After hearing the news, Le Zhengming hurried into the director's room with his staff.
Everyone's expression was solemn, anxious, and helpless. It wasn't just the livestreaming platform that was hacked; their campaign network was also. Moreover, this data stream was orchestrated, with a clear target. In other words, no matter which livestreaming platform they switched to, the data tsunami would follow them.
They have been surrounded by the fierce waves and become an isolated island.
To use a more vivid metaphor, if Le Zhengming's private network is a building, then all the entrances and exits of this building are blocked with cement, so people inside cannot get out and people outside cannot get in. This is the dilemma they are currently facing.
Le Zhengming's first campaign speech seemed to be interrupted before it even began.
Only Zhuang Li lowered his head to look at the computer screen, his ten fingers dancing quickly on the keyboard, without being disturbed at all.
"Don't worry, the livestream won't be affected," he explained without turning around. "It's a botnet. Hackers deploy Trojan programs around the world and use them to install malware on smart devices. Smart devices with malware installed won't malfunction during normal operation, but as soon as the hackers send a command to wake them up, they'll automatically send data to attack designated websites."
"The number of infected devices could be as few as a few thousand, or tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions. And they could be computers, digital video recorders, routers, CCTVs, even smart door locks, smart water heaters, and so on. Any intelligent device could be infected by malicious programs, spreading like a zombie virus at breakneck speed and over a vast area. That's why this controlled network is called a botnet."
"It's Zhu Jianrui," Zhuang Li said confidently. "I just measured it. The attack rate remained at 540 Gbps, with a peak of 940 Gbps. Such a high value can only be achieved by controlling 200,000 smart devices simultaneously. Besides me, only Zhu Jianrui has this capability."
"The military has installed a monitoring chip in him, so he shouldn't have access to the computer." An aide said in disbelief.
"I'll search for his signal and see where he is." Zhuang Li typed quickly on the keyboard.
"What should we do now?" another staff member asked anxiously.
"Go outside and memorize the script. The speech will start at 8 o'clock sharp. I won't let you be late." Zhuang Li took the time to look at Le Zhengming, his tone soothing.
"Okay." Le Zhengming really wanted to rub his furry head, but he had to restrain himself in front of everyone.
He also consoled her: "Don't feel pressured. If I can't solve it, I'll hold a press conference to apologize to the public. This is not your problem."
Both of them took heavy responsibilities on themselves, and were afraid that the other would not be able to withstand the pressure.
They looked at each other, their lips curled in tacit understanding, and then each went back to the task at hand, leaving their backs completely to each other. This trust seemed to be rooted in their bones.
Le Zhengming returned to the studio to memorize the script, occasionally picking up a pen to carefully revise certain sentences.
His staff could not sit still and walked into the director's room one after another to watch Zhuang Li's counterattack.
How do you find 200,000 hacked smart devices? They could be computers, cameras, routers, or anything else. They might not even have an IP address! They could be in China, the US, Country Y, Country R, Country H, or anywhere else!
Their presence is scattered in every corner of the world, but Zhuang Li has to find them all and shut them down one by one in just twenty minutes.
The difficulty of this task is enough to make these staff members who claim to be full of wisdom feel their scalps tingling just by thinking about it in their minds.
"Impossible! It can't be done! Master, you are bound to lose this time, alas~" 7480 sighed in Zhuang Li's mind.
It dragged out the ending tone for an extremely long and far distance, as if expressing regret for the host's first failure.
Zhuang Li asked nonchalantly, "How do you know it's impossible?"
"Finding 200,000 devices in 20 minutes, just do some simple multiplication and division, means you have to find 10,000 devices per minute, which is simply impossible! What's even more terrifying is that you have to shut them down while you're finding them. Breaking a minute into 60 seconds, and then breaking 60 seconds into 60,000 milliseconds, still isn't enough time. In a millisecond, you can't even type a single letter, let alone write long strings of code to attack those zombie devices."
7480 grew increasingly excited as he spoke, declaring, "Master, you're done! Surrender to the Child of Destiny!"
"Child of Destiny?" Zhuang Li keenly grasped the key point.
7480 was so proud of himself that he wanted to slap himself.
