Chapter 9: Somehow, I Became a Wanted Criminal Even Though I Still Don't Know What's Going On1. Waking Up to My New Life as a FugitiveLet’s take a moment to appreciate how badly my life has spiraled.
Yesterday: I was a normal guy trying to mind his own business.Today: I am officially a fugitive working with a mysterious hacker girl against a government agency.
Oh, and my boss, Mikasa, the terrifying super-agent?Yeah, she probably wants to kill me now.
So how did my morning start?
With sirens bring in the distance.
And a breaking news report that said:
"WANTED: UNKNOWN MALE ACCOMPLICE OF THE PHANTOM HACKER"
…
I groaned and flopped back onto my very uncomfortable couch.
“Why is my life like this?”
Beside me, the hacker girl sipped coffee like this was just another Tuesday.
“Because it’s funny,” she said cheerfully.
I sat up and gave her a deadpan look.
“You RUINED my life.”
She shrugged. “No, I upgraded it.”
I buried my face in my hands.
…Maybe if I ignore reality hard enough, I’ll wake up and this will all be a bad dream.
2. Somehow, I Ended Up in an Underground HideoutLet’s talk about my current location.
After agreeing to go on this mission, the hacker girl took me to a hidden base deep underground.
When I say “hidden base,” you’re probably imagining:
A high-tech ir with fancy holograms.A massive team of elite hackers working around the clock.A sinister vilin chair that spins dramatically.Well, lower your expectations.
This pce was literally just an old internet café.
The neon sign outside was half-broken, the chairs were held together with duct tape, and the air smelled like instant ramen and regret.
I stared at her.
“This is your hideout?”
She grinned. “Surprised?”
“Yes,” I said ftly. “I thought criminal masterminds had better taste.”
She pouted. “Hey, don’t be mean! This pce has everything I need.”
I looked around.
The only things I saw were:
A mini-fridge full of energy drinks.A pile of anime figurines.A really, REALLY expensive ptop.…
Okay. Maybe she wasn’t lying.
3. Time to Pn the Stupidest Heist of the Century“So,” I said, rubbing my temples, “what exactly are we stealing?”
The hacker girl grinned.
“We’re not stealing. We’re retrieving.”
I raised an eyebrow. “That’s the same thing.”
“Nope! ‘Stealing’ sounds illegal. ‘Retrieving’ sounds justified.”
I sighed. “Fine. What are we retrieving?”
She leaned forward, eyes gleaming.
“Project Nexus.”
…
I squinted.
“You already said that. What is Project Nexus?”
She twirled a USB drive between her fingers.
“The government cssified it as a cyber-defense system.”
I nodded slowly. “That… doesn’t sound too bad.”
She smirked. “Except it’s not a ‘defense’ system. It’s an AI-powered surveilnce program that can hack into any digital system in the world.”
…
I froze.
“…You’re joking.”
“Nope.”
I swallowed.
“Wait. So you’re telling me the government has a program that can hack anything?”
She nodded. “Yup. And guess what?”
“…What?”
She grinned.
“They built it using my stolen code.”
…
Oh.
Oh, that’s bad.
4. The “Genius” Pn (That Will 100% Go Wrong)“Okay,” I said, massaging my temples. “So you want to steal back your code before they use it?”
“Bingo~”
I sighed.
“Alright. What’s the pn?”
She cracked her knuckles.
“We’re breaking into a government server farm.”
I blinked.
“…You make it sound like that’s EASY.”
She grinned. “Oh, it’s not easy. It’s impossible.”
I choked.
“THEN WHY ARE WE DOING IT?!”
She ughed. “Because impossible things are more fun.”
…
I hate her.
I really, really hate her.
5. The Terrifying Reality of My Situation“Alright,” I groaned. “How do we break in?”
She grabbed a blueprint map and spped it onto the table.
“This,” she said, pointing, “is the main server room. That’s where Project Nexus is stored.”
I squinted at the map.
“…And that room is guarded by—?”
She grinned.
“Laser tripwires, biometric scanners, armed guards, motion sensors, heat detectors, and an AI-driven countermeasure system that can predict intruder movements.”
I stared at her.
“…That’s a JOKE, right?”
“Nope.”
…
I buried my face in my hands.
“I’m going to die.”
She patted my shoulder.
“Cheer up! You won’t die. Probably.”
That did NOT make me feel better.
6. Meanwhile, Back at the Intelligence Agency…Somewhere in a high-security government building, Mikasa was not happy.
Her hands were csped behind her back as she stared at the security footage of Yuuji and the hacker girl disappearing into the city.
“Status update.”
A nervous officer gulped.
“We’re tracking their movements, but… the hacker girl keeps rerouting surveilnce feeds.”
Mikasa’s eye twitched.
“Transtion?”
The officer hesitated.
“…We lost them.”
Mikasa closed her eyes.
Took a deep breath.
And then—
She smmed her fist into the table.
“Find them,” she ordered, voice dangerously low. “No matter what it takes.”
The officer nodded frantically. “Y-Yes, ma’am!”
As he scrambled away, Mikasa clenched her fists.
“Kisaragi…” she muttered.
Her eyes burned with cold fury.
“You better have a damn good reason for betraying us.”
7. The Calm Before the ChaosBack at the hideout, I was mentally preparing for my impending doom.
“Alright,” the hacker girl said, stretching. “Heist starts tomorrow night. Get some rest.”
I stared at her.
“How do you expect me to sleep when we’re about to commit high treason?”
She ughed. “You’ll be fine. Just trust me.”
…
I don’t trust her.
Not one bit.
But at this point, I have no other choice.
So I y back on the couch, stared at the ceiling, and whispered:
“Tomorrow’s going to be the worst day of my life, isn’t it?”
A pause.
Then—
The hacker girl grinned.
“Yup.”
To Be Continued…Next Time:
"Somehow, I Triggered Every Arm, Got Caught in a Trap, and My Former Boss Wants to Kill Me"