Chapter 571: I Cannot Say

Two Iveco vans were parked downstairs; from the outside, one could only see the drivers, as if they were waiting to load cargo.

In the Command Center in the back row, Han Xin stared at the large screen, his eyes sharp as an eagle's.

There were sixteen sub-screens: the four entrances and exits of the first floor, the four elevators, the entrance and exit of the Center, the corridors, the experimental area, the testing area... and so on. It could be said that if a fly flew in, one would have to distinguish its sex.

On the main screen, Lin Sicheng and Zheng Hui stood to the side, watching quietly. The others each had a laptop, connected to various instruments. Today's orders were issued personally by the General Captain, and the goal was clear: protect the scene, protect the people, and also protect the instruments. The scene was, of course, Lin Sicheng's Research Center; as for the people, apart from Lin Sicheng and Captain Zheng of the Technical Investigation Team, the General Captain did not say who the rest were.

Occasionally, the Special Duty Team would also carry out some security and special missions; Han Xin knew his place and did not talk too much.

He was just a bit curious: when reporting the case, Lin Sicheng had said himself that this equipment was all junk.

So what was the meaning of this formation today?

Thinking this over secretly, he saw a car drive up, and Han Xin picked up the walkie-talkie: "All units, pay attention..."

The experimental area was very quiet; apart from the sound of typing on keyboards, only the occasional low voice of inquiry could be heard.

They were all speaking professional terminology related to software and systems, which Lin Sicheng only half-understood.

He looked at Zheng Hui: "Captain Zheng, can you understand it?"

"I can understand it, but my grasp isn't deep enough!" Zheng Hui explained, "My major was electronic engineering; software engineering was just an elective!" After replying, he realized: regardless of the type of computer technology, Lin Sicheng had never studied it.

Once this was mentioned, he couldn't help but admire him: "Teacher Lin, how did you discover that there was a problem with this batch of equipment at the time?"

Lin Sicheng replied without hesitation: "There were signs of refurbishment, such as the X-ray tubes, such as the circuit boards..."

Zheng Hui blinked his eyes, as if to say: Teacher Lin, you know that's not what I'm asking.

The situation Lin Sicheng described did indeed exist: after all, it was second-hand assembled equipment; no matter how good the refurbishment technology was, it was impossible to erase all the traces. And with Lin Sicheng's sharp eyes, it was no surprise he could discover the flaws.

What Zheng Hui was curious about was: how did Lin Sicheng determine that what was running on these machines was not the original system?

And furthermore, how did he know the other party had unauthorizedly enabled backdoor programs, opened all the Password Locks, and loaded substitute programs?

Even more, how could he time it so perfectly: all backdoors fully open, all Password Locks fully enabled, all substitute programs running completely, and then suddenly make the arrest?

At that time, those two engineers didn't even have time to cut the power.

To tell the truth, if it were Zheng Hui, he certainly couldn't have done it.

It wasn't just because he didn't study software engineering and wasn't very proficient in software, but because this equipment and these systems were all the most advanced, cutting-edge technology in the world.

Let alone discovering it, if it were given to him, he would struggle just to understand it.

Take the engineers present, for example; they were all senior Researchers from national-level research institutions. When they first saw this system, weren't they shocked out of their wits?

Conversely: Lin Sicheng was just someone who studied Cultural Relics; he might not even know what categories of computer technology majors existed.

So, how did he do it?

There was no way to explain it; Lin Sicheng just smiled.

If it came to an understanding of computer technology and software systems, he wouldn't even be qualified to carry Zheng Hui's bag.

If compared to the engineers present, there were several galaxies between them.

But Lin Sicheng's strength lay in his advanced awareness, and even more in his understanding of this equipment.

Use it enough, and you'll learn it even if you don't know it.

From using the First Generation Machine to the Eighth Generation Machine, he at least knew the working principle, internal structure, system characteristics, and basic performance parameters of every generation of machine.

Just like the X-ray diffractometer: the first generation was air-cooled, the third generation was liquid-cooled; such an obvious difference, as long as one had used it, who could forget? But this one in the middle was clearly carrying nine fans on its back; was Lin Sicheng blind?

The software system was the same: no matter how little Lin Sicheng understood, he at least knew the system loading principles of the first and third generation machines.

For example: running a third-generation system on a first-generation machine was like installing a V8 Engine on an old ox cart; it might be fast, but it wouldn't run for two kilometers before the cart fell apart.

If you wanted to run fast and not have the cart fall apart, you had to reinforce it from the bottom up. Even if it was temporary, and performance verification only required running for a few hours, he still had to reinforce it.