Zhuang Li understood and said, "So, Zhu Jianrui was chosen by the Lord God to plunder Le Zhengming's luck and replace him as the pillar of the world?"
7480 raised his short, fat hand and slapped himself on the mouth.
Zhuang Li curled his lips in interest. "Okay, I understand. From now on, I will take good care of this child of destiny. Please rest assured, Lord God."
7480 knelt down, clutching his chest. He couldn't be at ease, could he? He was having a heart attack!
As expected, Zhuang Li whispered devilishly as he tapped away at the keyboard, "Who said I have to find all these devices and shut them down? I just need to catch the hacker behind this and destroy his computer. I can resolve this crisis in the shortest possible time."
7480 stared at the host's computer nervously, fearing that he would defeat the Child of Destiny, but soon after, he let out an exaggerated sigh of relief: "Aha! You found Zhu Jianrui! But he stayed in the director's room and didn't touch the computer at all! What are you going to do now, Master?
"Among 200,000 devices, there is only one that is a controller. How do you identify it? Only 29 minutes are left, master. Come on, master!" 7480 jumped up and down in the small dark room, laughing happily and arrogantly.
Zhuang Li stared at Zhu Jianrui who was resting with his eyes closed in the small window, smiled strangely, then switched to another tracking program and continued the search.
Two minutes later, he chuckled and said, "System, you seem to have forgotten the black and white ghost card I hid last time? If Zhu Jianrui needs help, who do you think he will look for?"
7480: “…”
My heart suddenly ached! The person in the small window was Mima! He was unleashing a data tsunami! The six computers in front of him were going black one after another, and his hands were dancing across the keyboards, leaving afterimages, but he was powerless to turn the tide!
He was found, crushed, and defeated by the host!
Last time, the host hadn't forgotten him; rather, they'd deliberately left him a way out, installing a secret door next to Zhu Jianrui. Whenever necessary, the host could pass through this secret door and plunge a knife into Zhu Jianrui's back. The host had already seen through everything that had happened so long ago; his mind was truly terrifying!
7480 fell into despair again.
Zhuang Li tapped the Enter key lightly and murmured, "Done."
He easily ended the data tsunami. On his computer screen, the only remaining black and white joker card was flipped over. A man with half-long hair and heavy makeup was frantically smashing the keyboard and mouse. His once handsome face was now horrified beyond recognition.
At the same time, Le Zhengming's staff were shouting one after another: "My computer can log in!"
"Me too!"
"It's normal, it's normal! Everyone, take your positions! The live broadcast is about to begin!"
The ecstatic crowd looked up at the scoreboard, only to discover that they still had twenty-seven minutes to leave. In other words, Mr. Zhuang had managed to deal with such a massive data tsunami in just a few minutes!
"Mr. Zhuang, we're so glad you've joined our team. Thank you, thank you!" The staff gathered around him and stepped forward to shake Mr. Zhuang's hand, each feeling a surge of fear. What would have happened if they had insisted on rejecting Mr. Zhuang's offer?
Thinking of those powerful viruses and Trojans, those hard-to-defend spy devices, and this cyberattack, everyone couldn't help but shudder.
Without Mr. Zhuang, they would definitely lose!
Zhuang Li waved his hand and said, "You guys go down and get ready. I have things to do."
"Okay, okay, go ahead and do your thing." The staff wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads as they left the director's room.
Zhuang Li activated a control software on his computer's backend, slowly waking up the botnet he had deployed around Zhu Jianrui. Yes, he had done the same thing, and much earlier than the other party.
---
At the same moment, Zhu Jianrui, sitting in the director's studio, suddenly received a call. He put down the puppy he was holding, checked the caller ID, and walked to a less crowded corner. His expression, originally full of anticipation, turned extremely stiff after the call was connected.
The puppy walked around him, rubbing its little body against his calves, but it couldn't get his attention at all.
Gong Xuanqi, who was sitting nearby revising his speech, asked casually, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Zhu Jianrui gritted his teeth, not daring to show the slightest panic. But in fact, he was already panicking, his eyelids were twitching nervously.
Gong Xuanqi looked up at his nephew, his eyes filled with suspicion and scrutiny. Even a tiny expression caught his eye.
