Free Web NovelChapter 47: Chapter 46 Academic Reputation
The hall of the exhibition was filled with a rising tide of excited voices.
All eyes turned to Zhao Yi.
Ordinary computer enthusiasts were surprised to hear that Zhao Yi had infiltrated the target computer and successfully copied its files, prompting admiration for this computer genius.
The security personnel and computer experts who were at the event, however, were the most astounded, for they knew all too well how difficult it was to crack a brand-new MacBook in such a short time using only a computer.
Some of them could hardly believe it and immediately rushed to Zhao Yi’s side.
The others wanted to know how Zhao Yi had managed such a swift infiltration.
He copied the files of the target computer?
A flawless infiltration!
Meanwhile, the conspiracy theorists contemplated other possibilities, like the Apple Company staging this whole thing with Zhao Yi?
They immediately shook their heads.
Impossible.
The Apple Company would not risk damaging its reputation and credibility just to promote the hacking skills of a Chinese high school student.
That’s beyond reason.
Zhao Yi soon found himself surrounded by highly skilled national computer experts. Being invited as guests by the Apple Company for the exhibition, these individuals undoubtedly had excellent technical skills and respectable statuses.
"Young man, show us how you did it!"
"How did you manage that?"
"Incredible! You managed to copy out the files, and... all of them, right?"
Cavaleiro anxiously asked Zhao Yi to pause.
Zhao Yi entered a command to halt the copying process. However, the crowd surrounding him refused to let him delete the copied files.
This was evidence of successfully hacking the target computer!
Cavaleiro, being just the Deputy Chief Engineer of Apple’s technical department, and not as high a rank as one might think, couldn’t afford to offend so many people at once.
That would cause big trouble for Apple’s business in China!
He could only stand by and watch.
The good news was that nobody was particularly interested in the specific content of the copied files. Nobody voluntarily requested to open those photos and videos; everyone’s main concern was how Zhao Yi did it.
It was then that Cavaleiro reacted.
Zhao Yi really had hacked into the newly released lightweight AIR computer!
How did he do it?
In response to the queries of the gathered experts, Zhao Yi began to explain, "I know that it’s almost impossible to infiltrate a target computer in such a short time, unless there are loopholes in it, so I decided to give it a try."
"Where would the most likely loopholes exist? The operating system? Definitely not. Apple’s operating system is very secure, so finding a loophole is not an easy task."
Many people smirked upon hearing this.
Anyone else saying this might be fine, but he was the one who had discovered seven loopholes. To be more precise, he had reported seven loopholes to the Apple Company.
Could there be more that he hadn’t reported?
That’s highly likely!
But Zhao Yi didn’t mind the reactions of the others. He continued, "It has to be the hardware. It’s the hardware that is most likely to have loopholes. In such a thin and light computer, the internal hardware must be specially customized."
"New hardware requires new driver software, and that’s where I focused my attention."
He simplified the process as he explained, "I just wrote a small program that probes and attacks the hard disk of the target computer. I was lucky, and it worked."
"Once I realized I could get feedback from the hard disk data of the target computer, everything became straightforward."
A thin bespectacled man in his thirties quickly understood, "You mean, its hard drive software is not perfect and even has a huge bug?"
Zhao Yi nodded, pointing to the target computer, "Its hard drive should be in sleep mode or simply undetectable. I changed the master-slave relationship of the driving program. Now its hard drive is linked to my computer, so I was able to easily copy all the information."
Upon hearing this, Cavaleiro rushed over and disconnected the target computer from the network.
Once the network was cut off, there was no way to establish remote connections; however, the computer also became unable to start up normally due to hard drive software issues.
Cavaleiro glared at Zhao Yi resentfully.
That was his personal computer.
He really didn’t expect that someone would be able to hack into his newly released computer on the spot, so he dared to use his personal computer as a target.
But now...
Cavaleiro looked at Zhao Yi’s computer on the table, considering when he could find a chance to erase the data on that computer.
...
Inside the exhibition hall.
Everyone was discussing the hard drive software issue of the new computer.
Cavaleiro was also amazed at Zhao Yi’s technical skills, thinking how he had hacked into the target computer.
At the same time, Cavaleiro felt a little excited.
A huge bug being found in a new product at Apple’s product exhibition was undoubtedly a big blow to the company.
But...
Things were different for Cavaleiro personally.
Cavaleiro was a senior engineer in Apple’s tech department — essentially a high-ranking worker. No matter how much the company made, he only held a minute amount of stock and didn’t earn much in the stock market.
But now he had accomplished something big!
Think about it.
If the huge bug in the new product had been exposed later, it would have caused massive damage to Apple, both financially and reputationally, as by then countless users’ information security would have been compromised over time.
But things were different now.
