After Qi Ling left, only chaos remained at the scene.

As the rising star of this year’s second half, Edge Mercenary Corps had already attracted a lot of external attention.

Edge Mansion was a grand building, and combined with the mercenary group’s own fame, it had become a hotspot for many social media influencers, with people flocking in every day to stream live or shoot short videos to gain popularity.

Now that Edge Mansion was under attack, the onlookers nearby whipped out their phones to film frantically and then posted the footage on their social media profiles.

People online saw the news and flocked over to join the frenzy, filming as well.

The news spread exponentially, and the topic "Edge Mansion under attack" hit the trending list within just half an hour.

Su Mo’s phone kept ringing with calls from acquaintances who likely saw the news and wanted to inquire about the situation, but Su Mo was too preoccupied to answer them one by one.

He went back to the lobby and asked Luo Mingsheng, "Do you know Qi Ling?"

Luo Mingsheng seemed a bit dazed and hadn’t snapped out of it.

It wasn’t until Su Mo asked a second time that he blinked and looked confused, "Qi Ling? You mean the girl just now? I don’t know her."

Su Mo: "Then why did she say such strange things to you?"

Luo Mingsheng looked embarrassed: "I don’t know either; I’ve never seen her before. I’m completely baffled."

Su Mo clicked his tongue and advised, "Lao Luo, I’ve told everyone who joins the group that if there’s any issue, don’t keep it from me. We’ll solve problems together."

"If you have a grudge with Qi Ling, just be honest and tell me. I’ll help you figure it out, so don’t hide it."

Luo Mingsheng looked aggrieved, "Director, I really don’t know her. I’m an innocent bystander in all this, what a mess..."

Whether Luo Mingsheng was telling the truth or not, with him being so adamant, Su Mo couldn’t press further.

At this moment, a familiar voice came from the door: "Director Su."

Su Mo turned his head and was momentarily taken aback, "Captain Shangguan?"

The visitor was none other than Shangguan Li, accompanied by several people dressed in the Mo Xue Energy Group’s uniforms, presumably Mo Xue Mercenaries.

Su Mo: "Why are you here?"

Dongdong walked over to join the conversation, "I called them. Your phone was off earlier, and I couldn’t reach you no matter what, so I ended up looking for help on my own. I couldn’t just leave a mess lying around."

Dongdong’s "presumptuous" act was a surprise to Su Mo.

It wasn’t an anger-inducing surprise but a pleasantly unexpected one.

Normally laid-back and frivolous, Dongdong unexpectedly stepped up to support him at a crucial moment, which was a significant improvement.

Shangguan Li looked around at the mess, frowning slightly, "You’ve been hit pretty hard. From what the second-in-command said, you were attacked by hackers?"

Su Mo replied helplessly, "Yes, the firewall we bought from the Rick Company didn’t hold up."

Shangguan Li shook his head, "The Rick Company’s firewall is good for general use, but to fend off top-tier hacker attacks, you need to have your own information security team."

Su Mo sighed, "This is indeed a weakness for us at Edge. I haven’t found a suitable software expert yet."

Shangguan Li: "No worries, I brought our chief information security expert to help take a look for you."

The group walked into the underground lab.

The situation here was even more chaotic than outside, with scorch marks and metal fragments everywhere, damaged instruments veering at odd angles, and various documents scattered all over the floor.

There were also five or six small drone wrecks on the ground, the surface metal burst and melted, appearing as if they were blown up at close range by something.

Shangguan Li squatted by the drone remnants, examining them for a while, and said with narrowed eyes, "These are all self-destruct drones, each equipped with bombs."

Dongdong cursed, "These things are terrifying. They act like rabid dogs, crashing into people and exploding."

Shangguan Li: "That’s how self-destruct drones work. You should be thankful the lab is underground, and the elevator entrance is narrow, preventing larger drones from entering."

"If a drone carrying a high-yield bomb crashed in and self-destructed, it wouldn’t just be the equipment; none of your researchers would survive either."

Shangguan Li’s words sent a shiver down Su Mo’s spine.

He always believed in "putting people first."

Broken experimental instruments could be repurchased.

Destroyed data samples could be redone.

But if people died, everything would be lost.

If such vital talent were lost in future attacks, he would be haunted by remorse, unable to sleep at night.

At this moment, Future, also following behind, spoke with urgency, "Our computer’s underlying system is destroyed, and all data is lost. Is there a way to recover it?"

Shangguan Li instructed the security expert, "Go check their database and see if the data samples can be recovered."

The security expert entered the computer room, took out his own laptop, and connected it to the terminal.

Future quickly reminded, "Be careful; all our hardware is infected with viruses."

The security expert nodded, "No worries, my laptop is dedicated to virus detection and removal, and it has no confidential files."

He opened his laptop and entered the operating interface.

It was clear that Mo Xue’s firewall was more advanced than the one Edge bought from the Rick Company.

The Rick Company’s firewall collapsed the moment the virus file was downloaded, but the Mo Xue security expert’s laptop connected to the terminal without a hitch.

The security expert brought up the relevant system and began analyzing the virus on the data level.

Future, an expert in hardware, didn’t quite understand information security technology, so she could only bite her lip, nervously clutching her sleeve, and watch intently as others operated.