The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Darren Hox
“I’m in.”

Everyone immediately snapped to attention, gathering around as Ethan scrolled through lines of code and encrypted data that appeared across the screen.

“What are we looking at?” Reid asked, his tone serious.

Ethan’s fingers moved across the keyboard, decrypting and bypassing firewalls with relative ease. “Alright, I’ve managed to access the simulation’s core systems. If there’s anything here about a malfunction or the Platinum-tier Primal that appeared, this is where we’ll find it.”

A moment later, a list of logs appeared on the screen, timestamps detailing everything that had occurred in the simulation over the last several days. Ethan quickly scrolled through them, searching for anomalies.

“Here,” he said, highlighting a specific entry. “This log was altered. Someone injected foreign data into the system minutes before the Platinum-tier Primal appeared.”

Clara frowned. “Can you trace it? Find out who did it?”

Ethan’s expression darkened. “That’s the problem. Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing. They masked their digital footprint well, but…” His fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment before he pressed a key. “They left behind a signature.”

The screen flashed, and a strange symbol appeared—a hooded figure with glowing red eyes.

Reid’s eyes narrowed as recognition struck. The robes, it was identical to the attire of the cultists who had summoned Malrath.

This signature confirmed the cult’s involvement, which also meant they were somehow in possession of the Hybrid Codex.

“The cult” Reid informed.

“So what do we do now?” Marcus asked.

They now knew that the cult was involved, and even Marcus and Ethan who lived in another city had seen the news of the destruction caused by Malrath.

But apart from that, they knew nothing else. Neither the identity of the cult members, nor the potential spy that may be in the military.

Ethan was the one who replied, already typing again. “I might not be able to track the hacker, but I can monitor the system for any more tampering. If they try this again, I’ll know.”

“And since my Trojan is already integrated into the system, I can track them without their notice when they attack next” Ethan finished.

“Then we’ll just have to wait for them to attack again” Reid said.

“But we won’t be able to come here all the time, so how do you plan on keeping track on what goes on in the system” Lisa asked, the tiger, now awake, was still in her arms.

“Don’t worry about that” Ethan answered, and then proceeded to connect his watch to the PC “I can access the data I placed into the system through my watch”

“Won’t that just alert the military?” Lisa asked again.

“I already rewired it to send out only information I want it to, so its fine” Ethan answered with a proud smirk on his face.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Clara said “what if you get caught?”.

“Don’t worry, I’m good enough not to get caught” it might seem like bragging, and it was.

But being able to infiltrate military servers which have multiple professionals keeping an eye on it, every moment, earned him the bragging rights.

Plus, the team knew Ethan was not much of a talker if it didn’t involve tech so they didn’t mind his bragging.

“Great, then let’s leave before someone gets suspicious” Reid said, his eyes scanning the room.

No one seemed to be paying them any special attention with all the players engrossed in the games they were playing, but he knew they had to be careful.

Ethan shut down the PC, making sure to erase any traces of their activity before standing up.

The group of seven walked to the door but before they reached it, a voice from behind stopped them.

“If it isn’t the famous team 7” the team turned and spotted a group of five cadets approaching them.

Their leader walking with an air of self-importance. Reid barely spared them a glance.

“So, this is the famous Team 7,” The leader repeated, this time his tone laced with mockery. “Didn’t think we’d run into you here, Officer Fletcher.” He put extra emphasis on the rank, his irritation barely concealed.

Reid raised an eyebrow. “And you are?”

His jaw tightened, but he forced a smile. “Darren Holt. A cadet, and the one who deserves that promotion more than anyone else here.”

Reid blinked. “And how’s that my problem?”

Darren continued, stepping closer, “we’re just wondering how someone like you got promoted so fast. You think just because you came from one of the great families, you can just waltz in here and be promoted without putting in half the work most of us do?.”

Lisa snorted. “Are you an idiot? Didn’t you hear what commander Ajax said before giving promotion?.”

