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.
They tried. The management interface accepted the command, verified the upload, and then... blinked. The ghost firmware returned. The HG8145v5s were rejecting Huawei’s own signature. Huawei Hg8145v5 Firmware
Her laptop’s firewall recorded a single packet, type 0x88B5 (non-standard). The payload was a single line of machine code. She disassembled it. It wasn't a virus. It was a correction . The network of modified HG8145v5s had grown to 200 units