UNIVERSITY ARC
|"Don't judge a book by its cover. I'll count to three. One... Two... Three... Boom!"|
The system notification flashed across the screens:
**Warning: AI DETECTION, NEUTRALIZING RAT. REMOTE ACCESS BLOCKED, SUCCESSFUL.**
|"Surprise…"|
Everyone in the room stared in astonishment. No one could grasp what had just transpired. Surya Raj's face lit up with satisfaction, while Aarna seemed at a loss for words, overwhelmed by the unfolding events.
At the Phantom Syndicate's secret base, a red warning light blinked urgently on the central monitor.
"AI DETECTION, NEUTRALIZING RAT. REMOTE ACCESS BLOCKED."
/User remote access error/
Specter noticed the unexpected alert and cursed under his breath.
|"Damn! We need to hurry!"|
Back in the meeting hall, tension was palpable.
|"Mr. Surya Raj, I didn't mean to waste our time."|
Someone from the room responded, confusion evident in their tone.
|"Sir, we don't understand what you're talking about."|
|"No need to dwell on it. I just need a moment to confirm something."|
I'm trying to maintain control of the situation. I turned to Rajan.
|"Rajan, hand me your phone."|
The room fell silent. Everyone was awaiting an explanation. Rajan seemed stunned and lost in thought.
|"Rajan, are you deaf? Just give me your phone!"|
Rajan's voice trembled with panic.
|"Sir, why do you need my phone?"|
I shouted, losing my patience.
|"Don't make me repeat myself. Hand it over now! Mr. Surya Raj, take him into custody!"|
As Rajan attempted to run, Surya Raj intercepted him, delivering a decisive punch that subdued him.
|"Good job. Now, search him for the phone."|
When Surya Raj found the phone, Rajan was already on a call. I seized the device and threw it with all my might against the wall, shattering it into fragments.
Yes! My instincts were correct. Something was amiss.
Murmurs filled the room as everyone tried to piece together the situation. If I hadn't been present at the meeting, the consequences could have been catastrophic.
I tried to calm down by addressing the crowd.
|"Calm down, Rajan was a traitor. He assisted in the attack on our databases by communication. The hackers are listening to our communications. We're lucky I was here to catch him."|
Aarna's curiosity grew.
|"How did you know Rajan was a traitor?"|
I started explaining the situation.
|"The earlier warning was from a hidden protection protocol within our database links. In this room, only Rajan and I were aware of this security measure. If he were truly loyal, he would have alerted us about this protocol as soon as we confirmed this attack. But, he didn't. So, I confirmed he is a traitor. But, I want proof. Then, I started trying to waste the time until the activation of this protocol."|
By understanding the complexity of the situation, I continued.
|"Rajan knew that after the cyber attack, we would gather for a secret meeting. This would give those hackers time to compromise or destroy crucial information in our databases which are connected with every industry. The key detail he didn't know was that I was also aware of the attack, so I used this knowledge to capture him with evidence."|
Shock spread through the members, including Surya Raj and Aarna. Someone from the crowd spoke up.
|"Then what is this AI you mentioned, sir?"|
Glitch was fuming.
|"Shit! Specter, they've discovered our member. We've lost connection and can't monitor them anymore."|
|"This wasn't part of the plan. If someone in that meeting catches on, we're in deep trouble. Rajan was an idiot. We need to act fast. Where's the key?"|
|"Yes! Let's do it."|
|"Did you think these petty tricks could dismantle Vardhan Groups? We have a robust defence against this cyber attack. Our database is protected by an advanced AI-based security system that detects any unusual activity.'|
The room fell silent, everyone eager for more details.
|"This AI is highly encrypted, developed by nearly a thousand coders from around the world. Its complexity makes it nearly impossible to breach."|
Seeing their intrigue, I elaborated. |"From professionals to students in this field are aware of its strength, but no one has ever managed to crack it. As we speak before, this protocol is unbreakable by any hacker. If someone attempted an attack knowing this, then..."|
I saw the screen with sharp eyes. It means, they got the key!
