The presentation room crackled with tension. Professor Malhotra's finger hovered over the evaluation tablet, ready to grade Sid's final year project on his cultivation AI simulation. Just as he was about to mark Sid's presentation, the college's management system suddenly flickered.
"What's happening?" the professor muttered.
Priya's system - a comprehensive college management software she'd developed just a month ago - was under attack. Critical screens showed data corruption, access logs scrambling, and authentication systems breaking down.
Sid watched silently from the presentation area. His project - an AI designed to analyse cultivation world mechanics - was still displayed on the screen behind him. The irony wasn't lost on him. While everyone panicked, he saw something else entirely.
The hack was sophisticated. Whoever did this knew exactly how to exploit the system's vulnerabilities. Multiple entry points, carefully masked traffic, database manipulation that wouldn't trigger standard security alerts.
Professor Malhotra turned, frustration evident. "Ms. Sharma, explain this immediately!"
Priya looked shell-shocked. Her months of hard work - a management system she'd coded from scratch, integrating student records, attendance tracking, and administrative workflows - was being dismantled in real-time.
Sid's first instinct was to stay quiet. He'd been criticized harshly for his unconventional project. The professor had called his cultivation AI simulation "a waste of academic resources" just moments ago.
But something didn't sit right with him.
He moved to the nearest computer, fingers hovering over the keyboard. Not asking for permission, not making a show of his skills - just pure, focused technical intervention.
The first thing he did wasn't to stop the hack. Instead, he began creating a parallel backup system, capturing each corrupted data packet, reconstructing the original database structure in real-time.
"They're using a distributed denial of service technique combined with a SQL injection," Sid muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "Routing through multiple proxy servers."
His fingers moved with surgical precision. No dramatic declarations, no showboating - just pure, methodical problem-solving.
Within seventeen minutes, he had:
Isolated the attack vectors Created a complete backup of the original system Identified the hackers' network signatures Begun rebuilding the compromised database
"Got them," Sid said simply, turning to the now-silent room. "Three fourth-year networking students. They exploited a vulnerability in the user authentication module."
Professor Malhotra stood speechless. Priya stared, a complex mix of emotions crossing her face - gratitude, surprise, and something that looked suspiciously like newfound respect.
And then, everything went white.
The presentation room dissolved. The sounds of typing, the hum of monitors, the shocked faces - all vanished in an instant.
Sid felt like he was being compressed, digitized, transformed.
System Initializing... Transmission Protocol Engaged... Destination: Unknown