Controllable "Destructive" Virus

Yun Jingheng leaned against the door frame, his hands in his pockets, watching the panda bow again and again.

The lights in the corridor were still flickering, one beat after another, like a heartbeat.

From afar came shouts and curses coming from upstairs.

Yun Jingheng listened to those sounds, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

Helpless? If only you had even the slightest ability to resist...

I overestimated you.

He gently shook his head, looking at the progress on the data screen.

99%

The progress has stopped on its own; he only needs a few clicks to completely destroy Shrek's data network.

He straightened up from the door frame, took his hand out of his pocket, and took out another light blue USB drive from his Storage Soul Tool.

Then he took out a palm-sized device, square and rectangular, like a cell phone from his previous life, but thicker. It had a soul guide core embedded on the back and a transparent touch screen on the front.

This was something he made before, but he hadn't used it much.

He inserted the USB drive into the terminal interface, the screen lit up briefly, and a message popped up. "Loading...".

He waited two seconds, and the words on the screen changed to "Loading complete".

"Have you completed the final step?"

"No."

"Please issue the instructions..."

He swiped his fingers across the touchscreen a few times, opening an interface.

The interface displays only one line of text: "Mecha Warehouse Control System".

He tapped it, and another line of text popped up on the screen. "Connecting...".

"Connection successful."

A progress bar appeared on the screen, much faster than the one on the door, completing in less than a second.

Then a line of green text pops up. "License intercepted successfully, highest license."

He smiled slightly, put away the terminal, leaving only the USB flash drive plugged into the interface module on the door panel.

He reached out and knocked twice on the door. "Open the door."

A long beep came from inside the door.

The panda disappeared, and the image on the screen changed to a green checkmark with the words "Verification successful, access control unlocked" written below.

Sea God Pavilion.

Yun Ming was sitting at the table looking at the files, his pen scribbling on the paper.

The door was pushed open, Tang Yinmeng stood in the doorway, her expression not looking good.

"Pavilion Master, something has happened to the Soul Guidance Department." Yun Ming raised his head.

"What is it?" Tang Yinmeng walked in and handed him a report.

"The data firewall has been breached. All the computers, communicators, and soul-guided projectors in the entire academy have been hacked by an unknown program. A black and white bear appeared on the screen, holding three incense sticks and praying."

Yun Ming took the report, stood up, and asked, "When did this happen?"

Tang Yinmeng took a deep breath. "Ten minutes ago, in an instant, everything with a screen went out of control."

"According to the report... it seems to be Jing Heng who did it."

Yun Ming paused for a moment. "Jing Heng?"

Tang Yinmeng nodded. "The surveillance footage shows that he entered the Soul Guidance Teaching Building ten minutes ago and went to the basement."

Yun Ming put down his pen, stood up, and turned to walk towards the door.

Tang Yinmeng followed behind, "Pavilion Master, Dean Cai has already gone over, as have Elder Feng and Elder Zhuoshi."

Yun Ming didn't speak, but narrowed his eyes and walked towards the Soul Guidance Department.

Tang Yinmeng followed behind him, the two of them one in front and one behind, neither of them speaking.

A crowd had already gathered at the entrance of the Soul Guidance Teaching Building.

As Yun Ming approached, the crowd automatically parted to make way for him.

Yun Ming walked into the hall. Cai Yue'er stood by the counter, arms crossed, looking at the panda still worshipping on the computer screen with a complicated expression.

Zhuo Shi, Feng Wuyu stood quietly to the side without saying a word. This kid had caused a really big mess this time.

Seeing Yun Ming enter, Cai Yue'er looked up. "It was your son who did it. I haven't even tried any methods to solve it. If we can't resolve it... Shrek's database will collapse, and then..."

Yun Ming to the computer and looked at the black and white bear.

Where is he?

Cai Yue'er gestured with her chin towards the end of the corridor, "Basement level, the elevator is out of service."

Yun Ming glanced at Cai Yue'er but didn't say anything.

He walked to the elevator door and pressed the button.

The elevator isn't working.

He took a step back, raised his hand, and a ball of silvery-white light condensed in his palm.

Soul Power flowed through his fingertips, growing brighter and brighter until it was blinding.

He slammed his hand on the elevator door.

"Boom--!"

Yun Jingheng paused in his actions and turned to look in the direction of the elevator.

The sound of the explosion still echoed in the corridor, and smoke and dust billowed in from the elevator shaft.

He squinted and tightened his grip on the screwdriver.

Hmm... could it be Dad?

He thought about it and felt it was very likely.

