78: Chapter 78 Needs a Graphic Designer

Watching the words appear on the screen, the youth felt like crying, though no tears came.

He desperately wanted to curse, "What the hell is this!" but he swallowed the words back before they could leave his lips. He didn't dare.

Upon realizing that the other party had completely dismantled Xiao Hei's zombie jump nodes, breached Xiao Hei's system, accurately located his IP, and effortlessly shattered his pride-and-joy firewall—all within a dozen seconds—he knew he had encountered an expert. And not just an ordinary expert, but a god-like one.

If any average hacker tried to break through my, Fox Hunter's, firewall? Heh... don't even think about it without at least a day or two. Even with packet flooding, I could hold out for two or three hours.

Thus, the youth deeply understood the terrifying nature of the unknown individual sitting on the other side.

He even felt a bit aggrieved... Had he known a small website was guarded by such a figure, he would have retreated long ago. Why on earth would he have foolishly gone up to poke the tiger?

And more importantly... an expert of this caliber must be of a certain age, and their temper is likely quite eccentric. If they knew that he was the one who initiated this incident...

The youth shivered. He finally understood how the people he had hacked felt. Being constantly watched by an unknown entity was truly a terrifying experience.

It seemed that because there had been no response for a long time, another line of text appeared on the screen.

"Fox Hunter?"

"A veteran of the hacker alliance Hongmeng Alliance, with a mysterious identity that has never been exposed. Specialized in computer intrusion and finding system security vulnerabilities. Has breached the internal systems of numerous large corporations, is wanted on the dark web, and is under continuous pursuit."

They found his information this quickly?

The youth was stunned for a moment, then immediately felt relieved. This information was all available online; one could find a handful just by looking.

However, the next line of text that followed shocked him so much he nearly leaped out of his seat.

"Han Xiaoxin?"

...

Hong Guang sat in his own little world. Before him, a massive display composed of six screens flowed with various data, and the voices of his teammates came through his headset.

However, his expression was grave at this moment.

Just a moment ago, they had lost contact with Fox Hunter. All data failed to detect Fox Hunter's host, as if he had suddenly vanished from the face of the earth.

"Hong Guang, we can't reach Fox Hunter by phone either; it says he's out of the service area."

Listening to the message from his teammate in his headset, Hong Guang nodded slightly. "I understand. What about you, Qing Ning? How is it on your end?"

"I'm fine on my end. I haven't detected any abnormal data streams for the moment. It seems they've locked onto Fox Hunter." Qing Ning's voice sounded like that of a young girl, but most members in the group used voice changers, making it difficult to determine his or her true identity.

Upon hearing this, a series of long sighs came through Hong Guang's headset; it seemed everyone had breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was truly terrifying. What level of master is this, exactly?"

"I calculated it. It took him less than ten seconds to crack Xiao Hei's one hundred zombie jump nodes! If his target had been me, I doubt I could have lasted fifteen seconds!"

"Is there really such a beast of a master in the country right now? Could it be that one of those few legends made a move?"

"How is that possible? Setting aside whether your judgment is correct or not, even if those legends did make a move, could they manage to crack Xiao Hei's and Fox Hunter's IPs within ten seconds?"

"This..."

"And even if he cracked Fox Hunter's IP, he simultaneously jammed Fox Hunter's mobile signal! That's not something a simple intrusion can achieve!"

"This..." The person who had just spoken hesitated.

"He must have breached the telecommunications company's network, used Xiao Hei's phone to locate the area where Fox Hunter was, and jammed the signal for the entire area."

"How is that possible? I mean... how could that be done in just over ten seconds?"

"It is a fact. Fox Hunter's phone being out of the service area is proof enough!"

The headset was filled with chaotic chatter, and Hong Guang's expression was grim.

Although it was hard to accept, he had to admit that his team had failed completely this time. The attack against the website had already been paralyzed, and there was no point in continuing. All they could do now was wait.

