Chapter 165: Grandpa, Don’t Cry!

Jiangnan City was attacked by a computer virus. In less than half an hour, nearly ten thousand computers were infected. This big news immediately caught the attention of Jiangnan City’s media.

The spread of this virus almost broke records.

Within half an hour, over twenty companies and half of the internet cafes in Jiangnan City were infected by the computer virus, along with many personal computers.

Meanwhile, a video of Lin Shu being taken away by the police in an internet cafe was shared by people who saw it happen. Once the video came out, it attracted even more attention.

A girl under eighteen years old was the main person in this virus incident, which made many people feel ashamed. The virus was still spreading, though not as fast as at the beginning, and there were still reports of people getting infected.

There was no antivirus software yet that could find and remove this virus. The Public Security Bureau had already issued a cybersecurity warning. The virus spread through the internet, infecting computers in the area’s networks. If a server was infected, the entire network connected to that server would also be affected.

Lin Shu sat on a chair, her body shaking uncontrollably. Across from her were Ning Qiuyu and Wu Chao, two young police officers, one male and one female, who watched Lin Shu calmly.

They had already found out that the computer virus Lin Shu made infected nearly ten thousand computers in less than thirty minutes, according to incomplete counts.

This new computer virus had a scary ability to spread. It was the most frightening computer virus they had ever seen in terms of how fast it spread. If they didn’t find a solution quickly, all the computers in Jiangnan City would be in trouble.

Luckily, the computer virus did not get into the Public Security Bureau’s traffic control system or the bank systems. It only infected ordinary computers without protection systems. Otherwise, the situation would have been much more serious.

“Why did you make a computer virus?” Wu Chao asked.

Beside him, Ning Qiuyu quietly wrote down notes.

“I was making antivirus software. I didn’t know what I wrote was a virus. I didn’t mean to do it.”

Lin Shu’s eyes were red. It wasn’t just because she was caught; another reason was that her software failed, and now her brother’s surgery money was gone.

“Why were you making antivirus software?” Wu Chao asked without expression.

“I wanted to join the Legion Ant Company’s programming competition. I needed the prize money to pay for my brother’s treatment. My brother needs money for surgery.”

“Is there any way to find and remove the virus?”

They had tried all kinds of antivirus software. When they installed it on infected computers, the antivirus software just disappeared from the desktop without a trace.

With over ten thousand computers affected, the impact was already frightening. If this virus got into government networks, its ability to spread could paralyze the entire government office network in Jiangnan City.

Infected computers were like blank machines; they couldn’t install any application software.

Now, the media in Jiangnan City were focusing on the Public Security Bureau, hoping they would give an answer soon.

“I don’t know where the program went wrong. To figure out how to remove the virus, I need to think about where I made a mistake.” Lin Shu bit her lip, trying hard not to cry.

“Where is the virus program?” Wu Chao still showed no expression.

“I saved it in a cloud drive,” Lin Shu said.

“Account and password.”

Lin Shu answered all the police’s questions and told them everything. She only hoped it would make her punishment lighter. Thinking of her grandpa, who worked hard day and night, Lin Shu’s tears kept falling.

“Officers, are you sure you didn’t make a mistake? Little Shu is usually very well-behaved; she wouldn’t do anything bad.”

In the police station, an old man in worn-out clothes looked nervously at the police officer questioning him. When he heard that Lin Shu was taken to the police station, he almost couldn’t catch his breath.

The old man’s hands were still dirty because he came straight here without time to wash them.

“She has admitted that she made the computer virus. We haven’t decided the nature of this case yet. You’re her grandpa, did you know she was making a computer virus?”

“I don’t know what a computer virus is. I just know that Little Shu would never harm anyone. It must be a misunderstanding. Officers, I beg you, let Little Shu go. She still has her studies; she’s taking the college entrance exam next June.” The old man’s eyes were red. “Please let her go, or her future will be ruined.”

“Please, police uncles, let my sister go. Sister is not a bad person.” A little boy with the old man spoke in a sweet, young voice.

Seeing the little boy in worn-out clothes with pure eyes, everyone felt a pang of sadness.

“It’s okay, little brother. Once we finish investigating, your sister can go home.” A female police officer crouched down and gave a warm smile. “What’s your name, little brother?”

“My name is Lin Changsheng. Grandpa said this name would help me grow up healthy,” the little boy said.

“He and Little Shu are both children I adopted. They are orphans. I found Changsheng when he was less than two years old, just learning to walk. He was standing by a trash can, crying for his mom.

There was a letter with him that had his birth date and basic information. He has a serious congenital heart condition, and the treatment costs over 80,000. We never had the money for it.

A few months ago, Little Shu said she wanted to join some company’s computer competition to win prize money for her brother’s treatment. I watched Little Shu grow up; she would never do anything bad. Please let her go; she still has her studies.” The old man’s eyes were red as he patted the little boy’s head.

“Grandpa, don’t cry. The police sister said Sister will be okay,” the little boy said, looking up.

This scene made everyone’s eyes grow warm.

The virus incident spread all across the country in that day’s news.

The virus was still spreading. For some reason, it wasn’t as crazy as at the start, but it was still there. Major cybersecurity companies had no way to deal with this virus.

The Chinese Character Programming Language was a programming language that Legion Ant Company had released not long ago. Not many people knew it except those who were interested. The cybersecurity technicians couldn’t even understand the program.

Wang Zhi, who wore glasses, carefully studied the program code from this virus incident. They tried it on a computer disconnected from the internet and confirmed it was the program behind the virus.

Among the cybersecurity staff, he was one of the few who had learned the Chinese Character Programming Language, but he was only an amateur and hadn’t studied it professionally.

The Chinese Character Programming Language was a completely new computer language. To fully understand it, you had to spend a lot of time learning it. With work being urgent and usually having little rest time, he didn’t spend his free time specifically learning the Chinese Character Programming Language.

This virus incident happened in Jiangnan City, which made their city known throughout the country. As experienced cybersecurity staff, being helpless against a program written by a young girl was a big blow. If it had been the work of a skilled hacker, they wouldn’t have been so troubled.

“Have you found a way to remove the virus?” a stern middle-aged man asked as he walked in.

“Chief, we haven’t found a way to remove it yet,” Wang Zhi said, shaking his head. “The virus program was written in the Chinese Character Programming Language. This language was released by Legion Ant Company not long ago, and not many people understand it. I only know a little. Asking Legion Ant Company for technical help is our best choice.”