The Tycoon's Odyssey

After getting the thing, Celina quickly reached the NextGen Innovations office to hand over the key that was crucial to resolving the current predicament.

"Did Evan really say that?" Aria asked, her voice trembling as she looked at Celina with wide, anxious eyes.

Celina nodded somberly, her brows deeply furrowed. "Hmm."

Aria glanced down at the USB drive in her hand, her fingers trembling constantly as she held it. The weight of the situation almost felt unbearable and she could feel her anxiety growing as she realized the gravity of granting access to such sensitive information.

Her face twisted in concern. "How is Evan? Is he doing well?"

Celina offered a bitter smile, though her eyes revealed her worry. "He seems to be fine," she said softly, avoiding Aria's gaze. Her voice carried a tone of helplessness, struggling to mask her own fear and uncertainty.

Guilt washed over Aria, gnawing at her conscience overwhelmingly.

The thought of Evan, who was once an open book, now shrouded in mystery, shielding his true feelings and intentions, hiding behind the mask, was almost too much to bear.

The thought of him suffering alone, especially because of her actions, was almost overwhelming.

Celina's expression softened as she reached out and patted Aria's shoulder, her touch both comforting and firm.

"Don't worry too much. You aren't to be blamed. I might not say anything if someone wanted to kill me, but I would have no other option if someone were to take Elina as a hostage. The only way to prevent such a situation is to stop being weak."

Aria nodded, her face etched with pain and resolve. "I'll do whatever I can to fix this."

With a heavy heart, Aria turned and walked into the IT department.

Inside the IT department, Mick was already at his workstation, his face illuminated by the glow of multiple monitors. While Aria walked in, he was deeply focused on the task at hand.

He was an experienced professional with a determined frown as he examined the USB. His fingers danced over the keyboard as he logged into the system, the soft hum of machinery filling the room.

"Mick, log this and secure the data immediately," Aria instructed, her voice carrying an undercurrent of urgency.

Mick looked up, his eyes focused and calm. "Got it. I'll get on it right away."

Mick nodded, his fingers flying over the keyboard as he inserted the USB drive into a secure port, initiating a series of automated scripts to ensure the integrity of the data. His face remained concentrated as he logged into the system with administrative credentials and began the troubleshooting process.

"Running diagnostics now," Mick announced. The screen displayed a cascade of lines of code as the system scanned the USB drive for potential threats. "I'll start by isolating and extracting the relevant files."

He opened the data extraction tool, which carefully decrypted and transferred the files from the USB drive to the secure server. With each transfer, Mick scrutinized the logs for any anomalies.

Once the extraction was complete, Mick turned his attention to the firewall. He accessed the firewall management console, carefully analyzing its current configuration. He noticed a minor vulnerability in the firewall's rule set—an open port that was more permissive than necessary.

To create a controlled breach, Mick used the console to establish a temporary, low-risk rule that allowed inbound traffic on this port only for a brief period.

"Opening a controlled access point," he muttered as he adjusted the firewall's settings.

After doing that, he monitored the network traffic in real time, allowing the new source code of CodeZipper to pass through the gap. And as the data streamed in, Mick observed its behavior using a network traffic analyzer, ensuring that no other unauthorized data infiltrated their systems.

The screen flickered as Mick transferred the files, his brows furrowed in deep concentration. He was meticulous, double-checking each step to ensure the data was safely captured.

But then, he followed the handbook instructions precisely as he was ordered to. With a quick keystroke, he created a small gap in the firewall, allowing a controlled breach.

Through this narrow window, the new source code of CodeZipper, developed by Evan, began its transfer. The code, now circulating worldwide, had the potential to reshape the landscape of technology and security.

Mick's face remained impassive, but the things he was witnessing were enough to give a palpable tension to his shoulders.

As the data transfer was completed, Mick glanced at Aria, who was watching anxiously.

"It's done," he said, his voice steady but laced with an edge of seriousness.

Aria's expression was a mixture of relief and deep concern. She knew that while one problem was being addressed, the implications of their actions were far from being resolved.

However, Mick, who was aware of the importance of keeping their system secure, initiated the deployment of an advanced malware cleaning program, a sophisticated cleaner designed to work beyond traditional antivirus solutions. This program, known as WallProtector Pro, was equipped with heuristic analysis capabilities and behavioral monitoring.

WallProtector Pro began its scan, using machine learning algorithms to detect and neutralize any potential threats. It cleaned up any residual malware and secured the system against any future vulnerabilities. The progress bar on the screen displayed the cleaning process in action, with various threats being isolated and removed in real time.

Once the Codezipper was taken out, the program immediately started putting restrictions on and clearing all kinds of malware, trojans, and other vulnerabilities.

"System is secure," Mick finally said, watching as the WallProtector Pro completed its task, the logs confirming no more malicious activities. "The controlled access point has closed, and all other files are protected."

Aria, still standing nearby, exhaled deeply. "Thanks, Mick. Let's hope this buys us enough time to sort things out."

Mick gave a nod of acknowledgement, his expression calm but serious.

"By the way, who came up with this? Even with years of experience, I have never seen such a marvelous thing like this."

"Was it the Boss?"

Hearing this Aria chuckled a bit and spoke with amusement.

"No…just call him the God of Technology."

_____

Soon, the CodeZipper appeared on a pirate website, giving users something to celebrate. Though it was a basic version with 8X compression, it was enough for them to leap in joy. But…

If only they knew that the new CodeZipper was like an arrow that would eventually strike multiple targets at once late, they might cry tears of blood.

Little did they realize that the moment they downloaded it, every detail of theirs was being monitored.

However, they were of little importance, the ones who would be facing the brunt in the future were none other than those responsible for attacking and hacking since everything they were doing was now under Evan's watchful eyes, giving him vast access to worldwide data of almost all important individuals.