Chapter 95
80%
Quinlyn turned around and saw a group of people entering. They were all dressed in suits and ties, looking very sharp, with badges hanging on their chests. They were participants from DigitalKey Group.
The girl leading them was Yasmine. She was quite young but had a very arrogant demeanor. She looked at the group dressed in just t–shirts and backpacks–typical nerd outfits–and her brows furrowed deeply.
She sneered, “How could people like this even sign up for an international event? It’s lowering the standard and embarrassing us.”
“Hey, who are you calling embarrassing? We prove ourselves on the keyboard, not at a beauty pageant. Why do you care what we wear?” Xiomar protested indignantly, charging forward to argue,
Before he could get close, Yasmine delivered a swift roundhouse kick. Smack. The air cracked slightly, showing the strength of her kick.
When she saw she missed, she tilted her head, noticed Quinlyn pulling Xiomar back, and looked her over. “Don’t tell me you’re just here messing around as a contestant’s family member?”
Quinlyn let go of Xiomar and stepped forward, saying, “I’m the captain.”
“What?” Yasmine was taken aback for a moment, almost thinking she heard wrong. She looked at Quinlyn, then at the group of geeks, and suddenly burst into laughter. “Where did Mr. Sullivan find this group of oddballs? They must be here as comic relief!”
The rest of the people behind her laughed as well, all with the same proud expression on their faces.
“Pah, they’re so arrogant,” Xiomar said angrily, his face red with anger.
Yasmine mocked, “So what? We’re the ace team in the tech department of DigitalKey Group, a Fortune 500 company, earning millions a year. Can you match that?”
Xiomar was fumed.
Just then, some other staff members came over to break up the quarrel. Yasmine tossed out one last comment. “Make sure they keep their distance so they don’t mess up our performance,” before she gracefully led her team away.
“I’m so mad, Quinlyn, can you take down those DigitalKey guys at the start? I can’t hold it in anymore.” Xiomar and the others were fuming. They just had money, didn’t need to work, dabbled as hackers, and immersed themselves in the anime world without bothering anyone.
Worried he’d be too upset, Quinlyn patted his back and said, “We still need to stay united against outsiders.”
Hearing that, Xiomar bit his lip, feeling frustrated.
Before he could swallow his anger, Quinlyn calmly said, “After this, everyone grabs a sack and we’ll deal with her in real life. Keyboard warriors? Let’s get real, make it count.”
Xiomar and the others were momentarily stunned, but then they couldn’t help falsh happy smiles. That was typical Quinlyn.
Besides the DigitalKey Group and Quinlyn, Warren also invited two other domestic tech teams, bringing the total to over thirty people. Although they were supposed to work together, everyone had their own familiar routines and didn’t really want to follow DigitalKey’s lead.
“I wouldn’t lower myself to hang out with them–such a bunch of losers,” Yasmine commented without regard for the occasion, before running over to Warren and playfully complaining. “Warren, my parents have been asking you to come over for dinner. Why haven’t you dropped by yet?”
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12:13 Sat, 22 Mar
Chapter 95
Warren, standing at the front, didn’t react when Quinlyn and the others were ignored. He turned to Yasmine, patted her head fondly, and said, “If you manage to win by the end, I’ll cook a meal for you myself.”
“Really? You can’t go back on your word because I’m definitely going to win!” Yasmine said, her face brimming with confidence.
Warren smiled and nodded.
The others, seeing this, realized Yasmine had connections and couldn’t afford to offend her, so they only grumbled inwardly and stayed quiet.
When the big screen came on and the various countries‘ sections started lighting up one after another, Warren turned his head and, while everyone was distracted, glanced at Quinlyn. In the crowd, they exchanged a subtle look before looking
away.
Soon all the regions lit up, and the big screen started announcing the competition rules. Everyone focused on the login screen on their computers.
“Rules have been announced. The competition officially begins.” As soon as the notification ended, everyone swiftly moved their mouse to enter the interface.
A world map appeared on the world shared their locations.
een, but this time with IP addresses marked. It was the first time tech workers around the
“An open battlefield, let’s see who’s got the skills.” Up front, the well–equipped Digital Key Group launched the first attack, directly targeting Mordoria.
Yasmine said arrogantly, “You other teams should stay back if you’re not capable. Go deal with some small fry and try not to lose too badly.”
The other three teams couldn’t help but roll their eyes at that. But when they saw Mordoria’s first IP get taken down quickly, they had to acknowledge DigitalKey’s strength.
The first flag was planted, and the morale soared instantly. “Charge! Let’s capture the world map!”
In the largest theater in the White Stadium, everyone’s voices rose as the keyboard clattering grew more intense. Quinlyn’s group were enthusiastic, relentlessly pursuing the second–tier team that mocked them last time.
Seeing that Quinlyn was just sitting still, guarding the firewall, they weren’t concerned. “Quinlyn, just command from the back, we’ll handle these losers in front!”
Quinlyn nestled in an oversized chair, her feet not reaching the ground, looking like a small doll.
The team next door was amusing to watch. They saw Xiomar were fiercely competing while gawking at Quinlyn as if she were a God. Someone even joked, “Hey, is this your geeks‘ secret prayer ritual? Bringing real–life dolls to the competition to boost your chances?”
Xiomar had just made a move, lounging with his legs crossed, saying happily, “Hey, I’m not telling you. I don’t want you envy us.”
Everyone next door laughed. The bad mood caused by DigitalKey Group’s taunting improved.
Quinlyn glanced at the team next door, saw who they were up against, thought for a moment, and then tapped a few keys to install a firewall she had developed for them.
“Huh? Why has the other side gone quiet suddenly?”
“Same here, let’s stabilize the rear and go capture the flags!”
Sat,
Chapter 95
The momentum next door intensified. The people from DigitalKey Group noticed something was wrong as they moved
forward.
They thought the other three rookie teams would lose quickly or soon be crying out for help from them. However, not only had they not lost, but they also had planted flags everywhere, like stars shining in the sky.
“Hey, what are you doing? Speed up and crack the second IP before we make a fool of ourselves!” whispered Yasmine, anxiously scolding the team members.
The members cast angry looks toward Warren at the front but didn’t dare to speak up; they had to focus on their work instead.
Yasmine was indeed brilliant, even genius–level, but she wasn’t ready for solo missions or single–handedly taking on a group. Her bad temper and lack of team spirit made progress slow.
At that moment, a red dot suddenly appeared on the screen, heading towards DigitalKey Group. Quinlyn, sitting in the back, straightened up slightly, her sleepy eyes darken. Her target was comeing.
