Dave was in the middle of breakfast when Alpha Kilian made his way downstairs the next day. “Why are you up so early today?” the former teased while dining elegantly.
Alpha Kilian walked over and sat across from him. “No reason in particular.”
Dave shot him a glance that turned into a stare. “What's up with you? You don't look so good!” The latter coughed lightly. “Nothing much. Maybe I've caught a slight cold.”
“A cold?” Dave furrowed his brows at that. “But the weather's been perfect. How did you catch a cold?”
Alpha Kilian picked up the glass of water in front of him and took a sip. “It must've been the cold shower I took last night.”
Dave froze. “You took a cold shower?” Alpha Kilian remained silent.
As though realizing something, Dave eyed him playfully. “Did you take a cold shower, or did you take many cold showers?”
He knew how resilient Alpha Kilian 's body was, after all.
There was no way the latter would catch a cold just from one cold shower. As expected, Alpha Kilian glanced up at him right away.
“I took many,” he enunciated.
Dave laughed and nodded. “I get what you mean now!” Alpha Kilian merely ate and stopped entertaining him.
Dave continued to smile with a hint of jest in his eyes. Then, Alpha Kilian spoke again. “Boss called me yesterday.”
Dave stilled briefly before composing himself. “He still has the nerve to contact you? What did he say?”
Alpha Kilian paused for a long while upon recalling the video clip he had received. “He still hasn't given up.” “That's not unusual. Not many people will give up when it comes to you.”
“That's why he's definitely up to something. If he can't find me, he'll be sure to cause DX trouble. So be careful,” Alpha Kilian advised.
Dave smiled at that. “Midnight fang pack might be different from us in nature, but we have the upper hand whether it comes to funds or weapons. Do you really think he'd come after DX just like that?”
Alpha Kilian nodded in response. “You may be right, but it wouldn't hurt to be extra cautious.”
“Don't worry. Preparations have been made long ago,” Dave assured. He had managed to remain as DX's person-in-charge all this while precisely because he handled all affairs well and never underestimated his foes, after all.
Alpha Kilian nodded. “By the way,” he added after some deliberation, “I want the word spread in a few days' time. I may need your help when that happens.”
Dave turned to him. “That's not a problem, but will she believe it?” “She will,” Alpha Kilian guaranteed. “As long as it looks credible enough.” There was nothing else Dave could say at this point. “Okay.”
As they were about done talking, Alpha Kilian took another two bites of his food before pulling the two plates of breakfast on the table over to his side.
“What are you doing?” Dave asked in confusion.
“Nelly hasn't woken up yet, so I'm bringing these upstairs for her.” “But what about me?”
“You should eat less, or you'll be obese by the time you're fifty.” Me? Obese?
Dave was bereft of words. My body's in perfect form, okay? Still, a hopeless smile played on his lips.
At that very moment, his phone rang, and he answered it after glancing at the screen.
“Hello.”
“Dave! This is bad,” Miguel exclaimed in a panic over the phone. Dave frowned as he heard that.
Meanwhile, Tony 's phone wouldn't stop vibrating on the table. With narrowed eyes, the boy reached for the device and took the call.
“Miguel, if you ever call me incessantly like this again, I'll— What?” All his sleepiness vanished in a flash as soon as he heard what Miguel had to say. “Okay, got it. I'll be right there!”
He got up, grabbed his clothes, and headed out in an instant.
A grim-looking Miguel was seated in front of a computer by the time Tony arrived inside the hidden room.
“What's going on now?” the latter asked while walking over.
A video clip popped up on Miguel's computer screen at that very moment.
Seeing that, Miguel hastily tried to get rid of the clip, only for Tony to reach out and stop him. “Wait!”
The video was a little dark, but its contents could still be seen clearly.
As he sat in front of the computer, Tony 's hands danced across the keyboard as quickly as a flash. Following his movements, the computer interface began to change.
When he made his move, so did the other party. As a result, the computer interface returned to the video clip once again.
Miguel watched from the side; his brows knitted into a tight knot. “I can't believe they haven't left! They're still waiting here. Aren't they way too full of themselves? Teach them a lesson, Master!” he said, looking over at Tony .
Despite his boyish face, there was a hint of maturity and hostility in Tony 's expression, making him look beyond his years.
