Chapter 440
The next day.
Morning.
It was the 4th day of the new year.
After a tiresome night, Zhang Ye crawled out of his bed and took a peek through the gap in his curtains. He realized that it was already bright outside. It was not natural brightness of the sun, but rather a kind of reflective type that didn't seem natural. It was around 7AM and was not a time when the sun would be shining in. He unwillingly threw aside his blanket and stretched himself before walking towards the curtains and drawing them open to take a look outside.
Oh!
It was snowing!
The snow was reflecting the sunlight. No wonder it looked different from usual daylight!
He looked at his watch. It was almost time to leave for the Internet Surveillance Bureau. After he washed up, he wanted to go over to the landlady's house to scrounge for breakfast, but after knocking on the door for a long time, no one answered. There was probably no one at home. Zhang Ye put on his coat, got into his recently returned BMW X5 bulletproof car, and drove straight to the Internet Surveillance Bureau's compound. The sound made by the wheels cruising over the thick layer of snow on the ground sounded calmingly soothing.
Ring, ring, ring.
His mother called.
She said, "Son, are you coming back tomorrow?"
Zhang Ye said, "No, mom. I still have some work to do today."
His mother said, "It's already the 5th day tomorrow. Come home and have some dumplings."
Zhang Ye said, "I really can't. Maybe on the 15th. I should be home on the 15th. A friend of mine help me get out from detainment, remember? It's because I've been requested to assist at the Internet Surveillance Bureau that I managed to get out. I have to be present here so that they can answer to their superiors."
His mother wondered, "Internet Surveillance Bureau? I was just watching the news with your dad. We heard that some sort of computer virus was spreading throughout Korea. It sounded like it was pretty formidable since Central TV warned the viewers to be careful in case the virus infects our country as well."
Zhang Ye laughed, "Even Central TV reported about it?"
"Yes. It was reported during the morning news. I just saw it." His mother told him, "You be careful too, don't get infected by that virus, or it will hold up your work."
Zhang Ye thought to himself it would be funny if he got infected by it. After all, he was the one who created it!
When he reached the office compound, he parked the car by the roadside and went to buy some newspapers. The television and online media gave a lot of coverage to this 'Panda Burning Incense' virus. Zhang Ye had not expected it to get so much attention. Because this world was too safe from computer viruses, it was a rare occurrence and even if it did happen, it would usually be prevented from doing any damage by firewalls and anti-virus softwares. This 'Panda Burning Incense' was widely reported due to its widespread destruction. In the history of computers in this world, a computer virus of this scale did not happen very often, thus it could easily be ranked amongst the top 10 viruses to ever exist!
"Panda Burning Incense and its creator, '2'"!
"National treasure's image tarnished"!
"Korea faces disastrous computer virus"!
"Latest estimate of Korean computers to be infected by the virus: 500,000"!
"The disastrous fallout from a hackers' war"!
"Panda Burning Incense creator '2' wanted by the Korean government"!
"Latest update from Korea: Research into the Panda Burning Incense virus has made a major breakthrough"!