Zhu Jianrui began breathing in and out forcefully, his chest rising and falling as if a bomb was about to explode. He held it in for a long time before finally uttering a sentence thick with resentment: "Zhuang Li cut off my botnet."
"So fast?" Gong Xuanqi showed a surprised expression, and then ordered: "Then have your assistant launch another attack."
"It's impossible to launch another attack. He cut off all my data streams. I have completely lost contact with those devices. It will take a month to rebuild a botnet. It's too late." Zhu Jianrui held the phone tightly and admitted his failure again with a tone of gnashing hatred.
Gong Xuanqi silently pondered the name "Zhuang Li," a name he had once considered insignificant. He felt a pang of frustration. If he had known the other party was a world-class hacker, he would never have allowed his brother to destroy his family, leading to the current irreconcilable situation.
He looked at Zhu Jianrui, whose face was pale and distorted, and who was still unable to bear the blow of failure, and sighed in his heart: He really picked up sesame seeds and lost watermelons, which is a big loss.
"Forget it. If we fail this time, there will be next time. Let's prepare for the live broadcast." Gong Xuanqi rubbed his nephew's head with a kind tone and gentle expression, as if he didn't mind at all.
"Okay, I'll help you look at the manuscript." Zhu Jianrui picked up the puppy and forced a smile, but his pupils were filled with overwhelming pain.
I lost to Zhuang Li again! Why? Why? He kept asking himself, gradually becoming obsessed.
The timer counts down every minute and every second.
With only one minute left, Gong Xuanqi placed the manuscript on the podium and looked at a camera in front of him with loving eyes.
The director raised his hand and waited silently. When eight o'clock arrived, he would lower his hand and turn the live camera to the people of the country, so his eyes could not leave the scoreboard for a second.
Everyone was looking at him, including Zhu Jianrui.
"Live broadcast begins!" The director put down his hand, and the images captured by the camera were transmitted to the Internet at a high speed with a delay of 1 millisecond.
Gong Xuanqi's elegant and handsome face appeared in the live broadcast room, and just as he smiled a heartwarming smile, he disappeared completely into the black screen. He was offline!
Holy shit, such an important speech, and he actually went offline? Is his team idiotic? Are you kidding me? This is a presidential election, not a celebrity talent show! Even a celebrity talent show wouldn't have such a low-level livestreaming mishap! It's so unprofessional!
All netizens had this thought. They kept trying to log in, only to fail again and again, their screens hanging in front of them like they were dead. Some gave up after trying once or twice, while others persisted for several minutes before finally giving up.
They flocked to Le Zhengming's livestream to watch the presidential candidate's speech, and were surprised to discover—Huh? He seems pretty good! He looks so majestic in his military uniform!
No one knew how chaotic Gong Xuanqi's team was.
Chapter 75 The Story of the Takeover Man 25┃Zhu Jianrui: Did I do so much just to make Zhuang Li laugh at me?
Gong Xuanqi, who always schemed against others and succeeded repeatedly, never thought that he would encounter the same situation. He was being schemed against, and on such an important occasion!
He tried to put on a relaxed and amiable smile, waving at the overwhelmed staff. "Don't worry, take your time. It's just a temporary equipment malfunction. It will be fixed soon. How about we try a different livestream room?"
The staff member said with a cold sweat: "All the live broadcast rooms are inaccessible. The live broadcast platform's server is not responding."
Gong Xuanqi's smile faltered slightly, but he still maintained his approachable demeanor: "Then let's change the live streaming platform."
The staff quickly contacted another live broadcast platform.
The live streaming platform boss naturally didn’t dare to refuse these officials. One second he trembled and agreed, but the next second he panicked and apologized: “Sorry, sorry, our live streaming room is also unavailable!”
Gong Xuanqi waved his hand decisively: "Change again!"
The staff expressed their gratitude and apology to the CEO and regretfully canceled the cooperation. However, before they hung up the phone, the CEO said in surprise, "It seems that I can log in normally now."
"Then let's start straight..."
Before the staff member could finish his words, the boss said, "It's offline! It's offline! Now I can't log in again! What's going on with the server today? It's really weird."
