Xiao Yu's computer screen had gone pitch black.
A cold, iron gate appeared on the display, sealed shut with an enormous lock. The image was grim and oppressive, and above it, in blood-red digital text, was a countdown. Below it, a single prompt in Chinese.
As the four girls leaned in to read it, their faces went stiff.
"This… looks like a virus," Zhou Wei murmured, blinking. "It's got the same creepy vibe as that last ransomware thing."
"Try rebooting!" Li Ruoxuan scrambled to restart the laptop.
Half a minute later, the system booted back up—only to reveal the same ominous image. The iron gate remained, the lock unbroken. No desktop, no files, no escape.
"Wait, you think this came from the... action movie?" Wang Xiaolan said, turning slowly toward Li Ruoxuan.
"Impossible!" Li Ruoxuan forced a nervous laugh. "I watched it. It was clean. I think…"
"You think?" all three girls chorused, eyes narrowing.
"I have a friend whose friend studies cybersecurity. I'll check their updates," Zhou Wei said quickly, pulling out her phone.
"I'll look up what this virus is," Wang Xiaolan added, typing furiously into her search engine.
Xiao Yu and Li Ruojun watched in stunned silence.
"I'll… try the movie on my own laptop," Li Ruoxuan muttered, moving to her desk and plugging in the USB.
"Got it!" Wang Xiaolan said suddenly, eyes wide. "It's a ransomware variant! First appeared in Europe around 6:30 PM. As of now, over 80,000 computers infected. It hit North America by 7 and it's still spreading. They say it propagates via email attachments and phishing sites, and it locks entire systems, not just files."
"I'm seeing the same thing here," Zhou Wei held up her phone. "People from our school are posting on Moments—it's everywhere. The moment you connect to the campus network, you're toast."
Li Ruoxuan yelped and yanked out her Ethernet cable. "Thank God I didn't log on yet!"
Too late for that. Zhou Wei glanced back at her own laptop.
Black screen. Iron gate. Crimson countdown.
"I… I think I'm infected too."
"You just realized?" Wang Xiaolan muttered.
"But I was watching a TV drama! I didn't even click anything suspicious!"
The others exchanged a look as Zhou Wei flailed over her ruined screen.
"Just like last time," Wang Xiaolan said. "But this time, they're not locking files. They're locking everything. Whole system frozen. Hackers are demanding Bitcoin. If you don't pay within a week, they wipe your hard drive."
Li Ruoxuan squinted at the warning message. "Well… at least it wasn't my movie that caused it." She exhaled in relief. "Otherwise, I'd never hear the end of it."
"But… all my accounting notes are in there," Xiao Yu whispered, anxiety blooming on her face.
"I read someone saying that the only fix right now is a full system reinstall," Zhou Wei said, frowning. "No antivirus is working yet."
Xiao Yu's thoughts spun—and then landed on a face: Chen Mo.
He'd been studying programming and hacking nonstop for days. Maybe… just maybe, he'd know what to do.
She grabbed her phone.
The moment it rang, Chen Mo's face lit up. He was already on his way home from the gym, and the caller ID—Xiao Yu—brought a smile to his face.
"Hey, Xiao Yu."
"Chen Mo…" Xiao Yu's voice was soft, and behind her, three grinning faces leaned in close to eavesdrop.
"Missed me already?" he teased.
Xiao Yu blushed hard.
"I've got a virus on my computer."
Chen Mo froze. "Chinese ransomware?"
"It's a variant. Black screen, iron gate, red countdown…"
As she explained the situation, her voice grew more desperate. She hadn't seen this exact kind before, and the stakes were her schoolwork.
"I'm coming over now. Bring me the laptop—I'll take a look," Chen Mo said, suddenly serious.
He hung up, already pulling up news on his phone. Sure enough, every major headline screamed the same thing: GLOBAL RANSOMWARE ATTACK.
In the Dorm
After the call, Xiao Yu tried to calm her heartbeat—only to hear the mocking tone of Zhou Wei and Wang Xiaolan behind her:
"Xiao Yu~ I miss you~"
"Don't worry, I'm coming to your rescue~ muah~"
"You two!" Xiao Yu snapped, face burning.
"Focus," Li Ruoxuan said with a devilish grin. "You really gonna hand him your laptop?"
"What else can I do?"
"Did you forget…" she smirked, "what else is on your desktop?"
Xiao Yu paled.
The movie.
That stupid USB movie she never even wanted to watch in the first place.
"If he opens it…" Li Ruoxuan continued, dragging out the thought.
"Don't say it!" Xiao Yu practically shrieked.
"I'll give him both laptops," she said finally, steeling herself. "I trust he won't snoop. And if he does, I'll just explain."
"Yeah, after you die of embarrassment."
Downstairs
By the time Chen Mo arrived, the four girls were waiting outside.
Xiao Yu introduced them quickly. "This is Wang Xiaolan, Zhou Wei, and Li Ruoxuan."
Chen Mo smiled and greeted them politely. "Nice to meet you."
The girls responded with equally polite hellos, but there was curiosity in their eyes. He wasn't tall or bulky, but he radiated confidence—a calm, thoughtful energy that was far more magnetic than raw looks.
Xiao Yu handed him the laptops. "This one's mine. This is Ruoxi's. If mine can be saved, great. If not, we'll just reinstall."
"Recover mine," Li Ruoxuan chimed in with a mischievous smile, "and I'll tell you a juicy secret."
"Don't listen to her," Xiao Yu cut in quickly, glaring at her friend.
Chen Mo nodded. "I'll do what I can. I've been tracking the virus, and I've got a few ideas."
Then, turning to the girls, his expression grew more sincere: "If Xiao Yu ever runs into trouble, I hope you'll all look out for her. You can contact me anytime."
That got a chorus of soft, "Don't worry," and a playful nudge from Ruoxuan. "We've got her."
Chen Mo and Xiao Yu were left alone.
"Will there be a reward?" he grinned.
"If you fix it, we'll talk," Xiao Yu said, cheeks flushing again as she turned and hurried back to the dorm.
Back at the Rental House
Chen Mo placed both laptops on the table.
The screens stared back at him with the same menacing image: a black iron gate, a glowing red timer, a digital death knell counting down the seconds.
He took a breath and laid down on the bed.
Then—he entered the Science and Technology Library.
Time to fight fire with science.