The network of modified HG8145v5s had grown to 200 units. They weren't spreading via exploits; they were spreading via trust . Every time a technician tried to flash a clean V5, the router would politely refuse, then send a silent "I am healthy" report to the central server.

She traced the origin of the first mutated packet. It didn't come from a server. It came from another HG8145v5. The routers were healing each other, passing fragments of the patch via empty UDP ports like white blood cells.

Eliska realized the truth. The original V500R020C00 firmware had a backdoor. Not a spying backdoor—a suicide switch. A logic bomb left by a disgruntled engineer that would, on a specific date, brick every HG8145v5 in the European grid.

Her supervisor ordered a full disconnect. "Kill the subnet. Physically unplug them."

Then her phone rang. It was the head of the German BSI. "Fräulein Novotna," the voice said. "Are your HG8145v5s acting strangely?"

She looked back at the router. The heartbeat light was steady now. The ghost had done its work. The HG8145v5 was no longer a modem. It was a guardian.