Chapter 86

“How did you even know how to solve that?”
Charlotte didn’t answer right away.
Andrew and Parrish crowded closer, curiosity all over their faces. When they caught sight of the solution on her worksheet, their expressions shifted. That problem was practically competition level. Most students wouldn’t even know where to start, and even the physics teacher would have to think twice. But Charlotte? She only glanced at it for three seconds, tops.
Now Shirley, Andrew, and Parrish were all staring at her, suspicion and awe mixed
in their eyes.
Charlotte realized she’d let her real ability slip. Her hand paused for a second as she gripped her pen, lashes fluttering. She cleared her throat and tried to sound casual. “I learned it before.”
Learned it before? More like she’d memorized the whole answer. At least, that’s what everyone was thinking. That made a lot more sense.
Shirley started tidying her desk, giving Charlotte a gentle smile. “If there’s anything from today’s worksheet you still don’t get, you can ask me. Anytime.” She sounded sincere, but it also reminded her that she’d just gotten a thousand bucks from Charlotte.
“No problem,” Charlotte replied, leaning back in her chair. Her slender arm rested on the desk, her face cool and distant, like she wasn’t really part of the group. It was hard to tell if she even wanted anyone to get close.
Shirley packed up her things, ready to leave, when her phone suddenly rang. She glanced at the screen and her whole demeanor changed. She fumbled to answer. “Grandma, what’s wrong?” she asked, her voice tight with worry.
Charlotte noticed Shirley’s anxious look and glanced over, her eyes darkening with concern.
Shirley let out a breath. “As long as you’re okay. You’re still sick, remember? Don’t go out. I’ll come home after class tonight.”
Once she was sure her grandma was all right, Shirley’s smile returned. She waved at Charlotte. “See you, Charlotte. I’m heading out!”
Just as she turned around, she bumped right into Andrew, who’d just stood up. The collision made both of them wince.
“OW
“S-sorry, sorry,” Shirley stammered, rubbing her head. She grabbed her books and practically ran like she Was escaping something scary. She knew better than to mess with Andrew.
Andrew rubbed his forehead, leaning forward a little as he watched Shirley
hurry out, “What s chasing her?
ghost?” he muttered. “Why’s she
running like that?”
fo
Charlotte let out a quiet laugh and pulled out her phone. She opened a hidden
website and, almost instantly, an email popped up on the screen.
[3S-Level Bounty]
Reward: $50 million
Target: Hacker, Nine
Client: Confidential
Task: Build a secure system
Charlotte barely glanced at it. Same old thing. Probably another enemy trying to set
her up. Without hesitation, she hit Reject.
As soon as news got out that Nine had rejected the job, the public chatroom exploded.
Did I see that right? Nine, missing for a year, just logged into Find?
Nine is wild. Fifty million dollars and he just says no.
He’s alive? The legend of the hacking world!
Who was Nine, anyway? On Find, the world’s top data system, he was the highest-ranked hacker, the one who only took on the toughest jobs and always finished them. Once, just for fun, hed helped the military rack an enemy network and caught a bunch of fugitives.
No one knew if Nine was a man or a woman, old or young, or even where they were
from. People thought he’d retired. Now, out of nowhere, he was back.