Chapter 135 The Enticement Plan

The lights in the server room were somewhat glaring.

Li Xiao stared at the dense stream of data on the screen, having worked for six consecutive hours. Old Han sat beside her, occasionally noting down a few lines of code in his notebook. Fang Lin stood by the window, her back to them, watching the sky outside gradually darken.

"Have you found it?" Fang Lin did not turn around.

Old Han shook his head: "No. That person is very careful; the traces left behind are all fake. We followed three leads: two were dead ends, and one went in a circle and returned to the starting point."

Li Xiao rubbed her sore eyes, her voice tinged with a trace of frustration: "Director Fang, if he really buried a backdoor and hid it so deeply, we might not find it for months."

Fang Lin turned around and walked over to them.

"If we can't find it, then we stop looking."

Li Xiao was stunned: "Stop looking?"

"It's not about stopping, but changing how we look." Fang Lin sat down on a nearby chair, looking at the two of them, "Have you heard of an 'entrapment system'?"

Old Han's eyes lit up: "You mean... deliberately leaving a vulnerability to wait for him to come in?"

Fang Lin nodded: "He is hiding in the shadows right now, and no matter how we look, we can't find him. So, why not change our approach—let him reveal himself voluntarily."

Li Xiao was thoughtful: "You mean, we deliberately create an entrance that appears to have a vulnerability, letting him think he has found a new breakthrough, and when he comes in..."

"Reverse tracking." Old Han took over the conversation, "As long as he comes in, we can lock onto his real IP and even counter his system."

Fang Lin looked at Li Xiao: "Can you do it?"

Li Xiao was silent for a few seconds, her mind racing. She had heard of an entrapment system but had never built one herself. It required designing a "vulnerability" realistic enough to bait the opponent without letting him realize it was a trap.

"Theoretically, it's feasible," she said slowly, "but there are a few difficulties."

"Speak."

"First, the opponent is an expert. If the bait isn't realistic enough, he will see through it at a glance." Li Xiao counted on her fingers, "Second, the entrapment system must be isolated from the real network so he cannot actually access core data. Third, reverse tracking requires technical means; Old Han, you have to help me."

Old Han nodded: "I will be responsible for the reverse tracking. As long as he comes in, I guarantee he won't get away."

Fang Lin looked at Li Xiao: "How much time?"

Li Xiao took a deep breath: "Give me one night. Before tomorrow morning, I will have the entrapment system built."

Fang Lin stood up and patted her shoulder: "Good. If you need any resources, just say so. Old Han, stay and help her. This matter should still be known only to the three of us."

She walked to the door, then stopped and looked back at Li Xiao: "Remember, safety first. If the opponent counters, cut the connection immediately; don't take risks."

Li Xiao nodded.

The door closed, leaving only her and Old Han in the server room.

Outside the window, night had completely fallen. The sky over the Gobi Desert was cloudless, and the stars were exceptionally bright, like countless eyes peering at this land.

Li Xiao stretched her stiff neck, opened a new document, and began designing the entrapment system.

Step one: Site selection.

The bait couldn't be placed in too conspicuous a spot, or it would look too fake; nor could it be placed in too remote a spot, or the opponent might not discover it. The best location was on the periphery of the core database, but without actually connecting to the core data.

Li Xiao drew a circle on the system architecture diagram—a certain idle port on the backup server.

This port was usually unused, but theoretically accessible. If the opponent had already infiltrated the backup server, he would surely remember this place. Now that a "vulnerability" suddenly appeared here, what would he think?

"He will think it's our oversight." Old Han watched from the side and nodded, "This location is well-chosen."

Step two: Designing the vulnerability.

The vulnerability had to be realistic enough—it couldn't be an obvious trap, nor could it be too perfect. True experts are actually wary of things that are "too perfect."

Li Xiao decided to use a small bug: a database interface from an older version that, due to a forgotten upgrade, left a vulnerability in permission verification. This type of bug is common in real systems and wouldn't arouse suspicion.

She embedded a hidden tracking module into the code—as soon as someone triggered this vulnerability, the module would automatically record the opponent's IP address, intrusion path, and tools used, then encrypt and send the information to Old Han's server.

"Can this module fool him?" Li Xiao was a bit uncertain.

Old Han carefully examined the code and nodded: "It's well-disguised. And since it uses encrypted transmission, even if he discovers it, he won't have time to stop it."

Step three: Isolation.

The most critical step—the entrapment system must be completely isolated from the real network.

Li Xiao built an independent network environment on a virtual machine that looked exactly like the real system, but in reality, it was just a "hall of mirrors." After the opponent entered, all the data he saw would be fake, but he would think it was real.

"What if he sees through it?" Old Han asked.

"Then we cut it off," Li Xiao said, "Director Fang said, safety first. As soon as he triggers the alarm, we immediately disconnect, and he won't get anything."

Old Han nodded and continued debugging his reverse tracking system.

3:00 AM.

