"F***!#*..." The hair that was already scratched into a chicken coop-like mess was once again mercilessly ravaged.
The man with thick-framed glasses sat dejectedly by the computer, his stubble growing in clumps. Even his dark circles had transformed into thick bags under his eyes.
At this rate, he might just drop dead.
"Smack!" The remaining coffee in the cup splattered out, his bloodshot eyes regained a spark of focus again, and his fingers rapidly typed on the keyboard, forming strings of code that were edited together.
He had worked for the damn "little red dress" a whole day and night! He had lost countless strands of his precious hair!
Remembering his boss's words before leaving, Davis wanted to curse his entire family! While the fat boss and the curvy and glamorous secretary enjoyed a fantastic night at the hotel, he had to work in this damn oppressive environment!
He twisted his stiff neck stood up; and his prolonged work hours had left his mind in a daze, making him a bit unsteady.
He pulled the curtains open. The sunlight was intense, clearly approaching noon. The street wasn't as lively as usual. A red dress hung silently on the large screen of a nearby building.
Every time Davis saw this scene, his mood couldn't help but improve a lot. Even the top internet companies hadn't cracked the virus.
The image on the advertisement, hanging high, kept slapping the faces of the big shots. It was expected that their small company couldn't crack it either.
Davis turned to look indoors, the light was dim, but his eyes could adjust instantly, making him comfortable.
A bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. The hackers who created the virus were undoubtedly top experts; not even the government seemed to have a good solution.
Almost all the critical data storage areas in the company had been compromised by the virus, and the loss of funds every second was significant.
But those upper-level people, seeing the big shots in the same situation, seemed to have become more carefree, relying on the taller ones to handle the crisis. Instead of worrying about these chaotic things, it was better to consider how to ask the government for rescue funds.
A cigarette burned to its end, and Davis seemed to regain some energy. However, his appearance was far from commendable.
Few would suspect him even if this guy appeared in a zombie movie.
Code on the screen flashed rapidly, and every keystroke was Davis's hope.
The detoxification program was written, and although it had been tested over a dozen times, his excitement couldn't be contained before pressing Enter.
"Smack!"
His index finger pressed the Enter key, and all the commands were executed instantly. The program Davis wrote started attacking the "little red dress" virus!
The loading bar became faster and faster until it was done!
The familiar interface once again reflected in Davis's pupils. He was excited to the point of trembling, but he remained rational.
One minute... Three minutes...
"Did it work?" Davis stood dumbfounded, not jumping up as excitedly as he had imagined.
What he felt was simply incredulous. So many experts hadn't succeeded, yet an ordinary programmer like him had?
Five minutes...
The familiar interface is still reflected in Davis's pupils. His brain started to react only now, and he leaned over the computer, rapidly operating.
"Running normally, no data missing... Did I really do it?"
The excitement in Davis's heart caused him to jump up from the chair, ready to vent his emotions, but the computer screen flickered... and the familiar red dress reappeared.
"Bang!"
The sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!"
Davis held his forehead, blood trickling down. The wound was not too big but within the bearable range.
He took out his phone from his pocket, and a friend's name shone on the screen.
He answered the call, "Hello..."
Before Davis could say anything, a lively voice quickly sounded from the other side,
Speaking so quickly that Davis almost couldn't understand, "...So you're saying Tony Stark that playboy managed to decrypt the virus?"
"Yes, that's right! Although Stark Industries hasn't officially announced it, their website and advertisements have been fully restored."
"And then..."
"Turn on your TV now and see..."
On television, Tony Stark stood on a platform in a custom-made suit, expressing his views.
Davis propped his chin with his hand, countless thoughts flashing through his mind. Not to brag, but based on what he saw, Tony Stark's understanding of the "little red dress" virus and the decryption method weren't much different from his own. Even the approach to cracking it was the same.
"Mr Stark, Mr Stark, can I ask you a question?"
The voice of a female reporter on the television woke Davis from his thoughts. The camera moved with Tony Stark's gaze, coincidentally focusing on an attractive female journalist.
"I'm from The New York Times, and you mentioned earlier that the virus is 'alive.' Does that mean you still can't solve it at its root?"
Tony Stark raised an eyebrow, "Well, let's address this lady's question."
"I say the virus is 'alive' because it's constantly changing. Without one or several cloud computing bases, I don't think you could develop a decryption program."
"And, each decryption method is only suitable for one computer. Of course, if you're fast enough, you can certainly tackle tens of thousands."
"But." Tony Stark's tone lightened, "I don't think human thinking speed can keep up with a few hundred supercomputers."
Meanwhile, leaders of various organizations were watching. While they didn't entirely believe what Tony Stark said, they could only grind their teeth and mobilize their resources, starting to lease cloud computing bases.
And cloud computing bases established on U.S. soil... were almost entirely occupied by the Red Queen. Relying on this method to achieve their goals was undoubtedly a pipe dream.
"Mr. Stark, Mr. Stark!" Just as Tony Stark was about to leave, a female reporter seemed to receive some news and called out to him loudly.
But Tony completely ignored her and wanted to go back to designing his own building. After all, flashes of insight often come and go in an instant. Although he was a genius, and those insights frequently flashed in and out, he still had to seize specific opportunities.
"Mr. Stark, can the computers infected with the virus use Bitcoin to pay the ransom and solve the issue? Is this method reliable?"
Tony Stark stopped in his tracks, his sunglasses now in his hand. He spoke thoughtfully, "Using Bitcoin to solve it?"
The female reporter was a bit nervous due to his serious tone, "Y-yes, Mr. Stark, based on the latest information, that's how it works."
"Oh." Tony Stark furrowed his brow, put his sunglasses back on, and quickly left while mumbling some other words.
"It's incredible that a problem that could be solved with money wasted me so much time chasing girls."
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