Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress

Chapter 1458: Meet and greet

The Next Day...

Even though Penny didn't make it to the semi-finals, she watched the competition through a live broadcast. She wasn't required to be present, especially since Yugi was there to ensure the event ran smoothly.

Now that the semi-finals were over and the finalists had been decided, the competitors were given three days to rest before the big event. Until then, Prime Group was providing them with accommodations, food, and everything else they needed for the duration of the competition.

It was also part of their schedule for each team to meet with Penny before the finals.

[TEAM A's Practice Room]

"Hey, are you sure T. Mouse is coming today?" one of the team members asked, casually playing on the computer instead of practicing. "He's going to be our boss, so should I prepare?"

"Why would you need to prepare?" another member smirked. "It doesn't matter if we meet the big boss or not. If we win, we're all walking out of here as millionaires."

"He's right," another chimed in, chuckling while gaming. "It's not like they can withhold our prize money just because we didn't meet the boss."

"But from what I heard, Prime Group has been scouting all the players." Unlike the others, the fourth person wasn't playing but instead watching stock prices on his screen. "Win or lose, they might offer us jobs. That wouldn't be a bad backup plan. Team D is pretty good. I played a round with one of their guys, and he finished coding in under half an hour."

The fifth team member, who had been quietly jotting down notes in a notebook, finally looked up. "It's not a rumor. It's true," he said flatly. "And don't get mad if someone brings up the worst-case scenario. This is a competition-ten teams are fighting for first place. Having a backup plan, like getting hired by Prime Group, isn't a bad idea."

He added in a quiet mumble, "The hacking market is tough. And illegal. Might as well make decent money doing something we're good at-legally."

The fourth person smiled and nodded. "Exactly. And from what I heard, Prime Group's cyber security and R&D departments are top-notch. Sounds like a solid deal."

would they host this competition in the first place? Besides, how could they bow their heads to someone who probably

group ultimately agreed to meet the elusive

teams had varying opinions on the matter. Some were already thinking ahead, considering a job offer as a fallback plan. Others were solely focused on winning. A few wanted both—a championship title and a

of them were

all agreed on one thing: they doubted any of the higher-ups truly understood their skills. In their minds, T. Mouse was just another capitalist. After all, being a good businessman didn't necessarily mean he

in the end, curiosity won out. Everyone agreed to meet

Two Hours Later...

here all the

At the hotel where

staying, a

been set up for

tables

filled the space for seating. But what immediately caught everyone's attention was the row of five old computers

front of the venue.

competitors asked, circling the table and eyeing the computers with

can already imagine the lag on these junk

"Not just a pile of

they

knows? Maybe

already overthinking the presence of these outdated machines. Prime Group had to have

to use these in the finals, are they?" someone blurted out, drawing a mix of laughter and

we used these in the finals, we'd

wouldn't be that unreasonable. It wouldn't make sense." "Besides, these relics are full of vulnerabilities. They're practically

absurd. They were all skilled professionals in the cyber world, and they agreed-forcing them to use these outdated computers would only expose