Chapter 238 The First Mission

“Of course I’m young, I’m only a sophomore. But you guys aren’t that much older than me either."

“Let me officially introduce myself. I’m Tilda Jenson, 19, second year in computer science at Orica University. Nice to meet you all.”

Tilda casually reached out her hand to Jarrett and the others.

“You… You really are Uncle Russell’s daughter! Oh my god!” Astrid finally realized it and blurted it out.

Is this world really that small? The so-called top hacker of the dark web, idolized by countless people, was actually her relative!

“Astrid, I guess you’ve probably heard a lot of bad stuff about me from Russell. I don’t bother explaining my actions. I only do what I think is right. If that bothers you, I’m sorry.”

The reason Tilda said this to Astrid was that she knew Astrid wasn’t close to Russell’s family. She wasn’t like the Jensons, getting played by Kyla without even realizing it. Otherwise, Tilda wouldn’t have even approached this team in the first place.

“No… I trust Queen! I don’t care who you really are. As long as you’re Queen, that’s enough! Sorry, Queen, I was just shocked that the world is so small…"

“To be honest, after looking into the real identities of you four, I was just as surprised to find my cousin is in this group. Maybe it’s fate. But since we’re on the same team, we’re comrades. I don’t want to see unnecessary distrust. I won’t explain too much else. The best way for me to earn your trust is to prove myself through my skills in our future work.”

Tilda didn’t bother explaining the whole Jensons’ mess to Jarrett and the others. That was a disgusting memory she couldn’t wait to forget.

Jarrett and the others exchanged a glance.

“Astrid’s right! Whoever Queen is, Queen is still Queen!”

“Yeah, Queen’s skills speak for themselves! We’re all here because we admire Queen!”

“Great.”

Tilda then took a walk around the base. Servers, internet speed, equipment—everything was flawless.

Tilda said casually, “Building this base must’ve cost a few tens of millions, right?”

Jarrett nervously replied, “Um… Queen, do you think the base is too small or the equipment isn’t enough? If you need anything else, just let us know. We can get it!”

“Don’t worry, this is more than enough. After all, we’re just a five-person team, not some movie company with hundreds or thousands of hackers. Now, let’s go over your technical issues, then we’ll start our first mission.”

Everyone froze. “Now?!”

“Yes! And I won’t be interfering in this mission—it’s all on you four!”

Tilda’s eyes flickered, landing on Zach. Zach was taken aback, then lowered his head, too nervous to meet her gaze.

Since Tilda said it like that, even though the four of them were anxious, they had no choice but to push forward. We can’t let Queen down! That was the only thought in their minds.

After pointing out the group’s current technical issues, Tilda had them start hacking. The target was an intelligence network of an overseas underground organization. She didn’t explain what the organization was for.

Behind the scenes, she monitored how each member of the team worked together. Jarrett and the others were skilled and had known each other for a long time, so they trusted each other completely. Each person had their own tasks, orderly and unhurried, with a clear division of labor. This kind of trust, coordination, and team spirit wasn’t something that could be built overnight.

At the same time, Tilda could tell that Zach had the most talent and skill as a hacker. And his ranking on the dark web made it clear—he was the most skilled of the group. But Zach lived up to his name–quiet, reserved, and easily embarrassed. He hardly spoke up or showed off in front of Tilda.

Next were Jarrett and Theo. They were chatty and outgoing, not the shy type at all. Among hackers, that made them stand out as a bit unusual. Most were so used to hiding behind the mask of the online world. Over time, they found it hard to connect with reality. This is also known as social communication disorder, which is different from Zach’s natural shyness.

Last was Astrid. The only girl and the one who was last in rank. That said, her gap with Jarrett and Theo was tiny, almost nonexistent. Tilda’s impression of Astrid was that she was calm. Even when Zach became emotional and impatient, Astrid was like an iceberg. She never lost her composure when handling a situation.

The four of them had their own strengths and weaknesses. But their personalities miraculously complemented one another, allowing them to make rapid progress.