165: Chapter 164 Invasion 165: Chapter 164 Invasion When he turned to the eighth page, his gaze involuntarily stalled, the handwriting on the eighth page was still identical to his, but the content had changed.
It contained only one line of small characters: “Liu, 300w, help with the bid.”
Perhaps outsiders would not recognize the significance of these words, but he understood all too well.
Initially, a boss had secretly given him a 300w check asking him for assistance with a project bid.
That check was still kept at his home, but how could Dong Linze ever write these things in a notebook?
He did not remember ever writing such things in his notebook.
Who had forged this notebook?
And who else knew the inside story of the matter?
Countless questions surfaced in Dong Linze’s mind.
If he was brought down, who would benefit?
Could it be the deputy director he had competed against for so many years?
In reality, Dong Linze suspected the wrong person.
When Zhao Yan had gotten her hands on that notebook, she had already started to lay her trap.
She hired craftsmen from the Martial World, who had no other skills but were unparalleled in forging others’ handwriting.
Using the information she had secretly gathered, she had written such a notebook.
Then there was the negotiation with a woman named Xiao Li.
Zhao Yan personally arranged for Hua Manlou, an ally from the “Woman’s Friend,” to seduce this woman in a bar.
Surprisingly, the target took the bait easily.
Once Hua Manlou proposed the plan, the agreement was settled faster than anyone else.
As Dong Linze flipped further back, his anxiety and confusion only grew.
The notebook contained not only evidence of his bribery but also expressions of his grievances towards the government and society.
This was serious; being corrupt was one thing—higher-ups might still protect you for it—but criticizing the government?
The higher-ups could only say that such a person lacked awareness and needed re-education.
The so-called re-education was quite straightforward—it either meant stripping him of all his positions or sending him directly to prison for reformation.
Neither of these options appealed to Dong Linze, who, after much scheming, had climbed to his current position.
How could he let a notebook cause him to fall into the Abyss, never to rise again?
So, Dong Linze looked up earnestly at Feng Jiean and said, “Let me make a phone call.”
“Sure, you can call anyone you like,” Feng Jiean said casually, as if Dong Linze hadn’t done anything wrong.
Dong Linze was shocked by Feng Jiean’s response, especially because the man known politically as King Feng was generally not so easygoing.
Dong Linze unlocked his phone and dialed the number of someone powerful.
After the call was answered, only silence followed.
Hesitating, Dong Linze said, “Someone is framing me.”
“I can’t help you now.
That’s all,” the person on the other end said coldly before hanging up.
Dong Linze held onto the phone until it automatically locked, oblivious to the fact.
He felt as if the sky had shattered and the heavens were hailing.
Standing in the midst of this metaphorical hail, with a chill seizing his body and soul, Dong Linze realized the influential figure he had always relied on was now abandoning him.
What would his future hold?
How should he handle today’s situation?
Was he really going to be brought down?
“Now, Director Dong, can you answer my question?
Are you involved in this matter?” Feng Jiean seized the moment when Dong Linze was distracted and asked loudly.
“Sigh, talking more now is useless.
Director Feng, please do as you see fit,” Dong Linze said, seeming to age a decade in that moment, slumping into his chair powerlessly.
Song Yun, still unaware of how smoothly things were progressing, was currently driving to the old district of Sunan City.
After locating a dilapidated courtyard, Song Yun parked the car, got out, and pushed open the gate.
The yard looked desolate with overgrown weeds.
After pushing open a door, Song Yun watched a slender young man fervently working on a computer and smiled, “Did you find anything?”
“Of course, who do you think I am?” the youth said, lifting his head and adjusting his glasses.
“Right, Dong Linze’s eldest son’s trading company is significant.
It’s the second-largest maritime trading company in Sunan City, called Totem Maritime Trading,” the youth continued.
“Totem has operations globally and made numerous successful investments and assistance from its inception.
I’m sure this has something to do with Dong Linze.”
The youth’s fingers flew over the keyboard, sending strings of code across the screen.
He was about to breach Totem’s internal network to search for evidence.
“How long will this hacking take?” Song Yun offered the youth a cigarette.
The young man took a deep drag, looked at the cigarette in his hand, and smiled, “Nice, exclusive supply cigarettes.”
“If you help me find the documents I need, you can smoke whatever you want from now on,” Song Yun said nonchalantly.
“Hehe, breaking into a network guarded by numerous servers of a conglomerate isn’t easy.
But for what you just promised, I’ll give it my all,” the youth declared before pulling out a USB from his pocket and plugging it into the computer.
After launching many custom-made firewall-breaching programs from the USB, he began a full-scale attack.
Although the actual hacking process was brief, it required rapid operational speed and great focus.
A single code error would derail the entire attack.
Meanwhile, inside the server room of Totem, several computer science graduates had already detected the breach.
This only hastened the youth’s actions, turning his assault ferocious, leaving no chance for the employees to counter.
In just a few minutes, ten servers in the room had been breached.
More critically, at that moment in the office of Totem Group’s building, from lower staff up to the general manager, hundreds of computers became mere “zombies.”
“What’s going on!” demanded a supervisor, arriving with a grim face.
Inside the server room, a dozen engineers, dripping with sweat, were too busy to respond.
Instead, an intern who had alerted the superiors said anxiously, “Our servers have been invaded, and we’ve been hacked.”
“Invaded?” The supervisor’s face changed, pushed the intern aside, stood behind an engineer’s computer, and then shouted, “What are you doing?
You’re useless at a critical moment.
What do we even hire you for!”
“The opponent came too quickly and was too cunning.
We couldn’t stop them,” an engineer responded as he typed frantically, as if talking to himself more than answering.
The supervisor, hearing this, widened his eyes and yelled, “It’s just one person?
And so many of you can’t fend them off?”
The group’s faces displayed shame, and they continued their struggle silently, which only frustrated the supervisor further.
He grabbed an engineer, “Tell me, how long to fix this?”
The engineer glanced nervously at the servers and stuttered, “Maybe half an hour.”
“Half an hour?” the supervisor exclaimed, then roared even louder, “A stranger roams freely in our network for half an hour?
Do you understand how much confidential data we could lose and the severe consequences it could have for our company?”
“Half an hour is already being optimistic.
We really are doing our best,” the engineer replied.