by The Red Fox
13 - Firewall (3)
"I don't know how to explain it to you," Lin Xun said. "Because I'm innocent."
Wang Anquan: "You're just a little white rabbit who knocked out a grown man with your bare hands?"
"Not bare hands—I had a keyboard," Lin Xun glanced at his Cherry keyboard. The metal baseplate hadn't deformed at all, though keycaps were scattered everywhere. It would probably still work once they were put back on.
"So what do we do now?" Wang Anquan nudged Jiang Lian on the floor with his foot. Jiang Lian didn't react.
Jia Gou suggested: "Splash cold water on him?"
Lin Xun: "No, don't splash him. We can't let him wake up. I suspect he's not normal."
"What?" Wang Anquan looked at him as if he were a foolish son.
Just as Lin Xun was about to speak, he suddenly felt a sharp headache.
He said: "Let me have a moment of peace first."
The next moment, he closed his eyes and entered the System Space.
Jiang Lian had attacked him with a virus—his System Space was equivalent to a simple operating system, but it had no firewall whatsoever, completely exposed to the viral attack.
The principle of computer viruses was very similar to biological viruses: they destroyed the original file resources in the computer and replicated themselves wildly—if critical resources were damaged, the computer would crash.
However, his current file structure was extremely simple, which meant there were no vulnerabilities for the virus to exploit, and disinfecting it wouldn't be difficult.
Lin Xun quickly located the virus's source code, terminated the process, deleted the virus's auto-start items, and finally cleaned up the files left behind by the virus's replication.
Once the cleanup was complete, the entire system returned to its initial state.
He returned to reality, and the headache had vanished.
"Done with your moment of peace?" Wang Anquan's tone was cautious, as if dealing with a mental patient.
Lin Xun looked at Wang Anquan, but not at his face or expression. Instead, he saw through this physical shell to the formidable expertise in network security that Wang Anquan possessed.
Lin Xun specialized in algorithms and knew nothing about viruses or firewalls, but this was Wang Anquan's specialty.
If he could copy the firewall Wang Anquan had personally created and keep it updated, then he wouldn't fear any virus.
Wang Anquan took several steps back: "What's wrong with you? I feel like you want to eat me."
Lin Xun gathered the fallen keycaps, pressed them back into place, then hugged his keyboard and slowly walked to the window: "Anquan, let me perform a spontaneous ascension for you."
Wang Anquan scratched his head.
Lin Xun focused his mind on himself and lightly leaped up!
He floated effortlessly off the ground, then slowly drifted backward to land on the windowsill, feeling as light as a feather.
Wang Anquan and Zhao Jiagou stared in stunned silence.
Lin Xun floated back to Wang Anquan.
Zhao Jiagou walked over and pinched his arm: "He's real."
Wang Anquan: "Did you buy an air propulsion tube? I saw a kid playing with one downstairs yesterday, bouncing around, and ended up spraining his ankle."
As he spoke, he tried to pull at Lin Xun's clothes: "Where did you install it? Let me see."
Lin Xun flashed and floated to another corner of the room: "Get away."
Just as they were roughhousing, the doorbell rang.
Lin Xun: "My master is here to save the day."
The visitor was indeed Old Man Huo. His pace was slightly faster than usual but still steady. Led by Lin Xun into the room, he looked at Jiang Lian, who was wrapped in a quilt and jump rope like a caterpillar, and clicked his tongue in disdain. "Disciple, your binding technique is too crude. I'll give you a Demon-Binding Chain later."
Lin Xun said, "Master, we can't break the law."
Old Man Huo replied, "Evil spirits, demons, and monsters are not subject to human laws."
As he spoke, he pulled Jiang Lian's hand out from the gap between the rope and the quilt, pressed two fingers against Jiang Lian's wrist, closed his eyes, and slid his fingers upward along the wrist, as if sensing something.
Wang Anquan and Zhao Jiagou had never witnessed such a cult-like scene before, so they watched quietly, not daring to make a sound.
After about five minutes, Old Man Huo suddenly opened his eyes!
"He's possessed by an evil entity. Let me force it out," Old Man Huo said with a deep frown.
Then, he helped Jiang Lian sit up and placed his hands against Jiang Lian's back.
Old Man Huo exerted force with his hands, murmuring something under his breath. After about five minutes, he suddenly pushed Jiang Lian forward!
Jiang Lian, still unconscious with his eyes closed, began coughing violently. After a few coughs, he actually spat out a mass of black mist!
The next moment, the mist shot straight toward Lin Xun!
Old Man Huo abruptly stood up. A yellow paper talisman had somehow appeared between his fingers, and he slapped it onto the black mist!
After a sharp, high-frequency screech resembling an electric current, the mist fell to the ground, twitched a few times, and then lay still. A blurry black smoke rolled into the corner, topped with a yellow paper talisman—a scene that was surreal yet slightly comical.
Zhao Jiagou exclaimed, "Fuck!"
Wang Anquan shouted, "What the hell is that?"
The moment the mist left Jiang Lian, the system announced, "Emergency mission 'First Trial' completed. Rewards have been issued. Please claim them promptly."
However, Lin Xun couldn't enter the System Space just yet—he still had to accompany his master.
