The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

"IT'S true that the virtual pod that Townsend used was tampered," Wulfric said.  "To be precise, all of the virtual pods yesterday were tampered."

Upon hearing that, Cyrus clenched his fists.  Because now, the argument 'how would we even know which virtual pod he would use?' was now invalid.  It meant that this incident was targeted towards Townsend.  And the possibility that it had something to do with his family just now became extremely high.  He definitely wasn't the only one who thought so.

Wulfric observed the reaction of the when he said that.  Reas remained indifferent.  It's almost as if the one who chose to solve things yesterday using violence was not him but another person.  Seeing his calm reaction now, one would think that the burst of temper he showed yesterday was just a one-time thing.  But Wulfric didn't think so.

Considering Reas' reaction when it came to Aster, there's definitely a trigger that could easily set off his emotion.  But that was understandable.  The other was still young.  The fact that he could maintain his cool at this moment was good enough. 

When he was at his age, what he would have done with the situation yesterday would definitely be much worse.  He would not only beat the shit out of Cyrus Lancaster and his cronies, he would have also wrecked the whole training room. 

Contrary to Reas, the Lancaster brat looked frustrated, angry even.  It seemed that he also understood the implication of what he just said.  Good.  At least he's not stupid.

Wulfric then continued;

"The one who tampered with the virtual pods was an infamous cyber criminal.  If you're keeping up with the Empire's most wanted list, then you might have probably heard their name.  Or at least the moniker that the military had given them.  They're known as 'Specter'."

This Specter hacked into the virtual pods system via the academy's main computer.  And also, through that, he managed to hack the cameras in the training room.  He just had to wait for the Cyrus Lancaster's opponent during the virtual Mecha fight and activate the program.

The military didn't know Specter's real identity or even their gender for that matter.  They'd only given him that nickname because of the common code he left every time he hacked into a system.  5P3C73R – that was the code.  Which if one read in another way would give you the name 'Specter'.

He was an infamous hacker who had only been active for three years.  But despite that, he had already been a headache for the military.  He had been mostly doing cyber heist.  Stealing from banks and other big corporations.  He also accepts commissions of any kind.  As long as it had something to do with hacking on some system or another.  But his rate was so sky high that most didn't find it worth it.  Besides, those who could afford it weren't exactly people that the Specter welcomed as customers.

The guy or gal had some grudge against nobles and other overly rich people.  That's why most of the time, they were the target of Specter's cyber heist.  It's also the reason why the other was put on the most wanted list.  Because of the pressure from the nobles that they stole from.

From the military's information, Specter didn't accept commissions from nobilities.  That's why Wulfric was confused when he read Hildred's report.  He first wondered if someone was framing Specter so Wulfric would go after them.  Especially since their signature was found on the program that was used to tamper the virtual pod's system.  As if it was purposely left there.

But what happened next cleared his confusion. 

When Fenris Squad's technical team tried to trace the source of the program, they were met by a virus.  If they continued their search, it would just compromise Beowulf's system.  So, they had to stop.  Then, right after that, a video file just suddenly appeared on the screen along with a message. 

[To the crazy prince of the Empire, this is the evidence showing the person who paid me to mess with the virtual pods of the Imperial Military Academy.  Aren't I such a good Samaritan?  So, don't put all the blame on me.  I was just doing what I was paid for.  And oh, by the way, there's a failsafe on the program I put on those virtual pods.  No one would be hurt even if they board it.  After all, how dare I hurt our Empire's future soldiers?  Anyway, I do hope the crazy prince would appreciate my gift.  – 5P3C73R]

That message was so irritating that Wulfric almost punched the virtual screen.  But he also understood something from that.  Even his confusion about Specter's action was cleared. 

The other didn't plan to cooperate at all to whoever commissioned them.  It's highly probable that Specter only agreed to get the money and then proceeded on backstabbing the one who commissioned him. 

When he watched the video file that the other sent, he understood why they did it.  At least, it matched his noble-hating persona.

Cyrus' nails almost dug into his palms after hearing about 'Specter'.  He suddenly wanted to curse.  Because he already had an idea where this conversation was headed.

Reas, on the other hand, didn't know who this 'Specter' was.  But knowing that it was actually a hacker who was responsible for what happened yesterday meant that he probably blamed the wrong person yesterday.  He probably should prepare an apology.  Not it suddenly felt like he over-reacted.

"We already found the one who hired Specter to tamper on the virtual pods," Wulfric said.  Then, he turned to the Lancaster brat.  "It's one of your cousins – Kristoff Lancaster."

Cyrus closed his eyes, trying to quell the anger that rose up inside him.  Although he was already expecting it, he still couldn't stop himself from cursing, "That f*cking stupid bastard."

Reas, who heard this mumble, raised one of his brows.  His immediate thought after he heard that the one responsible was one of Cyrus Lancaster's cousins – the other must have ask his cousin for help. 

But after hearing him cursing with such raw emotion, maybe that wasn't the case.