Curtis‘ fingers danced rapidly across theputer keyboard. His eyes scanned the relentless. cascade ofmands on the screen. After a minute, his eyebrows knitted together in concern. “Was there any funny business at the exhibit hall around 6:30 this morning?” he asked. His voice was deep and serious.


    His associate, stationed nearby, shook his head promptly. “Nope, we just did a sweep of the exhibit hall. Everything’s as it should be.” He paused, then added with a hint of curiosity. “Curtis, you spotted something off?”


    Curtis gaze was locked on theputer screen. After a moment, he finally said, “Someone has breached our surveince system.”


    The associate blinked in surprise. “But didn’t you code a top–notch security program? We didn’t get any alerts this morning…”


    Regarded as the seventh best hacker globally, Curtis had established programs and firewalls that were nearly imprable – unless you were one of the top five on that list.


    Just then, the door to the control room swung open. Curtis looked up to see his boss entering and immediately stood, nodding respectfully. “Boss.”


    James strode in. His eyes shifted to the surveince footage as he asked in a cool tone. “What’s the situation?”


    “There’s nothing unusual in the exhibit hall, but the surveince system was hacked this morning.” Curtis reported gravely.


    James narrowed his eyes. “Any leads on who it might be?”


    “Just found out. I’m on it.” Curtis replied and resumed his seat at theptop.


    His fingers flew over the keys, tracing the digital footprints of the intruder, but after several minutes, he shook his head in frustration. “I can only trace the hacker’s IP to somewhere in Riverdale. Pinpointing the exact location is a no–go.”


    -Even You


    can’t track them down? Sounds like this hacker’s skills might top yours.” Wyattmented from the sidelines. His voice was heavy with implication.


    Curtis leaned back in his chair. His eyes were deep and focused on the screen. “True. They’re slick. They dodged the firewall, and covered their tracks. If I hadn’t scrutinized themand log. I might’ve missed it.”


    He paused, then added, “Feels like they left this tiny loophole on purpose, as if waiting for us to find it.” Otherwise, a hacker, who was skilled enough to infiltrate so silently and erase their traces, wouldn’t have left such an oversight.


    “It’s a tant provocation,” muttered Wyatt.


    Curtis nced at him, with a wry smirk touching his lips, but he remained silent. A system


    breach was one thing, but should anyone dare to step into the exhibit hall andy hands on the items within, they’d face a web of traps and surveince.


    Wyatt dragged a chair over and ced it silently behind his boss, not daring to break the concentration with further chatter.


    James stood with his hands sped behind him. His gaze never left the surveince feed. The usual coldness on his face was reced with an air of lethal seriousness.


    Seeing this, Curtis gestured discreetly to the subordinate. The message was clear, and the mant exited swiftly.


    Closing hisptop, Curtis lifted his head, joining his boss in scrutinizing the vast array of surveince Images. Every corner, every person that appeared, was under their watchful eye. The absence of anomalles was, paradoxically, the anomaly. If someone had chosen this moment to hack the system, it meant the unseen enemy had begun to make their move.


    A cold smile yed on Curtis‘ lips, and his rugged face took on an even edgier look. He stood up decisively. “I’ll head to the scene and keep an eye out.”


    Without another word, he strode out of the control room, ready to face whatever


    wasing.