Five minutes before the bell, Teacher Jiang let everyone go early. Every student with a computer bolted back to their dorms, racing to download the killer tool online.
Chen Xu and Wu Yuan dashed back too, though for different reasons. Wu Yuan was frantic to disinfect his computer, while Chen Xu was eager to check the news.
"A Devilish Virus, a Godlike Savior! SMMH, a Divine Existence!"
"The Most Powerful, Perverse Virus in History—and the Most Unthinkable Solution!"
"A Resounding Slap: Kaspersky Exec Resigns in Shame"
"Who Is SMMH? Microsoft Offers Millions to Hire the Hand of God"
"Pentagon Vows to Crack Down Harder on Malicious Cybercrime"
"FBI Mobilizes—Suspect in Sight?"
Chen Xu scrolled through page after page of news and comments, a surge of pride swelling uncontrollably in his chest.
What young person hasn't dreamed of saving the world? Look at how Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, Daredevil, and the Fantastic Four dominate global box offices—every kid wants that moment of standing atop the world, shouting, "I am the king!" while basking in humanity's awe and admiration.
And now, somehow, Chen Xu had stumbled into that very role? His excitement was so intense that even his little buddy downstairs was twitching. Wu Yuan glanced over and muttered, "What the hell? You having a seizure?"
Luckily, Chen Xu was still grounded enough not to lose it completely—otherwise, if he'd kept twitching, Wu Yuan might've assumed the laptop was leaking electricity and whacked him with a stick to break the circuit.
But soon enough, as Wu Yuan browsed his own sites, he started freaking out too!
Unlike Chen Xu, who was glued to mainstream portals, Wu Yuan went straight to the Red Hacker Union's website.
Here's the kicker: Wu Yuan was a red hacker too. He'd even joined the 2001 Sino-U.S. hacker war—though back then, he was a total newbie. His sole contribution was using the Red Hacker Union's DDoS flood attack tool, turning his computer and internet connection into a tiny cog in a massive data flood, hurling garbage packets at the White House website.
Wu Yuan had been messing with computers as long as Chen Xu, but his story was a bit sadder. His dad was one of China's earliest programmers, unlike Chen Xu's dad, a tech illiterate who'd only learned to turn a computer on and off thanks to Chen Xu. To keep Wu Yuan from getting hooked on games or stumbling onto age-inappropriate content, his dad had locked the family computer with layers of passwords. But Wu Yuan wasn't one to sit quietly—he was a sly rebel. Thus began a long, epic battle of password cracking.
At first, Wu Yuan guessed blindly—his dad's birthday, his mom's, his own—and, shockingly, he'd cracked it once. But his dad wasn't a pushover. Checking the system logs, he saw the computer had been accessed in his absence, sniffed out Wu Yuan's trick, and switched to an unguessable password. Enter Wu Yuan's neighbor, a buddy of his dad's who thought this father-son showdown was hilarious. He taught Wu Yuan all sorts of tricks. Over time, the battlefield shifted from the home PC to his dad's company servers. Years of hanging out on red hacker forums had honed Wu Yuan into a decent little expert—at least, that's what Chen Xu figured.
Right now, the Red Hacker Union forum was ablaze with posts about the Beacon Virus and SMMH. Unlike the polished reports on mainstream sites, the forum was buzzing with insider scoops.
The top post, with over a thousand replies, was from YoungFatEarly. He'd detailed everything from the night before—how even BlueBaby and Sigma, the virus queen, had fallen to this beast. Wu Yuan let out a wolfish howl, practically convulsing.
"Third Bro, can you imagine how I feel right now?"
"Third Bro, who is SMMH? Are they really Chinese? My God, we've got a legend like this in China! Why hasn't he joined the Red Hacker Union?"
"I bet his skills outshine even old LION—no, no, he's gotta be stronger than Kevin Mitnick in his prime!"
"You know who Kevin Mitnick is, right?"
"What?! You don't?! How can there be such an idiot in this world?!"
"If I could just meet SMMH in person… even if he just gave me a few pointers—no, scratch that, I'd happily fetch his tea and water!"
All morning, Wu Yuan rambled on like a broken record. Qin Xiao'an and Dong Qingjie were so fed up they were ready to strangle him, but Chen Xu listened with relish.
He remembered watching Slam Dunk years ago—how that goofy Lingnan player Fukuda, after scoring, screamed in his head, "Praise me! Praise me more!" Back then, Chen Xu thought Fukuda was a nutcase, desperate for validation. But now, with the spotlight on himself, he couldn't help but want to shout, "Praise me! Keep it coming!"
Keeping it bottled up didn't feel great, but Chen Xu couldn't exactly announce he was SMMH. And even if he did, who'd believe him?
