166 THE HACKING INTO AUKOUMA'S SERVERS
"Both corporations specialize in human-evolution medicine," Kassely explained. "They wouldn't normally need it—unless it's for a classified project. The Heart of Ra isn't impossibly rare, but it only appears once or twice a year."
Kail's eyes glazed again. "I've breached their servers through the trace," he said. "There's a classified project called Scourge. But I can't access it from here. I'd need to be inside their facility to do that."
"No," Damen said sharply. "That's too dangerous. Forget it."
Zairgid ran a hand through his hair. "But what if they break through our last firewall? If they get the final file, they'll know everything. They might even come after us to steal the Heart of Ra."
Damen said nothing.
The thought had already crossed his mind — and it was a very real possibility.
They were new to Silver City. They had no allies here. They might not be able to deal with these corporate bullies.
Then Liorea smirked. "So, what if they do find out? Let them discover that the final bidder was you, Zairgid Aukouma."
Zairgid blinked. "They'll find out about me? That's not bad enough! I couldn't leave my office without being afraid of being robbed. How can I go to the clubs to party?"
"Not if you spin it right," Liorea said.
"Auction houses often inflate prices by placing their own bids. If they think you raised the price artificially and failed to sell, they'll lose interest," she added.
Zairgid frowned. "We don't do that sort of thing."
"Then you'll do it now," Liorea said coldly. "Make them believe the Heart of Ra was never sold. It stayed with you, waiting to be auctioned again later."
"You want to accuse him of rigging the auction?" Kail asked.
Zairgid's eyes widened … then he nodded slowly. "That could work. Kassely, create a fake entry in the inventory. Make it look like the Heart of Ra was bought back."
"What do you mean sir?" she asked.
"Make it appear the purchaser has returned the Heart of Ra to us", he explained.
Kassely thought about it for a second before she went to work immediately.
Within minutes, the hackers breached the last layer of security and accessed the falsified data.
Then, just as suddenly, the attacks stopped.
"The hackers are gone," Zairgid said, laughing in relief. "We should celebrate!"
Liorea folded her arms. "Celebrate? They have gotten everything from you already, do you think they'll stay for dinner?"
Zairgid slammed his hand on the desk. "Kassely! Didn't you tell me our system was flawless — that only a Quantum Mind could break into it? Then explain how the hackers from Trionix and Nuralith got in so easily!"
Kassely froze, stammering. "The security system was acquired by Mr. Arom himself. We paid a fortune for it—I don't know how it could've been breached so easily."
"Honestly, this system of yours is sloppy at best", Kail commented.
Zairgid's eyes narrowed. "That Arom—was he skimming from the purchase budget?" He pointed at her sharply. "I want a full report on my table by tomorrow."
"Yes, boss," Kassely said quickly, lowering her head.
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[Trionix Corporation HQ]
"Jax, our team's breached into Aukouma's servers," Vilra reported.
"Go on", Jax waved his hand.
"We discovered that the final buyer of the Heart of Ra was the auction house itself. The Heart of Ra is still in their storage. They were inflating the price artificially to make more profit," she added.
"Damn those greedy bastards!" Jax snarled, hurling a datapad against the wall. "If I'd known it was just a price game, I would've kept bidding. If it's money they want, that's no problem."
Vilra smiled faintly. "Their greed helped us, actually."
Jax turned to her. "How's that?"
"When we were inside Aukouma's servers, another group was hacking in too. Guess who?"
He frowned. "Nuralith?"
"Yes," Vilra said. "They must've gotten leaked intel about Project Scourge. Now they're digging for confirmation. If we'd won the bid, they would've connected it to us immediately."
Jax slammed his fist on the table. "Nuralith…"
Vilra hesitated. "What about the Heart of Ra?"
"Forget it for now," Jax said coldly. "If Nuralith's on to us, we can't let them know we're after it. The project can wait—secrecy can't."
----
After the hacking incident, neither Trionix nor Nuralith bothered with the Aukouma Auction again. But the breach had exposed deeper flaws within the corporation's foundation.
Zairgid began to suspect his uncle Arom had been siphoning funds during the branch's setup.
Unfortunately, Zairgid was still new in Silver City.
No one in the company took him seriously—and most of the staff were loyal to Arom.
"What's troubling you? You've got that look again," Damen asked as he entered Zairgid's office.
"It's the company," Zairgid said, rubbing his temple. "I'm certain Arom's been stealing, but I can't prove it. Everyone here works for him."
"Then find your own people," Liorea said coolly, crossing her arms. "Or better yet—turn his people into yours."
Damen looked at her, a hint of admiration in his eyes.
The girl was sharp—too sharp—for her age. She understood schemes, fraud, and corporate politics better than most executives.
"You're right," Zairgid said, straightening up.
Just then, Kassely hurried past the glass wall outside. She froze when she noticed him watching, then quickened her pace.
"She's afraid of you?" Liorea asked.
Zairgid smiled. "Not for long. She'll learn to trust me soon enough."
"Wait, what are you thinking?" Damen asked him.
"It's my charm. I'm born with it", Zairgid replied.
That night, Zairgid invited Kassely to a private, candlelit dinner under the pretext of discussing her promotion. The evening unfolded with expensive gifts, soft music, quiet laughter, and flattery disguised as concern.
Their talk of business gradually blurred into something more personal, and the setting shifted—from the restaurant to his hotel suite.
By dawn, Kassely was no longer Arom's most trusted spy, but Zairgid's newest ally.
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[Silver City University for Meta Science]
Damen and Zairgid arrived at Silver City University of Meta Science to finalize their registration for the next semester. Both had already received offers, but the university's treatment made them feel more like VIPs than students.
The recruitment manager personally greeted them, escorted them through the expedited registration process, and handed them the keys to their private suites in the elite student wing.
Later, Zairgid stepped out of his suite to stretch his legs. As he rounded the corridor, someone bumped into him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you," said a woman's voice.
Zairgid steadied her by the shoulder and found himself staring at a beautiful woman with striking eyes.
"It's alright," he said quickly. "I'm Zairgid. I'll be staying in these suites soon—are you one of the residents?"
"I'm Weira," she replied with a polite smile. "I'm just visiting a friend. I'll be heading back to my hotel soon."
"Really? Which hotel?" Zairgid asked. "If you don't mind, I could give you a ride."
Weira hesitated for a moment, studying his face. Then she nodded. "Alright… thank you."
"Let's go," Zairgid said, opening the suite door briefly to call out, "I'm heading out for a bit, buddy."
Damen looked up from the holo-display. He noticed the woman beside Zairgid, smiled faintly, and said, "Enjoy yourself."
But as Zairgid and the woman left, Damen's smile faded.
A strange unease crept over him—an instinctive, silent warning—before he brushed it aside.
As they stepped out of the building, Damen rushed to the corridor window, watching them go. Something about the woman tugged at his instincts.
He activated his Vision Connect and began scanning. A pulse of light flickered across his eyes—then data flashed onto his view.
Damen's expression hardened. "She's a Rank C Psychic!" he shouted.
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