Chapter 9: Testing Sentinel [1]

Chapter 9: Testing Sentinel [1]Ethan sat on his work desk inside his apartment, the only light illuminating the room was from his laptop.

He and Lillian had parted ways a couple of hours ago and he was back in his apartment.

Finally, it was time to test Sentinel and he had just the perfect target in mind. Even future Midas had agreed this was the best path he could take.

_______

Earlier

"So Sentinel’s not actually tested yet?" Lillian asked "then how are you so sure it even works?"

Her nervousness was completely gone. It was almost as if she had become a completely different person.

"Trust me, it does" Ethan answered , his confidence evident in his voice.

Maybe it was because of his confidence or something else but Lillian really did believe his words.

Her instincts told her to trust him, no matter how crazy or ambitious he might sound and her instincts were rarely ever wrong.

"So, how do you plan on testing ?" She asked with a sigh.



"I’ve got three options actually" Ethan answered, "first, hacking forums."

"As in the dark web?" Lillian asked.

"No no," Ethan shook his head " I meant CTFs challenges, I can test sentinel out there, but there’re too many eyes and I’d rather not put myself in the spotlight this early."

Lillian nodded in understanding. If Sentinel worked like Ethan described then everyone would want it for themselves, even the government.

After all, who wouldn’t want a way to scan for and exploit vulnerabilities in in other people’s systems,Without ever getting caught and at the same time keeping theirs completely safe?

"What’s the second option?" Lillian asked.

"Second option is small businesses," Ethan continued. "Low risk. I could scan their sites, find basic vulnerabilities, and patch them as a show of goodwill, proving that Sentinel works."

"But that won’t prove Sentinel’s real value," she said, instantly identifying Ethan’s line of thinking. "If you’re building tech for giants, you need to test it on giants."

"Right, and that leaves third option?" Ethan took a small pause, a glint of excitement in his eyes. "Big Tech. Google, to be specific."

"You want to test your unproven cyber weapon on Google?" Her surprise was evident on her face

"Exactly. Think about it—they’ve got one of the most secure infrastructures in the world right now."

"If Sentinel can find anything there, even a single low-tier bug, it means I’ve built something extraordinary."

"Okay... let’s say Sentinel does find something. What’s the move then? Sell it? Leak it? Sit on it for leverage?" Lillian asked as she leaned forward, her arms crossed.

Ethan grinned, impressed. "That’s the question, isn’t it?"

"We don’t leak. That’s amateur hour. And I’m not selling off the data to some shady broker on the black market either." He tapped a finger on the table rhythmically, already deep in thought.

Although selling Google’s vulnerabilities on the black market would no doubt make him a fortune, it wasn’t sustainable.

Besides, he had bigger plans.

He wanted to use these vulnerabilities not just as a quick payday, but as leverage—to fund his company and establish credibility with the world’s leading tech giants.

In that context, the profits from a shady deal paled in comparison to the long-term value of a legitimate partnership.

Burning bridges for fast cash wasn’t part of his vision.

Ethan was building an empire. And a partnership with Google was just the first stone.

"So, what now? You just show up at Google’s front door with a list of their security flaws?" Lillian asked.



"Exactly," he said. "Package the vulnerabilities, present them with proof, and sell it to them directly under a responsible disclosure agreement."

"What if they decide to take legal action, after all, crawling in their systems without permission just makes you another hacker?" She asked.

"Don’t worry, they won’t" he sounded so sure, causing Lillian to raise a brow.

"And even if they do," Ethan continued "Sentinel does not leave any foot prints they can trace back to me and if Google can’t prove malicious intent or data theft, they have no legal grounds to pursue me."

"That’s..." Lillian took a surprised pause.

He was right. If Google had no way of proving that he illegally and maliciously entered their systems, then they’d have no way to use him.

Plus since they’re a tech giant, they would be a lot more interested in fixing their vulnerabilities than risking Ethan selling it on the black market or dark web.

"The vulnerabilities would be everything I need to get their attention," he continued "then, we can pitch Sentinel to them."

"And if they say no?"

Ethan smirked. "Then I take the same pitch to Amazon. Or Microsoft. Sooner or later, someone will bite. And when they do, the others will come running."

"This is insane," Lillian said with a sigh "but for some reason, I get the feeling that this’ll work."

________

---------Now---------

Ethan clicked on the Sentinel’s icon, a blue shield with green lines of binary passing through and a forcefield around it.

The software booted up with a soft chime, launching a clean, intuitive interface.

No messy terminals, just a simple dashboard that anyone could navigate, whether you were a cybersecurity expert or someone who barely understood how a line of code worked.

There were several options available for him to select. At the center was a single input box labeled:

> Target Domain

Below it were toggles for scan type:

{

[ ] Passive Scan

[ ] Aggressive Scan



[X] Smart Adaptive Mode (Recommended)

}

Ethan typed in the domain:

> www.google.com

{SENTINEL v1.03 —

Smart Adaptive Mode: Activated

Target: google.com

Status: Initializing Modules...}

Ethan leaned back in his chair, watching as Sentinel got to work.

The software was fast—much faster than anything he’d ever worked with before, even in his past life. That alone was enough to send a wave of pride through him.

Soon enough, lines of data began to scroll across the screen, vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, outdated subdomains, and obscure endpoints that even seasoned cybersecurity teams might’ve overlooked.

A large grin graced Ethan’s face as he whispered, "Hello, Google."