Bring Your A Game, Mr

"Look at you two, strangling each other while Myres is out there living his best life. I'd be better off dead to have a brother and a boyfriend like you two if I were Alicia." Those who weren't obsessed had a bird's-eye view, and Narissa's hard-hitting words woke the pair up definitively.

At that, Jamie and Paul gazed at each other, reconciling tacitly after gaining confirmation within themselves.

"Don't worry. Gale Myres won't be laughing much longer. We'll be able to avenge Alicia soon," Elise steered the situation back before asking to speak to Narissa alone in a room. Narissa, on the other hand, couldn't help feeling wary, seeing Elise acting mysterious.

"Is there something you want me to do?" she asked.

"You can put it that way," replied Elise earnestly while grabbing Narissa's hand as they stood face to face.

"Alicia's issue gave me a warning. If the enemy risks everything and we don't receive the news in time, we'll make the wrong decision easily. So, I've decided to tell you the truth." "What truth?" Narissa's ears perked up.

As Elise turned the voice changer off, her former signature enchanting voice returned when she spoke again. "Can you tell who I am, Rissa?"

"Elise?!" Narissa's eyes lit up, and she clutched Elise's hands in joy. "You're still alive!"

Narissa bawled with joy as she wrapped her arms around Elise and pulled the latter into her arms before Elise could say anything else.

"What matters is that you're alive. Hahaha, thank the heavens! Ah, Elise, I love you!"

Even Elise had a tear drop at the corner of her eyes as she patted her best friend's back as though coaxing a child. "You child."

"Come on, let me take a good look at you. Take the mask off!"

It felt so surreal to Narissa that she couldn't wait to realize the dream.

"Maybe some other time," Elise rejected her gently. "I have an injury on my face. The scar is a work in progress. I'll let you take a look when it's completely healed."

"So what if there's a scar?! Scar or no scar, you're Elise Sinclair, my best friend. Come on, let me take a look at you." Narissa could finally shamelessly whine again.

As much as she clicked with Anastasia before knowing Anastasia was the one and only Elise, Narissa still behaved in an uptight manner and couldn't act chummy with Anastasia.

Fortunately for her, Elise had returned, and she no longer had to be uptight all the time again.

"Two more months. I'll show you in two more months," Elise compromised.

No woman in this world wasn't vain.

As confident as Elise was, she would still want to look her best in front of her friends and family. In fact, she would deliberately only remove her mask to apply the medicine at night. That way, Alexander wouldn't see it, and the kids wouldn't be frightened. Sure, the scar was already barely noticeable, but Elise was still self-conscious, and being her best friend for years, Narissa naturally caught Elise's worry quickly.

At that, she changed the subject at once. "You said you have a job for me. What is it?"

Elise collected herself and asked gravely, "Do you still want to marry Myres?"

"Well, I never planned on marrying him in the first place. He asked me to lend him the title of the Cuber Family's fiancé, and I only let him be until now for old time's sake," Narissa related frankly.

"You have to continue this favor," Elise said, baffling Narissa.

"Why?"

Narissa knew Gale was no good man after finding out he brought his men to seize Jamie. Then, after learning about the Heidelberg siblings' issue, she, even more so, wanted nothing more than to call off the engagement at once.

"Hey, hey, take it easy and hear me out," Elise explained. "I'll be able to obtain Myres' incriminating evidence very soon, but they're still not enough to put him behind bars for good. You try and convince your dad to lull him into a false sense of security. Given Myres' greed, he certainly won't give up the chance to become your real fiancé."

"Play the long game. Got it. What do you want me to do?" "Tell your dad to..."

***

KO took a drag while leaning against a mast of a pier in a secluded shoreline of Wegas. As the sea breeze blew, the fumes dispersed along with it.

It was nearly reaching the rendezvous time, yet the person he had waited for was yet to show up. With that, he checked his watch with thinning patience when suddenly, someone patted his back.

KO was beginning to reel in bewilderment when he didn't see anyone after turning around, only to realize it was a kid who stood only about to his chest.

"Get out of here, punk. Go back to your mommy!" KO spoke rudely even though the kid was good-looking, for he found children a nuisance.

"My mommy sent me here," Irvin replied composedly.

"Sure, she did, kid!"

At that, KO removed his glasses and deliberately made a scowl.

Malice laced his pair of icy blue eyes, making him look like a crazy vampire. He wanted to scare the punk who didn't know any better.

But who'd have thought, not only was Irvin unfazed, but the boy even recited his background monotonously?!

"KO, world leading hacker, currently fourth place in the international ranking, but because the first and second place hackers have disappeared, you're now deemed as the number one hacker, a force to be reckoned with." Smugness laced KO's face after he heard the boy's words.

To think the punk knows what's what...

"Shame you're a gambling addict that bets on anything and everything. Worst, you lose every single one of your bets, even your woman. You ended up so humiliated that you retired."

KO's face flushed with humiliation and rage, looking exceptionally awkward. "You could've skipped the last part."

However, Irvin shrugged and said, "I already memorized it, so why not say it?"

To that, KO bent over, propped his hands on his knees, and leaned his face up close to Irvin, scrutinizing the boy's face.

"Are you really the one who fought me? How old are you?"

"Seven..."

"Say what?" KO stood up in shock, then turned around and waved his hand. "Impossible. Even if you're a genius, you can't beat me at seven years old!"

Unfortunately for him, Irvin wasn't just a genius but the progeny of two geniuses. He had come to this world purely to humiliate most of humanity.

"I'll be honest with you, my skills are indeed still beneath you, but that doesn't erase the fact that I beat you," Irvin admitted his inadequacy before pointing out the problem.

"I'm sure you know I've already hacked into your computer and have become familiar with your programs before our match. So, I know you well, and you presumptuously took up my challenge without making a single preparation. The heavens favor the prepared. You lost to your arrogance."

At that, he continued, "Now, I know you through and through while you're still unsure of who I am even at this point. So, you're not only arrogant but have also become lazy. Once a hacker stops pursuing better techniques, they'll be overtaken sooner or later. I've just made it sooner."

KO looked over his shoulder with a tilted head and an unfathomable expression; he couldn't believe he was lectured by a seven-year-old.

Even if the boy was right, how could he continue to stay in the hacker world if word got out?!

"Do you have the thing I want?" Irvin demanded.

To that, KO sighed and pulled a flash drive out of his pocket. Then, he chucked the stick behind him, which Irvin caught with ease.

"According to our deal, you also have to work for me for five years. Remember to be on standby twenty-four-seven. I'll call you again."

With that, he turned around, left the pier, and entered a car that had been waiting for a long while after traversing the shrubbery by the seaside. "Here, Mommy..."