Chapter 103: Sell or Snatch?

Chapter 103: 103: Sell or Snatch?

Everyone stared at Nova as though a ghost had just violently kicked its way into their sanctum. The paralyzing silence was finally broken by the sound of measured footsteps. At the far end of the sprawling room, a young man in a pristine white suit rose from his executive desk. He walked down the central corridor, coming to a halt a few feet away from Nova, and casually folded his arms.

"I’m the one you’re looking for," Jasper said, his gaze locking onto hers with cold, calculating intensity.

[Ding!]

[Target information downloaded]

[Name: Jasper Soran]

[Age: 23]

[Status: Boss of the SK Hacking Company]

[Threat level: 10%]

[Note: The company was built entirely through his own effort. He violently despises anyone who eyes his organization. Though the company has been under immense pressure lately, he is absolutely unwilling to give it up.]

Nova nodded, completely unfazed by his imposing demeanor. "I want your entire company. Do you want to sell it, or do you want me to snatch it?" she demanded, her expression eerily blank.

A flicker of genuine surprise crossed Jasper’s face. Around the room, his subordinates audibly gasped, reeling from the audacity of her words.

"Perhaps you stumbled into the wrong building, little girl. But you’ve got some serious guts to actually say that out loud in here," one of the seated hackers sneered coldly.

Nova’s gaze snapped to the man. Her blue eyes darkened, glowing with pure murderous intent. The temperature in the room seemed to plummet instantly.

"Little girl," Nova repeated softly, her voice dropping to a freezing whisper. "That title heavily annoys me when it comes from the mouth of an outsider."

The hacker who had just spoken suddenly felt an invisible, icy grip close around his throat. He swallowed hard, his heart hammering wildly against his ribs in sudden, primal terror.

"I... I’m sorry," he stammered unconsciously, shrinking back into his chair.

"Your apology is utterly useless to me," Nova dismissed him without a second glance. She turned her dead-eyed stare back to Jasper. "Well? Do you want to sell it, or shall I snatch it?" she repeated.

A low, amused smirk tugged at the corner of Jasper’s lips. "You are quite daring, shortie," he commented.

Nova paused, a dangerous frown creasing her forehead. "What did you just call me?"

"Shortie," Jasper replied smoothly. "You mentioned earlier that we could call you whatever we felt suited you. I think ’shortie’ suits you perfectly."

The surrounding men stared at Jasper in absolute shock, a chaotic flurry of thoughts racing through their minds.

"Since when did the boss start bantering with girls?"

"Could it be that young, psychotic girls are the boss’s type?!"

"Boss, she is literally threatening a hostile takeover, and you’re flirting off-topic!"

"Since when did he become this tolerant of threats?"

Nova glared coldly at Jasper. "What is up with this guy?" she thought, eyeing him critically. "Will you sell, or should I snatch it?" she asked a third time, her tone indicating she was dead serious and running out of patience.

Jasper laughed. "I built this company from the ground up with my own two hands. Do you have any idea how many people have eyed it? None of them ever managed to lay a single finger on it, and most of them ended up dead. Tell me, shortie, what exactly should I do with you?" he asked, his tone dangerously calm.

Nova took a slow, deep breath. "I have no interest in dismissing your personnel or working at a desk here. I simply want to become the boss. If you refuse to hand it over calmly, I’m not sorry to say you will have to meet your creator much earlier than scheduled."

Jasper raised his eyebrows, thoroughly entertained. "Your ruthless words completely contradict your angelic voice."

"Boss, this girl is literally threatening your life," another hacker hissed, glaring at Nova with deep displeasure.

Jasper’s smirk only widened. "Samson," he called out.

Instantly, a young man hurried forward carrying a high-end laptop. He bowed respectfully and handed the device to Jasper.

Jasper took the laptop and turned the screen toward Nova. "You want to become the boss? It’s not a big deal. As long as you can hack through the defense firewall on this account, the company is yours."

Whispers immediately broke out across the room.

"Hmph, that’s the D Rock Block defense. There’s no way she can hack in."

"The boss is just messing with her. Even he couldn’t breach that firewall, so how could she?"

"Looks like someone’s going to leave here crying."

Nova completely ignored their sneering. She stared at the complex defense matrix Jasper had asked her to break, and her brows immediately knitted together in a tight frown.

"Isn’t this the exact defense I set up for Alan?" she thought, a dark realization dawning on her. "It seems like I can’t keep this Jasper guy alive after all."

"And why exactly do you want to break this specific firewall?" Nova asked, her voice dropping to a terrifying absolute zero.

Seeing Nova’s sudden shift in demeanor—she looked at the code not with confusion, but with the possessive recognition of an owner—Jasper instantly dropped his amused facade. He grew entirely serious, handing the laptop back to Samson, who quickly retreated to his desk.

"I’m guessing you recognize who this defense belongs to," Jasper observed sharply.

"The D Rock Block defense. Specifically configured for The Double A Hacking Organization," Nova replied calmly.

"You sound intimately familiar with them," Jasper noted, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Nova’s gaze turned utterly bored. "Answer the question. Why do you want to break their defense?"

Jasper smiled, offering a gesture of surrender. "They were subjected to a massive cyber-attack a few days ago and were almost entirely wiped out by a rival party. But out of nowhere, an unknown third party interfered. Not only did they obliterate the attackers, but they also constructed this impenetrable defense matrix for Double A," he explained.

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes burning with professional obsession. "I’m fascinated by this method of defense. It looks deceptively simple, yet it is mathematically unbreakable. I’ve personally tried to crack it dozens of times, but it seems impossible. My company has been under heavy siege lately. If I could replicate this type of defense, it would guarantee our absolute security from any sudden attacks."

"And what if you had successfully broken the defense?" Nova pressed, her piercing blue eyes fixed steadily on him.

Jasper chuckled. "If I could break it, it would mean the defense is flawed and worthless to me. Besides, I have no grudge against Double A, so I wouldn’t do any damage. In fact, if I broke it, I would intentionally leave a trace to alert them that their walls had been breached so they could patch it."

"Seems like he gets to live a little longer," Nova thought, the murderous intent slowly bleeding out of her aura.

"I won’t break it," Nova stated flatly, folding her arms. "But setting up a similar defense matrix for your servers is not a problem. Prepare the transfer contract," she commanded.

The entire room, Jasper included, stared at her in stunned silence.

"Are... are you implying you created that defense?" someone muttered in absolute shock.

Nova remained silent, holding Jasper’s gaze.

"Samson," Jasper finally called out, his voice thick with a mix of awe and anticipation.

"Boss," Samson replied, jumping to his feet.

"Prepare the contract. Since ’shortie’ is so confident, we should show her our utmost sincerity," Jasper ordered.

Samson hesitated for a fraction of a second, then nodded and practically sprinted away. A few tense minutes later, he returned with a thick stack of legal documents.

Nova took the contract from him, her eyes scanning the complex legal jargon with terrifying speed. She read every single detail.

"Good," Nova murmured softly. She plucked a luxury pen from Samson’s trembling hand and signed her name with fluid, elegant strokes, not hesitating for a single second.

Once finished, she tossed the pen back to him and walked purposefully toward the main server terminal.

"Boss... she already signed it," Samson whispered, his voice trembling with worry. "What if she’s just bluffing?"