Inside the cockpit, the old Captain, beaming, verified his identity through the fingerprint and retinal dual-lock, granting full root administrator access to the ship’s intelligent system.
The young man sat at the control console and logged in as the administrator.
His slender fingers flew across the keyboard. As line after line of code flashed on the screen, the Captain’s expression grew increasingly grave.
The young man stated, “It’s the Locke Virus.”
The Captain looked puzzled. “The ship’s defense systems have always been comprehensive. How could it suddenly be hit by a virus attack, causing the power grid to collapse?”
His reply was cool and detached. “Your claim that the defense system is ‘comprehensive’ is something I don’t agree with. This ship’s intelligent system is currently running version 7.7. It’s been in use for half a year. If someone managed to obtain a data copy of the system, crafting a bypass is trivial. Furthermore… the standard defense net of this system has no chance against the sophistication of the Locke Virus.”
He spoke quickly while continuing to hammer out lengthy code sequences, his ten fingers as nimble as dancers.
The scrolling red error lines on the screen were rapidly and visibly being purged, replaced line by line with clean, blue standard code.
The Captain’s eyes were dazzled by the blur of those pale, nimble fingers. He was awash with astonishment. After the energy relay was compromised, the ship’s senior engineers had spent ages diagnosing the issue and attempting repairs without success. Yet this young man before him had identified the problem within a dozen seconds, and in half a minute, had fully restored a deeply complex, compromised system. He truly was…
The young man abruptly stood. “It’s done.”
Almost before the words had finished leaving his mouth, the lights in the cabin all turned back on.
The Captain was so grateful, he looked about ready to weep. “Thank you, truly, thank you so much! If you hadn’t been aboard this ship, we have no idea how many hours it would have taken us to deal with this virus…”
“Don’t mention it.” The young man’s voice remained level. “The crack for the Locke Virus will be distributed to your airline shortly. Once we land, I’ll dispatch someone to install your newest intelligent system update. As for calming the passengers… I’ll leave that to you, Captain.”
The Captain bobbed his head. “Of course, of course. I will do everything I can to compensate them.”
The young man nodded. “Then I’ll be going.”
—
As he exited the cockpit, he spotted the person from before, waiting there with a smile in his eyes.
A slight frown touched the young man’s face. “You’re still here?”
Luo Fei smiled as he looked at him. “I wanted to stick around and see if you were really as good as you claimed, that you could fix the Captain’s problem.”
The young man’s gaze rested calmly on Luo Fei’s eyes. “And?”
Luo Fei met the gaze directly. “And I discovered you were even more incredible than you claimed. Restoring such a complex ship’s intelligent system… in only thirty-five seconds.”
No trace of emotion flickered through the young man’s demeanor. “Thank you for the compliment.”
He turned to leave.
Luo Fei quickly fell into step beside him. “Could we be friends?”
The young man shook his head. “No. I don’t think we’ll have the opportunity to meet again.”
Rejected to his face, Luo Fei wasn’t angered, merely shrugging it off. “Alright. I don’t like pushing people. But if we meet again… I hope you’ll change your mind.”
They parted ways at the intersection. The young man headed for the luxury cabins on the third deck, while Luo Fei made his way down to the second-deck dining hall to find food.
The blackout had sent a ripple of angry discontent through the ship. Passengers were loudly complaining about the equipment quality. When Luo Fei reached the dining hall, it was a scene of complete chaos. The sudden blackout had caused spills, people bumping into each other, staining clothes and hair. A man standing nearby had noodles plastered all over his chest, looking utterly bedraggled.
Then the Captain’s holographic projection appeared on the main dining hall screen.
The old Captain bowed deeply to the assembled crowd. In a gentle, placating voice, he announced, “Dear passengers, our sincerest apologies. Due to the failure in the ship’s auxiliary power system, you have experienced significant inconvenience. To compensate for your trouble, all food and beverages for the remainder of this voyage are complimentary. Please, enjoy yourselves.”
The offer of free food temporarily quelled the passengers’ ire.
Aside from a few stained outfits and stepped-on toes, no severe injuries or incidents had occurred. The passengers grumbled a bit, then dispersed, picking up trays to hunt for food.
Luo Fei found a sparsely populated corner and sat down for lunch.
Even as he chewed his excellent meal, his mind couldn’t help replaying the image of the masked young man from earlier.
That person radiated mystery from every pore. His identity was an enigma. The terrifying speed with which he’d repaired the system—thirty-five seconds—had genuinely impressed Luo Fei.
Luo Fei had heard of elite-level hackers who could infiltrate optical computers and steal data without the owner ever realizing.
In this era, life and the network were inextricably linked, making network security paramount.
