"In short, just like I said earlier..." Su Mo cleared his throat and began clapping, "Let’s all welco our new mber, Qi Ling!"
In the eting room of the Edge Mansion, several core mbers had gathered. Su Mo continued clapping while Qi Ling stood behind him, sticking her tongue out playfully at the dazed crowd, offering a mischievous grin like a little naughty cat.
Dongdong was the first to snap out of it, scratching his head in confusion, "Wait a minute, boss, I don’t understand. Didn’t you slap her a few days ago and left her with a mark?"
Su Mo blushed with embarrassnt, "Do you have to bring up that embarrassing incident?"
Qi Ling clapped her small hands, widened her eyes, and said, "Dongdong, I almost forgot you ntioned that! Mo Mo, you can’t just hit and get away with it. How are you going to compensate ?"
Su Mo was at a loss and sighed, "Well, how about this, you can slap too, and we’ll call it even."
Qi Ling: "Sure, bring your face over."
Su Mo leaned forward, ready to be hit.
*Smooch.*
Qi Ling left a kiss on his cheek.
The eting room erupted, with so clapping and others hooting.
"Wow, this girl is sothing else!"
"Boss, aren’t you going to kiss her back?!"
"So, this was a trick to lure the dog into a kill trap?"
Su Mo was caught off guard by Qi Ling’s public "attack," blushing down to his neck, "What are you doing?! Our one-day couple ga ended, let’s be serious..."
Qi Ling giggled, wrapping her arms around his, "I am serious~"
Su Mo cleared his throat and returned to the main topic: "Anyway, Qi Ling will be our software engineer, focusing on information security."
Future clapped happily, "Fantastic! We won’t have to deal with those rogue hackers anymore! You have no idea how annoying it was to be harassed by them every other day."
ntioning hackers reminded Su Mo: "Qi Ling, what happened to the virus you spread?"
Qi Ling: "It’s gone."
Su Mo: "Uh... what do you an ’gone’?"
Qi Ling: "I set a command in the virus: when all hunting targets lose vital signs, it executes a full self-destruct."
"So from the mont Luo Mingsheng died, the virus disappeared."
...
[New Moon City Governnt Center, Public Security Bureau Ergency Command]
"Acting Council President, we’ve conducted another round of checks and confird the Nesis virus is entirely gone."
"The Air and Space Assault Forces reported all previously uncontrolled drones are now under command, and they are accounting for swarm losses."
"The ground combat units are the sa; all battle robots have entered silent mode. The logistics engineering departnt is proceeding with recovery operations."
"We hadn’t even studied the Nesis or figured out strategies before it vanished? Why?"
"I think, maybe it fulfilled its purpose..."
Listening to the uninterrupted stream of good news from his subordinates, Sikinkov felt dizzy, unsure if this was reality or a dream.
He had been ready for a brutal war, even instructing frontline soldiers to write their last wills, preparing to sacrifice themselves to destroy those out-of-control war machines.
Yet overnight... it was all over?
Gradually, Sikinkov regained his senses, remaining vigilant: "Do not relax. Instruct the information security team to conduct a thorough investigation and request assistance from the Capital City, bringing in more experts to ensure no latent virus remains."
"Also, how is the progress with the anti-information cri team? Have they found the mastermind behind this? Even a long list of suspects would help."
"We need to give the public an explanation! So many people died; we can’t just say the virus is gone and move on!"
Objectively, the death toll from this virus incident was not high.
Just three or four hundred.
About the monthly death toll from violent cris.
But the mastermind’s thod was too heinous, directly controlling military machines to kill, which was a slap to New Moon City’s authorities.
Moreover, many of the deceased were social elites.
If this incident isn’t explained publicly, the court will challenge New Moon City’s administration.
Amid Sikinkov’s crisis handling, an assistant rushed in, "Acting Council President, the anti-information cri team reports that the hacker who created the Nesis virus has surrendered!"
"What?!" Sikinkov lost count of how many tis he was shocked today.
Escorted by elite agents, Sikinkov went to the central detention area to see the surrendering hacker.
It was a young man, wearing a black hoodie, hood pulled over his head, with a stubbly face and a look of dejection and indifference.
After inspecting the young man, an agent reported, "No dangerous items on him."
Sikinkov approached, frowned, and asked, "Who are you?"
The young man looked down and said, "Benjamin, you should’ve heard my alias, Scorpion."
Sikinkov’s eyes narrowed.
Scorpion, a well-known hacker in recent years, had infiltrated nurous city security systems and repeatedly posted on the dark web openly challenging the World Governnt, notoriously daring.
Sikinkov: "You created the Nesis virus that swept through New Moon City this ti?"
Benjamin: "Yes, it was ."
Sikinkov: "Why did you do it?"
Benjamin gave a brief chuckle, which sohow seed bitter, "For fun."
Staring into those sorrowful eyes, Sikinkov seed to see right through them to the soul.
He gestured for everyone else to leave.
Soon, only the two remained across from each other, separated by iron bars.
Sikinkov: "You’re lying; you’re not the mastermind."
Benjamin: "I am."
Sikinkov: "You’re a skilled hacker, but your most famous act was hacking into the computer during a City Council President’s work eting to play pornography on the big screen."
"You’re skilled, but rely skilled. To execute a city-wide virus attack of New Crescent City’s scale, sorry, I think you’re not up to it."
Benjamin’s gaze grew more mournful, his bitter smile saying, "I told you, it was . Just convict and leave it at that, don’t say more."
Just as Sikinkov was about to speak, his phone rang.
Seeing the number, his expression changed, quickly answering, "President Zhao..."
He listened for a long ti, his deanor shifting from bewildered to profound, and finally to resignation.
The call ended.
Sikinkov sighed, giving Benjamin a long, deep look.
Benjamin maintained his tragic smile, silently gazing back.
Sikinkov exited, approached the anti-information cri team outside, and solemnly said, "Regarding the Nesis virus incident, confirm the mastermind is the hacker with the alias ’Scorpion,’ Benjamin Thomas. Detain him, and proceed with the judicial process."
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