Chapter 442: First, Let's Talk Payment

Olivia had recovered the main system, which held most of their critical files and footage. But if the studio was going to fully function again, every other computer had to be fixed too. The moment Olivia heard the words “pay extra,” her entire demeanor softened.

“Alright, alright. Let’s talk numbers first…”

She was just so willing to help. Zayn, who had been in the business for years, had never—not once—seen an editing studio turn into a side hustle like this.

While Olivia’s Little Wendigo was busy feasting, the rest of the internet was falling apart. The Grim Reaper Knocking on Doors Virus had exploded across networks, infecting an uncountable number of computers. Firewalls that big corporations had relied on were completely useless, and the sheer amount of lost data had sent everyone into a panic.

Online, discussions about the Grim Reaper Knocking on Doors Virus were blowing up. With their computers bricked, people had no choice but to rage—post from their phones.

“Who in their right mind created this nightmare? Have you ever done anything remotely useful in your life?”

“Give me back my thesis! Do you know how much blood, sweat, and tears went into that?”

“That damn funeral music is gonna haunt me for the rest of my life…”

“You ever been fully locked into a horror movie, and then bam—a bunch of Grim Reapers just pop up on your screen? I nearly died for real!”

“Can someone please figure out how to fix this?”

“Just checked the hacker forums. Bad news. Even the pros have zero solutions right now.”

“Calling it now—Eldoria’s hackers are behind this mess.”

“Agreed. Some countries just can’t stand watching Cyperia thrive.”

“I thought so too!”

The internet was in full meltdown mode. Even the Kenneth family’s businesses weren’t spared.

When Andres arrived at work that morning, he walked into a total disaster—every computer in the company had been hit by the Grim Reaper Knocking on Doors Virus.

Chapter 442 – First, Let's Talk Payment

But the response he got instead? Zero had suddenly struck it rich a while back and had taken off on vacation. He wasn’t just unreachable—he had allegedly left without even bringing a laptop…

With Zero off the map, Andres had no choice but to shell out an insane amount of money to bring in a whole team of elite hackers to fix the mess. And he wasn’t the only one struggling. Liliana’s Starlit Entertainment had also been hit hard that day.

But what really had Andres worried…? The company’s losses? Just money. Sure, it stung, but at the end of the day, money could be replaced. But the Kenneth family’s private servers? Those were filled with highly classified documents.

If this virus wasn’t just random cybercrime—if it was actually the work of a foreign power trying to steal Cyperia’s secrets… then the files in Kenneth mansion absolutely could not be exposed.

Without wasting a second, Andres grabbed his phone and called home. The moment Walden answered the phone, Andres immediately launched into full panic mode, explaining the viral outbreak and telling him to check all computers storing classified files at home. If there was any sign of infection, he needed to disconnect everything from the internet as soon as possible.

But as Walden listened to his frantic son, he sat there completely unfazed, casually dragging useless files into Little Wendigo’s mouth like it was just another day. A few days ago, he had linked his computer to Zero’s system just to make feeding Little Wendigo easier. Somehow, the little creature had just moved in permanently.

Now, on his screen, Little Wendigo was sitting there, belly round, hiccuping from all the data it had devoured.

Walden replied, “Grim Reaper Knocking on Doors Virus? No idea what you’re talking about. My computer’s fine.”

Little Wendigo said, “Hic… pfft.” A scythe fell out of its mouth.