Chapter 446: I Want to Be Your Apprentice!
In a dark, cluttered room, a small figure curled up in a chair, wrapped in a worn-out gray blanket. Their fingers flew over the keyboard, lines of code streaming across the screen. The ominous BGM of the Grim Reaper Knocking on Doors virus echoed through the room—the same terrifying sound that had shaken the entire country all day. On the flashing monitor, the virus’s ominous animation played on loop. The Grim Reaper Knocking on Doors virus, which had brought Cyperia’s networks to their knees, had been born right here on this very computer. The hacker world had already given its creator a name—ToxiQ, the rising cyber king of chaos. And right now, ToxiQ was making it even deadlier.
Every now and then, he’d switch tabs to see how the internet was reacting to his creation. “Seriously? That’s all they got? Pfft! Just wait—I’ve got something even worse coming.” Just as he was about to upgrade the virus’s attack power, his screen flickered. Every single line of code vanished. Then—his laptop camera turned on. Out of nowhere, the opening theme of Sailor Moon blasted through his speakers. And then, “In the name of love and justice! I shall punish you in the name of the moon!” “Awooo!”
Forcing its way past all of ToxiQ’s firewalls, Little Wendigo popped up on his screen—tiny but full of rage, ready to attack. The moment the screen flickered on, ToxiQ’s face appeared. On the other end, Olivia had been fully prepared to go full dramatic villain mode—microphone in hand, ready to deliver her lines. But then she froze. For the first time since her rebirth, the always calm and composed Olivia felt something completely unexpected. Sitting in front of the computer, wrapped in a thin blanket, was ToxiQ. A kid. With big, wide eyes, still staring in utter shock. His tiny face, barely the size of a palm, looked so ridiculously soft and squishy that Olivia’s first instinct wasn’t fear, it was the sudden urge to pinch his cheeks. Oh, and he had a pacifier in his mouth.
Somebody explain this to her—how was the genius hacker responsible for a virus that crippled half of Cyperia’s networks… a five- or six-year-old kid? Then Olivia’s sharp eyes caught something else. Through the camera, on the desk behind him, sat an open first-grade summer workbook. In her past life, ToxiQ’s real identity had always been a mystery. There were endless theories, countless speculations. But Olivia swore—in two lifetimes, not a single person could have guessed that the legendary hacker ToxiQ was just some elementary schooler rushing to finish his summer homework.
She had planned to mock him. She had prepared to humiliate him. Now—she had nothing. Was she really about to hand over a literal child to Brogan for a bounty? Would that be considered child abuse? While Olivia was still processing the fact that ToxiQ was a literal child, the kid had already snapped back to reality. And the second he spotted Little Wendigo on his screen, his eyes practically sparkled.
“You can hear me, right? You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?” The little guy stood up on his chair, leaning closer to the screen, his curious eyes wide with excitement. “You’re the legendary hacker on the hacker forums, aren’t you?” Olivia had no words. Worried that he might be too small to see properly on camera, the kid climbed up onto his chair. Wearing a one-piece bear pajama set, his hood’s fuzzy little bear ears bounced slightly as he stared at her with absolute awe. “I saw the video! You’re incredible! Can I be your apprentice?”
The moment he had seen the super defense system in action on the hacker forums, he had been completely hooked. “Please, please!” He pressed his hands together in a pleading gesture, looking at her with pure devotion. Olivia was at a complete loss. Video? Apprentice? Kid, shouldn’t you be working on your summer homework?