Specter's face lit up with a mix of satisfaction and concern.
|"Oh! Glitch, the AI flagged our intrusion and is starting to counteract."|
|"Yes, but the protocol is more formidable than we anticipated."|
Echo interjected.
|"If you all knew about it, is there a way to breach it?"|
Specter smiled.
|"Oh! You didn't know, right? Sorry, I completely forgot to mention it before. It is the key I mentioned earlier. Yes, Echo. Someone has already figured out a method to crack it and sold us the plan. No one in the world would refuse such a lucrative offer."|
Specter gave his orders immediately.
|"Let's get to work, Echo, I will send you some code to integrate into our RAT method. It's the key!"|
|"Yes, boss. I'm on it."|
Unfortunately, the AI's defences began to fail. The room was filled with the relentless sound of warning beeps.
**WARNING: AI DETECTION FAILED.**
**WARNING: AI DETECTION FAILED.**
**WARNING: AI DETECTION FAILED...**
The beeping was almost unbearable. Suddenly, officers burst through the doors.
The lead officer introduced himself.
|"Good evening, sir. I'm David. The Chairman sent us to investigate. You can't hide this for long. He's displeased with Mr. Surya Raj and his team for concealing this issue. We're taking them into custody by his orders."|
My mind was studying David's uniform.
|"Oh! Just calm down. By your appearance and the logo on your shirt, you must be one of the coders who helped develop our AI. Am I correct?"|
David looked surprised.
|"Yes, sir! How did you know?"|
|"I'm familiar with every member involved in programming that AI."|
Everyone in the room was taken aback. David continued.
|"Sir, pardon me, but I'm not interested in this conversation. The longer we waste time, the more information they could steal. Let me handle this."|
|"Oh, you're confident. Since you played a significant role, my grandfather probably sent you here. If so, give it your best shot. Good luck."*
They were successfully stealing the information, but it could take a few more minutes to copy everything.
Specter, sensing something was amiss, raised his voice and commanded.
|"Everything seems to be going well, but we're still missing key data. Echo, dig deeper into the main layer. This surface information is useless to us."|
|"Yes, boss. I'll increase the intensity."|
But then, Glitch's fingers froze over the keyboard.
|"Boss, there's an error! Please check it."|
Specter's eyes widened as he scanned the screens.
|"What? Impossible! Contact that bastard. How could he do this? We made a mistake by trusting him. I want my money back."|
The room was filled with tension as warnings blared on the screens.
"ACCESS DENIED," the system repeatedly flashed.
David, trying to maintain morale, barked orders at his team. I watched the scene unfold like a spectator at a chaotic play, where the actors struggled to improvise their way out of a disastrous script. The team frantically tried various solutions, but it was clear—they were getting nowhere.
After a few minutes of futile attempts, David shouted.
|"Yes! Someone's cracked the A.I., but instead of shutting it down, they've managed to reboot it and turn it against us. If we can figure out the flaw, we might have a chance to defend."|
Their efforts were in vain. They couldn't even diagnose the weakness in their own creation. My patience finally snapped.
|"If it's taking you this long to find its weakness, just give up and let me handle it."|
David, clearly irritated, shot back.
| "Sir, how can you say that? I don't want to argue with you, but even we don't know what to do right now. What could you possibly do? Just leave and don't interfere with our work, Mr. Manoj."|
Surya Raj's voice thundered across the room.
|"How dare you insult our boss, you fool!"|
I raised a hand to calm Surya Raj, my tone cold and sharp.
|"Mr. David, I don't want to drag this out. Just give me a chance."|
David's face twisted with disbelief.
|"What? Sir, you're losing respect with each word. Don't test my patience. And, sorry for asking, but do you even have basic knowledge about our work?"|
He spoke with an air of arrogance, his pride evident. I simply smiled.
