Chapter 29

The fight video exploded online in no time. Public opinion was overwhelmingly on Megan's side. After all,school bullying hit a nerve-too many people had been there. So when the bully got a taste of their own medicine, it was honestly satisfying.

Megan instantly became a hero at Meridian University.

Inside the CEO's office on the 88th floor of Reid Corporation, Tristan sat behind his redwood desk, watching the clip of the fierce little woman, a rare smirk lifting the corners of his mouth. But his expression quickly cooled as he grabbed his phone and dialed Linus Blake.

"Give them the harshest punishment possible."

Hanging up, he pressed the intercom. "Come in."

Within five seconds, Cameron stepped up to his desk. Tristan sat back in his leather chair,fingers rhythmically tapping the table.

"Look into the background of all nine of them. If there's any business with their families, cut off everything-and I mean everything.Put pressure on them from all sides."

Then he added flatly, "Until they go bankrupt."

"Yes, sir." Cameron nodded respectfully and walked out.

Tristan swiped open a photo of Megan saved on his phone, gently brushing over her delicate face with his finger.He couldn't help but wonder what his girl was doing right then.

A glance at his watch-

Probably still in class.

His eyes narrowed as he set his fingers on the keyboard, entering a heavily encrypted website. A private section of the dark web. He clicked on"God of Hackers" and sent a message: "I need yesterday's surveillance footage of Capitol City, and info on the guy who hacked the traffic bureau.Five million."

Two seconds later, a reply: "Ten million."

Tristan arched an eyebrow. Someone's feeling greedy lately. He typed back:"Deal."

At the same time, a new secure email popped into his inbox. After double-checking that it was safe, he opened it. There it was-Capitol City's footage from the day before.

Sender:ShadowWing.

He hesitated.

The same ShadowWing who once hijacked two hundred million from his company. But when he saw the note attached, he didn't think twice about downloading it.

It said: "If I wanted to hack you, I wouldn't need to ask. This link self-destructs in five minutes-don't thank me."

Then a location: "The trash hacker from yesterday's traffic bureau stunt."

A free gift. No reason to pass it up. Not that he planned on saying thank you.

As soon as the download finished, the email wiped itself automatically. Leaning on one elbow, Tristan ran a thumb along his jawline, thoughtful.

。

ShadowWing-world-class hacker-had vanished for half a year. Equally famous as God of Hackers.Practically a legend.

Back when Reid Corp got hit, he'd hired God of Hackers to track down the culprit. The guy had made big promises. And ended up being played like a rookie. From then on, it was all-out war between the two hackers.Every time God of Hackers got a job, ShadowWing swooped in to beat him to it.

Tristan chuckled and shot one more message to God of Hackers: "Cancel the order. ShadowWing's back.They sent me the vid and hacker's whereabouts for free." The reply never came. The profile icon dimmed and went offline.

Somewhere in a dark room, sharp eyes locked onto a glowing screen. A man smirked dangerously.

"ShadowWing. you finally showed yourself. I won't let you slip away this time."

Meanwhile, hiding out in the girls' bathroom, Megan sneezed out of nowhere. She rubbed her nose. "Who's talking about me now."

Flipping her laptop shut, she'd already traced the van. But it was a stolen vehicle.

The driver ditched it in an alley and had disappeared, making things a hell of a lot tougher.Since she was living at Dreamscape Manor and spending her nights with Tristan, she hardly had time to poke into this mess. So she simply sent the video to Tristan. With his influence, finding that guy would be a piece of cake.

She'd also dug up the hacker who broke into the traffic bureau last night-talk about showing off in front of a pro. Didn't know when to quit. She forwarded all of it to Tristan and let him handle the follow-up. With a smirk tugging at her lips, she slung her backpack over one shoulder and walked out of the restroom.

It was 11:30 in the afternoon, second class just let out. Megan and Rachel were planning to grab lunch with Chloe at Emerald Cove. But then-bam, Chloe called and said she had plans with Goofball Bro at noon.

For a split second, Megan felt like her precious little cabbage had just been snatched by-no, not a pig-a dumb puppy

Whatever. To be friends with Tristan, the guy's character probably wasn't too awful.

0

As the two of them walked toward Emerald Cove, they ran into Molly and a couple of her friends at the crosswalk.

Molly approached them with a bright smile. "Megan."

Megan gave that fake face one glance too many-she didn't even bother to look now.

Molly immediately put on the pitiful act. "Didn't think you're still mad at me.I'm not what you think l am."

That helpless-face routine again, trying to paint Megan as the cold and arrogant one. Her two friends tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "Let it go, Molly. She's got connections now, don't bother."

Rachel didn't know the whole history between the Shaw sisters, but after witnessing Megan stand up for Chloe last night without hesitation, one thing was clear-Megan cared deeply about friends. Which made Molly the classic two-faced type in Rachel's eyes-the kind that plays weak while scheming in the dark.

Rachel hated those manipulative girls with a passion. She took a step forward, chin raised, tone cold."Cut the innocent act. You know exactly what you did."

Molly's expression didn't change, but inside she jolted. Could they have figured out she was behind last night's drama? No way. If Megan had hard proof, she wouldn't be standing here chatting. Besides, she'd already wiped those surveillance videos clean. Paid good money for that-one million bucks for airtight erasure. Even if Hacker God and Blackwing teamed up, they couldn't recover a thing. And that driver?Totally pro. Even if caught, he wouldn't spill-his daughter was still in her hands, after all.

Feeling pretty smug, Molly was just trying to figure out who this girl daring to boss her around even was.She blinked, tears welling up in seconds. Two drops slipped down her face. "Even your friend thinks I'm the bad guy now?"

Translation:[Megan,how could you? Look at how you're dragging my name through the mud.]

Rachel frowned,about to snap back when she felt a soft tap on her shoulder.

Megan smiled, easy and bright. "Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, we both know the truth. No need to put on this performance."

She pulled a tissue from her bag and gently dabbed at Molly's tears, her lips curled with a hint of mockery."Only a fool believes crocodile tears."

Looking at the damp tissue in her hand, she gave it a squeeze-then stuffed it right up Molly's nose.

She patted Molly's stunned face, eyes wide like a deer in headlights. "Shoving a tissue up a pig's nose doesn't make it classy. Try harder next time."

Rachel couldn't help herself-the scene was just too ridiculous-and burst into laughter.

Molly, furious, flared her nostrils so hard the tissue shot right out.The scene looked like a shaken soda bottle, about to pop its cap from all the pressure inside.