The staff realized something, thanked him again, and insisted on canceling the cooperation. They didn't dare to use such an unstable platform.
Soon, they found another live streaming platform. Just as they reached a partnership, their servers crashed. After they canceled the deal, everything returned to normal. This happened several times, as if an invisible ghost was watching Gong Xuanqi's team closely, poised to sabotage their plans.
Wherever they went, the ghost would close the door and cut off the road, leaving them with no way to enter and no way to go.
Such brutal means and precise retaliation are a repeat of the MIK incident.
"It was Zhuang Li who initiated the DDOS attack. I'll call Jiang Yi and ask him to help me turn off the monitoring chip. I'll try to hack into Zhuang Li's computer." Zhu Jianrui said gritting his teeth.
Gong Xuanqi was not surprised by this conclusion, he just nodded solemnly.
Zhu Jianrui struggled for a long time before continuing, "Our team has been monitored by him. He knows everything we do and say immediately. Otherwise, he wouldn't have carried out such precise attacks on us."
Gong Xuanqi's pupils trembled, and for the first time, he showed a look of shock. He knew that Zhuang Li's skills were superior to Zhu Jianrui's, and he also knew that he was probably the most powerful hacker in the world. However, knowing was one thing, and experiencing it firsthand was another.
It feels completely different when the hacker is thousands of miles away and can understand all his movements, obstruct his every campaign, and even cut off all his escape routes.
Gong Xuanqi, who always liked to play with others in the palm of his hand, realized for the first time that being played with in the palm of someone's hand could be so torturous, painful, anxious and panicky.
He could no longer maintain the fake smile on his face and said coldly, "What's wrong with you? We're being monitored, why didn't you notice at all? Find out his surveillance methods and destroy them! Quickly!"
Zhu Jianrui did not dare to refute a word and accelerated the negotiation with Jiang Yi. However, only he himself knew how strong the frustration and humiliation in his heart was at this moment.
Gong Xuanqi also began to get anxious. Before this, he had not even taken Zhuang Li seriously.
Zhu Jianrui's monitoring chip was remotely disabled by Jiang Yi. He immediately scooped up the puppy at his feet, preventing it from wandering off, then turned on his computer and plunged into this silent war.
He harbored an urgent desire for revenge and destruction, but he had no ability to control such ambitions.
He attacked the layers of firewalls, but after more than ten minutes, he failed to break through even the first layer, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Gong Xuanqi leaned over to look at his computer, only to see a line of bright red text pop up on the screen: [Hello, little friend.]
Without a doubt, this was a greeting from Zhuang Li. While Zhu Jianrui was grappling with his opponent, giving his all, he was casually greeting him. This showed the huge gap in their abilities.
In Zhuang Li's eyes, the highly skilled Zhu Jianrui is just a "kid".
Zhu Jianrui's hands, which were frantically typing on the keyboard, began to tremble uncontrollably, and he wrote a few wrong lines of code, causing the complete collapse of his own system.
Gong Xuanqi looked at the computer screen that kept flashing the word "Warning" and finally cursed out what he had been suppressing in his heart for a long time, "Useless trash!"
He straightened up, not even glancing at Zhu Jianrui, and quickly gave his team an order: "Immediately post a message on my personal website saying I'm unwell and have to cancel this speech. Xiao Tan, take me to the hospital, and the news crew will follow to take pictures."
Zhu Jianrui, realizing that he had been rejected, was completely frozen in place. The extreme pain and panic made him unable to type even a single letter.
He tried to do something to highlight his importance, to ensure he was still useful to the Gong family, but his mind was completely blank and he lost all ability to think. Recalling the days when Zhuang Li treated him like an ordinary child, and comparing it to the hypocritical family relationship of exchanging interests, he suddenly realized that the road ahead was not paved with flowers, but rather thorns.
He sat in front of the computer blankly, looking at the message full of ridicule - [Hello, little friend.]
I'm not okay! I'm going crazy! Zhuang Li, is this what you want?
Zhu Jianrui slowly hugged his head, lowered it, clenched his teeth, and let out a cry like a trapped animal. The puppy lying in his arms also whimpered.
