155: Chapter 154 Stealing Secrets in the Night! Underhanded Tactics and Sneak Attacks for Personal Gain; Anger Unveils the Game and Breaks the Encirclement (1)

The night in Jing City was ablaze with lights, neon colors flowing between skyscrapers and dyeing the night sky a hazy orange. Yet, beneath this prosperity lay hidden undercurrents and murderous intent.

Mu Li had just finished a preliminary meeting with Huaguo Huadian Group, the chill of the pen still lingering on his fingertips.

As he drove back to his hotel, the dim light of the car's navigation system reflected on his calm face.

Just then, his phone rang urgently, and Lin Wei's name flashed on the screen.

The voice from the receiver was filled with unprecedented panic and trembling, almost drowned in tears: "Engineer Mu! It's bad! The Technical Team's core database has been breached! All the core data... it might have been stolen!"

"What?" Mu Li slammed on the brakes, the screech of tires against the pavement emitting a piercing cry.

The car shook violently, his gaze instantly shifting from calm to sharp as a knife, and the temperature around him plummeted.

The core database housed the design blueprints for the Nuclear Fusion Power Station, energy output optimization algorithms, operational core parameters from the first two batches of projects, and undisclosed technical breakthrough plans.

These were the lifeblood of the entire technical promotion project, the hard work he and his team had poured countless days and nights into.

Once leaked, it would not only cause them to lose their technological edge but also hinder the entire nation's energy transition process, with unimaginable consequences.

"During our routine data backup tonight, we discovered abnormal fluctuations in the backend. The technical staff investigated urgently for over three hours and finally confirmed that the database was precisely breached by an unknown hacker between three and four in the morning, and some core data has already been copied and downloaded."

Lin Wei's voice carried a sob, every word permeated with despair: "We have already activated the highest level of protective measures, sealed all data ports, and cut off the hacker's intrusion channel, but the stolen data has not yet been recovered. The brothers on the Technical Team are going crazy with anxiety. The promotional technical plans they spent several all-nighters organizing rely entirely on this core data."

"Calm down!" Mu Li's voice was steady and powerful, like a shot of adrenaline, instantly stabilizing Lin Wei's crumbling emotions.

His fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white, while suppressed fury surged in his eyes.

"Immediately have the entire Technical Team stand by. Do not leak any news; not even internal personnel should be told a word. I am rushing back right now. Also, immediately contact Director Zhang at the National Information Security Center. Tell him that I, Mu Li, am requesting emergency support. Tell him to bring his top security team, as soon as possible. Say it concerns national energy security and brooks no delay!"

After hanging up, Mu Li abruptly turned the car around and floored the accelerator.

The engine let out a low roar as the car shot toward the Technical Team's temporary office in Jing City like an arrow released from a bow.

The late-night streets were empty and silent, with only the roar of tires rolling over the road piercing the stillness of the night, reflecting the anger and anxiety surging in his heart.

Being able to precisely find the vulnerabilities in the core database, bypass the three layers of protective barriers set up beforehand, and even clear most traces of the intrusion was definitely not the work of an ordinary hacker.

Someone must have deliberately planned this behind the scenes, and the other party seemed to know the Technical Team's defense system like the back of their hand.

Half an hour later, Mu Li arrived at the temporary office.

Mu Li walked toward the building, his speed faster than ever before.

The lights in the hallway were stark and glaring, out of place with the silence of the night. Every office was brightly lit.

The members of the Technical Team all looked grave, their eyes bloodshot, staring fixedly at the jumping code on their computer screens.

Their fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboards, emitting a dense "da-da" sound, yet it could not hide the anxiety and self-reproach in their eyes. Some even had reddened eyes, hands supporting their foreheads in despair.

Lin Wei hurried over, her eyes full of tear stains, clutching a crumpled emergency investigation report tightly in her hand, her voice hoarse: "Engineer Mu, this is the preliminary investigation result. The other party used a new type of encrypted attack program that our defense system could not identify at all. Furthermore, after the intrusion, they cleared most of the traces, leaving only a small backdoor program that the technical staff is currently doing their best to crack."

