Are You Hacker S?

Gabriel said, "The security systems of my family's branch in Osefield have been indiscriminately attacked. These foreign jerks are simply unbearable!" As the news that Hacker S was a citizen of Thawville spread, it immediately caused a stir among hackers from all over the world. Their first reaction was to scoff, followed by scolding. An unprecedented sense of unity in the Hacker Empire. They all accused Thawville of wishful thinking, diagnosing them with delusions of grandeur, claiming that they were flattering themselves. They unanimously think Valentina was insulting Hacker S and the entire hacker community. After the news spread, the security system of Biddeford University was the first to bear the brunt, immediately besieged by hackers. If it wasn't for Valentina just happening to have reinforced it, the system would have been destroyed beyond recognition. However, in the end, it couldn't withstand the onslaught and was riddled with holes in less than a month. The funny thing was that among these hackers, most were followers of Hacker S. At first, only a few acted out in indignant support for Hacker S, while the others sat back and watched how things would unfold. Following the fall of Biddeford University, other well-known key universities in Thawville also suffered attacks, causing tremendous disturbance. This year, the boards of directors and educational departments of various universities were really given a hard time. Thawville's hackers, however, showed their mettle. One by one, they stood up to defend their dignity, voluntarily rebuilding the systems of the afflicted schools. Unfortunately, their intentions exceeded their abilities, as the disparity in power was clear. Since they couldn't protect themselves, they decided to mutually harm the enemies. Therefore, the hidden hackers in Thawville started to emerge one by one, returning the favor in kind. They organized spontaneously, determined to make a stand even if they could only reclaim a small portion of what was lost. As things escalated further, not just schools, but many landmark buildings in Thawville suffered malicious attacks from the hackers. At first, some of the more rational hackers were skeptical about the mysterious Hacker S being from Thawville, so they did not participate in the chaos immediately but merely watched from the sidelines. However, almost a year passed, and they were still causing a ruckus, but S did not show up to defend Thawville. The silence of S was undoubtedly a denial, so the hackers became increasingly unrestrained. This was a war without the smoke of gunpowder. The situation escalated, with Thawville's hackers being repeatedly provoked, and foreign hackers even initiating challenges towards them. The challenges ranged from online competitions to large-scale international contests. Despite the difficulty, Thawville's hackers bravely stepped forward, where failure still brought them honor. "Alas," Geoffrey sighed. He took out his phone, thinking about asking William for help again. Geoffrey, who was already of retirement age, came to school every day. During his term, Biddeford University was always peaceful. But it was unexpected that a crisis came after his retirement. A remark from Valentina sparked public anger. It brought undue disaster to Biddeford University, other schools, and even some landmark buildings. Valentina's voice echoed, "Why are you sighing?" As Geoffrey turned his head, he saw Valentina with her laptop. "Valentina?" Geoffrey stood up, "When... When did you come back?" His face held a palpable joy which he struggled to put into words. "Why have you lost so much weight? What happened? I've been looking for you everywhere. I even asked William, but he was nowhere to be found." Valentina walked towards him with her laptop, "I've been traveling around, just think of it as vacationing." She noticed that Geoffrey's hair had fully turned white. She sat down on the sofa, opened her laptop, and started to swiftly construct a new security system. While doing so, she asked Geoffrey, "Biddeford University has been under siege for a year. Why didn't you find William for help?" Geoffrey replied, "I did try but I always failed to meet him. Not long after you took leave last year, I went to find him. His father told me he was on a business trip. After several months, there were rumors that he had returned but I still couldn't meet him." Valentina simply nodded and then said, "I forgot that he was traveling with me." Geoffrey looked at Valentina's screen filled with lines of code and worriedly said, "Valentina, can you handle it? They told me that this is not the work of just one or two people. It seems we have angered quite a few people to the extent that it might involve the country. If you can't handle it, could you please get that friend of yours, the one called 'S', to help us out? I don't really understand this hacker world, but I think if you could get him to say something, this issue could be resolved." As the one who initiated the incident, Valentina readily agreed, "Sure, I'll say something in a bit." Geoffrey nodded, "That's good." Realizing something was wrong, he suddenly turned his head to look at Valentina, his old eyes wide open, "Are you the Hacker S?" He almost roared out the question. Valentina smiled lightly, "Would you like an autograph?" It was not surprising that Geoffrey was so surprised. Although he didn't entirely understand the hacker world, he did know that within it, S had an almost Jesus-like status. The entire hacker community and tech personnel, including his computer science students, all held S in awe and worshipped S as a belief. In reality, that was like being a ruler of a nation. Geoffrey cleared his emotions and said, "No wonder the Supervisory Authority wants to poach you so badly." Valentina responded, "They don't even know who I am." Geoffrey wondered, "What if they find out?" He whispered, "Wouldn't the state forcibly conscript you then?" He continued in a hushed tone, "Micheal told me that S, I mean, you... He said that you committed numerous illegal activities online." Those illegal activities, in Micheal's eyes, were shining deeds. "Those were crimes. If your identity is known to the outside world..." Valentina rapidly typed, "All my targets are from abroad, never aimed at Thawville." Geoffrey replied, "That time with Aiden." Valentina responded, "There's no evidence." Geoffrey was speechless. He shook his head and said, "Earlier you mentioned that you were proficient in computers, now I know what level of proficiency you meant." Valentina paused, "Done." "So fast?" "This security system could be sold externally, and the money obtained could build another Biddeford University." Geoffrey was dumbfounded. "Is it really that valuable? So, the Hacker Empire is actually a talent market. I've misunderstood it previously and took them as social misfits." "Social misfits?" Valentina thought carefully, "Well, kind of." After implementing the new security system, Biddeford University finally returned to peace. Yet Valentina's operation didn't stop. Seeing her still typing away, Geoffrey asked her. "We are warmhearted and hospitable, and we always believe in reciprocation. After all the oppression we suffered, it's only fair we return some favor." Using his limited knowledge in this field, Geoffrey tried to understand her words, asking, "Is it illegal?" She teased, "Shh. Keep it down, don't tell anyone." Geoffrey was stunned.