"Is this... a demon seed?" Old Man Huo stroked his beard, his expression serious.
Lin Xun asked, "Demon seed?"
"A demon seed is a type of low-level demon that inhabits a living person's body, confuses their mind, and makes them controlled by demonic Qi," Old Man Huo explained, looking at Lin Xun. "Do you possess any innate treasures or other family heirlooms?"
Lin Xun thought for a moment. He had never come into contact with such things since childhood, so he replied, "No."
"Strange, strange. Then why would a demon seed be drawn to you? The demon realm and the human world have been separated for a long time, and such things haven't appeared for a thousand years. Unless—" Old Man Huo frowned deeply, then said, "Unless demonic Qi is seeping into the human world again, and they're targeting the less skilled disciples of our Immortal Sect?"
He suddenly stood up. "This is bad! If that's the case, the Immortal Sect is in danger! We must notify our fellow cultivators immediately!"
"Young people type fast!" Old Man Huo turned to Lin Xun. "Quick, go to the group chat and inform our fellow cultivators to protect the younger disciples!"
Lin Xun didn't fully understand what Old Man Huo was talking about, but he still opened his phone and clicked on "A Loving Family."
"Master, there's another message here," he said.
Old Man Huo asked, "What message?"
"It's from Shenji Zhenren of the Tianyan Sect," Lin Xun read the message aloud.
Tianyan - Shenji Zhenren: Tragic news. Yesterday while observing the stars, I saw the Ziwei star dimming and the Sirius star blazing brightly, which left me uneasy. Today I performed another divination, and it revealed a great ominous sign.
Nanzhao - Butterfly Madam: What? Are you going to lose something again, Zhenren?
Tianyan - Shenji Zhenren: Not this time. The divination I performed concerns the fate of heaven and earth. Fellow Daoists, something unfortunate may happen in the near future.
The group immediately erupted into discussion, with everyone starting to share the misfortunes they had recently encountered. The worst of them all was Yuanxiao, who was approaching the college entrance exams and had forgotten to fill in the answer sheet during the first mock exam.
The topic then shifted to Yuanxiao, with the elders criticizing him for his carelessness.
Lin Xun waited until the flurry of messages subsided before sending his own.
Wuji - Lin Suan: Just now, I was assaulted. My master said this person was possessed by a demonic entity.
In an instant, the group exploded.
Nanzhao - Butterfly Madam: Are you hurt? Where? Does it hurt?
Danding - Bihai Xianzi: Oh my, little lemon, where do you live? Sister will send you some elixirs right away.
Baopu - Caixia Yuanjun: Suan'er, how are you now?
Among the dozens of similar messages, only Senior Xiaoyaozi's stood out.
Qingcheng - Xiaoyaozi: Demonic entity?
Lin Xun typed: I'm fine, not injured. I knocked that person unconscious.
Then, he took a photo of the "demonic seed," recorded a short video, and sent it to the group.
Silence.
For a full three minutes, no one spoke in the group.
Three minutes later.
Qingcheng - Xiaoyaozi: @everyone, the Dharma Discussion Assembly will commence ahead of schedule. All fellow Daoists are requested to gather at Qingcheng Mountain two days from now. I will immediately negotiate with the scenic area management to close the Qingcheng... Mountain scenic area during the Dharma Discussion Assembly, prohibiting mortals from entering.
Qingcheng - Xiaoyaozi: @everyone, please activate your mountain-protecting formations promptly, especially to protect disciples with lower cultivation levels.
Qingcheng - Danyangzi: Received.
Geling - Qiushanjun: Received.
Nanzhao - Miao Fengli: Received.
...
By the time the group finally quieted down, Jiang Lian had also awakened.
According to Old Man Huo, he was innocent, merely possessed by a demonic entity, which had caused him to attack Lin Xun.
Lin Xun looked at Jiang Lian, whose head was swollen with a large bump, thinking that he would likely become even balder after today, and felt a deep sense of guilt.
Jiang Lian: "I..."
He struggled to open his eyes: "What... happened to me?"
Lin Xun untied the ropes and removed the blanket: "Brother Jiang, I'm sorry."
"Ah...?" Jiang Lian seemed still half-asleep. He touched his head and instantly recoiled: "It hurts!"
As Lin Xun racked his brains for an explanation, Old Man Huo closed his eyes, then opened them again, his entire demeanor suddenly becoming serene and benevolent: "I am Dr. Huo, the traditional Chinese medicine practitioner living upstairs from you."
Jiang Lian: "...Ah?"
With snow-white hair, silver beard, an immortal-like aura, and dressed in a black Tang suit, the elderly Dr. Huo pondered for a moment before fabricating a story: "You suddenly had an epileptic seizure just now, rolling around the room. Little Lin and the other two quickly called me down to check your pulse."
As he spoke, he moved Jiang Lian's head to examine the wound: "Sigh, you knocked your head like this. Never mind, I'll prescribe an ointment for you. It'll heal in three days."
Jiang Lian, still processing nothing, could only instinctively say: "Th... thank you, doctor."
His gaze wandered, scanning the surroundings, until he suddenly noticed the dark mist in the corner and froze: "This..."
Old Man Huo, quick as lightning, struck the side of his neck with a swift chop!
Jiang Lian fainted once again without any suspense.