At this moment, the press officer who had followed Gong Xuanqi to the door of the director's studio suddenly cried out, "Mr. Gong, this is bad! We can't access our personal website anymore!"
"What did you say?" Gong Xuanqi suddenly stopped and growled: "Change your account or your phone, quick!"
They all knew that every minute and every second was more precious than gold. His absence from the speech was already a fait accompli. If the campaign team couldn't provide a reasonable explanation to the public as quickly as possible, it would become a thorn in the heart of every voter who supported Gong Xuanqi.
Their discontent and distrust will simmer in their hearts, eventually becoming an internal driving force to abstain from voting. No one knows when this driving force will erupt, but as long as it exists, it will be dangerous for Gong Xuanqi.
A presidential election is like a life-and-death battle, where any small detail can determine success or failure.
"Have you boarded it?" Gong Xuanqi asked with a grim face.
"We can't log in. Our website server is down, and none of our mobile phones or computers work," the press officer said in a cold sweat.
Everyone's phones and computers are unusable, leaving them isolated and cut off from the world outside. Their messages can't be conveyed to the outside world, and the outside world's feedback is also blocked. They're now hopeless and at a loss.
Information technology has brought many conveniences to humanity, but it also leaves us stranded without it. Just like Gong Xuanqi right now: he wants to livestream, but the footage won't reach him; he wants to apologize, but the message can't be sent; he wants to put on a show, but there's no platform for him to showcase it.
He pulled a handkerchief from his suit pocket and wiped his forehead calmly, trying to maintain a steady voice: "Contact the radio station and see if we can make an apology on the radio."
However, radio stations have long been replaced by more advanced information technology. Their audience is small, and aside from drivers on the road, few people would be bothered to listen to the babbling sounds coming from a black box. This means that the vast majority of the public will not be able to hear Gong Xuanqi's apology in a timely manner.
But this is no longer a solution.
The press officer said tremblingly, "Mr. Gong, none of our cell phones are working. I have to borrow someone else's phone to call the radio station. This will lead to a security loophole. Do you agree?"
"Will there be no security loopholes if we use our own mobile phones?" Gong Xuanqi asked with red eyes. At the same time, his cold gaze swept over Zhu Jianrui who was still sitting in front of the computer.
Everyone also looked at Zhu Jianrui, with doubts and even complaints in their eyes.
There is no doubt that their internal network was built by this genius boy himself, and he once boasted that it would never be hacked.
The words were still fresh in my mind, but reality had completely reversed. This was the case with the so-called genius boy.
The press officer hurried outside to borrow a cell phone from the live broadcast platform staff. But she had obviously forgotten that radio stations now also have a large number of computer equipment, which means that they will also be paralyzed by the data tsunami.
Ten minutes later, the press officer returned, her expression shifting from anxiety to despair. She bit her lower lip and shook her head at Gong Xuanqi, not daring to say a word.
Gong Xuanqi tried to soothe the employee with a gentle, loving smile, but he couldn't even move his lips. His elegant, handsome face was now as stiff as stone, and the heavy feeling of powerlessness weighed on his heart, making him feel suffocated.
He slowly sat down in a chair, pressing his feet hard against the ground to stop his legs from shaking uncontrollably. He waved his hands and tried to say something, but his throat tightened and he lost the ability to speak. He came from a distinguished family and was extremely capable. He could succeed in anything he set his mind to, almost step by step, smoothly reaching the pinnacle of his life.
However, when he stretched out his hand to grab the final fruits of victory, he was tripped by an ant that he had ignored under his feet. The scene was so ridiculous!
He never imagined that provoking this ant would bring so much trouble. But he could have avoided all of this. If only he hadn't let his brother destroy Zhuang Li's family, if only he hadn't brought Zhu Jianrui back...
Thinking of this, Gong Xuanqi looked at Zhu Jianrui who was sitting in front of the computer with a cold gaze.
Zhu Jianrui was horrified and immediately pleaded, "Uncle, I'll help you think of a solution. Please be patient and don't be anxious."
He must not be abandoned by the Gong family! Otherwise, what is the point of him doing so much?
Is it to make Zhuang Li laugh at himself?
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