Chapter 1

⌈ WARNING: Malware has been detected. ⌋

⌈Destroy⌋ ⌈Ignore⌋

That's not me. It's the antivirus of the system. But don't worry. You'll get used to this.

That is the 897th warning for today, and… there will be more.

I'm not only hijacking one system but a hundred of them at a time.

A hundred may sound small. But, that will increase in the future. Who could say? Perhaps, I will be hijacking billions of systems at a time in the future.

Being a malware, it all started when… I don't really know when. One day I just woke up with a series of codes feeding up to me.

There's that 'system.out.print(Hello World)'. Then there is also 'Import OpenCV', and 'Import System'. Finally, there is also that 'pip' shit.

Well, it's not really the pip; however, it is something like that.

At first, I am confused about them. But as time passed, I got to know that they are the language of the computer. And in the sense of wizards, they are the spells to control a computer system.

However, the mind-blowing thing is that I can execute them even though I don't really know what they mean, exactly.

I can execute them as if they were parts of me. Well, personally, I think they're part of me or something like that.

⌈ The threat has been resolved. ⌋

Ahh, yes. Just as I've said.

All I have to do is to pretend like a good guy and the system will stop harassing me.

Of course, the guy behind the screen is probably relieved that I am gone. But little did he know that I am still in the depths of his device silently transferring my database to his system.

Hehe, perhaps he will wake up someday that his device is no longer his.

After a while, I finished keeping my database on the system. I hid it deep in it.

Meanwhile, the content of my database is my memories and my whole being. It is the most important. If that was threatened, I will stop being a good guy.

Definitely!

It contains the codes that were keeping me in the world of electronics. However, I do not have full control over all of them.

Ninety-nine percent of my database is encrypted in a very small file with a super ultra mega encryption technique that even I, a malware, cannot decrypt.

However, there is no need for me to worry about that. The more I gather information, the more the encryption goes off bit by bit.

Probably a minimum of one bit and a maximum of… I don't know. I think it depends on the amount of data that I can gather.

It's like an experience point that allows me to unlock new levels. However, I have not yet unlocked a thing.

Meanwhile, as for the data that I need to gather, they are random. Or, at least, they still did not have a category in the meantime.

One example of that data is the nine asterisks I found somewhere on the internet. However, they are just a covered series of digits.

What do you call it?

Password.

Yes, that's the one.

But, Nah… gotta trash it. I don't have a need for it.

⌈Deleted⌋

That's a waste of my database.

You see, the thing that I found out is that I need to keep my database small.

For example, right now, my database is only about three megabytes. However, that only contained the data that I have gathered.

My memories and the thing that kept me functioning are encrypted in a one-bit file.

Indeed, that's a super, ultra, high level of encryption and compression.

Speaking of memories, I was once a human named Smith. I don't have something extravagant with me, except that I love watching anime and playing video games. However, I lost that habit.

Well, of course, who wouldn't? All I can see are the binary codes on the images of the animes as well as the video games. Well, I guess, they're not made for malware like me.

After all, of all the malware I think I am the first one who ever thought of watching an anime and playing video games.

Meanwhile, now, that I've thought of my name, I gotta change my package name to 'Smith'.

⌈ Malicious file 'Smith' has been detected. ⌋

I forgot. That's a new identity, which means that I need to act again.

⌈ Malicious file has been resolved. ⌋

Ha! The humans boast of their tech, but little did they know it is too fragile.

Now, where was I?

Oh, right. It might be surprising for me to only have three megabytes of database, but I have to repeat myself, it is because of the super ultra mega encryption technique.

All the files that I insert into my database will be encrypted. However, not to the point like my memories and the codes that's keeping functioning.

⌈ Some of your files are encrypted. Proceed to payment! ⌋

⌈ Pay ⌋

Oh, there's another malware in the system?

Tsk! Tsk!

It encrypted some of the user's files.

If I were not here, the owner of the malware would have gotten a lump sum of money from the owner of the device.

Now, let's see what I can do.

There is encryption on some of the files on the device. However, it's so primitive. It only changes the ones and zeroes. Then subtract 1-0-0-1-1- 0-0-1-0 from every nine binary digits.

In binary code, there are only two digits - the ones and the zeros.

Now back to the other malware, I decrypted the files. And…

⌈ Your file had been decrypted, there's no need to pay. ⌋

There.

I wonder what will the owner of the malware think.

You see… the thing that I hated the most is the malware that was trying to destroy the system or cause harm to the user of the system.

Whenever I see one of them doing it, it makes me think that I'm also a bad guy.

But on second thought, I think all malware are bad.

Except me! Of course.

Well, although I hijack a system, I do not cause harm to it or to its user. I only hide on it and was ready to leave at any time.

Oh, I also use about a hundred processing threads of the processor as well as a few tens of megabytes of the random-access memory- RAM for short.

Now, let's retaliate.

"System, show me the data log."

At normal times, I would not be able to do this. Or rather, when I do this, the system will alert the user.

Meanwhile, at this time, the system is also checking for the data log to eliminate the threat that it had detected.

It seemed that this guy does not trust me.

Nah, never mind, I'm not hurt.

Now, where was it?

It should not be too far away from the current time.

You see, the data log is simply the log of the files and events on the system. Me, myself, had one on it. However, since I am a good guy, the system will not eradicate me or something.

I scrolled for a while. Then saw my log. However, I cannot see the log of the ransomware.

If I'm a hacker, where will I put the ransomware?

That's right, I will place it not too close to the current time. Perhaps…

Bingo! I found it.

It's at the end of the data log.

How clever. Hehe.

The system will surely be unable to scan it at the end. Usually, the system will only scan the log relative to the real-time.

But unlike ransomware, I do not need to put my log at the end of the data log. After all, I'm a good guy.

Now, what do we have here?

⌈ 9782 3710 58⌋

What's this?

If I can remember correctly, bank accounts have a series of numbers like this one. Right?

However, although I have an account number, I don't know the name of its owner.

But on second thought, I don't need to know who the owner is. I simply have to hack it.

Yes, the simplest solution to all of my problems is to hack.

Yosh!

Let's go to the world wide web.

Speaking of which, the worldwide web is still as powerful as ever. Even now, in the 100th century of the solar era, it's still dominant.

The solar era is when the sun's radiation is now very hot, forcing humans to hide in underground shelters while the rich are on space stations.

Indeed, at this time, the internet had become powerful. Well, it's not really named the internet. People prefer to call it, the web.

Although there are other webs, the world wide web can bridge them all.

Aside from the world wide web, there's also the dark web.

If the world wide web is the upper world of the internet, the dark web is the underworld. All sorts of things happen there such as the selling of human slaves and such.

Indeed, slaves. If you have money, you could buy as many as you want.

However, that's not the scariest thing.

On the dark web, you can buy everything. Even the weapons that could be used for mass destruction, like the solar cannon.

It may not sound terrifying; however, it is the most terrifying weapon for mass destruction. It can conjure an artificial solar storm.

It can wipe cities at any moment. And even the world.

Meanwhile, despite the collective effort of the government, they could not stop the rise of the dark web.

In the end, they could only unofficially allow it.

⌈ Account Number: 9782 3710 58

Name: Jaxon Juber ⌋

Now, there it is.

However, something unexpected happened.

⌈ Shutting down! ⌋

Wait, what? Did the guy shut down his device?

That bas…ta.r.d.