His movements were steady and smooth. They were neither too fast nor too slow. Soon enough, there were changes in the computer interface. Seeing this, Miguel couldn't contain his excitement and
clapped his hands together, exclaiming, “Awesome! They fell for it! Master, you're really amazing!”
Meanwhile, Dave stood at the back, observing them. When he heard Miguel's voice, he furrowed his brows slightly. “Keep it down, Miguel. Don't disrupt his focus.”
Miguel instantly shut his mouth and resumed staring intently at the screen.
Tony continued to deal with the hacker. He noticed that the person on the other end seemed to have fallen for his traps, but they would always evade them at the tensest moment.
Looking at the computer screen, Tony narrowed his eyes. “How interesting...”
Besides Nelly , Tony had never encountered another person who was evenly matched with him. At that moment, his desire to win grew stronger, and he resumed typing away on the computer. Just then, Tony had repaired the foundation, so he was no longer using the same strategy of going slow and steady. It was as if he did a one-eighty, becoming fast and accurate.
The hacker seemed to notice something was amiss and questioned directly: Who are you? You're not the person from before.
Tony gave a calm and cool response: I'm your master, of course.
Miguel couldn't help chuckling upon seeing the little boy's response. Just as he was about to say something, he noticed the warning glance Dave was sending his way. Hence, he swallowed his words and held in his laughter as he continued looking at the screen.
Hacker: You're impressive. Much more impressive compared to the one before you. Tony : You too. You've managed to survive against me for five minutes.
The other party was rendered speechless, and once again, Miguel burst out laughing at Tony 's witty remark.
Is that a compliment? It sounds more like an extreme insult for a hacker!
Hacker: I came unprepared today, but I'll definitely return. I hope that the next time I'm here, you'll face me as your true self!
Tony : You won't have a chance to come back. Hacker: You're arrogant.
Tony : To you, it may be arrogance, but to me, it's confidence.
Hacker: Do you believe I'll be back again? Tony : No need. Next time, I'll find you.
Evidently, the hacker was dubious about Tony 's declaration and wrote: You'll find me? Tony : What's the matter? Do you have a problem with that?
Hacker: Do you have the ability to do so? Tony : Why don't we give it a try and find out?
Hacker: All right. You have two days. I'll be waiting, and if you don't show up by then, I'll come and find you.
Tony : Scram!
In response, the hacker sent a middle finger before retreating. After that, the computers in the hidden room returned to normal.
Miguel stared at the screen with a puzzled expression on his face. “That's it? He ran away just like that?” “What else do you want from him, then?” Dave retorted.
“I...” Miguel's words remained at the tip of his tongue, refusing to go past his lips. In the end, he merely murmured something to himself.
Meanwhile, Tony was still seated in front of the computer, his fingers dancing across the keyboard. Ten minutes later, he finally rose to his feet and swept his gaze across the people behind him. “I've strengthened the firewall. You guys should be able to hold out for a while if he manages to hack into the system again. Just give me a call if anything arises.”
Miguel was impressed by the little boy's leadership and swiftly bobbed his head in response. “Got it!” “If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now.”
“Ma—” Miguel was about to pipe up when he was stopped by Dave. “Let him have some quiet time to himself.”
“Is there anything weird with the video clip, Dave?”
At that, Dave's gaze landed on Miguel, scrutinizing the latter. “What do you think?”
Miguel frowned at his words.
A helpless sigh escaped Dave's lips as he shook his head. “How did you become a hacker with those observation skills of yours?”
He left after saying that, leaving Miguel baffled.
Miguel returned to his seat with unanswered questions that piqued his curiosity. He eyed the people around him and questioned, “Do anyone of you have a copy of the video clip earlier?”
“I do. I saved it,” said someone.
“You... How are you so good at saving things!” Miguel complimented. “It's a habit at this point.”
“Let me have a look at it!”
Hearing this, Tony approached Dave and sat across from him.
“So, you were waiting for me, huh, Alpha Dave?” said Tony , behaving as if the two of them were having a heart-to-heart talk.
“What do you think? Sounds pretty enticing, doesn't it?” Dave teased. “Would you actually hire me if I were to join DX?”
“Why wouldn't I? Moreover, I believe you'd do a great job!” “But you know I won't join DX.”
