Chapter 109 26.2 - Small Time
"This guy."
Irina mumbled to herself as she looked at the departing figure of Astron.
"How irritating."
Whenever she talked to him, he always managed to touch her nerves, no matter what happened.
'Just wait, I will get back to you.'
She hated when she would be left speechless. She hated it when she couldn't refute his words. She hated it when he simply looked at him with a face devoid of any expression.
Mostly, she hated it whenever she was with him.
DING!
At that moment, the sound of notifications came from her bracelet.
[Julia: Guys, you know this weekend Victor's family is giving a banquet, right?]
It was a message from the group chat.
'Banquet? What?'
She thought. She didn't remember Victor mentioning the banquet at all.
[Ethan: This is the first time I am hearing about it.]
[Lucas. Same here. I didn't know about it either.]
Looking at the messages, it seemed Victor didn't invite any of them either.
[Julia: What? I thought he invited everyone.]
"Tssk!"
Looking at the message, she clicked her tongue. She knew why Victor directly invited only Julia. Everyone knew about that, even the said one who was feigning ignorance intentionally.
"What is good about her?"
She couldn't understand at all. Why was he this obsessed with this girl? What was even this good about her?
'Should I cut my hair, as well?'
Touching her braided hair, she thought. Maybe she was missing the tomboyish hair?
'No. I am not going to become someone else.'
However, there was no way Irina Emberheart would copy someone else. Her pride wouldn't allow that, even for the person she liked.
In the end, she cursed the bastard inside her heart as she walked in the way while messaging in the group chat...
*******
After the encounter with Irina, I returned to my room. Now, some of you may think, why didn't I ask for something different from money?
The reason is, for rich people like her, money is something they will never care about unless it is an astronomical amount.
Even some of the equipment Irina is using is actually ten times more expensive than what I had requested, like her earrings.
So, getting money to invest in stocks and future things would be a lot better.
Also, if I had requested a skill, she wouldn't refuse if it was a low rank, but at the same time, she wouldn't be willing enough.
She would feel like she had lost something, and this would damage her pride and ego more than I wanted. As a result, I would lose the connection I built with her.
Believe it or not, even though that girl is annoying and irritating, she is a formidable figure in the future; it is better to keep her under check.
As for equipment, I don't even know what I should use right now, and until I figure that out, I won't try to find any equipment.
In any case, that was the reason why I didn't request any skill or any equipment instead of money.
And it is not like I don't have any use for money either.
Opening my laptop, I started checking my emails in my room while also looking for stocks. Lately, I had been engrossing myself with the stock market and guilds so that I could maybe infer and link some of the events from the game.
Even though I hadn't used the stock system in the game, there were certain small events that I was aware of, and I had been waiting for them to create an opportunity for me.
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Darkweb: Launching
Connecting to Server
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Of course, since I had already been affiliated with the black market before, thanks to the card I got from there, I was able to create an account in the Darkweb, which was basically the side of the internet where everything buried underground was there.
After opening the site, I could see countless pictures, small advertisements, and inhumane things there.
But what I wanted right now was not to check those things.
<Horde>
Clicking on the tab, a small line appeared before me.
"From hacking to brokerage, everything you want to find virtually is here."
It was a simple line created by ever-changing codes. This was a special site that had yet to make its name known right now. This small organization is filled with hackers whose gifts are related to computing and small mana frequency manipulation. Even though they were a small organization right now, they would be a formidable one in the future by taking down the current best hacker ones.
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Subscribe ----?One-time request
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For these types of organizations, there were subscriptions and one-time requests, and I was planning to get the highest-tier subscription just to make sure I was connecting myself here.
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TAP! TAP! TAP!
Slowly negating myself on the site, I immediately connected my account to the site and then started the transaction.
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Do you wish to proceed with the God Level Subscription?
YES?NO
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After clicking on the yes button immediately, I could see my money disappearing from my account.
'Just like that, 100k Valer disappeared. Though it is a worth investment.'
The 100k Valer for a simple subscription may look weird, but in the future, this subscription would be so expensive that it would be at least 100 million Valer alone.
And the fact that I was one of the first ones to do that would mean the organization would treat me a lot more special than others.
DING!
[A message request had been sent from Horde.]
And, I got my results immediately....
************
In a dimly lit, underground hideout hidden beneath the bustling city, the air was thick with the scent of stale coffee and the hum of multiple computer screens.
Wires snaked across the room, connecting terminals and monitors, each displaying lines of code and encrypted messages.
The walls were adorned with neon-lit posters of digital art, a stark contrast to the shadowy corners where the hackers huddled.
