American ABS TV station.
The famous talk show host Doug Landau suddenly asked a question at the end of the commercial:
Did you show today?
What is ShowMe?
What is the social era?
Doug, with his signature big belly shaking, briefly introduced this Internet product in a humorous tone. Once it was broadcast, it caused quite a stir.
In front of the TV, Luke sipped his coffee, but his heart was bleeding. Two hundred thousand in ten seconds, it was too dark.
"Charlie, how's the market feedback?"
"It's already in the top 100 US search rankings and is still rising. I estimate it will stabilize at around 70."
"Too low."
"Tell Phil (ABS Program Director) that I want a one-minute commercial break on the talk show next week."
"We don't have that kind of budget."
"How much money does the company have left?"
Charlie reluctantly said, "There's only 510,000 left. After deducting daily expenses, this month's salary is not enough. I suggest that the advertising matter be put on hold."
"Need not."
Luke rubbed his teacup and said calmly, "Prepare a 300,000 yuan advertising budget and contact Fili next Thursday. He won't refuse."
"But…"
"Charlie!" Luke interrupted him. "Trust me, the funding chain will be fine."
"Okay, boss."
Charlie nodded and stopped discussing the subject.
"What are your plans for today?"
"Board meeting at 10 a.m., opening ceremony at Times Square at 1 p.m., internal R&D meeting at 3 p.m."
"Call Solanke. I can't go to the opening ceremony. The R&D meeting and the board meeting have been postponed to tomorrow."
Charlie hesitated and said, "Then today..."
"Get your things ready and come with me to meet some people."
…
Ten o'clock in the morning, in a basement somewhere in Metropolitan Queens.
Luke crossed his arms and looked up and down at the young white man in front of him. The young man was about 23 or 24 years old, wearing a baseball cap, with sunken eye sockets and a pale face. It was obvious that he often stayed up late.
"Zack Berg?"
"Who are you?"
The young man looked at the people who broke in with caution. The security situation in Queens has always been poor, and criminal cases such as burglary and robbery occur frequently.
"Don't be nervous, we are not a gang or a biker gang."
Luke found a chair and sat down, opened the folder,
"Zucksberg, a computer genius, deliberately hacked into the Federal Reserve's central banking system at the age of 17 to look for security vulnerabilities. In the following months, he used his advanced hacking skills to steal $400,000 in bank funds without anyone noticing. Later, he was caught by the FBI after a drunken gaffe..."
Luke closed the file.
"Is it worth wasting two years in jail just for $400,000?"
The young man said with an ugly face,
"Who are you?"
"Luke Xiao, founder of ShowMe."
"Show Me?"
Zack looked skeptical. As a top hacker, he was certainly aware of the latest popular social media apps, but he couldn't believe that this kid had founded them. How old was he? Seventeen?
Luke pointed to the computer on the table.
"There's a photo of me on the official website, check it out yourself."
Zack clicked on ShowMe's official website and saw Luke's photo prominently displayed on the homepage.
"It's really you!"
"What do you want from me?"
Luke waved his hand, "Bring the stuff here."
Charlie and another employee placed two laptop computers on the table. The computers were purple-black in color, with a racing car design and the Transistor logo engraved on the front. They were the Black Crystal III - Storm, a limited edition laptop computer with the world's top configuration. Zack had been coveting them for a long time, but unfortunately he had no money.
"What does this... mean?"
"I heard you're a computer genius. Coincidentally, I am one too. Let's have a competition. If you win, I'll give you the Black Crystal computer. If I win, I'll start working at my company tomorrow and be the technical director of ShowMe."
"What a joke!"
"Is it like I'm kidding you?"
Zack was a little confused, and after a while he said uncertainly,
"You...you're not serious!"
"What? Don't want to go to work? Don't want to make money? Or are you not confident in your skills?"
"Of course I have confidence."
When it comes to hacking skills, Zack has never been defeated by anyone. "Tell me, how do we compare?"
"Pick what you're best at."
Zack was amused. "Okay, hack into the FBI's foreign affairs network and get the code. Do you dare?"
Luke said strangely, "Aren't you afraid that the FBI will cause trouble for you?"
Zack said proudly, "I won't leave any clues."
"Okay, I'll do as you say."
After plugging in the power and connecting the internet cable, the two of them sat at the computer and the competition began.
Zack skillfully opened the VB language and began to write the invasion program. Luke sat opposite him, yawning boredly. When the first subroutine was completed, there was still no action. Zack could not help but frown.
"Are you going to give in?"
"I'll give you ten minutes."
Zack sneered, his face full of disdain.
Soon, ten minutes passed.
Luke took off his coat and threw it into Charlie's arms. He looked extremely focused, as if he had become a different person. His ten fingers flew across the keyboard, and the clicking sounds almost formed a straight line.
Zack took a moment to glance at it and was so shocked that he couldn't speak. It was too fast. He had never seen such a fast typing speed. The fingers moved so quickly that they almost turned into phantoms.
This guy is a master!
I felt it in my heart and never dared to be careless again.
…
At the FBI headquarters building, employees in charge of cybersecurity rushed to the director's office.
"Director, we're under attack."
After that, he opened his laptop and projected the signal onto the big screen. A panoramic world map appeared, with dense red dots flashing on it.
"There are a total of 185 intrusion signals from Oslo, Stockholm, Cape Town, Mumbai, New Delhi, London, Gotham, Metropolis, Brasilia, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Munich, Paris, etc."
Roger Consius loosened his tie and said indifferently, "Are we against the world?"
The employee didn't bother to wipe the sweat off his face and said quickly,
"Falsifying IP addresses is a common technique used by top hackers. Just checking them one by one will reveal the authenticity."
"How long will it take?"
The employee's forehead was covered with sweat, and his voice became hoarse.
"Three...thirty minutes."
Roger took a deep breath. He really couldn't stand these stupid subordinates anymore.
"Ten minutes. In ten minutes, I want to see every bit of information about that bastard. His family, address, job, education... I want to know everything."
The employee nodded vigorously and turned to leave.
A battle between the FBI and top hackers began. It didn't last long, only a few tens of seconds. The red dot on the big screen disappeared, and the employee who had just left ran back excitedly.
"We won, we won."
Roger quickly stood up, "Who is he?"
"We didn't find any personal information, but we tracked down the IP address. Here..." The employee put a piece of paper with geographic coordinates on the table.
38°53′52″N, 77°02′11″W!
After just one glance, Roger's icy face immediately turned purple, and he hissed, suppressing the anger in his heart,
"Do you know where this is?"
The employee shook his head blankly.
"You're a bunch of idiots! Can't you see this is the White House? You're telling me people from the White House are invading the FBI? Are you a pig?"
Taking a deep breath, he roared,
"Find that bastard at all costs. This is your last chance. If you can't find him, don't come to work tomorrow."