The terminal screen blinked. Then it typed on its own:
Liam leaned closer. A null subsystem ID on a PCI device was like a fingerprint with no ridges. Impossible. Every card, every embedded chip, every controller had a sub-vendor ID. It was the law of the hardware jungle. pci ven_10ec&dev_8136&subsys
The line appeared. A familiar ghost.
Liam’s hand froze. "Who are you?"
He pulled the server from the rack. The Ethernet port looked normal. Copper traces, gold pins, a tiny Realtek chip no bigger than his pinky nail. But the chip was warm. Too warm. The server had been off for an hour. The terminal screen blinked
