It took several minutes for the call to connect. A groggy and irritated voice ca through on the other end, grumbling through a yawn. "What is it? Don’t you know I pull all–nighters? I just fell asleep not long ago. I’m sorry." Zoe said with a nervous chuckle. I wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t an ergency."
"What kind of ergency could a rich young woman like you possibly have?" The voice on the other end sounded surprised.
"My computer got hit with a virus last night. It just crashed all of a sudden, and I spent the entire night trying to fix it, but nothing worked. I had no choice but to call you for help", Zoe said, her voice a mix of distress and embarrassnt.
"You spent the whole night on it and couldn’t even get it to boot?" The voice on the line now sounded incredulous. "Are you really my apprentice if you can’t handle sothing so basic?"
Zoe quickly explained. "Please hear out. This virus is really strange." She went on to describe the virus’s characteristics and its destructive power in great detail.
Her ntor seed to be intrigued, and the drowsiness in his voice was gone. "This virus does sound interesting. Bring your computer over. I’ll take a look at it myself"
"Alright, I’ll be there in half an hour."
Though Zoe hadn’t slept all night she was young enough to power through. She imdiately got up, changed out of her pajamas, dabbed on so concealer to cover her dark circles, and then grabbed her computer and called her chauffeur. On her way out, she picked up two pieces of bread and a bottle of milk before heading to her ntor’s place.
He was none other than the famous hacker, Chaos. To beco his apprentice, Zoe bought an apartnt in the city center for him, spending all her bonuses, allowances, and savings. She also sold several handbags and so inexpensive jewelry.
Over the past two years, she had learned a great deal from Chaos, establishing a na for herself in the hacking community Not even her family knew about this secret.
As Zoe grappled with the virus’s effects, others were also feeling its impact.
In a presidential suite, Alexander walked out of his room and imdiately spotted Louis sitting on the sofa, pounding away at his keyboard with his face twisted in frustration. Alexander asked casually, "Do you have a grudge against your computer? Didn’t sleep all night?"
Louis looked up; his eyes gleaming with fury behind his glasses, "My laptop got hit by a virus last night and crashed. I’ve been working on it for hours but couldn’t get it to boot. I’m panicking here."
Despite his anxiety, Louis had still managed to brew coffee first thing in the morning, setting it on the bar counter.
Alexander sat down at the counter, pouring himself so coffee as he spoke, "Let take a look"
Louis knew Alexander wasn’t just a computer expert but also an elite hacker. He imdiately placed his laptop on the bar and made a dramatic gesture with both hands. "I’ll leave it in your capable hands."
Alexander placed his fingers on the keyboard and hamred away. The laptop rebooted several tis, each attempt ending in failure. After trying multiple thods to boot the computer without success, Alexander’s eyes grew serious. "This virus is worth the challenge."
Louis asked delicately. "You can crack this virus, right?"
Alexander didn’t respond. He stood up, walked into his room, and returned with a USB drive, which he plugged into the laptop before continuing to type.
Lines of code flashed across the screen, dense and rapidly.
Louis, who knew a thing or two about hacking, watched in silent astonishnt. He adjusted his glasses, wondering. ’Is Mr. Moran countering the virus with a virus of his own? That’s amazing...’
The screen flickered as Alexander’s code glitched several tis, but he kept modifying it until it ran smoothly again. After about fifteen minutes, the laptop finally booted up successfully and reached the desktop.
"We’re back in." Louis let out a sigh of relief, gripping the counter with one hand and adjusting his glasses with the other. "Let’s hope none of the confidential files were leaked"
He dared to store classified docunts on his laptop because of its waterproof, shockproof, and theft–proof features. It was also protected by multiple layers of encryption and, most importantly, an automatic self–destruction chanism. However, the virus was so powerful that he couldn’t be certain it would hold up.
With a simple operation, Alexander listed the directories of all the files on the laptop. "Look through it and see if any files were tampered with"
Louis examined the files carefully for a while, opening a few to check. He finally breathed a long sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, none of the files were opened, copied, or moved. It seems the files haven’t been leaked."
Alexander leaned back and sipped his coffee slowly. "Check thoroughly to make sure nothing is missing from your laptop." Louis checked the files again and furrowed his brow, looking puzzled "All the company’s files are intact, but the reports I downloaded from the internet last night were deleted and completely destroyed. I can’t recover them."
Alexander gave Louis a sidelong glance, as if implying that he had downloaded explicit content.
Louis quickly defended himself. "I swear I didn’t download anything shady! I just downloaded so reports about Miss Carter and her family."
"Even though most of those reports are rumors, I thought there might be so clues hidden in them that could reveal the mystery of Miss Carter, Louis explained further.
Alexander closed his eyes, his fingers lightly tapping the handle of the mug. "If those files were the only ones deleted, it ans the virus was targeting them specifically"
Louis was stunned for a mont. "Are you saying soone’s trying to help Miss Carter by getting rid of the rumors online?"
Alexander replied coolly, "Why don’t you check online and find out?"
Louis imdiately ran a search and gasped at what he saw. "All the reports about Miss Carter and her family are gone. I typed in the keywords, and the search results are either gibberish or error ssages."
Alexander’s lips curled into a subtle smile. "Avery is anything but ordinary. Looks like I’ve found the right person."
A shrewd glint flashed in Louis’s eyes. "Do you think Miss Carter hired professional help or is soone else stepping in to retaliate against her enemies?" he asked.
Alexander didn’t answer the question directly but instead comnted, "The way this virus infiltrates and causes damage is very similar to Dark Matter’s style"
"Dark Matter, the God of Hackers? Louis exclaid, his glasses slipping to the tip of his nose. "Are you serious? How powerful are Miss Carter’s connections if she’s associated with Dark Matter?"
While Louis was reeling in shock, Chaos was also having his own mont of disbelief.
"Gosh, this has got to be Dark Matter’s work..." His fingers tremilled, causing the cigarette between them to drop onto his lap.
its burning tip singeing his pants. Chaos stood up, pacing back and forth, clutching his head, and shouting in panic, "Didn’t I warn you when you first started? Never, ever ss with the God of Hackers.
"Never ss with the God of Hackers".
"Never ss with the God of Hackers!"
He reiterated the warning three tis.
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