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."

by their teammates' perspective. To them, Prime Group needed them-not the other way around. Otherwise, why would they host this competition in the

the group ultimately agreed to

through the other practice rooms, where different 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

of them were full-time

truly understood their skills. In their minds, T. Mouse

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

Two Hours Later...

here all the

At the hotel where

were staying,

set up

Catering tables

space for seating. But what immediately caught everyone's attention was the row

front of the venue.

the competitors asked, circling the table and eyeing the computers with curiosity.

"I can already imagine

just a pile of junk,

would they put these

Maybe for

already overthinking the presence of these outdated machines. Prime Group had to have a reason for displaying

are

finals, we'd be here for days. Just imagine

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

cyber world, and they agreed-forcing them to use these outdated computers would only expose how little the event organizers actually knew about