Chapter 23 Young Programmer Named Alex

"Social engineering attack? You mean tricking people to get the key?" Isabella caught on right away.

"Yep," I said. "The folks on the 'Shadow' forum are pretty careful, but everyone has their weaknesses. Greed, fear, curiosity...we exploit those, gain their trust, and boom, we're in."

"We can also try side-channel attacks, like checking out the system's power use, electromagnetic signals, or timing differences to figure out keys or other sensitive stuff."

I started digging around online for info on the 'Shadow' forum members, hoping to find a lead.

I used a bunch of open-source intelligence (OSINT) tools like Shodan, Maltego, and Recon-ng to gather email addresses, social media profiles, and forum usernames of the targets.

After a few days of hard work, I found a promising target—a user named "Obsidian."

From my research, "Obsidian" was a senior member of the 'Shadow' forum, super active, and always sharing tech articles and tools.

Turns out, "Obsidian" was actually a young programmer named Alex, who was great at cryptography and cybersecurity but was a bit of a loner and not too savvy about security.

I decided to go after him.

I created a fake identity, registered a new forum account, and started chatting with "Obsidian" on the forum.

I acted really interested in cryptography, asking him questions and praising him at the right moments.

Meanwhile, I launched a side-channel attack on Alex.

I found out he often used a specific laptop to log into the 'Shadow' forum, so I exploited a vulnerability to install malware on his laptop to record his keystrokes and take screenshots.

This malware was super sneaky, undetectable by antivirus software, and it encrypted the data before sending it to my server.

A few days later, I finally got Alex's login password.

I took a deep breath, typed in the username and password, and hit the login button.

A black screen popped up with white text saying, "Welcome to Shadow."

I had successfully infiltrated the 'Shadow' forum!

In the police conference room, the projection screen showed the 'Shadow' forum interface, and the tension was thick.

Isabella, Harper, Michael, and I sat around the conference table, all looking a bit worn out.

"We got into the 'Shadow' forum," I said, pointing to a username on the screen. "This is Jeremy Wright's account—'The Catcher in the Rye.'"

We tracked his activity and found he often hung out in a private chat room called 'Hecate.'"

"Hecate," Michael said thoughtfully. "The Greek goddess of the underworld, symbolizing night and magic."

"Exactly," Isabella added. "The members of the 'Hecate' chat room are super secretive. They all use aliases, and their communications are heavily encrypted. But we managed to decrypt some of the chat logs."

I projected the decrypted chat logs onto the screen, showing scattered words like "ritual," "sacrifice," "rebirth," and so on, giving off a creepy vibe.

"These words sound like cult talk," Harper said, frowning.

"My thoughts exactly," I said, my gut twisting with a growing sense of dread. "And we found something else. Something even more disturbing."

I projected another piece of info onto the screen, a photo of a masked man standing in front of an altar, holding a dagger.

"This guy," Michael squinted. "His outfit looks like some kind of religious garb."

"Exactly," I explained. "From our investigation, this guy is likely the leader of the 'Hecate' group—'Hades.'"

"Hades," Harper murmured. "Could the 'Hecate' group be a cult worshiping Hades?"

"Yeah, it looks that way," I said. "Plus, we found out 'Hades' and Jeremy are pretty tight."

I pulled up another chat log on the screen, showing a conversation between "Hades" and "The Catcher in the Rye."

Hades: [You did well.]

The Catcher in the Rye: [All for the goddess.]

Hades: [Soon, the goddess will be reborn.]

The Catcher in the Rye: [I am willing to give everything.]

"Rebirth," Isabella muttered, her fingers tracing the edge of the table, her brows furrowed. "Do they really think they can bring Scarlett back? How? Sacrifice? Some forbidden ritual?"

"This is nuts!" Michael shot up, pacing and running his hands through his hair. "The dead can't come back; it's a law of nature! They're delusional! This is just their twisted obsession!"

"But we can't ignore it," I said seriously, feeling a chill run through me.

I clenched my fists, my knuckles turning white. "If the 'Hecate' group is a cult, nothing they do would surprise me. Think about the victims of The Tragedy of the Red Rose and those bizarre deaths."

"So, what now?" Harper hugged herself, looking for some sense of security.

"We need to find 'Hades' ASAP," I said firmly, my eyes locked on the organizational chart on the screen. "Only by finding him can we uncover the truth behind 'The Tragedy of the Red Rose,' stop the 'Hecate' group's plans, and keep them from hurting more innocent people."

"But we don't even know who 'Hades' really is. How do we find him?" Michael slumped back into his chair, frowning deeply, his fingers tapping the table.

"We have some leads." I pointed to the chart on the screen, tracing the connections with a laser pointer.

"Even though the core members of 'Hecate' use aliases, we have their contact info, some personal details, and even some quirks. We can start with this info, follow the trail, and peel away their disguises like an onion until we find 'Hades.'" I paused, took a deep breath, and my gaze fell on a name on the screen, my voice dropping with doubt and unease. "Also, Aiden's name is on this list."

My voice almost broke, a wave of pain hitting me.

"After the fire at the mansion," I continued, my voice strained, "I...I couldn't accept he was gone. I re-examined the DNA report, the one that confirmed his death. There were inconsistencies. The sample didn't come directly from a body, but from a piece of burnt clothing found at the scene."

"But given the 'Hecate' group's background and methods, I suspect someone planted this to make it look like Aiden died in the fire. They might even have tech to synthesize or replicate DNA. I need to go to Lannan; I have to see for myself, find him, dead or alive!" I finished my words.

"Exactly," Michael nodded, his face serious. "Your suspicion makes sense; 'Hecate' could definitely pull this off. We should split into two teams: one to keep digging into the 'Hecate' group and the other to go to Lannan to look for Aiden. We can't let him be in danger!"

He stood up, determination spreading. "This time, we have to take down the 'Hecate' group for good!"