"Tsk tsk."
Rain couldn't help but shake her head slightly.
The vampire clan's wealth was staggering—truly breathtaking.
But she also knew it belonged solely to them, not something she could envy.
Suddenly, an irresistible voice sounded behind her.
"I'll triple the original commission—six million dennies total. Can you finish it within a week?"
Phaga stood with his arms crossed, eyes burning hot.
Unexpectedly, the situation had taken a dramatic turn.
"One week? Who do you think you're looking down on?"
The moment she heard "triple commission," Rain practically jolted with energy. Clenching her fists, she shouted confidently:
"Boss, don't worry—tonight! I'll get you results tonight!"
Damn it, rebuilding a garbage system made from a mountain of legacy trash code might take years—Rain had accepted that.
Sure, one person designing a system from scratch would take that long.
But now that she had a perfectly compatible AI?
Why would it take years?
Six hours.
MAX six hours!
If it took longer, the computer must've lagged!
"Good."
Phaga flipped open his wallet, his fingers pausing briefly when they brushed against a stack of photos.
Then he avoided the photos and slid out a bank card beside them. Under Rain's burning stare, he pressed it onto her wrench.
"There are two million inside. Consider it a deposit."
With that, Phaga let go cleanly and walked away without hesitation.
Rain snatched the card instantly—the speed of her hands left faint afterimages.
Heh… two million…
She pressed the card to her chest, face overflowing with bliss. Even her bubble gum lost its flavor.
Not that it mattered!
She—Rain, genius hacker—could pay the whole bubble-gum factory to craft her the best bubble gum in existence!
"Oh, right."
Just as Rain was basking in joy, Phaga suddenly paused and turned back.
Thinking he had something important to say, Rain quickly stuffed the card into her clothes and warily looked up:
"Wh-what is it?"
Phaga gave her a strange look and lifted an eyebrow.
"Lunch time."
"Oh, that…"
Rain patted her chest in relief.
Thought it was something serious…
She quickly replied, still not turning around:
"No need. Just pack whatever's left after you finish and bring it down for me."
As if eating could compare to making money.
She lowered her head, face lit by the dim glow of the monitor, her eyes burning with determination.
"Alright."
Seeing Rain working so hard, Phaga didn't say anything more and left the basement.
Squeak—
Thud, click!
The door slowly closed and locked automatically.
In the now-empty basement, only the rapid clicking of Rain's keyboard echoed.
She didn't notice the shadow creeping toward her.
Buzz—
Buzz—
Suddenly, her phone rang.
The shadow behind her froze.
"Who is it?"
Rain glanced at the caller ID and picked up the phone.
"Nicole? What does she want?"
Seeing the name, she connected the call and wedged the phone between her shoulder and ear, so she could keep working.
"Hello, Nicole. Make it quick—I'm busy."
"RAIN!!!"
The moment she answered, Nicole's roar exploded from the speaker, nearly making Rain fling the phone.
"H-hey! Why are you screaming like that?!"
Rain finally stopped typing, gripping the phone tightly and ready to pull it away if needed.
"What do you mean 'why'?! Rain, didn't you promise to help me with a commission? Where are you?!"
On the other end, Nicole was furious.
The city executives' failed siege against Black had caused massive panic.
Some people's attention had shifted to Phaga.
But the silent majority? They weren't stupid.
Sharp-witted citizens began searching online for the companies tied to these officials.
Oh… so those companies…
BOOM.
The stock market went into catastrophic freefall.
A butterfly flapped its wings; several cycles later, it became a tornado headed straight for Nicole.
Stock market chaos dealt massive AOE damage. City officials suffered huge losses—but what about the investors?
Coincidentally, several of Nicole's creditors were stock traders.
They went bankrupt… and suddenly remembered they had a backup source of repayment!
THUMP THUMP THUMP!
[Hey, Nicole! Come out! We know you're inside! Pay up!]
[Damn it! The lock's busted but it still won't open! Who's blocking it?!]
Billy and Nekomata braced themselves against the door with all their strength, not daring to relax.
Billy wailed, "Boss Nicole, do something!"
Nicole, still on the phone, shouted back, "I'M TRYING! Billy, keep holding the door!"
"And where's Anby?!"
"Anby?"
Billy thought fast—then suddenly remembered. "Oh! She said this morning she was going to the Manager's place to watch movies for free."
"Sponging off Phaethon's electricity bill? What a frugal girl, truly my—wait, what am I thinking?!"
Nicole nearly tore out her hair.
Her phone slipped; she caught it instinctively, remembering she was still on the line.
Her voice cracked, almost crying:
"Rain! Please come back and finish my commission! Cunning Hares is about to collapse!"
"Nope!"
Rain refused instantly and decisively.
"We're working for a rich client now. Why go back for scraps?"
Then Rain paused, thinking.
"Wait—did I even promise to take your commission?"
"...Oh, I remember now. You mean that commission Belobog Heavy Industries gave Phaethon, Phaethon tossed to you, you tossed to me, the whole subcontract chain, right?"
"I'm not doing it. Too many middlemen."
"I can't help it, my super hacker!"
Nicole sobbed dramatically, playing the victim harder than ever:
"Cunning Hares is really going under! The creditors are at the door—listen!"
She lowered the phone toward the door.
THUD!
[Whoever's blocking the door, move now! Or when I kick it open none of you will be spared!]
Rain's head jerked to the side—the sound nearly blew out her eardrum.
"You trying to kill me?!" Rain yelled.
"If you don't come back, I'll be the one getting killed!"
Nicole's voice trembled pitifully.
Rain sighed, rubbing her ears. She moved the phone to her other shoulder.
"Fine. I'll help you think of something."
"YAY!!!"
Nicole nearly shrieked with joy, scribbling notes in her little laptop .
"You guys have Anby over at Phaethon, right? Report them. Get Phaethon arrested. You'll get a huge bounty."
"Hey…"
"Hey…"
"Nicole? Why aren't you answering?"
Nicole was silent—utterly frozen.
After a long pause, she snapped out of it, struggling to suppress her darker impulses.
Through gritted teeth, she said:
"Rain! Do NOT give me terrible ideas! Things are already that bad—I've—"
Nicole's voice went into overdrive, rambling like her mouth was coated in honey.
"Okay, okay, enough. Give me a second. I'll think of something serious."
Rain massaged the bridge of her nose. Nicole's panic was unbearable.
"I remember Phaethon has that super-powerful search AI, right?"
"Right."
"And city executives always record their meetings and store them on their internal network, right?"
"Right." Nicole hesitated. "But what does that have to do with anything? Even if we break through their firewall—who would buy meeting records?"
"Phaga. Who else?"
Rain chewed her bubble gum casually.
"For others, meeting records are useless. But for Phaga? That's an assassination list."
Everyone he'd offended.
Everyone he hadn't.
All neatly listed in those files.
"I LOVE YOU, RAIN!"
Nicole screamed with excitement.
"Don't just love me with your mouth—give me something adults actually—"
Beep. Beep.
The call ended.
Rain stared blankly.
Huh?
You hung up on me?
"Nicole, you CUNNING HARES!"
Rain roared, fury surging. She almost hurled the phone—
SLAP!
Before she could throw it, a cold grip seized her wrist.
Rain turned sharply.
Ellen had appeared behind her without warning.
"At least it's a phone you paid for," Ellen said calmly. "If you want to get angry, save it for the day you smash Nicole's phone instead."
Then she released Rain's wrist, planting one hand on her hip.
"Calm down. I need to talk to you."
...