Chapter 85: Crash, It Must Crash
This was an ordinary afternoon. Roberts sat at a seat in the library, staring at the computer screen, occasionally tapping the keyboard.
The library today was the same as always. People were reading different books, or busy taking notes, excerpting, or using computers like him. Without any centralized power management, it was orderly—this kind of free order was Roberts’ favorite environment.
At this moment, he noticed a message from a friend: 【Can you help me check a marked email?】
Roberts didn’t think much and replied: 【OK.】
To check this marked email, he needed to log into the account—the dedicated account of the highest-permission administrator on the Silk Road website.
Just as he had logged in and opened the email without looking closely, a loud female shout suddenly rang out beside him: “FXCK!”
Roberts was startled and instinctively turned around, only to see the woman who had just cursed loudly leap over in one big step and snatch the computer he had placed on the table.
Roberts was about to grab the computer back when he realized his arm was being held by someone. Immediately after, the attacker from behind threw him to the ground, pinned him down, and cuffed him with handcuffs.
The feeling of his cheek pressed tightly against the floor was surprisingly cold.
The other customers in the library were now all staring at him and the several undercover agents around. Someone shouted indignantly:
“Who are you people? Let him go!”
“What did that kid do wrong to deserve this from you?”
“You didn’t even show your identification!”
But the agents ignored the clamor from the people around them.
Roberts finally came back to his senses and shouted, “You have no right to do this!”
An agent squatted in front of Roberts, looking down at him, and smiled: “We do have the right. And with the evidence from your computer alone, you won’t be getting out of prison until you’re seventy. No, perhaps it’s life imprisonment.”
Roberts struggled to lift his head and stared coldly at the other: “I need a lawyer.”
“Of course, though it won’t do much good.”
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“Director Lu, want to have a work meal together?”
Lu Qi looked at the man in front of her who seemed polite but was actually persistently entangled, sighing inwardly but remaining composed on the surface: “Sorry, Director Qin, I’m accustomed to eating lunch in the office, where I can also get some work done while eating.”
“Director Lu is so busy with work. How about I get a lunch packed for you and bring it up?”
The man who was fawning over Lu Qi was named Qin Meng, a few years older than her. Although he also held the title of ‘director,’ his professional direction was completely different from hers, and the money and power he controlled far surpassed what Lu Qi, the technical director of the project team, could compare to.
Because Qin Meng was a high-level figure in Penguin Company’s venture capital department, investment director.
Within the venture capital department, the ranks from low to high mainly included analysts, investment managers, senior investment managers, investment vice presidents（VP）, senior vice presidents（SVP）, investment directors（D）, and executive directors（ED）. Those below investment vice president（VP） were mostly basic employees, while investment vice president（VP） and senior vice president（SVP） meant they had made it big.
As for someone like Qin Meng, who had climbed to the investment director（D） level, higher than VP and SVP, in his early thirties—whether relying on his own ability or connections—he undoubtedly lived up to the ‘meng’ in his name. His salary and treatment were also incomparable to Lu Qi’s at the time, not even on the same order of magnitude.
Therefore, Qin Meng felt that as long as he took the initiative, showed sincerity and charm, this “flower of code” who attracted crushes from many men within Penguin Company should be easy for him to win over. After all, a high-quality young man like him earning millions a year couldn’t even be described as one in a million.
However, over these past few days, Lu Qi’s attitude had greatly disappointed him. There was no ambiguous relationship at all; the distance between them hadn’t closed even a bit. They still maintained only a superficial friendly colleague relationship, and even that was the cold kind without work exchanges.
Just now, after the invitation to lunch together failed, Qin Meng had volunteered to pack lunch for her. Logically, there shouldn’t be any excuse to refuse that, right? She should obediently let him close the distance now, right?
However, Lu Qi opened the drawer, took out a bucket of instant noodles: “Thanks, but no need. I’m eating this for lunch today.”
Qin Meng was dumbfounded—you, a technical director, have instant noodles in your office? Where’s your elegant female elite demeanor?
Lu Qi took out a small pack of ham sausage, closed the drawer, stared at him, and asked: “Does Director Qin have any other questions?”
Qin Meng thought for a moment and could only shake his head: “Then I’ll go eat alone.”
After saying that, he turned around and grabbed the door handle. But just a split second before he twisted it open, Qin Meng heard a voice from behind.
Lu Qi was asking: “Director Qin, have you paid attention to Bitcoin recently?”
Qin Meng let go of the door handle, straightened his tie, then turned back with an elegant smile.
This top elite in the investment field said: “A dangerous project, extremely extremely dangerous, and it has no value left. The news that broke yesterday: Silk Road was taken down by a heavy blow from the US federal authorities, with both people and evidence seized—zero possibility of comeback.”
Lu Qi said thoughtfully: “So Bitcoin is going to crash?”
Qin Meng’s mouth curved up, smiling even wider: “Bitcoin’s value relies almost entirely on dark web sites like Silk Road, the dedicated currency for outlaws around the world. Governments didn’t care before, but now that they’ve noticed them, where’s the space for these guys to survive? Oh no, to be precise, these low-level criminals will never disappear, but a rat’s nest exposed to sunlight is done for.”
Lu Qi: “So in your judgment, Bitcoin’s price next will…”
“Straight down, crash!”
Qin Meng said this decisively, without a doubt.
However, Lu Qi neither questioned nor agreed, just nodded slightly: “Understood. I need to make my noodles now. Isn’t Director Qin eating?”
With the guest dismissal order given, Qin Meng naturally couldn’t shamelessly stay. As he opened the office door, he was still pondering inwardly: why did Lu Qi ask that question? Did she buy Bitcoin?
If he used investment as a topic in the future, could it close the distance between him and her?
Thinking this, Qin Meng almost collided with the person coming face-to-face.
This was a handsome young man, excessively young, even looking more like a student who hadn’t left campus.
The young man said “Sorry” and dodged Qin Meng, entering Lu Qi’s office.
Qin Meng turned his head to stare at that door, inwardly speculating—what exactly was the relationship between that young man and Lu Qi? If he was Lu Qi’s subordinate, wouldn’t he need to knock to enter directly?
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