<h4>Chapter 255 Hostage</h4>


    Shi Tian heard Mary''s instruction and nodded his head.


    Within the screen message itself, the other party had already given him the tool to converse with them.


    It was almost as if they had expected that a reply would be given to them.


    "What kind of reply do you want me to type?" Shi Tian turned to Mary and asked.


    He was just a bridge connecting these two at the moment, so the decision-making was ultimately up to Mary to decide.


    She was the sole person that had gotten them here and they were just assisting a little bit by the sideline.


    After a brief moment of thought, she responded, "Tell them we''re willing to discuss terms. But we need proof of your identity and intentions. Until then, we won''t proceed further."


    Mary''s message was cautious but also assertive. She understood the importance of verifying the identity of the other party before revealing any more information.


    Right now, both parties are kept in the dark, but Mary was demanding to shed some light on the other party, giving her the advantage and leeway.


    They weren''t in a rush and could easilyplete the hack, but Mary was intrigued by the other party''s surrender.


    Who in their right mind wouldply with a hacker unless they were in a perilous situation?


    When people are faced with tremendous pressure and risks, that is the best time to gain a lot of benefits from them.


    And since that was the case, how could Mary allow such easy profits to get away from her?


    Leaking the necessary information was important, but gaining more money was equally important.


    In fact, money would be even more important, especially when the world relied heavily on the same currency used everywhere: Source Crystals.


    "How did this hacking turn into a kidnapper and hostage situation?" Vanessa muttered in disbelief once she interpreted the response Mary had given out.


    The other party was clearly the victim whereas they were the kidnappers, holding the system or data as hostage and demanding ransom money.


    "That''s because we are doing it," Shi Tian heard her muttering and responded, pressing Enter on the keyboard to send the reply that Mary stated.


    A few secondster, in the Cyber Security Team, Brad was fuming mad when he read the response.


    "Fucking hell!" Brad was furious that his forehead had wrinkled up already.


    "Proof of identity? What are they now? The military?" He shouted angrily at the person in charge of the Cyber Security Team, Mason.


    Mason didn''t utter a single word, clearly knowing that if he opened his mouth and spoke, all hell would be raining upon him.


    Realizing that Mason wasn''t going to answer his question, Brad turned his attention to the other members of the Cyber Security Team.


    s, the moment his eyesid upon them, the members would lower their headspletely, almost as if they were afraid of even making eye contact.


    Making a ''hmph'' sound, Brad stopped trying to look at the useless members and focused his attention on the replied message.


    "Do as they said, Mason. It''s not like my information is secretive anyway if it can save us from troubles." Brad snorted coldly and instructed.


    The hacker merely requested his information, and not some unreasonable demands, so he might as wellply to see if they can still salvage the situation.


    Back in the Iron Sentinel, Shi Tian, who had patiently waited for a response from the other party finally received one.


    "Mary, it''s said that the other party is Brad, the manager of the channel for SterVision Media." Shi Tian read the message aloud and ryed it to Mary.


    "Hmm, SterVision Media huh." Mary rubbed her chin and pondered slightly.


    "If I recall correctly, SterVision Media is merely a subsidiary of the QuantumMedia Group." Vanessa suddenly interrupted and said, recalling the name.


    Although SterVision Media paledpletelypared to QuantumMedia Group, it had made quite a dramatic improvement in recent years, bing an active site for users to discuss numerous topics.


    "Vanessa, when you mentioned the QuantumMedia Group, do you mean that gigantic media group that had a foothold in numerous cities?" Mary enquired, feeling intrigued by the revtion.


    Vanessa nodded her head.


    "There might not be any copyrightws anymore given the chaotic world, but no one is dumb enough to impersonate the QuantumMedia Group. Who would want to court death with such a big group?"


    Suddenly, Mary sped her hands in joy and stood up from her chair.


    "Hahaha, we reeled in a big fish this time for merely trying to leak some information." Maryughed heartily.


    She had practically won the jackpot for taking a subsidiarypany hostage from argepany.


    Of course, there might be a ton of repercussions, but given the other party''s current approach, it was clear that they did not want the matter to escte further.


    "Nathan, quicklye up with a reply that is not too harsh, but also not too light to demand them to do what we want." Mary quickly urged Shi Tian, knowing full well that he was an expert in dealing with this type of situation.


    After all, he had demonstrated his speech ability back when they wanted to promote the sales of their modified ymore Mines, and he had a glib tongue. It would be dumb of her to not utilize his skills in action.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian smiled bitterly as he could only attempt to think of something on the spot.


    ''Not too light but also not too harsh. So basically it''s neutral, but also not neutral at the same time.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, understanding theplication involved.


    At first nce, it might seem simple on the surface, but it wasn''t.


    What Mary wanted was that they would receive the benefits, but also not too much that would break down the discussion and force the other party to shut their system down altogether.


    "I got it," Shi Tian suddenly sped his hands after some pondering, and his fingers started typing on the keyboard.