Edwin slammed the 'defeat' button at once. At that juncture, Nicole immediately became the first person to secure a victory in the first round. This surprised the audience, who glanced at Zeke before turning back to look at Nicole."Who is she?""I don't know...but one thing is for sure, she's really good. Her opponent seems to be Edwin Bradford.""Yeah, he got fifth place last year.""I think so, but why did he admit defeat so easily?"People were talking among themselves; they could not shake off how amazing Nicole was, and some even went as far as to think that Edwin might have regressed.Yet, nobody present was aware that Edwin's technology and skill had progressed to great heights. He had thought that if he could secure a winning spot in this competition, he would be able to attract enough attention to promote his company and recruit fresh graduates along the way. He had not foreseen the idea that he would be crossing paths with Nicole and getting himself eliminated at such
Nobody had thought that the opposition would launch a counterattack on Rowdon so suddenly, and with such impressive speed that the second wave was unleashed shortly after the first, making it impossible for Rowdon to respond or recuperate."It's the same as before. You're still too slow in bringing up the defenses," Zeke sneered coldly, as he proceeded to roll out the third wave of attack.His movements were light, as if he had already made his mind up on what he was going to do.At that instant, a thought dawned upon Rowdon's mind, 'This...this attack...it seems familiar...'"You're...you're Specter?!" Rowdon's eyes widened in astonishment as he screamed Zeke's pseudonym.In return, Zeke frowned; he had never expected Rowdon to expose his pseudonym so loudly in public.His eyes suddenly darkened. "Cheets, as a webmaster, you've violated the customer agreement and disclosed customer information."It was only then that Rowdon came to his senses, realizing that he had loudly shout
Nicole raised her eyebrows as she looked at the commotion on the stage. 'Zeke is being way too careless with his effort in keeping his identity a secret. His life will not be peaceful in the near future.'Zeke's complexion became very pale as the host excitedly trotted over. As of now, Zeke was expressionless."It's no wonder Zeke here was so brilliant tonight! He's none other than one of the most well-known hackers in the international stage! This must be an easy competition for you, don't you think? Are you aiming to win first place?" The host bombarded him with compliments without missing a beat, while the other contestants sitting in the audience were demotivated by the sudden realization that Specter was in the competition.Director Monroe, on the other hand, had a ubiquitous expression on her face. In spite of the fact that she knew how capable Zeke was, there was no way in which she could have foreseen that he was one of the greatest hackers.'Come to think of it, both Ryder
"You!!" Ryder was flabbergasted as he did not expect Mr. Hardy to speak so harshly.He had to restrain himself while none of the others dared to step forward.Nicole raised her eyebrows and rubbed her ears before retorting, "This teacher here is swearing like a sailor. Talking much about keeping the rights of a quality a teacher should have and what not. He must be really shameless considering that he is one himself."Nicole's voice was not loud, but it was clear enough for everyone in the audience to hear it.When Mr. Hardy noticed that it was Nicole, he bellowed, "What right do you have to speak to me? This is all about skills. The Finley brothers have none, and you should remember that!"Zeke, who was still onstage, noticed that Mr. Hardy was going to provoke Nicole once more. He quickly rushed off the stage without an ounce of care for what the host wanted to say."Mr. Hardy!"Noticing that Zeke was coming toward him, Mr. Hardy's pride swelled to astronomical proportions."
While the students of Royal Creek were bummed out, the students of Northon Institute were celebrating. Everyone gathered around Zeke when he returned to his seat."Zeke, why didn't you tell us you were Specter!?""That was one crazy competition!""I heard you've partnered with the number one hacker!""Have you met her in person?"Many in Zeke's entourage bombarded him with question after question. The barrage left him with a headache, and he silently looked at Nicole's direction.'These people are already excited to know that I'm ranked second. If they knew that Nicole is here, wouldn't they all sh*t their pants? I guess Mr. Hardy will be in for it later, Nicole seems to be seething...,' Zeke thought to himself.The competition progressed on, followed up by contestants completing their turns, with more than half being eliminated. On the main seat, Sebastian was spectating the entire competition where he often peered over to look at Nicole from time to time.'This girl seems to
"Won't you just look at who's on my team?" Gary said from the bottom of his heart.Ryder thought that Gary was talking about him, and so, he mustered an affectionate smile. "You jerk. You've finally come to your senses. Don't you worry, I'll do my best to bring you guys to the next round."Gary was stunned as he realized that Ryder had misunderstood what he just said.He was about to explain himself, but Ryder had already put on his pair of earphones, prompting Gary to shake his head and give up on the idea.'I guess it's good for him to regain some of his confidence first,' he thought to himself.Nicole was already by then, casually waiting for the contest to begin.Then, Ryder said, "Even though our opponents aren't from Northon Institute, they're still very capable. So, we can't underestimate them. I'm going to be very aggressive in the beginning. All you guys have to do is support me."Gary looked at Nicole awkwardly. 'It's sad that Ryder still doesn't know what's going on.'
Ryder was all set to begin his invasion as he was about to signal Nicole and Gary to back him up. However, it was then that he realized that Nicole was already a few steps ahead of him! Suddenly, Nicole had taken the lead!Ryder was shocked. "Nicole! What are you doing? Don't act rashly!"Gary looked at him awkwardly and thought to himself. 'Does he still think that he's the best among us?'Nicole swept her gaze across Ryder. "I don't really like these three people. Just sit there and catch a break.""What?!" Ryder was stunned. 'What does she mean? Did she just ask us to do nothing in this team battle?'However, Gary did not listen to her. He could not just sit there and do nothing when he finally had the chance to work with his idol."No way. Nicole, please tell me what to do. I'd like to help you!" he protested.Hearing that, Ryder had no idea what was going on. "Gary, what are you doing?"'Is he cracking a joke? Why does he wish to back Nicole up?!' he wondered.Gary looked
Ryder asked with a curious look on his face without stopping what he was doing. He began cooperating with Nicole, using the data from his analysis of the master hacker's style, and... it actually worked!'God, what's happening!?' he asked himself.Gary turned around and looked at Ryder. "Have you only gotten to know about this now? How dim-witted of you."Ryder widened his eyes as soon as he heard what Gary had said. "No way... H-how is this possible?"As it turned out, Ryder and Gary had been looking up to the same person. They had also been trying very hard to learn and analyze their techniques, and that person...was one of the best hackers in the world!Ryder could not believe that the person in question was in their school, let alone sitting beside them."I thought so too. I feel like I'm dreaming!" Gary mused as he supported Nicole passionately.Ryder could not help but look at Nicole curiously after noting the excited look on Gary's face.Suddenly, he felt as though he co