The Queen of Masks

Chapter 6: Ninth Master is Wounded by Sister Nan

Madam Gu leaned on her cane and stood up to leave.

Ella Zhou and Xena Gu hurried forward to support the elderly lady.

“Grandma, please calm down, don’t say such angry words! You are the backbone of this family; it can’t do without you.”

“Yeah, Mom, Xena has loved you since she was little. If you leave, she’ll be heartbroken. For Xena’s sake, just don’t hold a grudge against Nancy that girl.”

After some persuasion from Ella and Xena, the old lady's expression softened a bit.

“Hmph! If that dead girl were half as obedient as Xena, I wouldn’t be so upset.”

Tim Gu’s face darkened: “Mom, just ignore her from now on. That girl is unmanageable; she will regret it sooner or later.”

Second Floor

Nancy Gu closed the door behind her, blocking out the noise from outside.

She turned on the light and looked around.

The room wasn’t large—a double bed, a dressing table, a row of wardrobes, and an independent bathroom; by the window was a wooden desk.

The original owner was in her senior year at Pingcheng No. 1 High School—the best school in Pingcheng.

Tim Gu had spent quite a bit of money and used connections to force her into it.

A child who grew up in the countryside suddenly found herself in a school full of top students; her academic performance could only be described as disastrous.

But there’s a saying: when God closes one door, He opens another window.

Although the original owner wasn’t cut out for studying, she wasn’t completely useless either.

At that moment, her phone in her pocket suddenly rang.

Nancy took out her phone and glanced at it; there was an email message from someone called “anonymous” on an external network.

She opened the message to find a string of codes inside.

Nancy quickly deciphered what the code meant: “There’s a new task.”

She walked over to her desk and opened her laptop, skillfully typing away at the keyboard.

In no time at all, an external webpage appeared on her computer screen—an international dark web platform with many high-priced problems needing hacker solutions.

No one would have guessed that she was actually a hacker herself. Previously, the original owner had used this platform to take on small jobs for extra cash; the person who had just emailed was named “Jay,” who acted as their contact on the dark web. “Ding!” Seeing that she was online, Jay sent a private message directly. Jay: “Ice River, take a look at these tasks; if you're interested you can take them over.” “Ice River” was the original owner's hacker nickname.

Nancy clicked open several files and quickly skimmed through them—all low-end tasks. She replied disinterestedly: “Too easy; I’m not interested.” A few seconds later, Jay sent back a confused emoji: “?? Do you mean you want something more challenging?” Ice River: “Send me number one on the leaderboard.” There was silence on Jay's end for quite some time… It seemed he was taken aback by this request. Jay: “You’re Ice River?” This time Nancy didn’t reply to his message. After waiting for a while longer, Jay sent over what seemed like the hardest task on the dark web.

“This is currently the highest-paying task on the dark web—five million dollars—and no one dares to take it yet.” Nancy clicked open the task bar and quickly reviewed what needed to be tackled. As expected for top-ranked tasks—it was indeed very tricky. This task involved internal strife within an internationally renowned family where one side hired hackers attempting to breach their opponent's defense network. The opposing side’s defense network was maintained by "Heavenly Flower," known as having zero vulnerabilities.

Seeing that Nancy hadn’t replied for so long made Jay think she might have been intimidated by Heavenly Flower's reputation.

“Heavenly Flower is currently recognized as having the strongest protection technology internationally; previous hackers attempted to breach their defenses but couldn’t even c***k through their outer layer before being counter-attacked by Heavenly Flower’s team—they came knocking down doors! Even ‘Void,’ known as King of Hackers doesn’t dare act lightly here—while your courage is commendable we still need to stay clear-headed…” “Task due tomorrow!” Nancy simply replied before logging off from the dark web.

With five million dollars in commission up for grabs—she really needed this money right now.

On another continent “Don’t… don’t act impulsively!” The other party showed they were offline immediately after sending that message. A man stared wide-eyed at his screen in disbelief. Is Ice River crazy?

After closing her computer Nancy headed straight for showering. Half an hour later she emerged with damp hair drying off when her phone buzzed twice from where it lay on bed. Glancing at its screen revealed a familiar name: “Star Gazer” It was that gentleman who lent her his coat earlier.

Feeling puzzled about why he would send messages so late at night, she picked up her phone and opened up his text:

Star Gazer: “Recommended recipes for winter nourishment—‘Ten Full Nourishing Beef Brisket,’ ‘Angelica Ginger Lamb Soup,’ ‘Poria Chicken Soup’…” A series of recipes aimed at boosting energy levels along with detailed preparation methods followed.

Nancy felt black lines forming across her forehead—it caught her completely off guard! Who would’ve thought he’d already stepped into health preservation territory despite being so young? Messages like these automatically went into Nancy's "mass messages" category in mind, but recalling how he lent his coat made courtesy kick in prompting response: “I’ll send your coat for dry cleaning tomorrow; I can return it after day after.”

One second later Star Gazer: “Still awake this late?” He actually replied? Climbing onto bed while propping chin with one hand glancing at clock—it read nearly midnight already! “Getting ready to sleep.” Star Gazer: “Did you see my recipe just now?”

Nancy blinked—was he seriously trying to discuss health topics with her late at night? “Yes.” Star Gazer: “When I saw you at hotel your complexion looked pale—you seem deficient in energy levels which these dishes could help remedy.”

Being deficient often stemmed from long-term malnutrition during those eleven years beside Sophia Gu where leftovers constituted most meals—even when meat appeared she'd never get served alongside others but rather given only vegetables separately meant returning alone back room eating quietly instead;

thus gradually leading original owner’s body deteriorating overall development stunted too much.

Recently indeed required proper nourishment urgently! While pondering whether he wasn't sending mass messages but targeting specifically towards herself? “Thanks! I’ll try them out when I have time.”

Star Gazer: “Usually people say this won’t genuinely try—I’m not joking with you—you really need good care.” That felt oddly akin being lectured by elder figure!

After thinking briefly Nancy responded back asking him: “How old are you?”

This time there came silence again from other end… Star Gazer: “Hmm?”

Her lips curled upward slightly saying aloud: “You sound like my grandpa.” Though lacking any grandfathers herself—that line should suffice stopping further discussions regarding health matters!

Upon seeing two characters spelling out "grandpa" pop-up screen, jason Fu’s long lashes fluttered slightly while mouth twitched involuntarily— he admitted feeling somewhat hurt hearing little girl's remark comparing him thus!

Star Gazer: "Then your grandpa must be very handsome."

Seeing his reply caused Nancy smirk pulling lips taut replying directly: “Goodnight Grandpa!”

Suddenly laughter erupted nearby—

jason Fu shot cold glare towards source suppressing chuckles within himself! “Haha! Who is this girl?”

jason Fu lowered gaze slightly scanning mobile display once more, “A mischievous little kiddo.” “A kiddo? Why does she call you grandpa? Isn’t everyone supposed calling dad instead? Has ‘grandpa’ trend become popular lately? Ninth Master previously always pretended aloof monk-like demeanor—I thought women held no interest whatsoever turns out otherwise huh,”

Laughter continued unabated though never having met Ninth Master’s so-called ‘little friend’ yet based solely upon audacity displayed here made him curious enough wanting meet personally someday too!