Drunken Mistake

DM 01

"The server's down!" Panic rippled through the control room as screens flickered and alerts blared.

"Just wait for it to reboot," a nonchalant voice drawled.

"Jiang Cheng, that's our security server," snapped Yangyang, her eyes darting between flashing red alerts. "We're exposed. Hackers could breach our system at any moment. Get up and do something."

Jiang Cheng groaned, slumping in his chair. "Yangyang ..."

"No whining!" she shot back, her voice tense as she watched the chaos around them unfold. "Where's A'Xian?"

***

"Xingchen, strengthen the firewall and run a system scan. We can't risk a data leak," ordered Wei Wuxian, the chief engineer at Jiang Software. "I'm logging into the cloud to back up everything in case the main data server crashes next." His fingers flew across the keyboard, a blur of keystrokes.

Xiao Xingchen, though a few years older, nodded and set to work, fully trusting Wei Wuxian's instincts. "Mr. Wei, we've detected a Trojan," he reported, eyes wide with urgency.

"Track its origin," Wei Wuxian instructed, quickly pivoting from the cloud backup to focus on the mainframe. He feared the attackers might set up a mirror site. Code poured from his fingertips, locking down customer data.

"I've got a trace," Xingchen announced.

"Is it coming from a static IP?" Wei Wuxian asked, barely pausing.

"No. It's bouncing across different locations worldwide," Xingchen replied, his tone grim. "We should consider declaring code red. This is a coordinated attack."

"Not yet," Wei Wuxian said firmly. "A code red will tank the stocks. We secure the data first; then we can sound the alarm."

The room was tense, filled only with the rhythmic clatter of keys. Xingchen kept a vigilant eye on the system's status while Wei Wuxian maneuvered through layers of security protocols. At last, the server flickered back online. The two engineers exchanged a look of relief, and a wave of cheers erupted from the team behind them. Crisis, for now, averted.

***

The middle aged man seated in the middle of the room wore a distressed look. Those that sat around him. An emergency meeting had been called. Those in attendance included the youngest director of Jiang Software, Jiang Cheng and Chief Engineer Wei Wuxian.

"All of you know why we are gathered here," the middle aged man spoke.

"Is it something to do with the security breach, father?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"Yes," Jiang Fengmian stated solemnly.

"There was no breach but there definitely was an attack. Someone knew that the security server would go down. Unfortunately we couldn't track the attacker," Wei Wuxian replied.

"You're saying that they are better than you?" Jiang Cheng scoffed.

"I am saying that they were better prepared than us. We need to issue a code red and involve the cyber crime branch," Wei Wuxian suggested.

Jiang Fengmian bent his neck and shook his head, looking down at the table. "It's too late for that," he said, sounding defeated.

"What are you saying, dad?" Jiang Cheng asked.

Chairman Jiang tirned his swivel chair around to face a screen behind him. He took out a remote and images flashed. News reports aired claiming the loss of private customer data because of the security breach. 

"These are all lies," Jiang Cheng roared. 

"Keep it down director Jiang. The reality cannot be drowned by shouting. The company is suffering a great face loss because of the incident. Many partners have refused to cooperate with Jiangs. Jiang Software is only a small subsidiary. What right does it have to tarnish the reputation of the entire conglomerate?" a board member claimed.