"Everyone, retreat," Hong Guang ordered. "Dissolve the chat channel and wipe your own trails. Do not leave any traces behind. This operation has failed."

This was one of the few failed operations since the Hongmeng Alliance was founded.

"Understood. Logging off."

"I'm off."

"Going."

"See you next time."

...

Reports came one after another through the headset, and Hong Guang listened silently.

Finally, it was Qing Ning.

"I'm off too."

"Understood," Hong Guang said indifferently.

"Send me a message if you get any news about Fox Hunter. You know the channel."

"I know," Hong Guang said calmly. "This isn't a big deal, just a failed intrusion. Don't worry."

"I hope so."

Qing Ning logged off.

Hong Guang remained silent. A moment later, he took off his headset, looked at the screens before him, and gritted his teeth. He stood up, walked to the main switch, and cut the power to the entire server room, causing the screens to go dark instantly. Then, he walked to another spot and gently unplugged the main network cable. Only then did he exhale in relief, returning to sit on the central stool.

He took a phone out of the drawer, placed it on the desk, and waited quietly.

One minute... ten minutes... twenty minutes... half an hour... After a full forty-seven minutes, the phone on his desk suddenly rang. Hong Guang tapped to answer.

"Tell me, what happened?"

"Well... it's a long story," Fox Hunter replied with a bitter laugh. "I was too impulsive this time, and I've dragged everyone down with me."

"It's not your fault. We are an organization; if we can't even handle a small matter like this, we might as well disband," Hong Guang said in a steady voice. "Tell me, who was on the other side? I've been thinking for a long time, but I can't think of anyone who matches that profile."

"I don't know either," Fox Hunter's voice became increasingly bitter. "I only know that he is strong—incredibly strong. I've only ever seen this kind of power in our team leader back when I first started in the industry, and..."

Fox Hunter paused. "I'm afraid that even our team leader might not be a match for this mysterious person now."

"Are you serious?" Hong Guang raised an eyebrow. He knew exactly what kind of existence his team leader was, yet according to Fox Hunter, such a person was inferior to some mysterious individual who had just popped out of nowhere? Hong Guang's first reaction was disbelief.

"You don't understand," Fox Hunter's voice was grave. "I feel... this wasn't a battle on the same level. It was a complete crushing, a technical domination. It was like... like using something of a higher dimension to fight something of a lower dimension. It's a very strange feeling."

Fox Hunter continued, "You know my strength, Hong Guang. The reason I'm called Fox Hunter is that my primary skill is focused on intrusion. I like to treat server data as prey; the process of hunting them is my favorite part, and I love the feeling of breaking through a firewall. But this time... the company's firewall was like a massive black hole. All of our attacks had absolutely no effect on it. It was as if it were truly a solid wall, and our attacks were just tickling it."

"I know our team leader is very strong, and no one can compare to him in terms of computer theory, but even for him, it would take a minute to crack my and Xiao Hei's zombie nodes and firewall, right?"

Hong Guang was silent for a moment. "I forgot to tell you: while this mysterious person was breaking through your firewall, he also hijacked the telecommunications company's base station, located your position, and jammed your signal."

Fox Hunter: "..."

Seeing that Fox Hunter didn't speak, Hong Guang didn't overthink it and asked, "He communicated with you for so long, didn't he reveal even a hint of his identity? If what you say is true, there shouldn't be many people with that kind of strength. Why would they go off to work as a security consultant for a company?"

"Well..." After a long silence, Fox Hunter's voice sounded a bit strange. "I don't know either. I only know that I might have to leave for a while."

"Leave?" Hong Guang asked in surprise. "Where to?"

"To W City." Fox Hunter was filled with grief, indignation, and grievance. "The senior said..."

"What did he say?"

"He said the company is still missing an artist! He saw that my drawing skills were decent and told me to go over and give it a try!"

Hong Guang: "..."