Chapter 25: All Their Efforts Amount to Less Than a Dog

Chai Peng repeated what Zheng Maoshi had just said, then pointed at Hua Tianyu and asked, “Is this one of your security guards?”

“Yes… that’s right…” Cheng Feng was a bit startled. Why was Hua Tianyu sitting here?

Hua Tianyu raised the glass of water in his hand, smiled calmly, and said, “Why am I being dragged in again? I’m just here for a drink of water.”

“Oh… oh!” When Cheng Feng heard this, he realized it wasn’t arranged by Director Wei, so he dropped all pretense of politeness.

“Hua Tianyu, there’s nothing for you to do here anymore. Go down to the security office and check the duty roster. If I remember correctly, you and Cui Quan are scheduled for patrol this afternoon.”

Hua Tianyu put on a look of nervous humility and replied, “Alright, alright, I’ll go down as soon as I finish my water!”

“How long have you been drinking that water? Don’t you know yourself?” Zheng Maoshi frowned in reproach. “You’re just a security guard, yet you’ve been listening in for half the meeting. Tell me, what have you understood?”

What was wrong with this young security guard—drinking water, drinking water, and still drinking? Are all of Swan Group’s security guards this idle?

Zheng Maoshi glanced at Wei Xueying, thinking: This Director Wei seems easily manipulated. A lowly security guard has been sitting here for half the meeting, and she hasn’t said a word.

But she is quite beautiful, with a great figure. If she were my woman, with that docile demeanor, she’d be at my mercy—her every pose determined by me.

Zheng Maoshi’s thoughts grew more and more improper, his gaze wandering over Wei Xueying’s body.

“Hua Tianyu, you may be the president’s bodyguard…” Cheng Feng paused, sneaking a glance at Wei Xueying. Seeing her face still cold and expressionless, he mustered the courage to continue.

“But now Director Wei has assigned you to regular security duty. There’s really no need for you to stay by her side.”

Cheng Feng deliberately highlighted Hua Tianyu’s change in role, taking the opportunity to inform Zheng Maoshi about the security guard’s position, and to observe Wei Xueying’s response. Every time Hua Tianyu had confronted him, Cheng Feng had made a mental note. If Wei Xueying no longer supported him, Hua Tianyu could expect a storm of retaliation.

“Oh, a presidential bodyguard? I’ve dealt with plenty of those,” Rong Xinyuan interjected. “I know you’re all physically strong—maybe even good fighters. But when it comes to security technology, there’s no need for you to listen in, is there? This is high-tech stuff. If you can’t understand our conversation, it would be embarrassing for you, wouldn’t it?” Rong Xinyuan’s words barely stopped short of calling Hua Tianyu “all brawn and no brains.”

Rong Xinyuan worked in security technology and looked down on guards and bodyguards, thinking they were good for nothing but physical labor. In the future, when technology advanced, such people would be less useful than a well-trained dog.

“Ah, finally finished my water,” Hua Tianyu ignored Rong Xinyuan, setting down his glass slowly. His gaze swept over the three representatives from Hongwei Security, and then he spoke: “It’s not that I’m singling you out; I’m saying that everyone from Hongwei Security present here is nothing but trash!”

“Hua Tianyu, you’ve gone too far!” Cheng Feng glared at him.

“Uncultured brute!” Rong Xinyuan, proud of his own status, could not bear to be called “trash.”

“Stupid security guard, you don’t know when to show respect, do you?” Zheng Maoshi pointed at him and cursed.

“Show you respect? Do you even have any to show? Since all of you claim to be such experts in security technology, let me, an ignorant little security guard, give you all a lesson today.” Hua Tianyu’s tone dripped with disdain.

He pointed at Zheng Maoshi. “What did you just say? That the server can’t record while it’s rebooting? Idiot!”

Zheng Maoshi jumped from his chair, shouting, “Come on, you stupid guard, tell me—how do you record video when the server is rebooting? If you can’t answer, you’ll kneel and apologize to me!”

“Fine, idiot,” Hua Tianyu’s expression didn’t change. “Ever heard of hot backup? Can’t you use two servers at the same time? Reboot one server, then reboot the other after the first is done? That way, at least one server is always running—how could the surveillance footage be interrupted?”

“So tell me, was I wrong to call you an idiot?” Hua Tianyu asked coldly.

Zheng Maoshi’s mouth hung open, as if all the energy had been sucked from him, and he slumped back into his chair.

Hua Tianyu was right—he knew the method, too. But the Swan Group only had one server, because the money for the second one had long since been split between himself and Cheng Feng. Back when they did the project, Wei Xueying’s father, Wei Jiacheng, was still in charge. But he didn’t understand these things and was easily fooled by the two of them.

But how could a security guard—this Hua Tianyu—know all this? Was he really just a security guard? Cheng Feng had said at most he was the president’s bodyguard.

Zheng Maoshi’s mind went blank; he didn’t even hear the rest of Hua Tianyu’s words.

Ignoring Zheng Maoshi’s mortified state, Hua Tianyu continued, “But of course, that alone might not be enough to qualify you as trash. Let’s continue—you’ll soon be worthy of the title. The surveillance cameras in the secure department on the nineteenth floor don’t even have one-way protective covers—they’re all exposed. Anyone could easily destroy them.”

“What’s more, there’s no overlapping coverage between the cameras. If a camera is destroyed, there’s no way to find out who did it.”

“Not to mention, the cameras in these secure departments should have overlapping fields of view to ensure complete coverage!”

“Ahem… Hua Tianyu…” Cheng Feng couldn’t let him continue any longer.

But Hua Tianyu gave him a cold smile, “Sorry, I almost forgot you—you’re trash, too.”

“Hua Tianyu, watch your mouth!” Cheng Feng’s face darkened; Hua Tianyu had made him lose face in front of Wei Xueying, which was utterly unacceptable.

“Why do I call you trash? Don’t you know yourself? Several cameras are pointing at empty air—are you monitoring people or pigeons? You check the camera feeds every day—haven’t you noticed?”

Cheng Feng was speechless, his face flushing and paling in turn. He wanted to deny it, but if Hua Tianyu demanded to check the surveillance room, the truth would be obvious at a glance. The guards there watched the feeds all day; they knew the situation better than anyone.

In fact, the camera angles were deliberate—especially those at the entrance of the nineteenth-floor biology lab. Angled as they were, they showed people from the shoulders up, which seemed normal at first glance. But as soon as someone ducked, they could slip right out of the camera’s view.