Dave nodded but continued to persuade the boy, “You can still give it a try. What if you do well?” Tony laughed. “Besides... I don't have time to be a kid.”
Dave gazed at Tony upon hearing that. Narrowing his eyes into slits, he queried, “What do you mean?”
Tony remarked with determination, “What I mean is... I want to destroy Midnight fang pack and everything they have, and I'm going to do it right now!”
“Right now?” “Yes!”
Fixing his eyes on the boy, Dave deliberated for a moment before stating, “Tony , I know you're extremely intelligent, but... even if I exhaust all of DX's resources, it would still be difficult to get rid of Midnight fang pack .”
Tony looked up, meeting Dave's gaze as he said, “Alpha Dave, just because you can't do it doesn't mean I can't.”
His words were bold and daring.
Dave couldn't help taking note of the striking similarities between Alpha Kilian and Tony . However, the father and son duo had every right to be full of themselves, and Dave respected people like them.
The future was limitless.
Thinking back to when he joined the organization, Dave was only seventeen or eighteen years old. Tony , on the other hand, had yet to turn ten when he became a valuable asset to Darknetz.
Dave fixed his eyes on the boy once more and attempted to dissuade him from acting rashly. “Tony , I know you've made up your mind, but even Darknetz may not be able to escape unscathed. You must
know that even a mighty dragon finds it hard to control a snake in its old haunt, let alone Darknetz.”
Tony mulled over Dave's words. A moment later, an idea crossed his mind. “What if DX and Darknetz joined forces with one another?”
Hearing this, Dave stilled and continued glancing at the boy. A smile played at the corner of his lips as he said, “I'm afraid that's harder than getting rid of Midnight fang pack .”
“Anything is possible, Alpha Dave!”
Dave quirked a brow. “You have one conundrum to solve right now, but if you proceed down that road, you'll have two conundrums in your hands. Do you know what two difficult conundrums make?” he asked.
Tony knew what he was trying to say, but after giving it a thought, he retorted, “Perhaps two negatives make a positive.”
Amused by the boy's analogy, Dave chuckled. “Tony , you're much more optimistic than your daddy.” “I know you don't believe me, and I have no way to convince you either, but these are my thoughts and
the goal I wish to achieve. I'll annihilate Midnight fang pack no matter the cost!” declared Tony . Just then, Alpha Kilian 's voice sounded behind them. “You sure know how to talk big!”
Tony turned around to see Alpha Kilian approaching them. Every movement of his was gracious and elegant.
The sight of his father made Tony pursed his lips as a complicated gleam flashed in his eyes. “Indeed. He's even worse than you were!” said Dave.
Alpha Kilian cast the man a glance as he remarked, “One must be capable enough in order to back up their confidence. Tony is more than capable.”
Tony was quite surprised to see his father defending him.
Dave's gaze lingered on the father-and-son duo. As a smile spread across his lips, he said, “You're right. Since you're here, why don't you two have a chat? I'll take my leave first.” He rose to his feet as soon as the words left his lips. When he walked past Alpha Kilian , Dave patted the latter on the shoulder. “He's a promising young talent. You should train him well.”
After Dave left, Alpha Kilian 's ebony eyes fell on Tony .
Adamance was written all over Tony 's little face as he met his father's gaze. Alpha Kilian sat where Dave was seated earlier.
Looking at the boy in front of him, he asked in a low voice, “So, you know already?” Taken aback, Tony looked at his father with a hint of disbelief in his eyes. “What?” “Are you trying to play dumb in front of me?”
“Does that mean you know as well?”
“That's right.” Alpha Kilian 's response came swiftly. He had no intentions of keeping secrets from his son.
Tony furrowed his brows upon hearing the man's answer. “Since you know already, why didn't you tell me?”
“I didn't find out much earlier than you did,” explained Alpha Kilian . “Are you saying that yesterday night...”
Alpha Kilian nodded, confirming the boy's guess.
Tony pursed his lips. At that moment, it felt as if the pieces of the puzzle were all falling into place. “No wonder you were acting strange after getting off the phone call.”
“I know how you feel right now because I was the same last night. At that time, I wanted nothing more than to kill someone and destroy everything.”
Tony glanced at his father without uttering a word. “But, Tony , this has nothing to do with you.”