Leo wrote down the ID: VEN_10EC&DEV_8168&SUBSYS_816810EC . He typed it into a search engine on his phone, its cracked screen flickering.

He clicked "Yes."

For three days, he’d been chasing the ghost of its driver. Every download site promised the "ESONIC G41 AUDIO.LAN.VGA ALL-IN-ONE DRIVER PACK," but delivered only zipped nightmares: toolbars, crypto-miners, and pop-ups that screamed his PC was infected.

Windows warned him: This driver is not digitally signed. Install anyway?

He was online.