Mu Li took the report, his fingertips exerting slight pressure, causing creases in the paper.

He scanned it quickly, and when his gaze fell on the "backdoor program characteristics" column, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his fingertips trembled slightly.

He had vaguely seen this style of program coding at an international energy technology forum three years ago; it was a security protection program demonstrated by the Technical Team of an old Western energy enterprise.

The two had a high degree of similarity, with even a few core codes being completely identical. Could it be foreign forces playing tricks behind the scenes? Or were domestic traditional energy giants colluding with foreign forces to deliberately steal core technology?

Countless guesses flashed through his mind, and anger continued to spread in the depths of his heart.

"Engineer Mu, Director Zhang from the National Information Security Center has arrived." The urgent voice of a staff member came from the doorway, breaking the gravity of the office.

Director Zhang was dressed in plain clothes, looking serious with furrowed brows. He was followed by five technical personnel in plain clothes, each carrying professional equipment, looking grave as they walked in.

"Engineer Mu, I already understood the situation on the way here. The theft of core energy technology data is no small matter; it concerns national energy security. We will definitely do our best to investigate and will not let any clue slip by."

"Thank you for your hard work, Director Zhang." Mu Li reached out to shake his hand tightly, the coldness and urgency of his palm passing through his fingertips.

"This data relates to national energy security and must not fall into the hands of outsiders. The Technical Team will fully cooperate with your work. Whether it is hardware support or technical connection, we will hold nothing back."

Director Zhang's team immediately threw themselves into work, fighting side by side with the members of the Technical Team with clear division of labor.

Some were responsible for deeply investigating intrusion traces, some for tracking data transmission trajectories, and others for cracking the backdoor program. The code jumping on the computer screens appeared particularly glaring under the stark lights.

Time passed second by second, and the sky outside gradually turned a fish-belly white, with a faint glimmer appearing in the east.

The office remained brightly lit, and although everyone's face was filled with fatigue, not a single person stopped their work.

Mu Li stood on the side, his gaze locked on the computer screen, hands behind his back, fingers rubbing unconsciously, constantly sorting through possible suspects in his mind: The coal company chairman who publicly questioned him during the summit?

Or those traditional energy giants who did not want their interests overturned by the Nuclear Fusion Power Station technology? Or perhaps the foreign forces who were eyeing them covetously and had always wanted to steal our country's core technology?

"Engineer Mu, we have a discovery!" A security technician suddenly shouted excitedly, their voice carrying a hint of imperceptible trembling.

Everyone immediately crowded over, their eyes fixed on the computer screen.

The screen displayed a restored network transmission trajectory, with clear lines marking every transmission node: "After the other party breached the database, they transmitted the data through an encrypted channel to a private server in Jing City, and then forwarded it from the private server to an anonymous address abroad. The method was very professional, deliberately avoiding all network monitoring. However, we have locked onto the physical location of this private server in a commercial office building in the Chaoyang District of Jing City, and the specific room number has already been found."

"Contact law enforcement immediately and take people to seal it!" Mu Li made a prompt decision, his tone firm without the slightest hesitation.

There was no time to lose; they had to control the private server before the other party could further transfer or destroy the data, and recover the stolen data as much as possible. Even if there was only a glimmer of hope, they could not give up.

His gaze was sharp as an eagle's, revealing unquestionable majesty that made no one dare to slack off in the slightest.

The law enforcement action was swift and decisive, and news came in less than an hour: the private server had been successfully sealed, the server administrator was controlled on the spot, and relevant equipment and hard drives were seized at the scene.

But what was disappointing was that the stolen data in the server had been completely deleted, and the traces were cleaned up thoroughly.

After the administrator was brought back for investigation, they refused to admit their behavior, only repeatedly arguing that they were hired by an anonymous overseas account to be responsible for maintaining the normal operation of the server, knew nothing about the data content, and did not know the true identity of the employer.

"It seems the other party was well-prepared and calculated every step." Director Zhang frowned, his tone heavy, his fingers tapping the table lightly.

