonymous identity) that the CTO had been furious at the morning meeting, the security department had been ordered to immediately conduct a full investigation, and the competitor "Chuangzhi Technology" had "coincidentally" submitted a carefully worded "industry risk warning" to the relevant government departments, directly targeting the project.
As the project manager, Lu Jin was the first to be affected. He was called into the meeting room and didn't come out all day. Internal company emails began to be sent frequently, and the atmosphere was tense.
On Tuesday, the news spread further. Local financial and technology media outlets began reporting from "insiders," who, while not naming names, pointed to a clear indication that cybersecurity regulators had visited Venustech.
Lu Jin stopped updating his social media. His small group chat was filled with anxiety and complaints; he tried to defend himself, but his tone was weak.
Wen Yu knew that the time was almost right. It was time to add the last bundle of firewood and pour in the strongest oil.
On Wednesday morning, three anonymous emails with similar content but different focuses were sent to the inboxes of the CEO, HR director, and all senior executives of QiMingXingChen Company. The attachments were carefully edited materials.
Lu Jin has intimate photos with three women (their faces are blurred, but those who know them can recognize them) on different occasions (collected and pieced together from social media and forum gossip), and the timeline clearly shows that he was dating them at the same time.
Some explicit chat screenshots (key information retained, excessively obscured) show that he exploited their relationship to extort money.
Screenshots of Lu Jin's remarks in a small group chat, where he slandered company executives and boasted about his womanizing.
A processed audio clip (composed of voice message fragments extracted from Lu Jin's phone cache) clearly shows Lu Jin complaining that "the company leaders are all idiots, and they still dare to scold me for making such a mess of the project," and speaking in an extremely contemptuous tone about "Sister Zhang's" husband, saying, "He's just a nouveau riche bumpkin, and his wife is lonely and bored at home, which is perfect for me."
This is no longer just a matter of personal morality; it is a bomb that seriously damages the company's image (especially involving the families of clients), exposes the poor character of employees, and may bring unforeseen trouble.
Meanwhile, another "anonymous good Samaritan" sent even more explicit photos and chat logs involving "Sister Zhang" (key parts were not censored), along with Lu Jin's personal information and company phone number, to the public business email address of "Sister Zhang's" husband, as well as the email addresses of several of his close associates.
Wen Yu imagined the expression on the face of the ruthless real estate developer when he saw his wife's sordid conversation with her gigolo. That would be an rage that Lu Jin could never bear.
Step 4: Avalanche.
For Lu Jin, the next forty-eight hours were like falling from heaven to hell.
On Thursday, he was officially suspended by the company and placed under internal investigation. The conversation with the human resources department was chilling, implying that he would be better off resigning voluntarily, otherwise he would be dismissed for "serious violation of professional ethics and causing significant reputational damage to the company," and the company would reserve the right to pursue legal action against him (referring to potential data breach liability).
On Friday, before Lu Jin could recover from the blow at work, an even greater disaster struck. He received a threatening phone call; the caller's voice was sinister, warning him, "Stay away from Ms. Zhang, or I'll break your leg." His Audi A4, parked downstairs at the company, was vandalized with obscene messages written on it, and its tires were punctured. When he got home, he found his door splashed with red paint, and the words "adulterer" written on it.
He tried in a panic to contact "Sister Zhang," only to find that all his contact methods had been blocked. He tried to reach out to the other two "sisters" for comfort or even help, but found that they had also been deleted from his friend list. One of them even sent him a final message: "Disgusting! Liar! Just you wait!"
Over the weekend, debt collection calls began to bombard him. He had previously taken out numerous high-limit credit cards and consumer loans to maintain his glamorous lifestyle, but now, having lost his high-paying job, repayment suddenly seemed impossible. The tone of the banks and lending institutions changed from polite to stern.
Even more frightening is that his "deeds" have spread throughout the industry. Not only "QiMingXingChen," but almost all similar companies have blacklisted him. No company would want a project manager who has caused such a huge mess, has such a chaotic private life, and may have offended powerful figures.
Social death comes so quickly and completely.
On Monday, Wen Yu sat in a coffee shop where he could see the "Qimingxingchen" company building in the distance. Through binoculars, he watched Lu Jin carrying a cardboard box, looking haggard and flustered, as he slipped out of the side door of the building, quickly hailed a taxi, and disappeared into the crowd.
His phone vibrated; it was the last message from that internal programmer: "LJ just finished his resignation. I heard he had to pay a sum of money to avoid being sued, but his reputation is ruined. The higher-ups are furious, the project is being restructured, and many people are affected. Your information is pretty ruthless, thanks (anonymous brother)."
Wen Yu put down his binoculars, took a sip of his already cold coffee. It was bitter, but there was a strange sweetness in the aftertaste.
He opened his phone's encrypted photo album, which contained a picture of Lu Jin's indifferent profile, taken in his previous life just before he fell into the ice cave. He stared at it for a few seconds, then pressed the delete button.
It's not about forgiving, it's about erasing.
Lu Jin's life is over. Before the apocalypse arrived, he had already lost his job, reputation, support, wealth, and even safety. He will be burdened with debt and fear, living in constant anxiety as he faces the arrival of true hell. And this, more than simply killing him, aligns with Wen Yu's definition of "revenge."
Elegant, cold, and utterly ruthless.
Wen Yu paid the bill and left the coffee shop, stepping into the blazing August sun. The sunlight was blinding, but his heart remained frozen in a calm.
The first name on the list can be crossed out.
There are five left.
He looked up, gazing towards an old neighborhood on the other side of the city. His mother and younger brother lived there.
Next.