GOD MODE FRESHMAN: Trillionaire Simulator

Chapter 20 - 20: The Firewall Cracks

2:47 AM – Skycrest Villa, Neural Command Center

The room pulsed with a low-frequency hum tuned to sharpen focus. Ye Chen's fingers hovered over a holographic console, its blue light etching shadows across his brow. Behind him, Su Ning's reflection fractured across seven security monitors, each screen tracking her biometrics: elevated heart rate (82 bpm), cortisol levels spiking in sync with the system's decryption alerts. @@novelbin@@

"The firewall's core requires dual authentication," Ye said, voice stripped of inflection as he parsed layers of encrypted data. "Left palm on the scanner. Don't move."

Su pressed her gloved hand against the biometric plate. A needle pricked her skin, drawing a droplet of blood that fluoresced toxic green under forensic lighting. The machine hissed, analyzing DNA markers like a corporate spy dissecting trade secrets.

"Your security architecture..." Ye rotated the hologram, revealing a labyrinth of data streams modeled after the Forbidden City's imperial pathways. "...mirrors your family's compound. Sentimental choice?"

Her eyelid twitched – a 0.3-second delay the system flagged as Nostalgia Anomaly 002.

"Tradition," she replied, adjusting the neural monitor clamped to her collarbone. A faint scar peeked beneath the device – eight millimeters long, precise as a surgeon's incision. "Our walls are designed to be studied, not breached."

[System Alert]

» Firewall β Integrity: 89% → 74%

» Biometric Discrepancy: Scar tissue pattern mismatch detected

3:03 AM – Digital Battlefield

The chamber dissolved into a holographic warzone – a cybernetic replica of Su's mental fortress, where firewalls took shape as vermilion palace gates and data streams flowed like mercury moats. Ye's avatar materialized in Tang Dynasty armor, his sword flickering between steel and binary code.

"Stay close." His words fragmented into encryption keys. "The traps here rewrote a Silicon Valley CEO's psyche last quarter."

Su's projection appeared in Song Dynasty robes, jade hairpins humming with defensive algorithms. "Those fools tried to brute-force poetry with spreadsheets."

A swarm of data-crows descended, beaks dripping malware. Ye cleaved through them, reciting Li Bai's verses that morphed into firewall protocols. One bird exploded into a cloud of stock tickers and divorce filings.

[Achievement Unlocked: Literary Warfare]

» +180 XP (Total: 835/900)

» Cognitive Defense Mastery: 47% → 55%

3:29 AM – Memory Vault

At the labyrinth's heart glowed a black orb – Su's trauma node, its surface etched with neural pathways that pulsed like poisoned veins.

"Biometric key confirmed," droned the AI, its voice syrup-thick. "Accessing core memory bank."

The orb cracked open, vomiting holograms:

1. Memory 001: A teenage Su collapsing mid-piano concerto, sheet music disintegrating into hospital monitors.

2. Memory 005: Boardroom screams, her father's fist smashing a Ming vase that bled financial reports.

3. Memory 009: Midnight coding sessions fueled by smuggled vodka and stolen MIT lectures.

In the physical world, Su's breathing synced to the cardiac monitor's faltering rhythm. Ye severed the neural link, sweat crystallizing on his temples like salt diamonds.

"You rebuilt your entire firewall to hide..." His thumb brushed the scar above her wrist. "...a beta-blocker prescription?"

Her laugh carried shattered edges. "Every fortress needs foundations. Mine just..." She tapped the lorazepam vial in her clutch. "...came pre-medicated."

The AI butler materialized, holographic tea tray steaming with data-infused pu'erh. "Shall I draft the revised nondisclosure agreements?"

"Burn them." Su's glove slammed the console, fracturing a monitor into digital cubism. "And terminate Dr. Wu's consultancy."

[Quest Updated]

» Rebuild the Ice Queen's Firewall

» Reward:

· 60% equity in Su Family's Black Swan Fund

· Master access to Trauma Node Γ-7