Already, forums were flooded with people claiming to be SMMH—even their own university's BBS had a few! Without exception, those posts got roasted by moderators and users alike. Anyone with a brain knew the real SMMH wouldn't pop up so casually, much less strut around bragging. The shameless ones claiming to be SMMH and offering to "teach hacking to forum girls" were obviously just trying to score dates!
Meanwhile, over at the Antivirus Heaven forum, things were boiling over.
No one had expected that killer tool to be legit—let alone that it was targeting the Beacon Virus, hailed as the most powerful and terrifying virus in computing history!
SMMH's post had racked up over 300,000 views and more than 10,000 replies.
JUN: Sob, mods, can you delete my couch post? I just realized how ignorant I was, doubting and mocking SMMH. God, strike me with lightning already!
Minghui: SMMH is beyond badass, beyond epic! Sob, to see a god like this post in our forum in my lifetime—it's our eternal glory!
MoonChild: We've witnessed history! We've witnessed a legend! Long live SMMH!
GoodWater: SMMH, master of wisdom and might, forever eternal!
FlyingPig: Qidian Tour Group, here to pay respects to the miracle.
SnowInFish: Longkong Tour Group, here to bask in the divine glow—hoping to catch some fairy dust to refine my qi!
ThinSun: Reading the OP's post, I felt a jolt of energy, my meridians cleared, six and a half of my seven apertures opened. OP has the talent to rule the heavens and the wisdom to stabilize nations…
MengChong: Tianya Tour Group, here to honor the miracle…
Other threads were overflowing with giddy cheers. Antivirus Heaven was mostly newbies—being this close to a world-class marvel was unimaginable. Moderator Minghui waved a grand hand, declaring SMMH's ID the forum's first-ever Super Honorary VIP. Gold coins, prestige, reading privileges—all maxed out, no grinding required. The killer tool post? Not coming down—pinned to the top of the forum forever.
But anyone with sense knew the SMMH ID probably wouldn't show up again.
The scope of the Beacon Virus's damage was becoming clear: over 80% of the world's computers were infected, with potential leaks of corporate secrets. Aside from Kaspersky's exec stepping down, though, few in network security lost their jobs. Bosses saw it as "not their fault"—if top-tier global companies got hit, what chance did they have?
It wasn't until three days later that Microsoft released a system patch. Kaspersky, Norton, McAfee, and others updated their antivirus software to tackle the Beacon Virus, finally swapping out SMMH's killer tool from their homepages.
This synchronized move by major security firms raised eyebrows. Meanwhile, investigations revealed the virus had first spread on August 30, 2006, Beijing time.
In other words, SMMH had independently detected and neutralized this nightmare virus in under three days. The world's top security firms, even with a heads-up, took three days to respond—and Microsoft and the others rolled out their updates almost simultaneously. Coincidence?
On 360 Security Guard's homepage, Guan Pingchao personally penned an article:
"For Microsoft and those lofty international security giants, the Beacon Virus was a loud slap in the face. These self-important companies had to rely on a Chinese-made killer tool to mitigate the damage. Over those three days, Microsoft and the big firms teamed up, hiring renowned virus experts and hackers to crack it together.
"After three sleepless days and nights, they finally broke the terrifying Beacon Virus. We owe respect to these dedicated experts.
"But on one side, we have SMMH—a Chinese master who independently discovered and cracked the virus in record time. On the other, we have the world's top security and virus experts, who only acted after a tip and still took three days. The time might be the same, but the difference is night and day!
"SMMH, with the strength of one, defeated the world's elite security experts. This is China's pride!
"We don't know if SMMH is an individual or a group, nor their true identity. But this event sends a message to all those smug computer experts worldwide. As an old Chinese saying goes: 'The greatest masters hide among the masses.'
"So, to those foreign experts who scoff, wearing tinted glasses and claiming China has no talent without evidence—until you've beaten SMMH, watch your words!"
Guan Pingchao's piece spread like wildfire across forums and portals, even landing on major website homepages. Enthusiastic Chinese netizens translated it into various languages, posting it on influential global sites and forums.
Seeing foreign experts tongue-tied, unable to argue against the hard facts, filled Chinese netizens with glee. This wasn't just satisfying—it was epic!
A rare victory!
SMMH had single-handedly taken on the world's security elite. When had a Chinese computer expert ever shone this brightly on the global stage?
Even during the 2001 Sino-U.S. hacker war, when Chinese hackers planted the five-star red flag on the White House site, American, Russian, and Japanese experts shrugged it off. To them, China won by sheer numbers—mobilizing hordes of netizens for shameless DDoS floods, clogging networks with junk data. It wasn't skill, they said, but inherited mob tactics.
This time, no one could argue. Even the loudest doubters claiming SMMH wasn't Chinese mostly shut up—except, of course, some Korean netizens insisting SMMH was from their "stick country."
To quote a certain director: "There's shameless, and then there's this level of shameless!"