Chapter 257
Chapter 257
On the flip side, after Natasha took a bath, she sat in front of the computer.
Her hair was still wet, and her mind was still filled with thoughts about the foreign men she had met during the day.
Grabbing a pencil and paper, she closed her eyes and tried to recall what the tattoo looked like. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes and began sketching a pattern.
When she was done, she stared at the tattoo on the drawing. It was slightly different from the one on her father, but her gut was telling her it wasn't as simple as just a coincidence. She had a really strong feeling that it was connected.
For a long time, she was practically searching for the truth with a blindfold on, which was why she didn't make a lot of progress. However, her instincts were telling her that the tattoo would be the lead that would guide her to the truth.
Maybe she would even be able to find the culprit pretty quickly.
When her train of thought ended there, she turned on her computer and searched for any information about the tattoo. However, even as she searched for a long time, it was to no avail.
The more she couldn't find any information on the tattoo, the more suspicious she became.
It reminded her of her parents' deaths.
In the end, she gave up looking for a needle in a haystack. Her fingers swiftly danced on the keyboard as a string of code appeared on the screen. The webpage promptly changed into another one.
It was a website for hackers.
Just like the gaming circle, all the top hackers in the world gathered there to pick up special missions. There were challenges, and each hacker was ranked based on their skills, points, and the time taken to complete the missions.
Natasha was undoubtedly placed at the top.
The quickest way to improve one's rank was to challenge someone. If they succeeded in the challenge, their rank would go up. It was that simple.
The moment she appeared, people started chatting: Did you see that ? Shadow Seeker just came onlinelOf course I did! It's been so long since she came
online!
Though they only wanted to watch the fun, someone exclaimed: Those who want to improve their rank should go and challenge her now!
It soon became apparent that no one dared to challenge her. After all, there was a time counter on the ranking, and Natasha was still the current record holder. People took one glance at the time before they gave up on challenging her.
Another chatted: It's fine if we only admire her and make her our inspiration.Like hell I'm going to challenge her. Anyone can tell if they have the right to challenge her just by looking at the time.
Silently, Natasha read what the people were saying before clicking on the bounty list on the website. There, one could list out missions, news, and anything that they wished to know or wanted. If someone knew about it, they would reveal it.
Upon uploading the picture, she hesitated. The moment the news spread, she might as well be halfdeclaring it in public. However, she had no other choice.
Thus, she set up the bounty and announced it. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.
The moment the announcement was up, someone chatted: Did you see that ? Shadow Seeker just listed a bounty!
G*ddamn! Look at the reward! She really is the highest-ranked hackerlDoes anyone know what she's looking for? Hurry up and reveal it!If it's possible, I want her to take me as a student for the reward!
People kept on chattering.
At that moment, Natasha noticed what was happening and posted a chat: If the information given is true, you 're welcomed to ask for a different reward!
The chat quieted down immediately with Shadow Seeker's chat.
The silence lasted for a long time, as though the computer had died.
The reason was that it was the first time she spoke there.
While she could read what they were saying, she had never shown herself there before, much less say anything. Hence, no one knew what to say.
Someone sitting at the eightiethsomething rank asked: Am I hallucinating? Is Shadow Seeker really speaking in the chat?
The chat practically exploded following that.
Everyone worshipped Shadow Seeker.
Some asked to become her student while others were shouting or discussing the matter.
They might act like crazed fans in a concert, but any one of them was powerful enough to bring corporations or even a country to its knees financially.
However, some of the more conservative hackers had no interest in doing stuff like that. The higher- ranking hackers enjoyed competing with each other more to show off their uniqueness. All they wanted was recognition and fame.
Natasha spoke in the chat again as news filled her screen: Those who know anything about the picture can privately message me!
With that, she went offline. Even so, her phone would still ring if someone contacted her or found the information she was looking for because she set up a notification system for it.
Her lips were pursed tightly as she sat in front of the computer.
She was aware she shouldn't rush, but she couldn't help but feel impatient.
After all, her search had lasted for twenty years. Despite two decades of effort, she still didn't find anything.
It was the first time she had a really strong feeling that she would finally be progressing in the end.
On the other side, Thalia walked all the way back to her place. When she arrived at the bottom floor, it was already pretty deep into the night.
Just as she reached the bottom floor, her phone rang.
Hesitation was present in her eyes when she saw it was from Anthony. Still, she accepted the call. “Hello?”
Sensing something was wrong with her voice, Anthony asked, “What's wrong with you?”
“Nothing.”
“You don't sound like you're fine.”
Thalia answered with silence.
“Where are you?”
She still kept quiet, so Anthony stopped asking. A few seconds later, the call ended.
Her line of sight lingered on the phone for a while before she continued walking.
Before she even arrived, Benjamin and Anthony had shown up at the stairwell.
Thalia was stunned to see them.
Anthony was holding a phone that was tracking her location. It was then Benjamin pointed at a spot not too far away from them. “Over there.”
Upon seeing her, Anthony put away his phone and rapidly approached her. Upon seeing her wretched state, he frowned. “W-What happened to you?
A bitter smile was formed on her face. “It's nothing.”
“Is that man responsible?”
Thalia froze for a second when Spencer was brought up. “It was an accident.”
Anthony stared at her. She wasn't the type of person who would get the short end of the stick unless she allowed herself to, based on what he knew about her personality.
He thought for a while before saying, “Go to the hospital.”
“No need.”
“But your injuries...”
“It's nothing serious.” With that, she stood and headed to the stairwell.
Anthony was about to follow her when Benjamin stopped him.
Words were about to leave Anthony's mouth when he saw Benjamin gesturing for him to look in another direction.
Not too far from their location was Spencer standing under a tree.
Anthony frowned when he saw the man.
Spencer didn't even try to hide as he stared at Thalia.
Turning to his brother, Anthony stated, “Go and be with Thalia first.”
With a nod, Benjamin followed Thalia inside.
Anthony's gaze was fixed on Spencer's direction as he thought about what to do. Then he approached the man.