Islamabad – August 2026
The warning came not from an agency, a minister, or even Kamal.
It came from a YouTuber.
An obscure lifestyle vlogger posted a "documentary" titled:
> "Rayan Azfar: Reformist or Foreign Agent?"
Complete with ominous background music, spliced UN conference clips, and a pixelated "leaked email" claiming Rayan had met with IMF advisors in Geneva.
It barely had 14,000 views.
But within hours, dozens of similar videos surfaced.
---
Option 6 Was In Motion
This was the beginning of "Option 6"—a sophisticated discreditation protocol used by political operatives, some retired intelligence hands, and media owners with buried tax files.
It worked in three stages:
1. Soft Doubt: "Who is this guy? Where did he even come from?"
2. Character Attack: "Rumors say he bypassed CSS through a 'special exam'…"
3. Loyalty Smear: "He's pushing foreign agendas under the garb of digitization."
They even tried to trace an old college friendship to an NGO flagged in a foreign funding audit.
---
The Response Was Silence. And Then a Whisper.
Rayan made no counter-press release.
No legal notice.
No tweet.
Not even a frown.
But he did call a team meeting.
"We won't fight ghosts. We'll expose the scriptwriters."
Zara grinned.
"Time for Phase 2?"
Rayan nodded.
---
Countermove: The Reputation Vault
Long before the smear campaign began, Rayan had prepared the Reputation Vault—a cloud-locked archive of personal records, financial audits, past affiliations, and every known rumor ever floated about him.
It was clean. Verifiable. Timestamped.
Ali embedded the vault in a single QR code.
Rayan printed it on a crisp A4.
And then gave it to a junior reporter with just one instruction:
> "Verify everything. Publish what you want."
---
The Public Disarms the Attack
Within 72 hours, a thread went viral:
> "They tried to destroy a guy who already published his own dirt."
Memes exploded:
Rayan holding his own scandal folder: "Plot twist—I leaked this too."
Public reaction flipped.
Suddenly, transparency became cool.
Even a rival anchor said:
> "I may not agree with this kid's methods, but he's got nothing to hide. That scares the real thieves."
---
Meanwhile, in the Deep Circles
The same man who ordered Option 6 sat in a smoky briefing room, frowning.
"This wasn't supposed to backfire."
His aide replied, "Sir, he anticipated the smear like he wrote the script."
The man exhaled slowly. "Maybe he did."
---
Final Scene: Quiet Café, Lahore
Rayan sips chai across from Zara. The city hums outside, oblivious.
"You know they'll try again," she says.
"I know," he replies.
"What now?"
Rayan pulls out a folder marked "Institutional Infiltration: Judiciary & Academia".
He smiles faintly.
"We seed the roots. While they chase shadows."