Since the finals weren’t finished, the organizers had to restart the competition. But sohow, whoever won didn’t matter anymore—at least, not to the gentlen who ca just to see ten people try to infiltrate Fortress. Soone had already tried -- X -- and all the n got more than what they ca for:
Citadel.
The new security system Pri Group planned to launch in a few months.
It was a good thing they had attended and witnessed how incredible it was.
So, while the finals continued, the VIPs on the second-floor section relaxed and enjoyed themselves. That mostly ant flocking around Penny and praising her to the high heavens.
They stayed until the end of the ga, with Team A erging victorious. The first round was close, but in the second, neither team managed to infiltrate Fortress. Team A won by default. However, Penny and the gentlen didn’t bother going to the after-party.
---
In a private room of the sa hotel, Penny and her team gathered to share a glass of wine in celebration.
"Miss Penny, that was amazing—what you did out there," said soone from the main control room. "You’re the best!"
Penny chuckled. "I know I am, so you better rember that."
"Hahaha!"
"I almost had a heart attack earlier," another added. "Miss Penny, I know the problem was neutralized, but did you figure out what kind of virus it was?"
Everyone turned their attention to Penny, curiosity lighting up their faces. Though she’d explained things during her speech, they knew she must’ve already identified the virus. They were just itching to know what kind it was.
Penny smacked her lips, recalling what had happened. "Well, I was wondering how X planted the virus ahead of ti but waited for the event to activate it. At first, I thought maybe he did it for fun—maybe to make a na for himself or to fra a rival company. I have a lot of friends, but being in business also ans I have enemies."
She leaned forward slightly, her tone sharpening. "But while I watched the teams defend our system, I realized sothing. He didn’t wait for the right ti—he chose this event because his real goal was to infiltrate Pri Group’s security system."
Gasps filled the air, the room quickly falling silent. So people furrowed their brows, a chill running down their spines.
"I see," Yugi nodded solemnly. "That makes a lot of sense."
He glanced toward Penny. "Choosing an event like this would force Pri Group to respond quickly. And with our entire team here, support from HQ would be automatic."
"Mark retrieved a device to cut signals in the venue," Penny continued. "But I figured he must’ve planted more around the area. I was right."
"No wonder we had such a bad connection!"
"With our connection problems, if we had taken the bait, he could’ve infiltrated Pri Group," she explained. "Before we realized it, he’d already have all our data."
"The spectacle earlier was just a distraction," Yugi said, nodding with unease. Just imagining the possible outco without Penny’s intervention made him shiver. "Now I understand."
"Logically, it’s nearly impossible to infiltrate Pri Group’s system from the outside. But if we opened up that connection—ugh, I just got goosebumps!"
"That was a close call!"
Just thinking about the gravity of the situation made everyone tense up. The consequences could’ve been catastrophic—not just job losses, but the collapse of the entire company’s credibility. Pri Group was a security firm, after all. If it were breached by an unknown hacker, their reputation would be done for.
"But it’s fine now," Penny said, smiling as she drew their attention. "Yes, it was scary, but we’re here celebrating because it didn’t happen, right?"
Her smile widened, calming the tension in the room. "Besides, we learned from it. Even if I wasn’t there, I’m sure soone else would’ve caught it. It just so happened that I was the one at the event."
"Miss Penny, you’re being humble!"
"You’re incredible, Miss Penny! How co you never visit our departnt?"
"Just one lecture a month would be enough!"
"Ehh, are you guys trying to kick out of the company?" Yugi teased, making everyone laugh.
"Well, anyway," Penny raised her glass, "congrats to all of us. Once again, we won."
Everyone lifted their glasses and toasted, enjoying the rest of the evening. There was so much to celebrate—and once again, Penny had proven exactly why she was in charge.
---
While the others were still drinking, Yugi slipped out to the balcony. He found Penny standing there alone, looking out over the city. When he glanced back, he noticed her secretaries—especially Patricia—still chatting with his team.
"Hey," Yugi said, stepping out beside her.
Penny glanced at him. "Hey."
"I’ve got a lot of questions, but I’ll save them for later," he began. "Right now, we need to figure out who planted that bug. I’m pretty sure whoever did it is soone with access."
"Investigate, but not too much."
"What?" Yugi frowned. "Do you know who planted it?"
Penny pressed her lips together and leaned on the railing, letting the breeze brush her face. "Let’s just say... I don’t want to waste resources."
"What?" Yugi stared at her. "Penny, how is that wasting resources? Today, soone claiming to be you tried to hack our system. If you hadn’t been there, we’d be screwed."
"What do you an, acting like ?" She looked genuinely confused. "I’m not following."
"Seriously?" His expression flattened. "X? You don’t rember?"
Penny blinked. "What do you an I don’t rember?"
"Penny, that’s what people called you back then."
"Huh?" Her face contorted into a comical scowl as she propped an elbow on the railing. "Why would they call that? I clearly introduced myself as cutie_pie143. Are they crazy? That’s literally my userna!"
"..." Yugi just stared at her, deadpan. It reminded him of how Penny used to commit all sorts of cyber activities bordering to cris back in the day and then pretend she had no idea what anyone was talking about. She’d even act coy and joke about how "that hacker X" was a nace.
Back then, he thought she was just trying to deny it. He warned her once, reminding her it was a felony. She denied everything, and they left it at that. Besides, her focus had shifted to the company. That was all ancient history now.
"You know what, Yugi? I don’t know what you’re talking about," Penny said, tapping a finger against his chest as she turned to walk away. After a few steps, she paused and looked back.
"But what I do know is..." she smirked, eyes gleaming, "I told you tonight was going to be fun."
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