In the server room, there was only the sound of keyboard typing, like two tireless woodpeckers.

Li Xiao's eyes were almost unable to stay open, but she dared not stop. The entrapment system had reached the most critical step—implanting the "vulnerability."

She took a deep breath and created a fake database interface in the simulated environment of the backup server. The interface used an old version, intentionally leaving a permission verification vulnerability. As long as someone sent a specific command through this interface, an alarm would be triggered.

Then, she implanted the tracking module behind the interface.

Lines of code flowed from her fingertips:

function triggerTrap { recordIP(request.remoteAddress); recordPath(request.path); recordTool(request.userAgent); sendAlert(encryptedData); return fakeData; }

After typing the last line of code, she leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh.

"Done?"

"Done." Li Xiao looked at the entrapment system on the screen, "Now we just wait for him to take the bait."

Old Han also finished the final debugging of the reverse tracking system. He stretched and looked at Li Xiao: "You should rest for a while; I'll keep watch. If he hasn't come by daybreak, you can take over for me."

Li Xiao shook her head: "I can't sleep. I'll just sit here."

The two sat side by side in the server room, staring at the static monitoring screen.

Outside the window, the night wind of the Gobi Desert howled past, whipping up fine sand that tapped against the glass.

4:17 AM.

The alarm sounded.

Li Xiao sat up straight abruptly, blood rushing to her head. On the screen, the monitoring image of the entrapment system began to flicker—someone had triggered that vulnerability.

"He's here!" Old Han's voice was very low but filled with excitement.

The two stared fixedly at the screen.

The tracking module began to work: recording the IP address, recording the intrusion path, recording the tools used. Lines of information scrolled on the screen:

Intrusion Time: 04:17:23 Entrance Address: Backup Server - Old Interface Trigger Method: Permission Verification Bypass IP Address: 185.XXX.XXX.XXX Path Tracking: Jump Server 1 -> Jump Server 2 -> Jump Server 3 -> ... Tools Used: Custom Script, Unidentified

"He used three layers of jump servers," Old Han operated rapidly, "He thought this would hide him, but our tracking module bypassed the jump servers and caught his real IP directly!"

Li Xiao's hands were trembling: "Can you lock onto it?"

"Locking on..." Old Han typed on the keyboard, "Give me thirty more seconds."

On the screen, the opponent was still wandering in the entrapment system. He seemed to really believe he had found a vulnerability and was looking around at that fake data.

Twenty seconds.

Ten seconds.

Five seconds.

"Locked on!" Old Han slammed his hand on the table, "Real IP: 103.XXX.XXX.XXX, Location: A country in Southeast Asia!"

Just then, the opponent seemed to notice something.

The activity in the entrapment system suddenly stopped, and then all connections were instantly severed.

"Did he discover it?" Li Xiao asked nervously.

Old Han looked at the last bit of information remaining on the screen, the corners of his mouth slowly curling up: "He discovered it. But it's too late. We already have his real IP."

Li Xiao slumped in her chair, all the strength drained from her body.

At 4:32 AM, she dialed Fang Lin's number.

"Director Fang, the fish has taken the bait."

There was a silence on the other end of the line for a second, then Fang Lin's steady voice came through: "I'll be there immediately."

At 6:00 AM, Fang Lin appeared at the base again.

There were dark circles under her eyes, clearly having not slept all night either. But seeing the data Li Xiao and Old Han had pulled up, her eyes lit up.

"Are you sure it's this IP?"

"Sure." Old Han pointed to the screen, "We bypassed three layers of jump servers and grabbed his real address directly. And based on the characteristics of the tools he used, we can lock onto the specific individual."

Fang Lin looked at that data and was silent for a long time.

"This person," she finally spoke, "should be the cyber expert sent by George's side. Codename 'Ghost'."

Li Xiao was stunned: "You knew?"

"I guessed it," Fang Lin said, "George's last attempt to defect failed, and he won't give up. Sending a cyber expert fits his style."

She turned to Old Han: "Can we continue to track this IP?"

Old Han shook his head: "He should have discovered it by now, and he's definitely changed his IP. But we have saved the records of this encounter. Next time he comes, we can identify him faster."

Fang Lin nodded and looked at Li Xiao: "Keep the entrapment system running. He suffered a loss, so he might hold back for now, but he will come again sooner or later."

Li Xiao nodded vigorously.

Fang Lin stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, the sun was rising from the horizon, dyeing the entire Gobi Desert a golden red. On the construction site, a new day had begun; machines roared, vehicles shuttled back and forth, and workers were busy.

No one knew that just a few hours ago, this place had just experienced a silent war.

"Ghost..." Fang Lin repeated the codename softly, "You didn't succeed this time, but what about next time?"

She turned around and looked at Li Xiao and Old Han:

"From now on, the task for you two is to guard this gate well. No matter when he comes, or how many times he comes, you must make him return empty-handed."

Li Xiao stood up, her voice not loud, but very firm:

"Understood."