The "Group of Seven" met for their monthly Saturday brunch, but the tension was higher than the high-school board exams.
"So," Mei Ling said, stirring her coffee and looking between me and Li Yan. "The 'Smart City' bid is due on Monday. Who's winning?"
"The one with the better encryption," I said, taking a sip of tea.
"The one with the more efficient server architecture," Li Yan countered, his eyes meeting mine with a playful, dangerous glint.
"You two are exhausting," Jia Yi laughed. "By the way, Su Lan, why are you wearing Zhang Wei's old high school tracksuit jacket? It's three sizes too big for you."
Su Lan choked on her croissant. Zhang Wei suddenly became very interested in the texture of his napkin.
"It was cold in the restaurant," Su Lan snapped, her face turning pink. "It's a functional garment. Don't over-analyze it."
Suddenly, every phone at the table buzzed at the exact same time. An emergency alert from the Tech Association.
Alert: Major Data Breach at the National Smart City Database. Both Nexus Core and Aether Systems servers are being compromised. Source: Unknown.
Li Yan and I stood up in unison. The "Corporate Rivals" were gone; the "98.2% Team" was back.
"It's her," I whispered, looking at the encrypted signature on the screen. "Ying Yue. She's not just back. She's trying to burn the whole city down."
"She's targeting the 'Group of Seven' servers specifically," Su Lan said, her laptop already open on the brunch table. "She wants to delete our history. Everything from school to now."
Li Yan looked at the group—the stars that had stayed together for nearly a decade. "She wants a war? Let's show her what happens when you mess with the Seven Stars."
"Zhang Wei, Su Lan—you two stay on defensive encryption," I commanded. "Mei Ling, Jia Yi, Lin Chen—track the physical IP location. Li Yan and I will go into the 'Black Box' and trap her."
As we sprinted toward the door, Li Yan grabbed my hand. "If we lose the bid because of this..."
"Then we win the life," I said. "Move, President!"