?Chapter 453:


    “What would a hacker even want here? There’s nothing worth stealing…”


    Suspicion crept into Kurt’s mind, a faint wrinkle forming on his brow. Was someone really trying to disrupt his birthday celebration?


    Robin slipped over quietly and spoke in a low voice. “Grandpa, it’s probably just a technical problem. They’ve already called someone to take care of it.”


    Kurt gave a nod. “Let’s hope that’s all it is.”


    Still, a nagging sense told Kurt the situation was far from ordinary—hacking wasn’t out of the question.


    Momentster, the static vanished, and the entire screen went pitch ck. Nothing but emptiness remained where the messages once were.


    “Did the screen just give out? Maybe it overheated.” Lorraine pressed her lips together in concern.


    Right on the heels of her words, enormous letters materialized on the ck screen, bold and impossible to miss. “First of all, may Mr. Kurt Miller enjoy endless health and a long, happy life.”


    Murmurs rippled through the guests as they exchanged bewildered looks. Was this someone’s idea of a prank? Had a hacker really gone through all this effort just to offer a birthday greeting? The longer they puzzled over it, the stranger it seemed.


    While everyone tried to make sense of the odd turn, another line of text shed across the screen, shocking the entire hall into silence. Eyes went wide, and a collective gasp swept the room.


    The screen read, “Secondly, I’d like to strike a deal with the Miller family. So—are you in or out?”


    The brazen confidence radiating from the message was unmistakable, and the guests could feel it with every word on the screen.


    “Who dares pull a stunt like this at Kurt’s birthday? This is practically a p in the face for the Miller family. They’re basically issuing an ultimatum!”


    “Deals like this should be made in person, not sted out from behind a screen. And half the time, they don’t even pan out! Whoever’s behind this clearly doesn’t know how things work around here—they’re just begging for trouble. Probably some rookie with a little tech skill and a big ego. They must think they’re untouchable, but arrogance like that always brings a hardnding.”


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    Around the room, guests muttered and sneered, dismissing whoever was behind this as a coward—someone hiding in the shadows because theycked the nerve or power to show up in person.


    Confusion flickered across the faces of the Miller family members as they traded uneasy nces. No one had a clue about the intentions of the person behind the screen.


    “Are you in or out?” The message shed again, this time the enormous letters tinged with clear impatience.


    Kurt rose to his feet, his gaze turning steely as he studied the screen. “Before I answer, I want to know the terms. What’s this deal you’re after?”


    All eyes locked on the screen, tension rising as everyone waited for the reply.


    Lorraine broke the silence, her voice slicing through the room. “Kurt, nothing good everes from people too scared to show their faces. We should focus on tracking this person down—this is illegal hacking, in and simple.”


    No sooner had Lorraine finished than a cold, mechanicalugh rippled through the room, its sound echoing around the banquet hall. “Ha!”


    Then, the androgynous, synthetic voice boomed overhead, dripping with contempt. “Idiot.”


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