Chapter 104: Piper’s Panic

Chapter 104: 104: Piper’s Panic

Jasper raised his hand, halting Samson mid-sentence. "Silence. Let’s watch first," he murmured, his eyes locked on Nova as he stepped closer to the terminal.

Nova slid smoothly into the high-backed leather chair before the central server rig. For a single second, her slender fingers hovered above the keyboard. Then, they moved.

What followed was an absolute blitzkrieg of keystrokes.

To the untrained eye, her fingers blurred across the board as if she were striking random keys in a chaotic rhythm. But the visuals cascading across the multi-monitor array told a vastly different story. Nova wasn’t merely writing lines of code, she was weaving an intricate, dynamic cryptographic labyrinth from scratch.

Terminal windows opened and collapsed in lightning-fast succession. Cascades of green and white machine language flooded the screens, compiling real-time assembly code, kernel-level hooks, and dynamic intrusion counter-measures. Unlike the static firewall she had designed for Alan, this new setup featured an actively mutating encryption grid—a self-healing matrix that constantly altered its underlying algorithms every microsecond. Any unauthorized ping or zero-day exploit attempt would be instantly trapped, swallowed, and redirected into endless, dead-end recursive loops.

In less than three minutes, the furious clatter of keys abruptly ceased.

Nova leaned back, stretching her arms lazily above her head with a soft yawn. "I’m done," she announced nonchalantly, sliding out of the chair.

"So... so fast?!"

Muttered disbelief swept through the room. The elite hackers stared at the screen, then back at Nova, their expressions laced with intense skepticism. A defense matrix of that scale usually took a team of master developers months to construct, optimize, and stress-test.

Jasper stepped forward and sank into the chair Nova had just vacated. His hands flew across the mouse and keyboard as he ran diagnostic scripts, stress-pings, and simulated penetration attacks against the newly compiled grid. With every test that failed to make even a microscopic dent in the barrier, his eyes widened further.

"You... you really did it," Jasper breathed, a slow, exhilarating smile spreading across his face as he looked up at her.

The surrounding hackers leaned over his shoulder to glimpse the diagnostic readouts. Terror instantly replaced their skepticism. The logic structure before them wasn’t just secure—it was a digital fortress constructed by an untouchable god of cyberspace.

"You really set up a master-grade defense, shortie," Jasper commended, a genuine, reverent smile lighting up his features. "You are terrifyingly good."

Nova shrugged indifferently, tapping the corner of the signed contract against her palm. "If you’re done admiring it, I’m taking my copy and leaving."

"Of course," Jasper replied smoothly. He gestured to Samson. "Process the duplicate."

Samson, his hands trembling slightly, took the contract, quickly stamped and logged the official duplicate, and passed Nova’s copy back to her with profound respect.

Nova took the document, glanced over it one last time, and turned toward the exit.

"You should drop by more often, shortie," Jasper called out behind her, leaning back in his chair. "After all, you’re officially the boss of this company now."

Nova paused for a fraction of a second, offered no reply, and continued walking out.

"Boss... are you really just going to let her walk out like that?" one of the senior hackers whispered nervously.

Jasper stared at the shifting matrix on his screen. "If you think you’re her match, feel free to step up and try stopping her yourself," he replied coolly.

The man scratched the back of his head, swallowing hard as he looked back at the screen. "Boss... do you think she’s the one who created the Double A defense in the first place? She didn’t even bother attempting to breach it."

Jasper remained silent for a long moment, his eyes dark with contemplation. Finally, he turned back to the room. "Back to your stations, everyone. And remember this, she is the absolute owner of this company now. If any of you do something foolish to offend her, don’t expect me to shield you from her wrath."

"Understood, Boss!" they chorused nervously, quickly diving back into their work.

Jasper stared blankly at the ruined doorway for a moment before standing up and exiting toward his private quarters, his expression returning to its usual cold, unreadable mask.

The moment Nova stepped out into the main entrance hall, she gave a sharp snap of her fingers.

