The Queen of Masks

Chapter 7: The Big Shot's First Disguise

Mason Fu picked up a glass of whiskey from the bar and took a sip.

"What's been happening in West State lately?"

West State is a federal state north of Huaguo, where dozens of countries are scattered across its vast expanse. It serves as the dividing line between Western civilization's origins and today's global economic center.

The man squinted with a smile that carried an air of cynicism.

"The Illuminati has contacted me; they seem to suspect that I am you. Those guys even brought a lie detector along, and the outcome was predictable. I got a headache just looking at all those dense codes, and they wanted me to decipher some virus nonsense—how would I know?"

Mason Fu raised an eyebrow with interest, his lips curling slightly. Under the dazzling lights, his half-smiling face was utterly captivating.

"It should be news leaked by the military in North State."

The man looked puzzled: "Why would it lead back to me?"

"I stayed at your place for a while when I was in North State; it must have been during that time that hackers from the military district targeted me."

"Then you need to be careful; those guys in the North State military hate you most because you tore apart their dignity.

"

Mason Fu narrowed his clear eyes slightly: "They'd better have the ability to find me."

"It's still better to be cautious; there’s been significant turmoil within the Illuminati recently. I've heard they've replaced quite a few high-ranking officials—I've never seen them so active before."

Mason Fu stopped discussing this topic and slowly set down his glass.

"I'm heading back now."

"Hey, wait! Didn't we agree on an all-night party?"

"The hotel location has been sent to your phone; don't stay up too late—it’s bad for your kidneys."

The man replied: "My kidneys are just fine; you don’t need to worry about that."

At three in the morning, a pair of slender hands moved across the keyboard with incredible speed.

Meanwhile, inside a medieval-style castle in West State, an alarm rang out with shrill beeping sounds. Moments later, hurried footsteps echoed through the castle halls. A gaunt figure leaned on a cane as he entered a room filled with over ten young men seated around computers.

Each person had their own computer set up before them.

The old man's brow furrowed: "What’s going on?"

"BOSS, someone has breached our system."

"Did you intercept them?

"

"The intruder implanted a new type of virus; we are currently doing everything we can to stop it."

The elder questioned coldly: "Who could possibly implant a virus under your protective net?"

"We're not sure yet; we're pursuing them vigorously—please rest assured BOSS, only we can break through Tianhua's defenses."

Just then, all computers suddenly went black simultaneously. The previously confident man now wore an expression of shock.

"What’s happening?"

"Tianhua has been breached."

The "Tianhua System," named after its team, is considered one of the top-tier protection systems—they’ve served the Chai family for over twenty years without anyone managing to c***k it despite numerous attempts by hackers worldwide. "Tianhua" is also hailed as one of the safest protection systems globally. Unexpectedly today, this undefeated system had been compromised. The man ordered: "Lock onto the target and track quickly." "Yes!"

Several security personnel began attempting to restart their computers when suddenly vibrant fireworks appeared on their screens before forming into strings of numerical code. The security personnel quickly deciphered: "It's Ice River." "Ice River?

I've never heard of this hacker." The elder's face darkened as he pondered for a moment: "We must find him." "Yes!"

At four in the morning, Nancy Gu closed her computer. She picked up her phone and logged into Weibo; just as she expected, Xena Gu wouldn’t miss any opportunity to play innocent. #XenaGuApologizes# had already surged into tenth place on trending topics. Clicking through trending topics led her directly to Xena Gu's post. "I'm very sorry for taking up public resources today; what happened was merely a misunderstanding due to my fault causing Nancy to be misinterpreted—I apologize for that! She grew up in the countryside and is such an innocent girl; I hope this incident won’t affect her life negatively. Also, thank you fans for your support—I love you all!" Xena Gu's apology post instantly ignited outrage among confused fans. 【Xiaoyan (a nickname), I'm really worried you're being deceived by that hypocritical Nancy Gu! Even if you asked her to get medicine from your room—why did she spend half an hour alone with her brother-in-law?】 【Don’t think being from the countryside makes someone innocent—once these poor folks seize opportunities they’ll do anything necessary!

I really don’t understand what your parents were thinking—having such an outstanding daughter like you but still adopting some country girl?】 【Xiaoyan ah Xiaoyan—what can I say about you? You’re just too kind-hearted!】 【Goddess! Wake up! That sister of yours isn’t good news!】 With over sixty thousand comments—all criticizing her—the tactic employed by Xena Gu was ruthless enough. Nancy Gu didn’t care about such online insults. After casually scrolling through her phone for some time, she went back to sleep.

The next morning...

“Bang bang bang!” A rough knocking sound woke someone from their dreams. An arm emerged from under blankets—a delicate white hand grabbed a pillow and covered her head while turning over to continue sleeping. Outside the door stood someone impatiently increasing their knocking force. “Second Miss wake up! Second Miss…” “It’s so late already—you still aren’t getting up? You really don’t understand any manners.” “Country folks are always lazy—they have no sense of time.” No wonder Lady Old Madam (the matriarch), Sir (the father), and Madam (the mother) disliked her so much. Hmph! If she weren’t somewhat valuable why would Gu family tolerate such insolence?

While grumbling outside about how unsatisfactory things were—the tightly shut door swung open abruptly.

The girl wore royal blue pajamas with long black hair slightly disheveled draped over herself—a small face as pale as jade showed signs of fatigue with slight dark circles under her eyes indicating she’d stayed up late.

Initially taken aback—the maid soon began scolding impatiently: “Second Miss—it’s already seven-thirty—you’re going to be late for school!” “Miss Xena goes every day at seven sharp to greet Lady Old Madam—Second Miss…not trying to criticize but honestly—you should learn more from Miss Xena!”

Miss Xena treated everyone kindly—and everyone throughout Gu family liked her very much.

In contrast—the second miss seemed dull-witted and timid—not at all resembling how socialites oughta behave! With cold eyes shooting daggers at the maid—the girl expressed irritation on her face: “You don’t need to wake me anymore.” Then “bang”—she slammed shut her bedroom door.

The maid stood there dumbfounded: “What is this?! She actually thinks she's part of Gu family royalty?” Hmph! After ranting angrily twice—the maid stormed downstairs.

Once Nancy Gu finished washing up—she opened her wardrobe filled entirely with pink-and-white princess-style outfits—all bought by Xena who claimed they suited Nancy well due sweet style.

Nancy scoffed quietly.

Her looks leaned towards boldness—not suitable for such cute attire which would only give off green tea b*tch vibes instead.

Ultimately settling upon hanging school uniform tucked away in corner...