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

Chapter 1460: I want no part of it

The day went by without incident, and as always, time stopped for no one.

Back at the hotel, the teams had returned to their rooms. Some had chosen to rest, while others took the opportunity to practice, determined to increase their chances of winning.

In Team D's practice room, the group of five had just finished working on a coding challenge they found online.

"This is too easy," one of them muttered as he pressed Enter, his lips curving downward. "I don't think this is going to help."

The person next to him nodded. "The finals won't be this simple, that's for sure. We need to find more complex security systems to crack."

"Should I start looking on the black market?" another suggested, glancing up from his monitor at the others. "Why don't we take on a request and see what we can do?"

"Do you want to get disqualified?" the fourth member frowned. "If Prime Group finds out we're engaging in illegal activities during the competition, they won't just disqualify us—they'll call the police. I came here to win, not to end up in jail."

"What if we don't accept payment?" the previous guy argued. "It's not illegal if we don't profit from it."

"Do you think making money is the only thing that makes hacking illegal?" the first person scoffed. "Unauthorized access, cyberattacks—there are plenty of charges that could be filed against us. I'm not taking that risk, even if it sounds tempting."

The four of them debated back and forth, struggling to find a solution. After making it through the preliminaries and semi-finals, they knew their current practice challenges were too basic. Many teams—perhaps even theirs—had barely scraped by through sheer luck.

But as they argued, they suddenly realized their fifth member had been silent the entire time. Turning their heads, they all focused on Nathaniel.

anything to add? We've been racking our brains

at

it, forcing a hesitant smile. "If breaking into these security systems is too easy, why

rose from his seat and quietly walked away. "I'll just take a

watched him go

weirdo," one of them muttered,

destroyed everyone in the competition in

been formed just before the semi-finals, as that round required group participation. That was the only reason they

the third member added. "I can't put my

not focus on fixing vulnerabilities? We could work on a website or something. It's better

you talking like you're the team

it up until the finals are over." His tone was firm as he

Of course, they did.

and the group refocused

forth in the emergency exit stairwell, massaging his temples as his head

but at this rate, I might start again

woken up to find Penny standing over him with her pets. When Nathaniel had begged Zoren to take him in, he had been desperate for a mission, eager to prove his worth. But instead of sending him on assignments, Zoren had made

time, Nathaniel had found unexpected peace in gardening. For the first time in years, he didn't have to constantly look over his shoulder, wondering if his door would be kicked in by armed men. He didn't have to worry about food or finding a new

just when he had finally felt safe-Penny had

he was, on his first

of Penny's orders. It had been assigned by his new superiors at