As long as you reinforce it, don't you have to start dismantling it from the bottom and replacing parts?

Before dismantling, didn't he have to open all the protections?

So, it wasn't that Lin Sicheng knew a lot, but that he applied the little he did know to the most appropriate place.

Seeing Lin Sicheng purse his lips, Zheng Hui also knew that it was impossible to ask anything more.

His feelings for Lin Sicheng deepened a layer: he felt, was there anything he didn't know?

Just as he was sighing, those engineers began to pack up the equipment; Lin Sicheng and Zheng Hui knew that today's mission was basically complete.

When reporting the case, Zheng Hui had already copied it, and all the data had been handed over. So, today wasn't for copying, but for cleaning: clearing out that system of Liu Anhua's.

In this way, even if this equipment was recalled by the company, they wouldn't be able to discover anything.

The rest was nothing more than research, improvement...

After putting away their computers and turning off the machines, several engineers walked over.

One of them, slightly older, reached out from a distance: "Teacher Lin, hello, my surname is Su!"

Zheng Hui lowered his voice and reminded him: "This is Deputy Director Su!"

Lin Sicheng was suddenly startled: don't think that just because he was a director, the rank was low; you had to look at which institute it was.

This person was at least a deputy academician.

Thinking about it, the messages Zheng Hui had been passing to him during this time were from this person.

He hurriedly reached out both hands: "Director Su, hello, hello!"

"Teacher Lin, don't be so formal; it is we who should thank you!" Director Su paused and looked at his colleagues behind him, "I represent the entire institute, as well as our colleagues in the industry, to thank you for your support!"

These words carried some weight, specifically because of the word "colleagues" at the end: those who studied in this field were all part of the national team.

Lin Sicheng dared not take the credit: "Director Su, you are too kind, it was just a coincidence!"

Whether it was a coincidence, Director Su knew very well in his heart.

Take Captain Zheng, for example; one wouldn't dare call him an Expert, but calling him a "senior researcher" would certainly be no problem.

But when Lin Sicheng asked him to send this system to the institute, he didn't even know what was on that tiny U-disk of his. So, how come he didn't have a "coincidence"?

Director Su smiled: "Teacher Lin, I will have to trouble you later!"

"Director Su, just say the word!" Lin Sicheng replied without hesitation, "As long as I can be of help!"

Seeing Lin Sicheng did not hesitate at all, Director Su breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at Zheng Hui again: "Teacher Lin, can we talk in private?" Lin Sicheng nodded: "Of course..."

Before the words were finished, Zheng Hui turned around very tactfully: "Director Su, Teacher Lin, I'm going to the restroom!"

At the same time, those Engineers also walked out, and as they left, they each smiled at Lin Sicheng.

In the vast equipment area, there were only Lin Sicheng and Director Su.

Director Su was concise and to the point: "Teacher Lin, I would like to ask for your help in doing some ideological work on that General Manager Liu!"

What kind of ideological work?

Naturally, it was to cooperate with Liu Anhua.

Without a doubt, this person was a genius: even with a Password Lock, and even knowing the Underlying Code, it was not just anyone who could develop a brand-new replacement system.

If asked whether this system could be used, the answer was yes.

If Director Su were to tell the truth: it was very difficult to bypass the patent blockade. The reason was simple: Liu Anhua designed it based on existing underlying modules, and no one knew how many watermarks the original company had hidden inside.

But there was one point, the principles were the same: the Operating Logic, basic patterns, and underlying architecture could be universal.

Just like building a house, you couldn't say that because your building had eight floors, my building of eight floors was a copy of yours.

The difference lay in the design details: such as the appearance, such as the layout.

These, Director Su did not lack. Although they were a bit worse than the other party, the gap was not very large.

What they lacked was the design concept for the underlying framework.

They didn't ask to copy directly; if Liu Anhua helped, they could completely design a brand-new underlying architecture.

This was the first point; the second was: professionalism and technology.

Liu Anhua graduated from a prestigious school, interned at a top global laboratory, and later worked in research at Saishi Technology, which held a leading position in the relevant field. His background could not have been better, and his experience could not have been richer.

Furthermore, regarding his ability: his system, while referred to as a "set," was actually a multi-type application technology system that spanned fields, industries, professions, and applications.

If you don't believe it, look at the instruments Lin Sicheng bought back: X-ray diffraction instrument, this is for XRD.

X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, this is for Spectrum analysis. D video microscope, this is for optical magnification plus intelligent computing.

