Chapter 11: Going Home to Find Mother

“Fuck! Where did that guy come from? I’ve never even heard of anyone like this in Country Z.” Cross muttered to himself, his long fingers flying over the keyboard so fast they seemed to leave afterimages. Yet, even with all his skill, he still couldn’t catch up with that mysterious hacker on the other side.

What made it even more infuriating was that the other person seemed to have noticed his presence too. Like a cat toying with a mouse, every time Cross managed to seize upon the tiniest flaw, his opponent would slip away in the blink of an eye, making his teeth itch with frustration.

At first, Cross had been nonchalant, not taking the matter seriously. Now, he was fully focused, silently swearing to himself that if he didn’t unmask this insufferable tease today, he wasn’t a man.

Eyes glued to the computer screen, Cross poured every ounce of skill he possessed into the chase and finally found a chink in his opponent’s armor. The moment he spotted the weakness, he was overjoyed, pride swelling in his chest.

Tch, he’d thought he was up against some hidden master, but it turned out to be nothing special after all—an aggressive attack, yet unable to master the most basic skill of concealing one’s position.

With a flourish, Cross pressed the final key, looking at the screen with smug satisfaction. “KO! This round is mine!”

But in the next instant, seeing the data displayed on his screen, Cross froze, and then his expression collapsed completely.

The location displayed was clearly that of the Nan Corporation’s headquarters, not the hacker’s!

And worse, because he’d hastily switched interfaces, all his previous efforts had been wasted, and his opponent had found a vulnerability and hacked his computer.

He shook his now-black screen, and only two words echoed in his mind: Damn it, it’s over!

This was the birthday gift his boss had given him! If his boss saw this, he’d be in for a world of pain!

His confidence utterly shattered, Cross—who’d always believed that, aside from the top nine, he was unrivaled in all of Country Z—stared blankly at the screen, the mocking location marker feeling like a slap in the face. His expression went slack with despair, and finally, he broke down in tears.

“Waaah, I quit! I want to go home! This person is too much!”

Watching the usually arrogant Cross reduced to sobbing helplessly, the head of the Nan family realized the situation was far more serious than it seemed.

“Is there any way to communicate with that person? If there is, do your best to negotiate. Whatever he wants, as long as it’s not too outrageous, give it to him! Our priority now is to minimize the damage!”

Sweat beaded on the Nan family head’s forehead—a rare sight. He wasn’t worried about lost money; money could always be earned back. But if their secrets were leaked to the other eight great families, it would be a disaster.

After all, though the top ten families maintained a façade of courtesy, their real relations were extremely hostile—each one would love nothing more than to take another down. Just look at the Chao family, which, after its leader’s downfall, had been torn apart by the others like a pack of hungry wolves, now surviving only by the skin of its teeth.

If each of the eight families came to trample them, the Nan family would be doomed. As head of the family, he could never let that happen!

But the department chief looked troubled. “We can’t trace the person’s location at all, so all the initiative is in their hands. Unless they choose to contact us, there’s no way to communicate.”

But it was obvious that the chances of the other party reaching out were slim to none.

Just as the air in the room grew tense and the Nan family head was about to explode with rage, something unexpected happened.

One of the staff members suddenly stopped what he was doing and waved frantically at the chief, eyes shining. “Chief, come quick! The hacker sent us a message!”

At those words, both the chief and the Nan family head were stunned for a moment, then rushed over, shoving the employee aside as they crammed in front of the narrow desk to stare at the incoming message on the screen.

Swallowing hard, the chief looked nervously at the Nan family head. “Shall I open it, or do you want to?”

The Nan family head kicked him in the backside, snapping, “Now’s not the time to quibble about who’s clicking! Just open it and see what he wrote! Stop dawdling!”

The chief nodded and, nerves taut, opened the message.

No virus appeared; it was simply a chat interface.

A notification sounded as a message popped up on the screen.

“Is this the head of the Nan family? I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”

Startled by the sudden message, the Nan family head clutched his chest and took a long moment to calm himself before typing with trembling fingers.

“What do you want to discuss? As long as your demands aren’t excessive, I can satisfy them.”

Sitting at his computer, Chao Xu’s fingers flew across the keys.

“I want you to cease all suppression of the Chao family immediately. No argument will be accepted. If you refuse, rest assured that every other great family’s inbox will receive every recent Nan Corporation plan and secret tomorrow. I keep my word.”

With the final punctuation mark, Chao Xu leaned back, fingertips resting against his chin, his eyes radiating an innate dominance and unyielding aura.

The Nan family head was bewildered by such a baffling request.

“Why are you helping the Chao family? They’re nothing but a paper shell now—any breeze would blow them over. With your skills, you’d be far better off joining us. I can guarantee you a lifetime of wealth and honor!”

Realizing this hacker knew of the Chao family, and must therefore have some connection to the ten great families, the Nan family head tried to tempt him over.

But before he could make up his mind, another message appeared, along with a picture.

“You only need to answer yes or no.”

The attached image was a file, already scheduled to be sent to all the great families’ inboxes.

This image doused any lingering thoughts the Nan family head had of enticing the hacker. Face pale and round, he frantically typed his reply.

“Sir, please have mercy! I’ll notify my people to stop right away!”

After sending the message, the Nan family head gritted his teeth and called his subordinates. “Immediately cease all suppression of the Chao family!”

His subordinate was baffled. “But if we hold out just a few more days, we can close the net…”

“When I say stop, you stop! No more ‘buts’!”

If the opponent’s strength was more or less comparable, perhaps they could grit their teeth and fight it out. But against someone whose true power was unfathomable, there was no choice but to obey.