| “ | Flammulina proliferates. Just like a fungus, where its name derives from. The virus will infect everyone else you make contact with. | ” |
Flammulina is an automatic information disclosure virus created by Enokida in his teenage years. The virus is attached to downloadable files and infects a computer as soon as the files are downloaded onto it. As a showy individual who enjoys leaving evidence, Enokida would sign his hacking work by allowing Flammulina to leave a faint trail, recognizable only by other skilled hackers.
Background[]
Flammulina was created at least eight years prior to the fourth light novel. Enokida used the first version of the virus in a hacking he committed during a crucial point in his father's election campaign. The incident led to his arrest, and Kazuo Matsuda had to bribe several officials to keep the arrest from going public. The hacking incident was the final straw for Kazuo, leading to his disownment of his son, faking Enokida's death and allowing him to run away to Fukuoka, where he has made a living as a hacker and informant.
Synopsis[]
.mmm Arc[]
When Chegar, Siva, and Irasawa are tasked with eliminating the troublesome second-rate hacker macro-hard, Siva finds folders full of information on the famous people he had extorted, including Kazuo Matsuda, on his computers. In Kazuo's folder is evidence of the Matsuda son's hacking, his faked death, and his flight to Fukuoka eight years prior. Siva recognizes the son's sloppy hacking as an early version of Flammulina and connects it with Enokida's recent work, the hacking of an .mmm associate and a credit card company. The trail left by Flammulina leads Siva to an internet cafe in Nakasu, where surveillance cameras give the .mmm team their first look at their target's face.
The following day, Enokida embeds Flammulina in a video file that he sends to Chegar from Irasawa's phone. When Chegar opens and views the disturbing video of Enokida's supposed death, he unwittingly allows Flammulina to infect his phone and the phones of his contacts, granting Enokida access to a huge amount of classified .mmm data.