Hacker Five was the first to recover from the shock.
He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, fingers flying across his tablet as he recalculated again and again, lips moving silently. After a long pause, he finally looked up at Gu Mian, expression grave.
"Miss Gu… the cost of this is extremely high."
Gu Mian nodded, motioning for him to continue.
"For elementary school textbooks alone," Hacker Five said carefully, "there are approximately seventy-five core textbooks across grades and subjects. Multiplied by five copies each, that's 375 books. At an average cost of 800 yuan per book, that's roughly 300,000 yuan. Factoring binding, transport, and error tolerance, we round it up to 750,000 yuan."
He took a breath.
"Kindergarten materials—at least six textbooks, five copies each. That's thirty books, averaging 500 yuan per book. About 15,000 yuan, but rounding for logistics, 20,000 yuan."
"High school textbooks are worse," Hacker Five continued. "At least thirty different textbooks, multiplied by five is 150 books. Average price 1,200 yuan, totaling 180,000 yuan, rounded to 200,000 yuan."
Several hackers exchanged looks.
"University and college textbooks," Hacker Five said, voice lowering, "are the real monster. Across all majors and courses, there are at least 700 standard textbooks, averaging 3,000 yuan each, excluding research texts. That alone is over 10 million yuan."
"And research textbooks?" Gu Mian asked calmly.
"At least 500 titles," Hacker Five replied. "Five copies each. Average 10,000 yuan. That's 25 million yuan."
He exhaled slowly.
"Added together, that's roughly 37 million yuan. Rounding up for unexpected expenses, we're looking at 40 million yuan—and this is excluding question banks."
The room fell silent.
Gu Mian leaned back slightly. "So including question banks?"
"At least 100 million yuan," Hacker Five said honestly. "Including our pay, about 150 million yuan."
Gu Mian nodded once. "Approved."
Several hackers inhaled sharply.
"But that's not all," she continued. "This task continues."
The three hackers assigned to the education project straightened instinctively.
"You know Olympiads," Gu Mian said. "Regional. National. International. Mathematics, physics, chemistry, informatics—every subject."
Hacker Four frowned. "Miss… do you mean current questions?"
"I mean every question ever asked," Gu Mian replied evenly. "From the first Olympiad held to today. Worldwide."
The room erupted into murmurs.
"That requires breaching multiple international firewalls," Hacker Four said carefully. "Some of those archives are sealed."
"Good," Gu Mian said. "The competitions ended last week. Systems are relaxed."
She continued, "Compile them by country, by subject. Print three copies of each compiled set. Encyclopedic format."
"And the budget?" Hacker Six asked.
"You three will receive 600 million yuan, excluding personal pay."
Hacker Six swallowed hard. "Understood, Miss."
"Oh—and one more thing," Gu Mian added casually. "Research."
"Research?" Hacker Six echoed.
"From the first academic publication in human history until today," Gu Mian said. "All fields. Language. Medicine. Physics. Aerospace. Engineering. Social sciences."
A few hackers laughed weakly.
"That's insane," someone muttered.
"You'll compile them into encyclopedia-sized books," Gu Mian finished. "If you get traced, contact me. I'll provide an extra 100 million yuan."
Hacker Six rubbed his face. "We'll need it."
"That's why you were hired."
She turned to the next group.
"Hackers Seven to Nine."
She waited until they wrote down their code names.
"These tasks are the most important to me."
The room quieted.
"First," Gu Mian said, "a Plant Encyclopedia. Every plant that has ever existed. From microscopic algae to world trees from myth. Extinct or alive. Real or legendary."
She tapped the table.
"Picture on one side. Information on the other. First page—the smallest. Last page—the largest. Include grasses. Include flowers. If it grows from the earth, it goes in."
"Five copies," Hacker Seven said automatically.
"Yes."
"Insect Encyclopedia. Same requirements," Gu Mian continued. "Land, water, extinct, mythical."
"Animal Encyclopedia," she added. "From ants to dragons. Demonic beasts. Demi-humans like saint horses. Categorize if needed—land, sea, air. Dragons appear everywhere."
She slid another card forward.
"You have 200 million yuan, excluding pay. I want perfection."
The three hackers stood. "Yes, Miss."
"Li Qiao," Gu Mian said next.
He smiled faintly. "Finally."
"From now until March next year," she said, "you will compile a How-To-Make Encyclopedia."
Li Qiao's smile vanished.
"From buttons and toothpicks," Gu Mian continued, "to spacecraft. If it exists and can be made, I want instructions."
She raised a finger.
"Split it into three encyclopedias. One: machines and industrial equipment. Two: weapons, vehicles, planes, spacecraft. Three: daily necessities and miscellaneous items."
"Five copies each," Li Qiao murmured.
"Correct."
"Second task," Gu Mian said. "A Food Encyclopedia. Every recipe on Earth. Categorized by continent. Even if you have to travel."
Li Qiao exhaled. "You're serious."
"I always am."
She turned to Hackers Ten to Twelve.
"Clothing Design Encyclopedia," Gu Mian said. "Pictures only. Ancient to modern. Real life, films, cartoons, myths. Categorized by continent."
"Three copies," Hacker Eleven said.
"Jewelry and Accessories Encyclopedia," Gu Mian continued. "From jade and diamonds to shoes and scarves."
"And architecture," she finished. "Real and legendary. Minimal text."
"You have 350 million yuan, including pay."
They nodded solemnly.
"Hackers Thirteen to Fifteen," Gu Mian said at last. "You buy things."
The list stunned them.
Telegraph machines.
Typewriters.
Printers.
10,000 tons of each kind of paper.
1,000 high-end laptops.
3,000 phones.
5,000 watches with spare batteries.
2,000 televisions.
3,000 radios.
Film equipment.
Theater equipment.
Cameras.
Budget: 700 million yuan.
"And that's just the first task," Gu Mian added.
The second—movies, songs, cartoons, games—nearly broke them.
"2,000 servers," Hacker Fifteen whispered.
"No pornography," Gu Mian said. "Only famous artists."
When she finally stood, exhaustion flickered briefly across her face.
"I'm done. Li Qiao will handle details."
She left.
Afterward
The house was silent.
One hacker finally spoke.
"She's not preparing for wealth."
Another nodded slowly. "She's preparing for extinction."
Li Qiao leaned back, eyes dark.
"When the world collapses," he said quietly, "knowledge becomes the rarest currency."
No one argued.
They all understood now.