Chapter 201: First Clash, Mercenary Guild's Decisive Victory
A green-haired girl pulled out a USB drive and plugged it into the computer.
The USB drive, named "Red and Black," was a decryption tool developed by the Universal Group.
Simple to use, it required only a password input, enabling even an average person to become a reasonably competent hacker.
For those proficient in using this software, who explored and programmed new password keys, it could transform them into top-tier hacking experts.
It was akin to controlling an AI robot capable of defeating a chess prodigy.
This software had many advantages—convenient and efficient. However, its monthly rental fee was exorbitant.
Even organizations like the Security Bureau and the Central Sea Institute in the Imperial Capital couldn't use it for free.
Fortunately, the Security Bureau had a deep collaboration with Universal Group, and globally, only the authorities of Base Country 3 were authorized to use "Red and Black."
Moreover, Universal Group retained only the leasing rights to "Red and Black," not the user rights.
You might ask, why doesn't the government simply dismantle Universal Group and claim its resources instead of wasting money on rentals?
It's not so simple. Universal Group is a well-established supernatural organization, and destroying such an entity would come at a tremendous cost.
Besides, Universal Group wields significant commercial influence.
It is a supernatural organization with commercial attributes, the world's largest financial conglomerate, intertwined in a web of global interests akin to a spider's web.
Furthermore, Universal Group is a Base Country 3-based company with deep ties to the country's upper echelons. Who knows how closely connected they are?
But enough digression; let's return to the green-haired girl.
The green-haired girl from the Blue Whale Team happened to be an administrator with extensive expertise in "Red and Black." She could decrypt nearly any software or firewall.
"Done, boss! Piece of cake!"
After a while, the green-haired girl stretched lazily with a satisfied smile.
The middle-aged man with long hair looked even more serious.
Among all the Security Bureau staff, the green-haired girl was one of the most proficient in using "Red and Black."
The fact that she took so long to decrypt the Mercenary Guild app suggested that the mastermind behind it wasn't ordinary!
At the very least, they were qualified to rival the Security Bureau in the digital domain.
The middle-aged man walked over to the computer.
The Mercenary Guild app icon was displayed on the screen.
He moved the mouse and double-clicked on it.
"Dear Mercenary, welcome to the Mercenary Guild!"
"Please register your nickname!"
The middle-aged man casually entered the name "Blue Whale" and clicked confirm.
"Registration successful!"
The screen transitioned to a loading page.
The middle-aged man glanced at the green-haired girl, his expression puzzled.
She explained,
"This was forcibly decrypted using 'Red and Black.' Every second, it suppresses the security data of the Mercenary Guild app."
"So it's a bit laggy. Just wait a moment."
"The owner of the Mercenary Guild app is indeed skilled, but they're still no match for 'Red and Black.'"
The middle-aged man nodded and waited patiently, his curiosity piqued.
Finally, the interface loaded to 100%.
"This… How could this happen?"
The green-haired girl exclaimed in shock, leaping from her chair.
The middle-aged man frowned deeply.
The screen did not display the points shop, task bar, or chat channel that Crow No. 3 had described.
Instead, a pixelated snake was wriggling aimlessly across the screen.
This... this was clearly the classic Snake game!
"What's going on?" the middle-aged man asked.
The green-haired girl frantically tapped away at her laptop, but the screen had completely frozen, leaving only the Snake game running.
"This is impossible! Did the decryption fail? No, it can't be!" She was sweating profusely.
Ten minutes later, her eyes lit up.
"I've figured it out! This is the second firewall!"
They set the second firewall as Snake.
"The final pattern formed by the snake is the key to breaking through the second firewall," the green-haired girl explained as she prepared to operate the laptop.
The middle-aged man with long hair stopped her and asked, "Are you confident this time?"
Although he didn't fully understand the technical details, he knew the girl had already failed once.
The green-haired girl nodded firmly.
"Not many people set up a second firewall, and typically, the difficulty isn't much higher than the first.
The second firewall of the Mercenary Guild app isn't exactly hard, but it's not trivial either.
The way to break it is to clear the Snake game.
Don't worry—games like Tetris and Snake are my forte.
To me, this second firewall is child's play."
Everyone has hobbies. For example, Meng Xing enjoys burying people, Little Monster Yao Ling loves cream cakes, and the green-haired girl's passion is solving puzzle games like Snake and Tetris.
The long-haired man saw her confidence and said nothing more.
To be honest, if even the green-haired girl couldn't crack the firewall, there were few in the Security Bureau who could.
Besides, a failed attempt wouldn't cost them much.
Another long two hours passed.
No one grew tired; they all quietly awaited the result.
After all, this concerned a mysterious supernatural faction.
"Yes! It's done!"
The green-haired girl shouted with excitement.
Everyone quickly gathered around the computer.
On the screen, the Snake had eaten so many pixel blocks that it now almost completely filled the screen.
As the final pixel block was consumed, the Snake's body expanded to occupy the entire screen.
A special command was triggered. The Snake on the screen began to fade in color, eventually revealing an image of a cyan lotus.
"See? Firewalls are nothing but a joke to me!"
The green-haired girl puffed up with pride.
The long-haired man gave her a look of approval.
Suddenly, the cyan lotus on the screen pixelated and flickered. Slowly, the shadow of a demon emerged!
The computer issued an alarm.
The green-haired girl stared at the screen in horror, her small hands frantically tapping on the keyboard.
"Red and Black" had already failed, and the computer was completely frozen.
"What's going on?!" the long-haired man asked urgently.
The green-haired girl, now pale and panicked, stammered,
"It's over. We've been hit.
The computer is infected with a virus, and the Blue Whale Team's database has been breached."
The Security Bureau's administrator database held far too many secrets.
It contained information on all registered Awakeners in the country and even some from abroad.
The long-haired man grabbed the laptop and repeatedly pressed the power button.
It was useless.
The laptop had been entirely taken over by the Mercenary Guild app.
In frustration, he slammed the laptop onto the ground, shattering the screen.
The green-haired girl, filled with regret, whispered,
"Breaking the laptop won't help… Their target was the database, not the computer."
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