|"Of course, sir. I'm a computer science student. I have more than basic knowledge."|
|"Oh! But you're just a student. You don't have enough experience."|
|"Maybe, but you're the one wasting time. So I'll tell you the weakness. It's in the A.I.'s scanning protocol."|
He sneered.
|"What? How can you be so sure? If you truly believe that, explain."|
|"Sure. You developed this A.I. to detect cyber attacks. But if our members need to access or fix bugs in the system, the A.I. might mistakenly detect them as external threats. So, you programmed it to allow our members access with a specific identity."|
David's skepticism was evident.
|"How do you know so much about the program? After all, you're just a student."|
|"Listen. There's a small glitch when the system tries to identify whether users are outsiders or company members. If a key that mimics this glitch is inserted, the A.I. thinks our company members are accessing it and grants clearance. That's the only weakness in our A.I."|
David's irritation boiled over.
|"Stop your nonsense. You know a little about software, I'll give you that. But I'm not foolish enough to believe your bullshit. You're wasting our precious time."|
|"Please try to understand. The fact is—"|
I began, but David cut me off, his voice rising with anger.
|"Sir, you're the Chairman's grandson, so I'm restraining myself. I respect you, but don't test my patience. You have no experience—not even half of mine. You don't understand the gravity of the situation. They've already stolen a lot of information. If we act quickly, we might save some of it. So, return to your place."|
I ignored his outburst and pressed on.
"What's your plan? How will you stop them?"|
David hesitated, his confidence wavering. |"We need to destroy the connections. It's the only way to save our remaining secrets."|
I was shocked.
|"Are you mad? If you do that, all our information will be erased. We'll lose everything—Vardhan's data, bank information, sensitive business matters."|
David's discomfort was clear, but one of his team members spoke up.
|"Yes, it's true. But we can stop the hackers from stealing it. If they leak our secrets, other industries could dominate us. They're waiting for this opportunity. It could devastate us."|
I took a deep breath, trying to keep my anger in check.
|"No, it won't happen. They can't steal our critical information. They can only access our basic databases. So don't worry."|
David fired back.
|"I'm already irritated by your words. Just leave me alone."|
|"Sir, it's true. They need an authorized password. Just calm down."|
|"What bullshit! I can't listen to this nonsense. Kick him out of the room."|
One of his bodyguards hesitated.
|"Sir, he is our boss. If we do that, we can't face the consequences."|
|"Then I'll kick him out myself. Come on, idiot."|
But Surya Raj stepped in, blocking David.
|"Enough. You're here because our chairman sent you. But if you touch Manoj sir, I'll end you."|
I held back my anger, trying one last time to convince David.
|"Sir, it's true. There's a password for the next level of clearance."|
David's patience snapped.
| "Okay, fine. You're so confident. I'm a top-class cyber security officer. Now, prove to me there's a password."|
I met his gaze, my voice calm and precise.
|"Because the truth is, I'm the one who set the password."|
The room fell silent.
Panic set in as Specter barked orders.
|"Guys, something's wrong with our key. They said this key could crack the A.I. and give access to any information. Even our tests and experiments confirmed it. But, how? I can't understand!"|
Echo's voice was strained with urgency.
|"We need to hurry! Boss, it's started sending our live location. I can't stop it."|
Specter's voice was laced with anger.
|"Damn! That bastard. I won't let him get away with this. I want my money back. Pack up, everyone. Shut down all the monitors. We need to move quickly. Don't leave a single trace. Let's go."|
A message popped up on the screen:
[**WARNING: A.I. DETECTION**
*Someone tried to access the database. Blocked successfully.*]
[**INPUT KEY ANALYSIS:**
Target tracked: Successful
IP address: **** **** **** ****
Area: ********** ]
Surya Raj turned to me, his eyes wide with surprise.
|"Yes! We got them. I'll contact the nearest police station near their location. We'll definitely catch them. Trust me, sir."|
I nodded happily.
|"Very good! Don't let those bastards get away."|