The new product had only been on sale for two weeks. Most users had just bought it. Resolving the software bug in time was akin to averting a crisis in advance.
Compared to all of this, what did a provincial exhibition in China amount to?
The reputation of Apple Company in China wouldn’t be greatly affected either, because ordinary people can’t distinguish the levels of a bug, all they know is that there was a bug, and it was found on the spot by a Chinese high school prodigy.
Every software has a bug, every system has a bug, it’s no big deal.
As for the verbally pledged $50,000, Apple Company would surely reimburse it.
A smile reappeared on Cavaleiro’s face. He immediately took on a generous attitude, expressing gratitude to Zhao Yi on the spot, praising his contributions to enhancing security, and awarded him with the highest bonus of 200,000 yuan. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
When he accepted the reporter’s interview, he also publicly stated, "Within a month, we will add the promised $50,000 reward. All our bonuses will be deposited directly into Zhao Yi’s account."
Finally, Cavaleiro went into a nearby Apple store and picked out a MacBook with the highest configuration and also selected a mobile phone produced in collaboration with Motorola, giving them directly to Zhao Yi.
"You’re the Apple user I’ve been most looking forward to!"
"And, you should have a mobile phone. You know, it’s really inconvenient to communicate by email all the time," Cavaleiro said sincerely.
What could Zhao Yi do? He could only accept it.
Although he was not too enthusiastic about the ’Mobile Music Phone’, he would always pocket a free phone. Even if he didn’t use it himself, it could be used by others.
...
The exhibition ended.
Zhao Yi became a popular figure.
Some top-notch people on the scene took the initiative to get to know him and handed him their business cards.
Zhao Yi dealt with more than a dozen people in a row. The one who left a deep impression on him was Meng Ruohao, a skinny glasses-wearing man who was a doctoral researcher at the Capital University Network Security Laboratory.
Meng Ruohao gave Zhao Yi a Penguin Group number, recommending him to join the group and get to know other people, sharing computer technology on a daily basis.
Another high-ranking middle-aged man with long but sparse hair that was somewhat balding.
He was Li Xianyi, a professor of the Network & Switching Technology Laboratory at the Capital University of Posts and Telecommunications. He focused on the study of network information security and cryptography theory and had won the ’National Technology Progress Award’ and the ’Outstanding Contribution Award’.
Li Xianyi left a deep impression on Zhao Yi. He directly suggested Zhao Yi apply for the Computer Science major of the Capital University of Posts and Telecommunications.
"If your scores are not enough, you can apply for independent recruitment, we have allocated a few places in Nanjiang too."
"I’ll put in a good word for you. As long as your college entrance examination score is not lower than undergraduate line, you can be admitted."
That was straightforward!
Zhao Yi was somewhat moved.
The Capital University of Posts and Telecommunications was also a ’Double First-Class’ university. Its computer science major was a standout, and it was surely among the top in the country.
Unfortunately...
He really didn’t want to study computer science.
...
It wasn’t until the afternoon that Zhao Yi managed to leave, feeling exhausted.
The reporters were too enthusiastic.
Zhao Yi accepted interviews at first, but later simply returned to his hotel. As his fame grew, so did his troubles. He couldn’t even imagine how celebrities live?
The journey back was much more relaxing.
Zhao Yi could finally take a look at his gains. He had received a system reminder during the exhibition--
[Found hardware drive loophole, gained research achievement.]
[Research Coin +2.]
[Academic reputation increased!]
[Research Coin +2.]
[Academic reputation increased; Study Coin +200.]
The last notification made Zhao Yi surprised.
[Open system!]
The system panel immediately appeared in his mind--
[Name: Zhao Yi.]
[Brain Domain Development: 5.3%.]
[Intellect: 61.]
[Energy: 79/103.]
[Study Coin: 631.]
[Research Coin: 9.]
[Ability: Law of Cause and Effect. (To activate the next stage of the ability, it requires 1000 Study Coins.)]
"Academic reputation can not only increase Research Coins but also increase Study Coins?"
"What does it refer to exactly?"
Zhao Yi began to think carefully. It was easy to understand when the two gains of academic reputation were connected.
Academic reputation is the fame you gain via academic and research abilities.
When you make a research achievement or show related abilities, you will gain academic reputation. The amount you gain is likely directly related to the research, achievements, abilities, etc.
This makes sense.
Finding the flaws in Apple’s new product on the spot, being recognized for computer skills, could earn corresponding academic reputation.
Gaining 200 Study Coins from academic reputation was beyond expectation.
That was 200!
If you were to accumulate that amount slowly from school and life, it would take at least a dozen days.
"I have more than 600 Study Coins now. I just need to save a bit more and I can get the second ability..."
Zhao Yi suddenly looked forward to it.
