CHAPTER 181: CHAPTER 181: COUNTERSTRIKE

Ah Si moved swiftly through the security wing, barking short, sharp orders into his headset. The tension in his voice was palpable.

"Target moving east along Highway 14. He’s driving fast, seems panicked," one of his men reported.

"Block off the exits," Ah Si replied. "I want eyes on every camera within a ten-mile radius. Do not lose him. That’s an order!"

The sound of hurried footsteps and distant static filled his earpiece as he watched the live feed blink across several monitors.

The mole’s car—a dark sedan—drove sharply through traffic, weaving recklessly as if he already knew he was being hunted.

In the office, Yue Ning’s fingers flew across the keyboard, her gaze glued to the cascading code on her screen.

’The file transfer is accelerating,’ the system informed her. ’At this rate, it will finish in seven minutes.’

Her heart pounded. "Then we don’t have seven minutes," she shot back mentally, her forehead covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

She leaned in closer, muttering under her breath, "Come on, come on..." Her voice trembled with urgency as lines of code shifted across the display.

Huo Feng stood behind her, watching the data graphs spike and fall. He didn’t understand the technical details, but he could see how grave it was.

"What’s happening?" he asked carefully.

"Someone is remotely accessing the company database," Yue Ning replied, forcing her tone to stay calm. "I think I can stop it, but I need time."

"Then you’ll have it," Huo Feng said firmly. He turned toward his phone. "Ah Si, tighten surveillance around the company and the main servers. Nobody gets in or out without proper clearance."

"Understood, President."

The system’s voice returned, calm yet urgent. ’Host, the signal is splitting. It’s being rerouted through an external VPN cluster.’

Her eyes narrowed. "They have backup servers... that’s very smart."

’Smarter than expected,’ it added. ’Do you wish to trace or disrupt?’

"Disrupt," she decided. "Tracing will take too long."

Immediately, a wave of code burst across her screen. She could almost see the hacker on the other side, countering her every move. Whoever this was, they were good and fast.

’The adversary’s pattern suggests professional training,’ the system observed. ’Possibly military-grade.’

Her throat went dry. Song Kai... he must have hired a black-ops technician. He really wanted to fight to the end. Didn’t he?

The battle turned intense. Files blinked in and out of existence, pathways overlapped, and the hum of the system in her mind grew louder. Sweat beaded on her forehead, but she didn’t dare blink. She had to fix this... to save Huo Feng — the man she loved.

Then the system spoke again. ’Warning: external override detected. They are attempting to bypass the firewall.’

Yue Ning’s voice dropped into a low whisper. "Not today."

She redirected her commands, built a loopback route, and rerouted the upload into an isolated decoy server. The hacker bit the bait, transferring everything into the dummy system.

’Upload complete,’ the system confirmed softly.

Yue Ning sagged in her chair, breathing hard.

"Did you do it?" Huo Feng asked when he saw her lean back into the chair.

"Yeah," she answered smoothly, closing the false window. "The upload stopped halfway. They didn’t get what they wanted."

Huo Feng nodded, eyes still cold. "Good. Then it’s time I deal with this in my own way."

He walked to his desk, grabbed his phone, and made a quick call. "Release the files."

Within minutes, chaos erupted online. News outlets received confidential documents — real ones — exposing Huo Mingjie’s fraudulent activities.

Bank statements, offshore accounts, secret transactions with several proxies. Everything meticulously gathered over weeks of surveillance.

Huo Feng had been waiting for this moment. And now, he had the opportunity to strike back.

Meanwhile, Ah Si’s voice echoed through the speaker. "President, we have visuals on the target. He’s at a public network hub trying to reestablish connection. Orders?"

"Bring him alive," Huo Feng said coolly.

Ah Si’s SUV screeched to a halt outside a dimly lit internet café. His men poured out, surrounding the building with quiet precision.

Through the tinted glass, the mole’s silhouette flickered under the glow of the monitor. He was sweating, typing furiously, unaware that every exit was already blocked.

"Move in," Ah Si commanded.

They listened and walked in. Chaos broke out as chairs crashed, people screamed, and within seconds, the mole was pinned to the ground, his laptop ripped away. The man struggled violently, shouting hoarsely.

"I didn’t do anything! I was told to send it. He instructed me to do it!" His voice cracked in fear.

Ah Si’s cold glare didn’t waver. "Save it for the president."

The man’s panic grew. "It wasn’t me! It was Huo Mingjie’s credentials—he gave me access!"

That name sent a ripple through the comm line. Ah Si’s jaw tightened. "We know that. Save your energy," he muttered, signaling his men to drag the mole away.

Back at the corporation, Yue Ning monitored the feeds. She could see the security footage. Ah Si’s men were already leading the suspect out, and her system blinking softly in victory.

’Mission status: 80% complete,’ it notified her. ’Two objectives remaining.’

Her brows furrowed. "Two?"

Before she could ask more, Huo Feng’s voice drew her back.

"Yue Ning," he said softly. "You did well. I owe you one."

She smiled faintly, brushing away a strand of hair that clung to her temple. "Just doing what I can to help."

The warmth in his eyes made her heart flutter for a fleeting second. But before either could speak, Huo Feng’s phone rang again.

He answered, his face darkening almost instantly.

"What is it?" Yue Ning asked, noticing his shift in expression.

He didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he turned on the television mounted on the wall.

The live news broadcast blared to life, flashing the headline in bold red letters:

Breaking News: Song Group Accuses Huo Corporation of Data Theft and Espionage.

Reporters swarmed the screen, showing clips of Song Kai standing before a podium, his expression confident and sharp.

"I have reason to believe..." Song Kai said into the microphones, "...that Huo Corporation has violated several cybersecurity and defense regulations by stealing confidential data from our subsidiary. We will pursue this matter through the highest legal channels."

Yue Ning’s blood ran cold. What was Song Kai doing?

Huo Feng stared at the screen, his expression unreadable. This was once his best friend. How... how could he be so adamant on destroying him?

"He’s fast," Yue Ning muttered under her breath.

Huo Feng didn’t respond. He simply tightened his jaw, the calm in his eyes replaced by a stormy silence.

The room fell still. There was only the faint hum of the laptop and the ticking of the wall clock filled the air.

’Countdown: 3 hours, 10 minutes remaining,’ the system whispered in Yue Ning’s mind.

Her hand clenched around the edge of the desk.

She turned to look at Huo Feng and she froze.

He was already reaching for his coat.

"Where are you going?" she asked quickly.

Huo Feng’s voice was low, dangerous. "To remind Song Kai who he just declared war on."

The way he said it sent a chill racing down her spine.

And for the first time, Yue Ning realized — the real game hadn’t even started yet.