Chapter 24 – When Luck Turns Poison
The hacker's threat was not idle.
The very next day, the structure of Xiao Xi's phenomenal success began to crumble with chilling speed.
A major, lucrative beauty brand deal, finalized just days before, was abruptly canceled, citing "unforeseen legal issues." Her trending social media tags suddenly vanished, scrubbed from the search results as if by a massive, unseen hand. The constant stream of positive public attention evaporated.
Worst of all, the attack was targeting her source of power.
Her balance in the System dropped drastically, accompanied by the most terrifying message yet:
[Luck – 700 points. Cause: Reverse Drain. Foreign entity actively siphoning host resources.]
[Current Luck: 4100.]
Someone was actively, digitally siphoning her luck back through the compromised system.
Her survival buffer was dissolving.
Desperate and terrified, she bypassed all protocol and stormed into Gu Yanzhou's top-floor office suite, ignoring his secretary's protests.
"You need to check your network, Gu Yanzhou," she said, her voice shaking with controlled hysteria.
She slapped the discarded USB drive onto his desk.
"Someone is hacking me through your company servers.
They're stealing my momentum.
They know about my luck."
He instantly recognized the gravity in her voice.
He didn't argue.
He opened his laptop, his fingers flying across the keyboard with blinding speed, navigating his security systems.
Lines of unfamiliar, alien code began to flash onscreen—the same glowing symbols from her internal panel.
He wasn't looking at corporate malware; he was looking at an active system invasion.
His eyes widened, reflecting the terrifying glow of the screen.
The surprise on his face was genuine, deep.
"Xiao Xi… this isn't normal malware.
It's too sophisticated.
It's… it's structured.
It looks alive."
The confirmation that he saw the code—that he was now aware of the impossible digital war she was fighting—was simultaneously a relief and a terrifying validation.
Before she could reply, her internal System crackled audibly, emitting a sharp, physical pain in her ears:
[Warning! Primary variable in danger! Access to financial core initiated!]
Gu Yanzhou's primary monitor, which displayed his corporate dashboard, suddenly went black.
A single line of text, written in the hacker's chilling white font, replaced the complex graphics:
If she stays with you, she dies with you.
End the contract now.
The hacker had just breached the most secure network in the country, and issued a final, fatal ultimatum.