There were also Carbon-14 and Thermoluminescence; the former was for isotope analysis, and the latter for radiation dose analysis.

These were all completely unrelated types of analysis equipment, yet for every single one, Liu Anhua had developed a brand-new, replaceable application system.

Not to mention how awesome the software company in Bangalore, India, that collaborated with him was, just look at Liu Anhua: all design ideas and all underlying architectures were provided by Liu Anhua.

If he could provide a set to Director Su, he could research it just the same, and it would definitely be better than the Indians'.

Therefore, this was not the first time Director Su had such a thought.

Back when Lin Sicheng was still in Shanghai climbing over the firewall to browse foreign websites and pondering how to send blackmail emails, and he was providing technical support in Beijing, Director Su had already thought about it.

But at that time, there were too many concerns and it was too sensitive: first, Liu Anhua was a foreign national. Second, he himself was a senior executive at a technology giant, and he had a pile of non-compete clauses on him.

Third, and most crucially, the impact of this case was too great, and it was a certainty that Liu Anhua would be sentenced.

Therefore, Director Su just thought about it.

But now, the situation was becoming clearer, and his mind became active again: this General Manager Liu would, one thousand percent, be abandoned by foreign capital. When no one paid attention to him anymore, could he be asked for help?

Director Su did not hesitate and went to see the leadership immediately. Although the leadership did not agree, they did not oppose it either.

Although the words were spoken very cryptically, Director Su could understand: there were difficulties, and the challenge was great, but it was not impossible to try.

But there was one point: the confidentiality work had to be done well.

Secondly, and most crucially: it required Liu Anhua's own consent.

At the time, Director Su was still thinking: this was a good thing that benefited both sides, why would he not agree?

At the very least, Liu Anhua could live more comfortably and freely. It was even possible he wouldn't have to go to jail.

But the leadership said that when he asked, the leadership of the relevant department replied exactly like that. As for the specific reason, the leadership wouldn't say, and he didn't dare to ask.

Later, Director Su invited a teacher and found an even higher-ranking leader before he managed to get a clue: for this General Manager Liu, being in prison was safer than being outside.

To put it bluntly: he didn't want to come out himself, so it wouldn't matter who agreed.

He continued to look for people and asked around a great deal before he finally got some reliable Information Detachment: he could only let Lin Sicheng try...

Lin Sicheng was quite willing to try, but not now.

"Director Su, I'll be blunt: the timing is not right! At the very least, we must wait for the dust to settle..."

First, the negotiations with Saishi and several companies must be concluded, and after the compensation was in place, the Technology Authorization Agreement that should be signed must be signed, and the clauses that should be changed must be changed. Second: we must wait for the six companies to update all their backup systems before we can consider this matter.

Because this system was not only possessed by Liu Anhua; the few Engineers he trained and the Indian software company that did the OEM work for him all had this system in their hands.

But the good thing was that Liu Anhua kept an ace up his sleeve: the Indian company only did the software and did not manage the operation.

The few Engineers he trained only handled the installation and did not know the Password Lock, let alone that this system could poke the throat of several technology giants besides selling Refurbished Machine units.

Therefore, we must wait for the six companies to finish updating their systems and clear out all the old data, and wait until the systems in the hands of the Indian company and Liu Anhua's subordinates were completely useless, before we could start the Artifact Research.

Otherwise, just as you recruit Liu Anhua, a big scoop suddenly breaks: for example, the Indian company or Liu Anhua's subordinates used this system to steal some key data, guess what would happen?

At that time, Liu Anhua would be the second Snowden; would you protect him or not?

Therefore, we must wait until the case was over and the Court had delivered the verdict.

Only when Saishi and the United States completely abandoned this person and stopped paying attention to him could this matter be considered...

Lin Sicheng analyzed it carefully, and Director Su understood all this; he was just giving Lin Sicheng a heads-up in advance.

"Director Su, don't worry, even if you didn't come to me, I would do the same!"

There was no reason to let top talent go unused and be wasted...

Lin Sicheng pondered for a moment, "Director Su, can I ask one thing: who was the leader who said to let Lin Sicheng try?" Director Su was stunned: "Teacher Lin, I'm sorry, I cannot say!"

Lin Sicheng was first startled, then sighed.

What startled him was that the level was definitely high enough.

What he sighed about was that this Director Su was an honest man.

If it were Zheng Hui, he definitely wouldn't hesitate for even a second: Teacher Lin, I don't know either, that's just what my teacher said when he relayed it to me...