Darren ignored her, his glare fixed on Reid. “You think you’re better than us?”

“I don’t even know you” Reid sighed ” How can I think about you at all.”

That got a reaction. A few of Darren’s group stiffened, while he clenched his fists before forcing himself to relax.

“Then prove it, prove that you deserve that promotion” Darren said, stepping forward, his voice taking a challenging tone. “One-on-one. Right here, right now. Unless you’re afraid.”

“This guy doesn’t listen, does he?” Dean groaned before turning to Marcus “maybe, trying intimidating him, with your size he might back down”.

Marcus chuckled and took a step forward, towering over Darren. “You sure you want to do this? ‘Cause if we’re talking about proving things, I don’t think you and your crew would last five minutes against any of us.”

Darren hesitated for a fraction of a second but quickly regained his composure. “I don’t need to fight your whole team. Just him.” He pointed a finger at Reid.

“Beating your leader would prove that none of you deserve that promotion” He said but if one looked closely, they’d see the subtle tremble of his fist.

“Well, at least I tried” Marcus muttered as he walked back to the team.

“Listen, we don’t have anything to prove to you” Lisa said “if you’re unsatisfied with the promotion, you can take it up with commander Ajax.”

“What?” Darren mocked “afraid that your leader will lose?”

Reid sighed, rubbing his temple as if dealing with Darren was giving him a headache. “No, I just don’t feel like wasting my time.”

That set Darren off. His face twisted in anger, and he took another step forward, his chest puffed up as if that would make him more intimidating. “Then you’re just proving my point! You got a promotion you don’t deserve and now you’re running away when asked to prove your skills.”

Lisa rolled her eyes. “You’re really desperate, huh?”

“Desperate?” Darren sneered. “I just want justice. People like me put in the effort, train every damn day, and still get overlooked because of privileged bastards like him!”

That earned an actual chuckle from Reid. “Right. Because clearly, I haven’t done anything to earn my rank. Tell me, Darren, were you in the simulation when the Platinum-tier Primal showed up?”

Darren opened his mouth but hesitated.

“No?” Reid continued, his eyes slowly shifted from their normal blue to red. “So you have no idea what we went through? No idea how we handled it? No idea how close we were to dying?”

He continued in a calm tone but his gaze was anything but “You think promotions are handed out like candy? If you’re so confident you deserve one, then prove it to the commander. Not in a pissing contest.”

Darren shivered under his gaze, but his pride stopped him from backing down. “Fine. If you won’t fight me here, then how about an official duel? A proper match in the training grounds. I will prove to everyone that you’re nothing but another rich entitled kid.”

The team exchanged glances.

“Are duels even allowed?” Dean asked.

“They are if both parties agree,” Ethan answered, his arms crossed. “But it’s usually done for skill evaluation, not petty grudges.”

He had read the rules in his free time so he knew all that.

Clara hummed, “Sounds like someone’s trying to boost their reputation off Reid’s name.”

Darren shot her a glare but said nothing.

Reid exhaled, his eyes returning back to blue as he glanced at his team before focusing back on Darren. “You really won’t let this go, will you?”

“Not until you prove you’re not just riding your family’s coattails.”

Reid was silent for a moment, then shrugged. “Fine.”

Darren blinked, surprised. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah, sure. A duel, training grounds, official match. You name the time.”

Darren recovered quickly, smirking. “Tomorrow at noon.”

“Fine” Reid answered before turning back to the others and started walking back outside.

The team followed Reid as they exited the game room, leaving Darren and his crew standing there, still processing what had just happened.

As soon as they were outside, Lisa groaned, rubbing her temples.

“Why did you agree to that?” she asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

Reid sighed. “Because he wouldn’t shut up otherwise. Besides, this might be a good way to prove to everyone that we earned our promotion.”

He paused, his expression turning thoughtful. “But more than that… something about the way he was so insistent on fighting bugs me. It feels like there’s more to it than just a grudge and fighting him might make me know exactly why.”