3: Chapter 3 A Silent Warning

The fake smile on Supervisor Wang's face froze instantly, as if something had choked his throat. He clearly hadn't expected this kid, who was usually timid and took beatings and insults without fighting back, to actually dare to retort in such a prickly tone.

His small eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, and his fat body leaned forward, almost pressing down on Lin Feng. A sour stench, a mix of cheap cologne and sweat, washed over him.

"The order I assigned?" Supervisor Wang's voice squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a naked threat. "Kid, did you break your brain? You need evidence when you speak! That was an 'Emergency Order' automatically assigned by the system. You just had bad luck, who can you blame for that?"

The two lackeys behind him chimed in with sneers, flexing their wrists and staring at Lin Feng on the hospital bed with ill intent.

If it were before, facing such a setup, Lin Feng would probably have been careful even with his breathing. But at this moment, the cold rage in his chest burned even more fiercely. Evidence? Those "pieces of evidence" of manipulating the backend, arbitrarily modifying order records, and docking wages—weren't they all in your hands, Supervisor Wang?

＞＞ Accessing ... XunFeng _ Logistics _ LowLvl _ ID ...

＞＞ User : Wang , Deliang ( Supervisor _ Lv2 )

＞＞ Permissions : Billing _ Adjust , Order _ Reassign , Employee _ Credit _ Dock ...

＞＞ / / / / /

The blue characters in his mind emerged steadily, no longer blurry phantoms, but as clear as inscriptions etched onto glass. A strange connection, like an invisible data cable, linked his consciousness to the tiny chip on Supervisor Wang's work badge.

Lin Feng endured the excruciating pain in his ribs, maintaining a calm exterior, even deliberately coughing twice to appear weaker. His gaze did not leave Supervisor Wang's malicious eyes, but all his mental energy, like invisible fingers, quietly probed into that ocean of permissions made of code.

He didn't know exactly what to do, only having a vague but strong thought—teach him a lesson! Make him taste the feeling of suffering too!

＞＞ Command ?

Lin Feng concentrated all his will, like an infant who had just learned to crawl, clumsily yet stubbornly sending a primitive, angry shock toward the entry representing the "Salary Docking" permission—〖Return everything he docked from me! And then... dock all of his own!〗

＞＞ Command Received.

＞＞ Overriding ... Requires Higher Authorization ... Bypassing ...

＞＞ Executing : Rollback _ Illegal _ Deduction ( Target : Lin , Feng )

＞＞ Executing : Deduct _ Monthly _ Salary ( Target : Wang , Deliang ) - Reason : " System Error _ IntegrityViolation "

The process was silent. In the hospital room, it felt as if only a second had passed.

Seeing Lin Feng just staring at him without speaking, his face pale, Supervisor Wang assumed he was afraid after all and couldn't help but become smug again, the fat on his face quivering: "Hmph, nothing to say, right? Kid, be smart, hurry up and find a way to scrape together the money, don't force me..."

His words stopped abruptly. Because the personal communicator tucked into his chest pocket suddenly vibrated extremely loudly, immediately playing a cold, clear, electronically synthesized voice:

" [XunFeng Logistics Financial System] Emergency Notification: Employee Wang Deliang, ID: XF0382, serious salary operation violation detected. This month's salary and all bonuses have been temporarily withheld, and an equivalent fine has been imposed. Please submit a written explanation to the Regional Manager immediately. Repeat, please immediately..."

The synthesized voice sounded exceptionally harsh in the silent hospital room.

The smugness and threat on Supervisor Wang's face shattered instantly, replaced by extreme astonishment and disbelief. He fumbled to pull out his communicator, his fingers trembling as he swiped open the screen. His small eyes widened, staring fixedly at that sudden notification on the screen, his complexion turning from flushed red to ghastly pale at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"No... impossible! This... this system is malfunctioning?!" He cried out, cold sweat instantly breaking out on his forehead. Withheld salary plus an equivalent fine? This meant that not only would he not get a single cent, but he would also have to pay back several months' worth of income! This was enough to completely collapse his already tight financial situation!

He looked up abruptly, as if looking for an explanation, his gaze sweeping frantically across the hospital room, eventually falling subconsciously onto Lin Feng's face.

Lin Feng was still lying quietly on the hospital bed, his face pale from blood loss and pain, but those eyes were no longer the numb and forbearing ones of the past; they were bottomless calm, even... carrying a trace of an extremely faint, cold mockery.

Supervisor Wang's heart gave a violent twitch. An absurd, unbelievable thought even to himself flashed into his mind—just now, this kid seemed to... look at my work badge? And then... the system notification came?

No! Absolutely impossible! It must be a coincidence! The system bugged out! Yes, that must be it!

