Are You Safe Episode 30 Recap
> Are You Safe Recap
Zhou You was growing anxious because the company's shares were still difficult to liquidate. Chen Mo suggested selling "Kai Gua Le" to Hupo, but Zhou You, harboring prejudice against Hupo, refused. Just then, Senior Brother and Senior Sister arrived. They also advised against selling to Hupo, and Senior Brother offered to purchase the shares himself.
He explained his reasons, stating it was an investment for their cloud security, a way to use Qin Huai's face-reading system with peace of mind by becoming a shareholder, and generally helping a junior. Senior Sister initially hadn't discussed it with him but agreed, believing she too would help Qin Huai in his time of need.
Zhou You, desperate for funds, agreed, and they signed the share transfer agreement, requesting the money be credited as soon as possible, ideally that very day. On their way back, Senior Sister inquired why Senior Brother suddenly wanted to buy "Kai Gua Le." He confessed his true motive: Qin Huai had taken the most important thing from him in the past, and he intended to retaliate.
He explained that if Kai Gua Le merely shut down due to its troubles, Qin Huai could still start a new business with his patented technologies. By acquiring Kai Gua Le, he would strip Qin Huai of all those patents, making it incredibly difficult for him to make a comeback. He viewed this as an equal retribution for what Qin Huai had taken four years prior, though he acknowledged that acquiring the company didn't solve the ongoing Arsenal problem.
Meanwhile, "Camouflage City" came under attack. Zhou You found it impossible to parse the adversary's Internet Protocols, differentiate between real and fake signals, or pinpoint the signal's location. Chen Mo assured Zhou You that the General must be thoroughly prepared to bring Qin Huai online. Zhou You confirmed he had received the advance payment from Senior Brother.
However, a new challenge arose: each infected computer required a unique ransom account and amount, necessitating individual transfers from hundreds of different accounts to avoid arousing the General's suspicion. This daunting task made Zhou You sigh, his brow furrowed with worry, but Chen Mo urged him not to be distracted and promised to handle the issue. Zhou You posted an inquiry on a forum, seeking methods for locating multilayer hop-check encrypted Internet Protocol addresses.
Senior Brother, upon learning of this, saw his opportunity. He remarked that Zhou You had begun to suspect his Grey Heron identity, so they needed to change tactics. He then registered a new user and replied to Zhou You's post, confident that Zhou You, in his desperation, would download the file.
He reasoned that Zhou You would be less suspicious of a post from three years ago, whose original content was genuine, unaware that Senior Brother planned to replace the file transfer protocol software within it using money. True to his prediction, Zhou You briefly investigated the post before downloading the file. Realizing that the file could only run on an old system, Zhou You accessed Arsenal in a secret room.
The Arsenal server, configured by Qin Huai six years ago when he was a third-year college student, was the only computer available to Zhou You with an outdated system. Just as Zhou You expressed frustration with the old tool, Senior Brother stealthily compromised Arsenal. Ma Pingchuan grew impatient. His wife called from Taimanda, informing him their daughter was ill with pneumonia and a constant fever. Distraught, he decided to cooperate with the General.
Ma Pingchuan then called the General, agreeing to his previous offer on the condition that he be allowed to leave the country as soon as possible. Later that night, he arrived at Qin Huai's confinement location. Seeing Ma Pingchuan, Qin Huai sarcastically remarked, "Birds of a feather flock together." Qin Huai questioned Ma Pingchuan if he regretted engaging in dark patterns as a black hat for so long and if he didn't feel tainted.
Ma Pingchuan evaded the question, instead informing the General that the livestream would be broadcast on the most popular cybersecurity discussion forum, with parasitic servers changing every minute to prevent their location from being traced. The General was pleased. He approached Qin Huai, threatening Mu Tong's safety, and ordered Qin Huai to speak according to the teleprompter.
With a reminder to "think of Mu Tong," the General activated the livestream button and settled down to watch Qin Huai with keen interest. Forced by the circumstances, Qin Huai addressed the camera, declaring that he was the one who released the ransomware, which he called the RHO variant, an upgraded version of previous ransomware.
He boasted that no one else could crack it, and even if it were, the losses would be irreparable, promising a continuous increase in controlled computers. Upon seeing the livestream, Chen Mo and Zhou You became alarmed. Zhou You initially failed to find any hidden messages in Qin Huai's words. Chen Mo immediately sent a pop-up message to the livestream, hoping Qin Huai would see it.
Soon after, Chen Mo received a call from Officer Guo, who questioned why Qin Huai was livestreaming when he had been reported missing. Chen Mo explained his suspicion of coercion and asked Officer Guo to help locate Qin Huai. Officer Guo stated they were investigating the illegal content of the livestream and warned Chen Mo not to act independently, promising to do all they could to track it down and asking to be informed of any news.
Chen Mo replayed the livestream multiple times. He noticed that when their pop-up message appeared on screen, Qin Huai began making subtle hand movements. Chen Mo recognized these as Morse code. He decrypted the message, which revealed "Abandoned KTV," and that "The bottom of the takeaway box has the words 'Clean Plate Campaign' and a thumbs-up design."
Chen Mo deduced that since delivery orders typically have a limited range, finding the restaurant that used such a unique box and delivered to an abandoned KTV would significantly narrow down the search area for Qin Huai and Mu Tong. Zhou You immediately called his friend Ming, a food delivery driver, asking for help to find a restaurant that met these specific criteria, noting the order was likely for three men and one woman.
In the meantime, Qin Huai confronted Ma Pingchuan, pointing out that despite Ma Pingchuan's efforts, the General didn't fully trust him. He highlighted that Ma Pingchuan was in a similar precarious position, only without handcuffs. Qin Huai dismissed Ma Pingchuan's belief that he could simply "put up with it for a while," asserting that the General, who used Mu Tong to control him, would not easily let Ma Pingchuan or his family go.
Qin Huai urged Ma Pingchuan to protect his family now. The livestream incident, combined with Chen Mo's continued efforts to pay ransoms, accelerated the exposure of "Camouflage City." The General realized Chen Mo was still alive, infuriating him. He called Chen Mo, introducing himself and acknowledging Chen Mo's survival. The General then threatened Mu Tong and Qin Huai, demanding Chen Mo meet him at Gulou Street in 20 minutes, or risk finding their corpses.
Knowing the General's intentions, Chen Mo agreed to the meeting. He quickly instructed Zhou You to continue tracing their location, to avoid taking any risks, and to call the police immediately if he found anything.
