Chapter 174: Close Combat is a Man’s True Romance

Chapter 174: Close Combat is a Man’s True Romance

Xiao Yu knows computers?

Ever heard of the system ability ‘Red Hacker Expert’?

Why wasn’t it used from the start?

Xiao Yu never expected the Assassin Group to be so cunning.

Breaking into the Darknet is notoriously difficult.

It can’t be done in a short period of time.

The system only granted twenty-five days.

Xiao Yu wasn’t about to waste time on trivialities.

In the end, the assassins’ sly and meticulous methods surpassed his expectations.

He had no choice but to use the most straightforward and brutal method—to break into the Darknet and trace the Assassin Group from within.

But how?

Once logged into the Darknet, even if you use certain techniques or some software, you’ll leave traces.

Yet there’s no guarantee that the Assassin Group, when logging in, isn’t employing even more covert methods…

So what exactly is the Darknet?

Simply put, it’s a branch of the ‘Deep Web’.

Its working principle involves routing from User A to Website B.

Data is encrypted and relayed through several intermediary nodes.

Eventually, Website B’s content is returned to User A.

This makes tracing the source extremely difficult…

The characteristics of the Darknet are quite clear.

Easy access, strong anonymity, hard-to-monitor, highly dangerous—it’s a breeding ground for crime.

To put it more ominously,

it can even serve as a necessary tool in conflicts between nations,

a medium for games of power, infiltration, and subversion.

It’s frequently exploited by special operatives like agents and spies who are adept at using the Darknet…

……

Inside a tall building,

Xiao Yu sat in front of a computer.

Around him were four young men, dressed oddly—looking part geek, part student, part internet troll, part spirited youth.

These four were bona fide cybersecurity experts and computer whizzes.

They had been dispatched overnight by Wang Dong from headquarters.

There’s a kind of harm that leaves no blood but is deadly—this is the realm of computers, networks, and hackers…

No, these four youngsters were all Red Hackers!

Yet now, as they gazed at Xiao Yu, it was as if they were looking upon a deity.

Just twenty minutes earlier, Xiao Yu had ‘demonstrated’ his computer networking prowess before them.

Honestly,

Xiao Yu wasn’t trying to flaunt or show off his skills.

But these four ace youths were experts in their own right.

How else could he command them if he didn’t keep them in check?

Even Wang Dong was taken aback.

His gaze towards Xiao Yu was just as if he’d seen someone otherworldly for the first time.

It was like staring at a monster.

In his eyes, the young protégé had already become a being beyond ordinary.

A terrifying intellect, a remarkable deductive power…

Wang Dong was well aware of his own limitations.

Put simply, even if ten minds were combined, they wouldn’t match the prowess that Xiao Yu could easily lay low.

But still…

How could a being like him not only master Hypnosis but also excel in computer technology?

Even the four top cybersecurity experts were left in awe.

You techies, do you even care about ordinary people?

Facing Xiao Yu, Wang Dong felt like he was in a world where he was just a placeholder.

Though he wasn’t sure just how advanced his protégé’s intellect was,

one thing was clear.

Xiao Yu was nothing short of a human anomaly!

……

“Let’s take down this Darknet together!”

Xiao Yu scanned the four young men around him.

“Uh…” The young men sported looks of sheer confusion.

Can the Darknet really be breached and destroyed?

The answer is yes.

The Darknet is not impervious to attack.

It’s just that its identity is hidden.

Thus, figuring out who its creator is, let alone arresting them, is extremely challenging.

Even if one Darknet is dismantled without catching its founder—which is essentially its administrator,

another version springs up in no time…

For instance, in 2003, the world’s largest Darknet, Silk Road, was taken down.

A few months later, Silk Road 2.0 emerged…

Fortunately, law enforcement had infiltrated the Darknet.

A year later, they managed to arrest Silk Road’s founder.

Though endless evils lurk in the Darknet,

and places like the torture chambers mentioned in the Darknet Red House are grim realities,

there’s still no surefire way to combat it…

Or is there really no way?

Xiao Yu didn’t think so.

With the help of the four cybersecurity experts by his side,

he had roughly deduced the level of his system ability, ‘Red Hacker Expert’.

To put it metaphorically, Xiao Yu considered his computer networking skills second to none.

There aren’t many in this world bold enough to claim they’re the best in front of him…

“Remember, I don’t need a founder—I need that server.”

Xiao Yu’s hands hovered over the keyboard. “This server holds the traces and information of every Darknet user. Get it?”

“Got it!”

The four young men nodded heavily and heaved a sigh of relief.

Tracking down a server, rather than a founder, made things much simpler.

Today’s Darknet servers are generally ‘virtual hosts’, ‘cloud hosts’, ‘cloud servers’, or external servers.

They’re cheap, convenient, and safe to rent—and setting up Darknet services on them is a breeze.

The downside? Their anonymity isn’t as robust as that of a personally hosted Darknet server, making them prone to exposure.

On the plus side, because they aren’t personal machines, even if exposed, it’s hard to trace them back to anyone.

As for personal-hosted Darknet servers, they might be more secure,

but if someone manages to follow the digital breadcrumbs… you’re as good as dead!

……

A full week passed.

Xiao Yu and the four young men shared everything in one room—eating, drinking, and even relieving themselves.

To exaggerate, they likely smashed several keyboards along the way.

Until the eighth day.

“Found it!”

With bloodshot eyes, Xiao Yu finally exhaled in relief.

What method did he use to locate the Darknet server?

Passive attack techniques!

This method involved analyzing and comparing the data flow in the Darknet without interfering with its communication process.

By deducing the topology of the Darknet’s nodes…

this seemingly simple yet incredibly complex attack technique managed to crack the Darknet.

It took an overpowered time traveler and four cybersecurity experts more than seven days to pull it off.

Such is the terrifying nature of the Darknet!

“The rest is on you!”

Xiao Yu released the keyboard and looked at Wang Dong.

After uttering those words, he promptly crashed.

He slept for a full day and night.

When he woke, Wang Dong was there, handing him a USB drive.

“Ha.”

Xiao Yu got up with a smile, eyeing the USB drive in his hand.

It was time to have a hand-to-hand showdown with his assassin protege.

After all, close combat is the true romance of a man!