5: Chapter 005 Top-Secret Red Alert
Dragon Country, Beijing.
National Security Cyber Defense Center. On the massive circular screen wall, countless data streams cascaded down like blue waterfalls. This was the core fortress of Dragon Country's cyber territory, monitoring global network activities twenty-four hours a day, defending against hundreds of millions of attacks and probes.
Late at night, the center remained brightly lit, yet the atmosphere was relatively calm. Until—
An extremely weak abnormal signal, nearly drowned out by normal data noise, triggered a highly secretive early warning algorithm buried deep within the internal communication protocol layer.
The young engineer on duty froze for a moment, initially thinking it was a system false alarm. A warning of this level rarely appeared even once a year. Nevertheless, following protocol, he quickly captured the signal and performed a preliminary isolation analysis.
A few minutes later, his expression changed.
"Di... Director! Something's happening!" His voice carried a trace of imperceptible trembling, immediately catching the attention of the director on duty.
The director walked over quickly and leaned in to look at the analysis screen. Several layers of dynamic encryption protocols were being slowly peeled back like an onion, revealing the core content—a data packet with an untraceable source, attempting to establish a one-way connection with a highly sensitive research project information database.
"An intrusion?" The director's brow furrowed. His fingers moved rapidly across the console, attempting to reverse-trace and intercept.
All tracing commands were like stones sinking into the ocean. The opponent's path completely vanished into the mists of the virtual world after several overseas springboards. What shocked him even more was that the encryption method used by the opponent was unprecedented, with a structure so exquisite and robust that it was impossible to crack in a short time with the defense center's current decryption capabilities.
"It's not a conventional attack... no destructive behavior, just... a delivery?" the director muttered to himself, fine beads of sweat forming on his temples. This method was beyond his scope of knowledge.
Just then, an outer layer of encryption on the data packet automatically disengaged, revealing a plain text message signed "Patriot X," along with two attachments protected by even more complex algorithms.
"Patriot X?" The director mulled over this unfamiliar codename, his mind clouded with suspicion. Not daring to delay, he immediately picked up the red secure internal phone and dialed the number of the center's top official, while simultaneously activating the highest-level emergency response procedures.
"Report! We have detected a network penetration of unknown origin and ultra-high technical level, codenamed 'Ghost Delivery.' The opponent used untraceable cloaking technology and an unknown encryption algorithm to deliver unidentified information to the internal network, signed 'Patriot X.' Requesting highest instructions!"
In less than ten minutes, the core area of the entire Cyber Defense Center was completely locked down, and all external connections were physically severed. The center's director, several core security experts, and a calmly composed young woman who had been urgently summoned—Su Xiaowan, a top genius in the field of information security wearing black-rimmed glasses—gathered in the highest-clearance analysis room.
Su Xiaowan's slender fingers flew across the specialized keyboard, the code on the screen flowing like a waterfall. She tried several top-tier decryption methods, her brow furrowing tighter and tighter.
"How is it, Xiao Wan?" the center director asked in a heavy voice.
Su Xiaowan shook her head, but a hint of amazement flashed in her eyes. "The opponent's technology... is at least an era ahead of ours. This kind of encryption structure, I've never seen; the logic is perfect, with almost no possibility of a brute-force crack. Moreover, the data packet's 'shell' has an intelligent response; any improper operation will trigger its self-destruct mechanism."
She paused, then pointed to the line of plain text signature. "But strangely, this 'Patriot X' doesn't seem to have any malicious intent. He left a 'key'—an extremely complex dynamic decryption command hidden within the gaps of the information exchange protocol, as if... it was intentionally left for someone who could understand it."
The analysis room was silent, save for the faint hum of the running servers. Everyone realized that this was far more complicated than a simple network intrusion.
An unknown entity with unfathomable technical strength had sent information to Dragon Country's core institution in a manner that was almost showy yet left room for engagement.
Was it a provocation? A warning? Or... something else?
"Report the situation immediately! Classification: Red Top Secret!" the center director made his decision with a deep breath. "Until further instructions are received, keep the data packet isolated. Comrade Su Xiaowan will be in charge of attempting safe contact. Simultaneously, initiate an internal screening to ensure there are no moles!"
Although the ear-piercing red alarm was silent on a physical level, it had already sounded at the core level of Dragon Country's security system. A report with the highest encryption level was sent directly to the nation's highest center of power through a special channel.
Su Xiaowan stared intently at the silent data packet and the "Patriot X" signature on the screen, her clear eyes filled with unprecedented gravity and curiosity.
Who exactly was this mysterious "X"? And what exactly was it that he had sent?"}],