Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 52 Utilizing the Black Wall
A brief silence fell over the workshop, broken only by the low hum of the energy core and the faint sounds of the servo skull scan.

Chen Yu's calm, unwavering voice, as if stating physical laws, had just unveiled a plan that would be considered insane in the cyberpunk world.

“Exactly. The Black Wall, this global super firewall, is essentially a highly specialized, rule-driven, and massive collection of AI.” Chen Yu’s crimson optical lens swept across the shocked faces of the crowd as he continued in his characteristic, emotionless technical analysis tone: “Its core mission is to isolate the roaming AI outside the wall and ensure the basic security of the internal network.”

However, its sheer size and complex rule hierarchy mean that its monitoring of some 'non-malicious' but non-standard data flows within the internal network, or data flows that simulate specific system commands, is not foolproof.

This is especially true when certain inherent or legacy authentication vulnerabilities in its gateway protocol layer are exploited.

The military technology project "Little Beidou" at the time had some undisclosed exploration directions that attempted to understand and utilize certain underlying protocol characteristics of the Black Wall, turning them into an offensive weapon.

They achieved some initial, albeit risky, results. Although the project was ultimately terminated due to the risk of spiraling out of control, the technical principles it revealed... were indeed feasible.

While recounting these events, Chen Yu was also recalling his memories from before he traveled through time.

He vividly recalled that during the reconstruction of the new America, its intelligence and special forces unearthed and inherited some of the core legacies of "Project Little Beidou." It was this forbidden knowledge from the old era that was applied to a top hacker codenamed "The Nightingale."

The hacker, who was originally just somewhat talented, was transformed and upgraded into a terrifying being that could be called a "cyber nuclear bomb".

What makes Lark terrifying is that she can use the Black Wall itself as a springboard and amplifier for hacking—because almost all networks in the cyberpunk world, from personal terminals to corporate core databases, need to be connected to the Black Wall for protection, isolating them from the roaming AI outside.

She uses this ubiquitous connectivity and the power of the Black Wall to infiltrate almost any target, and can easily mobilize the Black Wall's massive size to instantly burn any person or device she targets.

Even the most powerful lone wolf hacker is as insignificant as an ant in the face of the Black Wall, which represents the cornerstone of the entire network defense.

However, the inability to confront directly does not mean that it cannot be utilized.

As he just explained, the key lies in "understanding" and "imitation".

“I don’t need to, and can’t control the Black Wall. That would require computing power beyond national levels and would inevitably invite devastating countermeasures.” Chen Yu’s mechanical tentacles precisely tapped several key data nodes on the screen, emphasizing the core of his plan: “I only need to perform a precise ‘imitation’… or rather, ‘forge’ its identity.”

I can construct a highly specialized data packet that exploits a specific authentication vulnerability in the black wall gateway protocol we've identified, causing the black wall system itself to 'misinterpret' it as a high-priority system broadcast or state synchronization message from a high-level node within it.

He paused briefly to allow everyone to grasp the disruptive nature of the concept before continuing to describe the horrifying scenario: "Once the injection is successful, thanks to the high priority of its internal markers, this data stream will follow the Blackwall's internal communication protocol, being automatically copied and distributed to every network access point that is connected to the Blackwall and online."

From the most basic personal terminals and public advertising displays to corporate intranets and government server networks...

In theory, any device connected to this network will be forced to pop up a high-priority information window that cannot be closed, bypassed, or blocked within a very short time.

The content displayed in the window is all the shady evidence you provided regarding biotechnology painkillers.

The workshop was deathly silent, as if even the air had frozen.

Everyone was speechless with awe at this bold, crazy plan, yet built on cold, technological logic.

How can we force messages onto every connected user in the world through a black wall?

This is no longer a clandestine flow of underground data, nor an investigative report that an independent news channel has to broadcast under pressure; it is an unstoppable information tsunami that sweeps across the entire digital world in an instant! Biotechnology will have no means to delete, suppress, or obfuscate this information in the first place, because the source of the information, on the surface, appears to be the Black Wall itself!

This could trigger a global media earthquake in an instant, dealing a devastating blow to the credibility and market value of biotechnology.

Sasha forgot her soft sobs and her defensive posture of curling up. She stared blankly at Chen Yu's dark red, god-like mechanical body, her eyes filled with disbelief.

The invisible wall called "corporate power" that had pushed her into the abyss of despair seemed to have a crack pointed out by the existence before her, a crack powerful enough to cause it to collapse.

A layer of despair crackled in her heart, while a burning hope—something she had never dared to dream of—was like a vine breaking free of its restraints, frantically coiling around her heart.

Rebecca's mouth gaped open, and it took her a while to close it. She muttered, "I...holy crap...this...this is truly 'blowing up the sky'...they've covered their own mess with black walls?!"

Mann took a deep breath of the oily air, trying to calm the turmoil churning inside him.

As the team leader, he instinctively weighed the risks and rewards.

He looked at Chen Yu, his eyes extremely solemn, his voice low and serious: "Boss, this... can it really be done? What are the chances of success? What if... what if Black Wall sees through it, how severe will the backlash be?"

"From a technical standpoint, based on the existing data model, the feasibility assessment is over 78%." Chen Yu's answer remained as calm as if he were reporting experimental data. "The main risks lie in the accuracy of the data packet construction, which must perfectly simulate the digital signature and communication format of specific nodes in the black wall; as well as the instantaneity and stealth of the injection process, which needs to be completed in a very short time to avoid being detected by the real-time monitoring system."

If the Black Wall's deep autonomous defense mechanism identifies a high-threat malicious attack, it may trigger the location of the injection source and a high-intensity countermeasure.

However, according to my calculations, because it highly mimics internal system commands and exploits protocol vulnerabilities rather than brute-force attacks, the probability of triggering the highest level of countermeasures is less than 15%.

He slightly adjusted the focal length of the optical lens and added, "Even if it is triggered, I have prepared multiple contingency plans, including instantly cutting off the physical connection, releasing a disguised jamming signal, and activating the workshop's emergency shielding force field, which is sufficient to evade tracking in most cases and ensure the safety of this place."

Chen Yu turned his gaze to Sasha, who was still in shock, and gave a clear path: "So, the data backup you obtained at a huge cost now has a far more 'efficient' and 'destructive' use than simply releasing it."

You need to organize and refine it into a format that is most suitable for widespread dissemination in that kind of forced pop-up environment and can instantly resonate with the public.

Once you are ready, and your body has undergone initial repairs and can withstand the possible, brief neural load of data transmission, we can initiate this 'global announcement' program.

Faced with technology that understands the essence of the rules, the company's carefully constructed barrier to control public opinion is nothing more than a fragile shield that relies on information asymmetry.

Breaking it doesn't always require brute force; it simply requires finding the right 'frequency' that resonates.

Sasha breathed heavily, almost greedily, her chest heaving violently, as if she had relearned how to breathe.

She looked at Chen Yu, then at Rebecca beside her, whose eyes burned with intense light, and at Mann and the others, whose expressions were solemn but who did not object.

The once stagnant lake of his heart was completely stirred up, with surging waves mixed with fear of unknown risks, a burning desire for revenge, and a resolute determination to gamble everything on a slim hope.

Her clenched fingers loosened slightly, then tightened again. Finally, she nodded gently. Her voice, though still weak and trembling, revealed an unprecedented, do-or-die determination: "How long...do I need...to prepare my body and the data?"

(End of this chapter)