Shadow of the Internet

Chapter 1: A Secret Message Riday, a young software engineer from Dhaka, is employed in Gulshan by a well-known IT company. His life is set in stone—office at 9 am, home in the evening, and gaming or coding at night. Suddenly, an unusual morning brings a huge storm to his robotic life.

He received an unidentified email one morning while sitting in the office, opening his personal email. The subject line of the email:

"Riday, let's play a game." The text within: "If you don't complete this task within 24 hours, your mask will be revealed to everyone."

The email is accompanied by a video clip of a previously undisclosed moment from Riday's time at university. The video was never recorded by him, and he had no idea that anyone had. Chapter 2: The Game's Beginning There was a map link at the bottom of the email. It said to go to a certain old restaurant in the city and find a USB with a black cover. Riday goes there with a mix of curiosity and fear. He looks back several times, fearing that someone is following him.

Under the menu card that is kept in a corner of the restaurant, he discovers the USB. When he returns home, he runs it on his computer and sees the second video as proof of his boss's (the company's CEO) corruption. Now it is understood that this game is not just Riday's personal leak - there is something bigger hidden behind it.

Chapter 3: Friend's Shadow

Riday seeks help from his old friend Arif, who was once a hacker. Arif is shocked, because the videos actually come from a server that was controlled from his own old laptop!

But he claims that the laptop was hacked a long time ago. Who exactly is this "gamemaster?" Why is he doing all this? Riday and Arif start investigating together.

The Secret Trap, Chapter 4 The investigation reveals that this game has trapped multiple people. They were all members of a secret forum called "ShadowMind Society". A dark digital platform where personal information, weaknesses, crimes—everything was hidden, people were tricked into playing games under the threat of being exposed.

Riday learns that this group was responsible for a number of other city suicides and disappearances. The game is a digital control system as well as a vengeance game. Chapter 5: Identifying In the last task, Riday is told that if he wants to know the truth, he must confess to a crime of his own and broadcast it live. Otherwise, the internet will spread a secret video of his younger sister. Riday is mentally disturbed. In the end, he goes live and admits to a secret crime from his time at university. After the video ends, a familiar face suddenly appears on the screen—Neela. His ex-girlfriend, whom he cheated on in the past. Neela says,

“You didn’t just break my heart, Riday, you ruined my life. Now it’s your turn.”

The Shadow Swallows, the Final Chapter Ridoy tracks down Neela with the help of the police and arrests her. But she is mentally devastated. Her face has been exposed in the office, family, and society.

The story ends with a scene where Neela is writing a new code inside the jail, typing on the computer screen:

"Level 2 begins..."

The Revenge Program is the second part of Shadow of the Internet. "Knowing Who Is Controlled and Who Is Controlled in This Game—It's an Illusion" is the subtitle. Returning from Neela's Shadow in the First Chapter Six months have passed since Neela's arrest. Riday tried to forget everything and start a new life—but some things, like nightmares, cannot be forgotten. He focuses on coding once more in the office, but he occasionally recalls those events when he looks at the computer screen, such as Neela's last-minute unmasking, the email extortion, and the game steps. Riday wondered—did Neela do all this alone?

Just then, one night, a message from an unknown number suddenly came to his phone:

"ShadowMind was only the start. Now Ghost Protocol is starting, Riday. #GP2025”