Super God-Level Top Student
Chapter 925 - 350: Twilight of the Empire (Part 2)_2

"What about the experts we hired? What about our firewall? How did it fail to detect this?"

"Well... the firewall actually did send out anomaly alerts, but they were ignored... Also, that person—mentioned in the report as Ethan Williams—our investigation shows his work record at Alphabet is quite... I'm sorry, I don't know how to describe it."

There was much to explain, but many details were technical and specific, likely beyond the understanding of Christopher Brown, who didn't need everything spelled out clearly.

Of course, even the person reporting the case couldn't understand how things came to this.

A technical personnel, from the very first day of employment, diligently planted backdoors and vulnerabilities into a major project hosted by a legitimate, large-scale tech company every single day. The fact that Google didn't detect it can be excused, but the company even promoted him as the project leader.

Granted, the code contributed by this individual was undeniably deceptive.

For example, the security response code he wrote genuinely was excellent; placed within the codebase, it obviously demonstrated his skill and pursuit of security. But if one weren't careful during review, they'd find one additional dot just before that segment of code.

It was precisely this tiny dot that rendered the subsequent security response code completely ineffective, never even initiating...

If this mistake were discovered during review, most people wouldn't give it a second thought, likely chalking it up as a simple oversight.

It can only be said that this was a very capable individual, though his capabilities were sadly misplaced.

Fortunately, Christopher Brown understood he probably wouldn't grasp these technical intricacies either. He simply frowned and asked, "Is he Chinese?"

"No, he was born in Washington. His mother is of Anglo-American descent, and his father is also American."

A long ten-second silence...

"Alright, so where is he now?"

"Around the same time as the data anomalies, he had already resigned from Google. Shortly after, he disappeared. We are actively searching for him. Most of his assets have been frozen, but we believe he has more than one identity and likely has other hidden assets."

Christopher Brown fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Are you sure the list hasn't been leaked?"

"Yes, Mr. Brown."

Hearing this confirmation, Christopher Brown let out a sigh of relief.

Though top-tier operatives left little information in digital archives, most of the personnel dispatched or recruited by Langley weren't considered elite members. If the extensive global list of operatives and followers had been leaked, Langley wouldn't just be recuperating—it would be rendered semi-paralyzed.

Building a comprehensive intelligence network isn't something achieved overnight, nor through idle chatter. It demands immense manpower, financial resources, material support, and substantial time to operate effectively. It's not the kind of thing office-bound clerical workers could handle.

"Alright, that's fine. Find that guy as quickly as you can and contain him. Remember, do it quietly, don't push him too far. This matter absolutely must not be exposed, at least not before mid-November."

"Understood."

...

Ethan Williams probably would've never imagined that casually installing a seemingly harmless software would draw the attention of one of the world's largest intelligence agencies.

If he had known, he might've chosen to confess everything to his company's management and certainly wouldn't have allowed himself to be coerced into installing any dubious software. But unfortunately, this world doesn't deal in "ifs," nor has Washington launched any anti-scam apps.

After all, he merely wanted to make money by dabbling in hacking; he didn't intend to destroy himself in the process.

Fortunately, his decisions were resolute enough.

On the very day of installing the software, he submitted his resignation, and the next day, he decisively left Google. In the following days, he managed to handle most of his stocks and distribute them across multiple accounts.

The Langley professionals were spot on. Ethan Williams did indeed craft two sets of identities.

On the day after his resignation, he first used his original identity to fly to Florida near the border, then with his new identity, bought a second-hand car and drove into a neighboring country, where he subsequently flew to Hawaii. His methods were crude, but given the urgency, it was the safest plan he could think of.

In truth, he owed thanks to Dou Dou. To ensure the guy could escape more smoothly, Dou Dou provided crucial assistance in network and communications. This wasn't likely an act of kindness but rather an effort to maintain professionalism as a scapegoat.

Operating without violating any laws while achieving this was truly demanding...

...

Huaxia, Xilin University of Technology.

The university campus was like a pyramid, effectively barring the external chaos and sinister forces from entering. It preserved the last vestige of innocence for countless students before adulthood, especially those in Qiao Class.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Xu Changshu walked into the classroom right on time.

Thanks to Xu Dajiang's arrangement, professors from the Mathematics Research Institute were now required to participate in teaching Qiao Class. Naturally, Xu Changshu was no exception.

Unlike other professors, Xu Changshu didn't resist this arrangement.

When he originally applied to transfer to Xilin University of Technology, it was with the intent to teach. Initially, he had hoped to join the School of Mathematics, but with the establishment of the Xilin Mathematics Research Institute, he decided to enter the Institute directly.

Now, he was the professor responsible for "Algebraic Geometry" on algebraic curves for Qiao Class.

In the School of Mathematics, this was typically a third-year course. However, Qiao Class had a newly compiled textbook for the subject, referencing GTM211 and incorporating some foundational aspects of Qiao's Algebraic Geometry.