Chapter 70.1

Chapter 70.1

“If it seems too difficult…”

Soryeong trailed off as she looked at Channa, who was still in her early twenties.

Just because she had done this kind of work since she was young didn’t mean she was a master of everything. No matter how skilled she was, carrying it out would be a different story.

With a bitter expression, Seoryeong bit her lip and gently patted the round head in front of her. Just then, Channa’s eyes suddenly twisted, revealing the bruised pride within.

“The only thing I can’t break through is constipation!”

She bared her front teeth like a small animal and wrinkled her nose.

“And South Korea often doesn’t even realize they’ve been hit!”

She tugged at her collar in frustration, fanning herself.

“The leak of internal documents from Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, the breach of Nonghyup’s computer network, the theft of personal information from Seoul National University Hospital—these were all the work of the Reconnaissance General Bureau of the Korean People’s Army, North Korea’s intelligence agency…! And yet, South Korea couldn’t respond properly…!”

“.…”

“But I’ve heard rumors that in recent years, they’ve gotten some decent folks, and their firewalls have become sturdier. Don’t underestimate me, unni. I plan to play with that guy day and night!”

Her youthful face boiled with a fierce determination and pride. Seeing that pure fighting spirit,

Seoryeong began to understand why the North Korean government hadn’t succeeded in brainwashing her completely and why they were desperate to get rid of her even now. Nothing is more threatening than a young, wild beast lost in its own world.

“Why would I stop Channa from doing something that could benefit us both? I’m not saying you shouldn’t do it if it seems difficult; just make sure to leave a definite signature.”

“A signature?”

Finally, Channa’s aggressive demeanor softened as she blinked.

“North Korea often used the name Kim Sukhyang in phishing emails, right?”

“Yes, they did….”

It was well-known that a North Korean hacker group often used the name Kim Sukhyang to steal personal information by hiding malicious code in emails.

“I want to leave a mark like that too.”

“With what name?”

Seoryeong took a deep breath, almost overwhelmed, and answered.

“Kim Hyun.”

Everything would be done under that man’s name.

***

Na Wonchang, a hacker in the unofficial Team 1 of the NIS’s Overseas Interests Information Department, yawned as he emerged from the duty room.

Dragging his slippers, scratching his tousled hair, and rubbing the one double eyelid folded over his other eye, he returned to the office and sat in front of a monitor emblazoned with the NIS logo.

“Sigh…”

His body slumped into the chair like a pile of laundry. He aimlessly rolled the chair’s wheels back and forth.

Na Wonchang worked in a classified department covering a black agent, so he was disguised as a regular employee in the Cyber Security Team.

Whirr― The only sound in the department was the hum of machines.

The office, filled with large screens and various monitors, was dim. On the glass blackboard and whiteboard were hastily scribbled domain addresses, reverse DNS data, and related IPs.

“Ah… Team leader.”

Na Wonchang leaned back, silently lamenting.

Reinvestigating the “Owl” case, a task secretly assigned by Lee Wooshin, felt like handling a bomb every day. First, he was scared because the deputy director might notice at any moment, and second, the more he dug into the “Owl” case, the stranger it got.

By nature, he excelled more at defense than offense. He preferred building ten or twenty layers of defense and quickly restoring breached areas rather than breaking through and attacking something.

Rebuilding the destroyed, stitching torn pieces back together to find the original form and starting point—that was his specialty. Thus, restoring deleted traces and backtracking escape routes was Na Wonchang’s expertise.

As such—

Restoring the psychological counseling records and videos of “Owl” wasn’t difficult, even though the data was nearly a terabyte in size.

The counseling continued from when he was ten until just before the Bird Box operation began.

But wait… wasn’t this operation spanning two and a half years? Why was the data so large?

“……”

Perhaps “Owl” had been monitored long before that. Just the fleeting thought made Na Wonchang’s hairs stand on end.

Soon, feelings of regret for digging into something unnecessary and fear of breaking NIS protocols surged through him like a wave.

He sighed again, unable to help himself. “Curiosity kills the cat, you know…”

At that moment, someone slammed the glass door open with a bang!

Na Wonchang frowned and turned his head toward the noise, where a man with a flapping tie rushed in, panting.

“Hey, hey, wake up, man! Come join us for a bit!”

The familiar face belonged to a staff member from the Financial Crimes Team under the deputy director. Despite bursting through the door, the man stood with his butt out as if ready to flee at any moment.

Regardless, Na Wonchang merely spun in his chair and placed a pencil on his upper lip. This annoyed the staff member, who shouted in irritation.

“We’re in an emergency! 5 billion was stolen from Park Kwangdu account!”

“Excuse me?”

Only then did the previously indifferent Wonchang turn his head.