He tried to convince himself with this reason, but deep down, a chill rose uncontrollably. The delivery worker before him, whom he could manipulate at will, had suddenly become somewhat strange and eerie.

"Sup... Supervisor?" One of the lackeys behind him spoke cautiously, "Are... are you okay?"

"Shut up!" Supervisor Wang roared like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, scaring the two lackeys into a shudder. He fumbled to put away his communicator, and when he looked at Lin Feng again, his eyes had changed—mixed with lingering anger and a trace of imperceptible fear amidst his suspicion.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say a few more harsh words, but found his throat too dry, unable to utter a single word. That invisible feeling of being watched by some unknown force made his back turn cold.

In the end, he said nothing, just glared fiercely at Lin Feng with an incredibly complex expression, as if wanting to etch his current appearance into his heart. Then, he turned abruptly, rushing out of the hospital room as if fleeing in panic, even forgetting to take the bag of nutrient solution left on the bedside table.

The two lackeys looked at each other, not understanding what had happened, and could only hurriedly follow him out, looking dejected.

The hospital room returned to silence. The aunt in the next bed watched, dumbstruck, forgetting to peel the synthetic apple in her hand. She looked at the empty doorway, then at the still "weak" Lin Feng on the hospital bed, opened her mouth, but in the end, asked nothing, only adding a bit of curiosity and awe to her eyes.

Lin Feng took a slow, deep breath, and only when that nauseating aura had completely disappeared at the end of the corridor did he allow his tensed nerves to relax slightly.

It worked... He actually did it!

An indescribable shiver, mixed with excitement, lingering fear, and a sense of immense power, shot up his spine to his brain. He looked down at his hands; they were still pale, the knuckles white from having clenched tightly just now, but these very hands had just completed an incredible act of revenge from a distance.

＞＞ Process Completed.

＞＞ Credit Refunded : 1 , 850 Cr ( To : Lin , Feng )

＞＞ Credit Deducted : 8 , 400 Cr ( From : Wang , Deliang )

The blue characters emerged quietly, displaying the results like a list of spoils. 1,850 credits! That was the total sum that Supervisor Wang had docked from him over these past few months under various pretexts! It was actually refunded to his account all at once? And Fatty Wang... was directly docked over 8,000?

Lin Feng's heart began to pound wildly again, this time out of excitement. He suppressed the cheer that was about to escape his lips, trying hard to maintain a calm exterior, but his slightly trembling fingers betrayed the surging waves in his heart.

This ability... this "Infinite Code"... it was simply a weapon of revenge tailor-made for him!

However, just as he was getting carried away by this initial victory—

＞＞ Warning : Low - Level System Anomaly Detected.

＞＞ Source : PT2023110798 / Ward

＞＞ Flagged by : [ Sky Curtain ] - Node_74 _ SW.

＞＞ Priority : Low . Logged for review.

A new line of red characters with a clear warning tone abruptly intruded into his field of vision, cold and blinding.

Low-level system anomaly... detected... source is his hospital bed number... flagged by [ Sky Curtain ] node... priority low... logged for review...

[ Sky Curtain ]! These two words were like a bolt of lightning, splitting open the brief dizziness he felt from gaining power. That was the intelligent network that shrouded the entire city, controlling everything, monitoring everything! It was the cornerstone of the four major Consortia ruling the world!

His little move just now was like throwing a small pebble onto a calm lake surface; although slight, it still caused ripples, and... was captured by the surveillance cameras by the lake!

Although it was only "low priority," only "logged for review," it meant that he had gone from being an insignificant black dot in the vast sea of people to a marked point that the system had noticed as "potentially abnormal"!

Panic, like a cold tide, slowly flooded his heart again. The power of the ability was beyond imagination, but the risks that came with it were equally terrifying. What he was facing was no longer just a fat-headed, big-eared Supervisor Wang, but the entire massive, ruthless Consortium empire that controlled everything.

Outside the hospital window, the rain had stopped at some unknown time. Through the gaps in the lead-gray clouds, a few rays of faint light shone down, barely illuminating this cold steel city. In the distance, at the top of a high tower, a node indicator light of the [ Sky Curtain ] network, like the eye of a giant beast, emitted a constant and ruthless red light, coldly watching everything below.

Lin Feng lay on the hospital bed, slowly pulling the blanket over his head, hiding himself in the narrow, dark space.

Inside the blanket, he opened his eyes wide; the previous excitement and agitation had long since vanished, replaced by a heavy, suffocating pressure and clarity.

He could modify code, but could he fight against the entire [ Sky Curtain ]? Next time, would it still just be a small character like Supervisor Wang who comes? When would that "logged for review" record turn into an actual manhunt?

In the darkness, he clenched his fists silently. The ability must be hidden. He must be more careful. He must... become stronger faster. At the very least, before that Sword of Damocles falls, he must scrape together enough money to save his sister!