Instantly, the two security guards standing stiffly near the doors blinked rapidly, coming out of their hypnotic trance. Confusion washed over their faces as they looked around, entirely unaware of the missing time or how Nova had bypassed them.

Nova walked out into the afternoon sunlight, stepping into her waiting luxury car. She sank into the plush leather seat as the door closed behind her.

"Foggy face," Nova called out inwardly in her mind.

Silence. No response.

"Foggy face," she called again. Still, nothing answered.

Deciding not to waste her energy dwelling on it, Nova closed her eyes, her tone turning ice-cold as she addressed the driver. "Take me to the Riman Estate."

"Yes, Young Madam," the driver replied respectfully, pulling the car smoothly into traffic.

The Riman Estate

Inside the lavishly decorated living room of the Riman mansion, the air was suffocatingly thick with anxiety.

Piper paced back and forth across the imported marble floor, her face pale and drenched in cold sweat. On the long velvet sofa sat her parents, watching her neurotic pacing with growing irritation.

"What on earth is wrong with you, Piper?" her mother snapped, her voice sharp with annoyance. "It is bad enough that you disgraced our family’s name at the painting competition, but you have been panicking like a lunatic ever since you stepped through the door! What exactly is the problem?"

"Mum..." Tears welled up in Piper’s eyes, overflowing down her trembling cheeks. "We... we have to leave the country. Right now. Please!"

Her father, a stern man with sharp features, narrowed his eyes at her. He didn’t waste time with useless platitudes. "Which powerful family did you offend?" he asked deadpan.

Piper bit her lower lip so hard it nearly bled. "I... I lost a bet. She said... she said she is going to kill me! She’s going to destroy all of us!" she sobbed, breaking down completely.

"What utter nonsense is this?!" Her father slammed his fist onto the armrest, his voice booming through the room. "Explain yourself properly! What did you do to her?!"

Piper flinched violently, shivering as more tears fell.

Seeing her daughter’s terror, the mother’s expression shifted from anger to sudden dread. "Dear, if she is reacting like this, she must have provoked someone truly dangerous. Why don’t we catch the first flight out of the country first and demand the details once we are safe in the air?" she suggested.

The father glared at Piper with deep displeasure, but he eventually nodded. "Get the bags. I’ll book a private charter immediately," he said, pulling out his phone.

The mother rushed upstairs, with Piper scrambling right behind her. Minutes later, zippers were drawn, and luggage was hauled down the grand staircase in a frantic blur.

"We’re ready! Let’s go!" the mother urged, her voice laced with panic.

Piper took the lead, dragging her heavy suitcase as she pushed open the grand front doors and stepped out into the sunlit courtyard.

And then, she froze.

The blood drained entirely from Piper’s face. The breath hitched in her throat, locking her lungs in a paralyzing vise.

Her parents stepped out behind her, confused by her sudden standstill. But as their eyes followed Piper’s horrified gaze across the compound, they stiffened as well.

There, leaning casually against the hood of their getaway vehicle, was Nova.

She wasn’t wearing her mask. Dressed in her leather jacket and cargo jeans, one hand rested casually in her pocket while she casually inspected her manicured nails under the sunlight.

"You certainly move fast," Nova remarked softly, her icy blue eyes drifting up to lock onto the family of three. A dark, predatory smile spread slowly across her lips. "Had I arrived even a minute later, I would have had to go through the tiresome trouble of hunting you down across borders."

"How... how did you find my house so quickly?!" Piper stuttered, her knees trembling so violently she nearly collapsed onto her luggage.

"There are endless ways to locate a rat in its hole, dummy," Nova replied, a low, devilish chuckle echoing in her throat.

Piper’s mother scanned the surrounding courtyard, expecting to see a squad of armed bodyguards accompanying Nova. But Nova stood completely alone, which only heightened the eerie, unnatural dread settling over the estate.

Piper’s father stared intently at Nova, his brow furrowed in deep, sudden recognition. "You..." he murmured, his voice laced with sudden uncertainty. "You look... extremely familiar."