Last summer, the Imperial Parliament had passed revisions to the cybercrime laws, adding harsher penalties for high-tech network crimes which posed a massive threat to public security. This was especially true for large corporations; the loss incurred by the theft of company secrets was incalculable.
He hadn’t heard any recent news reports of major cyber attacks, yet today, an attack happened on a civilian spaceship.
What surprised Luo Fei most was that the person who resolved the crisis wasn’t a senior shipboard engineer, but a mysterious young man.
He seemed about the same age as Luo Fei. His initial theory was a celebrity hiding their face. But celebrities rely on looks and acting; even the multi-talented ones specialize in singing or dancing. He doubted any celebrity possessed such mastery over code.
This person was more likely a professional coder, a specialist.
But if he was just a coding expert, why the mask? Was he so famous that showing his face would cause instant recognition?
Luo Fei rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
His communicator lit up. A video message had arrived from Emile—his Alpha cousin from the Lyra Constellation.
Years ago, his Royal Father’s own sister, Princess Xiya, had married into the Lyra Constellation. Her husband was a prominent local tycoon.
Princess Xiya’s health had always been fragile. Fortunately, her husband cherished her deeply. Emile was her youngest son, and she doted on him heavily. Every time she returned to the Capital Star, she brought him along. With only a three-year age gap and frequent video calls, he and Luo Fei had always been close.
In the video, Emile wore a relaxed, casual house outfit, a bright grin on his face. “Luo Fei, which flight are you on? What time do you get to Lyra?”
Luo Fei sent his reply: “Arriving at 17:00.”
He had chosen the Lyra Constellation as his first stop partly to visit Princess Xiya. She had always been wonderful to him, bringing gifts every holiday. His bond with his aunt was very close. She’d fallen seriously ill last spring and hadn’t returned to the Capital Star. Calculating the time, he hadn’t seen her in over a year and a half.
Emile’s reply was immediate. “Mother heard you were coming, she was so excited she’s already in the kitchen personally preparing your dinner.”
Luo Fei smiled as he typed: “Tell her to rest, no need to go to so much trouble. I’ll see you tonight.”
Emile: “Got it. I’ll be at the Space Station right on time to pick you up!”
Time was already past 1 PM. Four hours until they reached Lyra.
He just hoped the ship would arrive without any more system attack incidents.
—
The rest of the journey was smooth. The spaceship made its scheduled arrival at the Lyra Space Station at 5:00 PM. Passengers queued to disembark.
Luo Fei was in the second group assigned to leave. He sat in his cabin, patiently awaiting the notification.
Through the porthole, he spotted them again. The group from this morning who’d used the VIP passage. The person shielded by layers of bodyguards was still hidden from view. And yet… Luo Fei keenly noticed a detail. That figure? Its outline, its build? It matched perfectly with the young man he’d encountered on the ship.
Bodyguards surrounding him… sunglasses and a mask to completely obscure his face…
What exactly was his background?
Luo Fei’s eyes traced the retreating silhouette with deep curiosity, unable to look away.
A little girl’s voice piped up next to him. “Big brother, it’s our turn! Time to get off the ship!” He snapped back to the present, grabbed his pack, and headed out.
Emile was already waiting at the Space Station. Seeing Luo Fei emerge, he strode forward and pulled him into a hug. “You’ve gotten even taller!”
Luo Fei returned the embrace warmly. “Cousin. It’s been too long.”
Their bond was naturally close, and with Luo Fei coming to Lyra privately, without a Royal Guard escort, Emile dispensed with all the rigid royal protocol. He threw an arm around his cousin’s shoulders and guided him towards his waiting hovercar.
The hovercar hummed to life. Emile set the navigation and settled into the passenger seat. “How long are you staying in Lyra this time? I’ll show you around properly.”
“I plan to spend Christmas here, then leave on the 26th.”
“That’s fantastic! Mother will be over the moon!”
Emile paused, then leaned in with a conspiratorial grin. “Oh, and… there’s a pretty interesting event happening tomorrow. Want to come?”
Luo Fei asked, “What kind of event?”
Emile tried to draw out the suspense, but the completely unflappable expression on Luo Fei’s face made him sigh in defeat. He just blurted it out. “Old Master Mo of the Fengyang Group is having a birthday celebration. Only the biggest names in the business world are invited. You’ve heard of the Mo family, right? Top-tier wealth in the Empire? Old Master Mo’s birthday banquet will be huge. Want me to take you?”
“The Mo family?” Hearing the name, the corner of Luo Fei’s mouth lifted in a distinct curve. “In that case… I am quite interested in meeting them.”
Luo Fei had little interest in the gaudy extravagance of the ultra-rich. However, the name of that Omega who appeared on the Association’s list… Mo Lin… piqued his curiosity.
Since he had the free time, why not go see what was so special about this Omega with such extraordinarily powerful genes?