Should he hurry up?

I'll get yelled at if he finds out I disassembled the leg armor of the Black-Grade Mecha, right?

He glanced down at the black leg armor beside him; its circuitry was denser, its alloy harder, and it felt heavy in his hand.

He only wanted to take a look at the transmission structure inside; since he'd already taken it apart, it wouldn't make sense not to put it back together.

Hurry up and put it back!

He picked up the leg armor, aligned it with the mech's knee joint, and locked it in.

The position is wrong, exit and try again.

Still not right, so I exited again.

He took a deep breath, squatted down, carefully examined the slot on the interface, then realigned it and pushed hard.

With a "click," the leg armor got stuck.

He picked up the screwdriver and quickly tightened the screws. After tightening the last screw, he put the cover back on, clapped his hands, and stood up.

Then he turned around and looked towards the elevator entrance.

The smoke and dust cleared.

Yun Ming stood at the edge of the elevator shaft, the hem of his robe still fluttering.

Cai Yue'er stood behind him, arms crossed, her expression unreadable.

Five people stood in the corridor, looking at Yun Jingheng.

Yun Jingheng also looked at them, his expression calm, as if nothing had happened.

With his hand behind his back, he quietly slipped a screwdriver into his Storage Soul Tool.

"Jing Heng, what are you doing?"

"Oh, it's nothing, just looking at the mechs."

"Looking at the mechs?" Cai Yue'er glanced around at the White-Grade Mecha nearby. "Aren't these enough?"

"We have to see something different, don't we?"

"Bang--!"

The five people's gazes fell on the area at Yun Jingheng's feet.

Yun Jingheng sighed softly, glanced down at it, then picked it up and forcefully shoved it in.

"This thing isn't very stable."

Cai Yue'er: "... Do you know what you've done?"

"I know."

Yun Ming walked out of the elevator shaft and stood in front of the door.

He looked at the interface module hanging on the door panel, then at the still-flashing green checkmark, and then looked down at the light blue USB flash drive inserted into the interface.

He reached out his hand, trying to pull it off.

"Dad, don't touch that."

Yun Ming's hand paused. "Huh?"

"If you pull out that USB drive, the Shrek database will be forcibly destroyed. The reason the process is at 99% is to leave room for choice."

Yun Ming's hand hovered in mid-air, less than an inch above the USB flash drive.

He turned to look at Yun Jingheng, "Explain in more detail?"

Yun Jingheng took the terminal out of his pocket. The screen was still lit up, and the interface displayed the words "License intercepted successfully".

He swiped his finger across the touchscreen a few times, opening a new interface—a red button next to which read "Terminate Intrusion".

He looked up at Yun Ming. "I wrote this data virus. It currently controls Shrek's data firewall, but only 99% of it. The last door hasn't been opened yet."

He paused for a moment, then said, "If I click this button, the program will automatically exit, and the entire system will return to normal."

"If the USB drive is forcibly removed, the program will identify it as an external attack and immediately execute a preset command—formatting all databases."

The corridor fell silent for a moment, then Cai Yue'er's expression changed drastically.

Yun Ming silently withdrew his hand. "So... it's controllable?"

Yun Jingheng nodded affirmatively, "Controllable."

Yun Ming seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"How did you design such a thing...?"

"I learned it from books."

Yun Ming looked at him and asked, "What kind of book teaches this?"

"Third floor of the Soul Guidance Department library, second shelf from the left, seventh book from the right: <Fundamentals of Soul Guidance Core Programming>."

Cai Yue'er took a deep breath. "I've flipped through that book. It doesn't teach people how to write viruses."

Yun Jingheng nodded, "Yes. But the principles behind it can be applied elsewhere."

Yun Ming stared at him for two seconds, then turned to look at Cai Yue'er.

Cai Yue'er crossed her arms, her expression strange. "Don't look at me. I can't even do it myself."

Yun Ming withdrew his gaze and looked at Yun Jingheng again.

How long did it take you to make this?

Yun Jingheng thought for a moment, "Three days or four days, I forgot."

Yun Ming's lips twitched.

Has it been tested?

"Tested."

Where was it tested?

"In my room, using my own computer."

Yun Ming took another deep breath. "You're Shrek's data firewall as a test subject?"

Yun Jingheng shook his head. "No. I just wanted to see what was behind the door. The program spread automatically; I just didn't stop it."

Yun Ming pinched the bridge of his nose.

Was it a mistake to take him in?

I have a feeling I'm going to be driven mad with anger someday.

"Shut it down if you can; things are in complete chaos up there."

"Good."