The members of the small hacker organization known as "Horde" sat in clusters, their faces illuminated by the glow of monitors.
The atmosphere was tense, as everyone was constantly tapping on their computers without even talking.
Jen, a woman with braided hair and a quick-witted hacker with a penchant for mischief, lounged in her chair, her eyes scanning the stream of data on her screen. Suddenly, a notification popped up on her monitor. "Hey, what's this?" she mumbled, seemingly dismissing it as inconsequential at first.
Alex, the tech genius and encryption virtuoso, raised an eyebrow. "Probably just a reminder for rent or utilities. Ignore it for now."
However, as the members continued their work, Mark, known for his adeptness in evading security measures, noticed the notification again. Curiosity piqued, he opened the message, and his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Guys, hold up! This is no regular notification. It's a God Level Subscription to the Darkweb," Mark exclaimed, the gravity of the revelation sinking in.
SILENCE
The room fell momentarily silent, the weight of the revelation settling on them.
"Someone just bought a God-Level Subscription? It is not even funny."
Of course, at first, nobody believed.?After all, while putting in that subscription option, none of them were expecting someone to buy that in any case.
"Yeah....Which crazy motherfucker would spend 100k on a random site like ours." Another young man with his hood on said as he simply inhaled from the weed he was holding.
Amidst the stunned silence that gripped the room, Mark's face turned serious as he once again called everyone.
"You guys. Do you think I would joke about this out of nowhere?"
Hearing this, moments later, the members of the Horde gathered around Mark's screen.
"Heh...Fine, let's see it."
Jen, Alex, and the others stared in disbelief at the confirmation of the God Level Subscription. The reality sank in as they realized the implications of this unexpected acquisition.
"Someone just spent 100k Valer on this," Mark said, his voice a mix of awe and realization.
"It's not a joke; this is for real," Alex said, still trying to process the enormity of the situation.
"Yeah, but why us?" Jen asked, her mind racing with the potential and risks that lay ahead.
The room erupted into a whirlwind of discussions, ideas, and plans. They realized that this windfall could be a game-changer for them—a chance to upgrade their technology, improve their workspace, and bolster their skills. The 100k Valer was a lifeline, an opportunity to elevate their status in the hacking world.
For Hunters, this amount of money might be something they would spend on a whim, but for some ordinary people who did nothing but stay in this room for the whole day, it was an amount that they had never seen before.
"It's an unexpected blessing, guys. Let's make the most of it," Mark declared, breaking through the chatter.
The group quickly formulated a plan. They would allocate a portion of the funds to purchase new top-of-the-line computers and software to rejuvenate their working space. Another portion would be dedicated to enhancing their cybersecurity measures, ensuring their anonymity and safety in the ever-watchful eyes of the government.
"And, make this guy, Shadow of the Moon, the highest rank member, and give him a special treatment. He is the first person that trusted us this much; we better pay him back."
In the end, even though they were a group that operated in the Darkweb and underworld, they were people with their own values.
****************
Now, why did I spend this amount of money on this organization? Firstly, the God Level subscription was effective for an infinite amount of time until the owner of the account passed away.
Secondly, from this moment on, I will never need to pay for any type of service, regardless of the difficulty.
Thirdly, whenever I need to request something, my request will always be first in the order unless some other God-Level subscription is there.
Finally, this organization is filled with talents in terms of hacking, and they will never fail any request they have taken, and this will bring them a huge amount of reputation in the future.
So, it was a win and win for me, both financially and efficiently.
[Horde: If you have anything to request from us, feel free to do so. We will arrange everything as best as we can.]
As I looked at the message before me, I started typing.
[I want you to buy the stocks of the guild I am going to link to you. Purchase them anonymously.]
[Horde: How much money should we deposit?]
[100k Valer would be enough. I will send the amount to you.]
[Horde: Understood. Do you wish anything else?]
[No.]
[Horde: Understood. We will be waiting for you.]
As I finished chatting, I sent them the link to Emily's guild and deposited 100k Valer onto their account.
'With this, the money problem will soon be solved.'
A week later, Emily's guild will probably regain their strength since, with this amount of money, she would be able to cure her father from his injury.
And from that moment, their rise will start, and after two months, it will reach its peak.
'Until they are targeted by the Demons once again.'
In the end, once targeted, it will always be targeted.
Just like that, I finished my business and started preparing myself to explore that dungeon. After all, I had no time to waste.
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You can check my discord if you want. You can see the illustrations of characters there.
The link to the discord server is in the description of the book.