Kraken's response was not a direct attack. It was a test of her defenses. A week after the meeting, Silas reported a sophisticated cyber-attack on Phoenix Holding's nascent network. It was traced back to a server farm in Estonia, a known Kraken front.
They weren't trying to steal data; they were trying to wipe it. A digital scorched earth.
Mo Chen didn't retaliate in kind. She retaliated in fire.
She activated the [Scorched Earth Protocol], designating the Kraken server farm in Estonia as the target. The cost was staggering—a million dollars of her hard-earned personal wealth vanished in an instant.
Forty-eight hours later, news broke of a catastrophic, "freak" electrical fire that had utterly destroyed the server farm. The cause was listed as faulty wiring. There were no casualties, but Kraken lost a critical intelligence node.
The message was received. Phoenix Holdings wasn't just a financial player; it was a force of nature that could reach out and incinerate your assets from across the globe. The arrogant upstart had just demonstrated terrifying, unexplainable reach.
The nature of the game had changed. Kraken would no longer see her as just a nuisance. She was now a primary target.