"Yeah, thanks to James bringing in the expert, it''s all sorted now," Kyle said, not missing the chance to butter up Mirabe with a wide grin.


    Curtis hadn''t really paid much attention to the firewall software, but hearing Kyle''sment, he rxed a bit. For a moment there, he thought even Ms. Mirabe couldn''t handle it.


    But then Curtis caught on and shot Kyle a frosty look, pressing his lips together.


    Calling her an expert, what a suck-up! It was him who had called Ms. Mirabe for help!


    James'' phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out calmly, had a brief conversation, and then hung up. Looking over at Mirabe, he said, "I need to go meet someone. Will you wait for me here?"


    Mirabe waved her hand dismissively, "Sure, go ahead."


    James gave her a nce and then walked out of the control center with purpose.


    Mirabe dragged a chair over and sat near Kyle, who had just closed the programming codes. He turned to her, "Hey, can you help us trace the source IP of this attack?"


    Mirabe casually rested her hand on the armrest, her eyebrows arching slightly at Kyle''s request. "Sure thing!"


    Kyle''s face lit up. "You''re the best! Thanks a million!"


    "No worries," Mirabe nodded, spinning her chair back to face the mainputer. Her long, pale fingers danced over the keyboard. "Just make sure the payment''s generous."


    Kyle''s mouth fell open, momentarily at a loss for words. This wasn''t quite the image he had of the expert.


    Curtis suddenly remembered what James had said downstairs about ''having deep pockets.'' His expression grewplicated.


    James was really... not even sparing his own team now.


    Shaking his head, Curtis looked up at the big screen in front of him.


    The mainputer controlled the entirework, security, and defense of the control center, boasting incredibly fast processing speeds and top-tier hardware and software. At that moment, the screen looked like a curtain of stars, with code flickering across it.


    Curtis could hardly make out the sequences before they disappeared.


    A few minutester, a blue satellite cloud map appeared on the screen with a red dot blinking on it.


    "Done." Mirabe barely nced at it, not bothering to zoom in on the precise location. She slid her chair back and stepped away from the mainputer.


    Kyle watched Mirabe closely. After a pause, his gaze narrowed, and he quickly zoomed in on the satellite map. Seeing the final location, his expression changed. The next second, he closed the screen.


    Kyle looked at Mirabe again, wanting to say something, but in the end, he kept quiet and walked out of the control center.


    He stepped outside to make a call.


    The rest of the team continued with their work, but now that the IP address had been located, they exchanged nces, and the atmosphere grew tense.


    Mirabe seemed oblivious to the change in the room, idly tapping her toes on the floor. After a few minutes, she looked up at Curtis and asked where the restroom


    was.


    Curtis nodded slightly and quickly led her to the restroom.


    Curtis didn''t leave immediately but stood waiting in the corridor outside, his expression colder than usual, his gaze filled with added wariness.