Bitcoin Billionaire: I Regressed to Invest in the First Bitcoin!-Chapter 37: Firewall

Her display picture was a sleek, high-resolution image of a woman in her late thirties, dressed in a form-fitting black business suit and was sitting on a throne-like chair.

She had very beautiful eyes, silver and enchanting, faint cheekbones, an oval tender face and glossy dark hair styled in bangs and cut at neck length.

Beneath her picture were several highlighted banners, information of her company, her assets, her personal information that she permitted to the audience and other stuff concerning her business;

- Bordeaux Corporation (Finance, Real Estate, Luxury Assets)

- Lamb & Co. Investment Group

- High-Stakes Investment Opportunities (Min Buy-in: $10M)

Darren then noticed that her profile had a golden tick next to her name.

'Well, that's fancy,' he thought.

Seeing it was selectable, Darren tapped it.

A small window loaded and showed an explanation of the golden tick.

Golden Tick – Ultra Verified Billionaire User

(Exclusive to business moguls, influential CEOs, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.)

"Vain things like these are pretty cool sometimes," Darren muttered. "If I ever claim the FuglyDuckling account, I'd want a golden tick. It makes the blue one seem inferior."

His eyes lowered the next option;

See more golden tick accounts?

Darren was just about to tap Yes when—

Dong!

His system snapped into existence before him.

This sound was more terrifying than the usual lighthearted Ding! the system usually made. It sounded like something bad was happening, or was about to happen.

And indeed, that was the case.

The usual purple colored interface had turned blood-red and warning flashed across his interface.

┏WARNING! WARNING!┛

┏HACKING ATTEMPT DISCERNED.

SOMEONE IS TRYING TO BREACH YOUR BITCOIN PROFIT WALLET.┛

Darren's smirk vanished. "What?!" His fingers froze over the keyboard of his phone and he flung the device aside.

His eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean hacking?!"

He even got a notification on his phone from the Bitcoin purchase website that he didn't really use, asking him if he wanted to withdraw the money he'd just invested.

His system's alarms continued to blare louder and louder, notifying him of the active hacking attempt on his Bitcoin profit wallet.

Darren tried to maintain composure, his fingers drummed against his desk, mind reeling.

'The system educated me on this. There are steps I can take and the system can only implement them if I give it the direct order! What was it?!'

Another notification flashed on his phone screen.

'Security bypassed, portfolio is being returned to cash to be withdrawn.'

What kind of skilled hacker is this?! They'd already broken past his security!

With a burst of urgency, he remembered!

"System, secure the wallet and engage multi-layer encryption. Now."

┏Beginning emergency lockdown┛

A second later, his screen flooded with updates.

┏Firewall: Reinforced

Multi-Layer Encryption: Engaged

IP Cloaking: Active

Wallet integrity remains intact. Hacking attempt repelled┛

There was silence first. Darren glanced at his phone, waiting. Then a notification appeared:

'Withdrawal has been successfully cancelled.'

The tension in Darren's shoulders eased slightly and he let out a sigh of relief.

Whoever it was, they weren't getting in. But that wasn't enough. Someone had the audacity to try and breach his security. He needed to know who.

"System, identify the hacker."

┏Traceback: In Progress…┛

Lines of code cascaded across the screen, his system tracing the breach back to its source. Coordinates, network paths, and encrypted tunnels unraveled one by one, until finally—

┏Hacker located. Would you like to view?┛

Darren didn't hesitate. "Show me."

The screen flickered, shifting from data streams to an unauthorized access into the hacker's device. The almighty Investor System had breached their camera feed, but the image was obstructed— a strip of tape covered the lens.

Darren's system overrode the interference, enhancing the resolution just enough to form a hazy image. A faint outline appeared. The hacker was a woman.

Red hair.

A choker necklace.

Some cleavage.

Darren's eyes narrowed. He knew her.

He remembered the day he'd gone to DataForge.

It was that computer chick. Kara.

Did she know he was FuglyDuckling? Or was she just trying to steal from the most talked about business investor in online trade?

His jaw tightened.

"System, connect me to the laptop's speaker."

A moment later, a number materialized on the screen. And after some calculations, the system gained access to the speaker.

Kara was still tapping her way on her keyboard, trying to reclaim control of the wallet.

"For hell's sake! What kind of firewall is this?" She grinned. "This duckling guy sure has some powerful tech nerds to push me out of control like that."

Then— click.

She heard a sharp inhale from the other end. Silence.

She looked around. "What the fuck was that?"

"Kara."

"Ah!" She yelped, recoiling backwards and staring at her computer.

Darren's voice was calm, yet edged with steel. "Kara DeAndre. That's your full name, isn't it."

A beat of silence. Kara stared at the monitor, her heart beating. "Who is this?"

Darren leaned back in his chair, eyes fixed on the flickering screen. "You shouldn't tape your camera with cheap adhesive. Leaves too much static interference."

Kara's breath hitched. "…Oh. Are you... the Duckling guy?"

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

Darren didn't answer that. "You're in your apartment right now. Midtown. Fourth floor. Second window from the left."

More silence. A nervous chuckle. "…That so?"

She looked around, then got more tape and tried to cover the camera more.

But the system had already tapped into a security camera installed on her wall. Darren had a new angle to watch her from.

"You know, for someone who tried to break into my wallet, you're surprisingly sloppy."

She giggled, masking her unease. "I wouldn't call it breaking in. More like… knocking politely."

Darren scoffed. "With a crowbar?"

She clicked her tongue. "Okay, maybe a little force."

He ignored her attempt at humor. "Kara DeAndre. Twenty-six. Graduated top of your class in cybersecurity, but never took a corporate job." He let that hang before adding, "Too rebellious for structure, huh?"

A pause. She then replied: "I prefer the term 'independent contractor.'"

Darren didn't laugh. "Right. Independent. Like that stunt with the Federal Database last year?"

Kara stiffened. "…You know about that?"

"From what is right before me, it seems I know everything. You've made a mistake, Kara."

Her breathing slowed. She was finally realizing just how deep she'd dug herself.

Darren's voice dropped an octave. "Now, here's what we're going to do."

Kara swallowed. "I'm listening."

"You're going to meet me. Tonight. You bring your laptop, and we have a talk."

A sharp inhale. "What if I don't?"

Darren's next words were a whisper of finality. "Then you'll find out just how much I actually know about you."

Silence.

Then Kara spoke, "Text me the location?"

A smirk tugged at Darren's lips. "How stupid do you think I am? I know all your hacker antics. Texting would help you trace the message. You want to find me before I find you."

Kara gulped.

"You're smart. I'll give you that. But every move you make from now will be moves I tell you to make. Understood?"

"Yes," she answered, her voice less brave than before.

"Your first move. Castle Cottage. Meet me there."

And with that, he cancelled the connection.