An Invitation from Vulture

During this period, Guo Hao studied accounting materials.
Looking at content related to linear algebra, topology, and mathematical modeling had completely opened Guo Hao's eyes.
He had completely entered the world of mathematics. This toy was much more interesting than Guo Hao had imagined.
Precisely because of this, Guo Hao studied with great passion.

Shen Luoyan asked Guo Hao about two problems, which Guo Hao easily resolved.
The two chatted about mathematics as they slowly walked toward the cafeteria.
When talking about studying, Shen Luoyan was not quiet at all. In fact, to some extent, she spoke even more than Guo Hao.
The two chatted for a long time.
Arriving at the cafeteria, they each ordered a portion of food.
And continued chatting.

After finishing their meal, the two left the cafeteria and walked to the lakeside on campus, continuing to walk and chat about mathematics.
After chatting for about an hour, they gradually stopped.
"The two of us being like this really makes us look like a couple."
Guo Hao looked at the lake beside him and said to Shen Luoyan with a smile.
Shen Luoyan fell silent.
"I'm sorry for causing you extra trouble!"
Shen Luoyan hesitated for a moment and said to Guo Hao.
"What??" Guo Hao was slightly stunned, looking at Shen Luoyan.
"The matter regarding Shao Ping has caused you extra trouble!"
Shen Luoyan said seriously to Guo Hao.
"It's a small matter!"
Guo Hao smiled.
"Alright, I want to go back to the library to read. Do you want to come along?"
Guo Hao always felt that Shen Luoyan's attitude toward him had quietly undergone a bit of change at some point. As for what kind of change it was and to what extent, Guo Hao hadn't quite figured it out yet.
However, he felt it was a good thing.
Having someone to study with felt much better than studying alone.

The two returned to the library together.
Finding their books, they continued to read and study.
Evening study was a bit different from the afternoon.
In the afternoon, each of them mostly studied their own things.
But in the evening, after reading for a while, they began to discuss quietly with each other.
Shen Luoyan was also an extremely intelligent girl. Her sensitivity to knowledge was not much inferior to Guo Hao's, and sometimes, the angle from which she viewed problems and knowledge even shocked Guo Hao.
The two studied while discussing.
The evening passed very quickly.
At ten o'clock, the library was about to close.
The two left the library together.
After chatting for a bit, Guo Hao didn't offer to walk Shen Luoyan back to her dormitory.
After saying goodbye, Guo Hao smiled as he watched Shen Luoyan's retreating figure.

Guo Hao also returned to his dormitory.
"Brother Hao, you got back five minutes later today than yesterday! What's up? Did the library close five minutes later today?"
Ma Xin looked at Guo Hao in confusion.
Guo Hao glared at Ma Xin testily.
"What kind of logic is that? The library's closing time is fixed. Couldn't I have walked five minutes slower on the road?"
"Liar! Brother Hao, you even control your eating time and only think about reading every day. How could you walk five minutes slower on the road?"
Li Ming said to Guo Hao.
Guo Hao was instantly speechless.
Damn, school had only started for a few days, yet they had already figured out his habits so clearly???
"Alright, it's just five minutes. Let's go to sleep!"
Guo Hao said testily to the three.
Smiles appeared on the three's faces.

Guo Hao quickly washed up.
When he returned, he noticed that he had received a message from Shen Luoyan.
"Are you back at the dorm?"
Seeing the message, Guo Hao was slightly stunned.
This was the very first message Shen Luoyan had sent him. This ice beauty actually cared about someone! And she had taken the initiative to care about him!
Had she really been melted by him???
Guo Hao found it a bit hard to believe.
Hesitating slightly, Guo Hao replied to the message.
"I'm back."
"Good, then go to sleep early."
"Mm! You too."

Just as Guo Hao finished replying to Shen Luoyan's message and was about to turn off his phone.
At this moment, on his QQ friend list, an avatar that was almost forgotten suddenly began to flash.
It was Vulture's avatar.
The top hacker who had helped Guo Hao deal with Wang Xu and Cai Chenggong previously. If Vulture hadn't provided those materials, it would have been practically impossible for Guo Hao to deal with an official of that level!
Therefore, emotionally speaking, Guo Hao was very grateful to Vulture.
However, the troubling part was that Vulture's identity was far too mysterious, and he also knew Guo Hao very well. His own identity was practically transparent to him.
This wasn't a good thing for a hacker, and Guo Hao felt a strong sense of unease in his heart.
Thus, he almost never took the initiative to chat with Vulture.
Unexpectedly, after so long, he had actually sought him out.

He opened the chat.
"Are you there?"
Vulture only sent those words.
"What is it?"
Guo Hao replied.
"There's an operation. The reward this time is twenty Bitcoins. It's optional."
"Is it illegal?"
Guo Hao's heart stirred slightly.
Currently on the market, Bitcoin had risen to over fifty US dollars each. In other words, a single operation's reward would exceed one thousand USD! Based on the current exchange rate, that was at least seven thousand yuan!
It was already equivalent to two months' salary for many people!

"It's not illegal, at least not against the laws of the Dragon Nation. You can check the details of the task in the internal group chat before deciding whether to do it."
With that, Vulture's avatar went dark.
Seeing this, Guo Hao was slightly stunned.
A trace of doubt appeared in his eyes.
Just who on earth was this Vulture?
And why did he suddenly come to tell him about such a task? Since it wasn't a mandatory task, why...
Thinking for a moment.
Guo Hao couldn't figure it out.
"Forget it. Tomorrow is Sunday, so I'll go to the net cafe to check the task details first. But it's also about time I bought a personal computer!"
For a hacker, not having their own computer was indeed a troublesome matter.

He temporarily put this matter out of his mind.
Turning off his phone.
Guo Hao continued reading.
The next day.
At 7:30 AM, Guo Hao arrived at the library and saw Shen Luoyan again.
The two tacitly found their original seats and continued reading.
Around mid-morning.
"I have some things to take care of outside."
Guo Hao stopped and said to Shen Luoyan.
Shen Luoyan nodded.

Guo Hao left the school, and quickly opened a computer in a secluded corner of a net cafe outside the campus.
Skillfully adjusting the computer's backend, he modified the IP.
Only then did Guo Hao open the proxy, access the dark web, and enter the internal group chat Vulture had mentioned.
Very quickly, Guo Hao saw the target of that task...