"This administrator is just a pawn, a scapegoat pushed to the forefront. The mastermind behind the scenes must have already made preparations, and may have even transferred the data to a safe zone. We now need to start from the encrypted transmission trajectory to further trace the anonymous address abroad, but this will take time, and the other party's encryption methods are very high-level, making the investigation very difficult."

Mu Li remained silent, his fingers tapping the table lightly, making a "du-du" sound that broke the silence of the office.

His face was so gloomy that it seemed water could drip from it, and the anger in his eyes was almost about to erupt, but it was forcibly suppressed by him.

He knew that the longer the delay, the greater the risk of the stolen data being leaked.

Once these core data were mastered by foreign energy enterprises, it would not only cause our country's Nuclear Fusion Power Station technology to lose its leading edge, but might also be used by the other party to turn around and target us, using this data to create technical barriers, hinder the progress of our technology promotion, and even threaten national energy security.

Just then, Mu Li's phone rang again, the harsh ringtone particularly abrupt in the silent office.

The words "Deputy Director" flashed on the screen, his heart sank, having a bad premonition.

Pressing the answer button, the helpless and grave voice of the Deputy Director came through: "Mu Li, something has happened! Several traditional energy enterprises have jointly submitted a petition to the State Council, saying that your Nuclear Fusion Power Station technology has serious safety hazards, demanding to suspend all promotion projects, conduct a comprehensive safety re-evaluation, and they have jointly pressured to demand the revocation of your technical promotion qualifications!"

"What?" Mu Li's face sank instantly, the air pressure around him dropping to the extreme.

He gripped the phone tightly, his knuckles turning white, his voice carrying suppressed anger: "Deputy Director, what evidence do they have to say our technology has safety hazards? The first two batches of projects have been running stably for so long, and all safety indicators meet national requirements, even far exceeding international standards. Every safety inspection has an authoritative report. They are making this out of nothing!"

Mu Li was angry to the extreme at their actions; how could there be such shameless people.

"They cannot produce substantive evidence, only quibbling that your technology promotion speed is too fast, has not undergone long-term market verification, worrying that it will trigger unpredictable safety accidents, and also saying that your technology has 'potential risks'."

The Deputy Director's tone was also very helpless: "Moreover, they have also united with some relevant departments of the local management bureaus, using 'ensuring the stability of local energy supply' as an excuse to demand the suspension of cooperation with you. Even some places that have reached preliminary intentions have begun to waver and have submitted applications to us to suspend cooperation. Now the State Council has received a large number of relevant petitions, and the pressure from all sides is great, requiring you to submit a detailed technical safety explanation as soon as possible to cooperate with the re-evaluation."

"I understand." Mu Li hung up the phone, the phone trembling slightly in his hand, the anger in his eyes almost about to erupt.

He never expected that these traditional energy enterprises would be so despicable, unable to win in the open so they resorted to underhanded tactics, while sending people to steal core data, while uniting to exert pressure, fabricating rumors, just to stop the promotion of Nuclear Fusion Power Station technology, protect their vested interests, and not hesitate to damage national energy security and the fundamental interests of the people.

"Engineer Mu, what should we do now?" Lin Wei said worriedly, her eyes full of anxiety, her voice hoarse: "If the promotion project is really suspended and re-evaluated, it will take at least half a year. And those enterprises that have reached cooperation intentions are likely to waver, or even give up cooperation. More importantly, half a year is enough for those traditional energy enterprises to re-layout, and possibly even unite with foreign forces to further suppress our technology. By then, we will really be passive."

"Suspend? Impossible!" Mu Li's voice carried an unquestionable heroic spirit, his tone firm and resounding: "If they want to stop us through such despicable means, want to take us down, then let them see what true strength is, and what an unstoppable trend of the times is!"

He strode to the computer, opened a document, his fingers tapping rapidly on the keyboard, his eyes sharp and firm: "Lin Wei, notify all core members to hold an emergency meeting in half an hour. No lateness allowed. Also, have the Technical Team immediately organize all safety operation data of the first two batches of projects, including emergency response records under extreme weather, every safety inspection report, and environmental monitoring data around the project sites. I want everyone to know that our technology is not only advanced but absolutely safe. Their rumors are vulnerable!"