"Melvin..." Seeing his despondent expression, the assistant offered aforting word. “I heard about an incredibly skilled hacker group in the country called Binary Oracle. They say if you pay them enough, they can find anyone or anything, no matter how obscure."


    "However—” The assistant hesitated. “Rumor has it the leader of Binary Oracle only takes jobs when the mood strikes. They''re not easy to hire."


    "Try anyway," Melvin said, his eyes fixed absently on therge monitor. "As long as they can find them, money is no object."


    He had spent thest decade abroad, leaving him with no connections back home.


    "Understood," the assistant nodded, then mused aloud, "Still, with so many people looking, how could we not find a single one?"


    Melvin remained silent, his face grim. He''d been asking himself that same question for years. During the shipwreck, he had watched with his own eyes as a fisherman rescued his youngest sister, while one of his brothers had lost his footing and plunged into the sea.


    His parents had fought desperately to get life jackets on him, his older brother, and the three other sisters who hadn''t made it off the boat in time.


    Then... the ship capsized. He could still hear his parents'' desperate final words: "Until your youngest sister is an adult, do not look for each other. And do not reveal any clues about what happened today."


    “Remember, it''s the only way you''ll all survive. You must remember.”


    That scene had reyed in his mind countless times. He never understood why they had to wait until his sister turned eighteen to search for one another.


    Doing the math... she would be eighteen this year. An adult.


    All these years, he had honored his parents'' wishes, neverunching a high-profile search for his two older brothers and four sisters. But he always held out hope for a chance encounter, a reunion with any one of them. But that hope had been crushed every time.


    Finally, the year his youngest sister turned eighteen, he returned to Era City to begin the search in earnest. The clearest lead was his sister of she was still alive, she would be starting college this year, wouldn''t she? Without their parents or older siblings to protect her, the little girl drop who used to cry at ! of a hat... he couldn''t imagine what her life had been like. Had she been bullied? And his other brothers and sisters... where were they?


    "SCREECH-!"


    Just as Melvin was lost in thought, the harsh sound of braking tires erupted from therge monitor.


    Kurt was back. His shy red sports car was an eyesore on the screen. Of course, the girl getting out of the passenger seat was even more attention-grabbing.


    Her back was to him, and she was fanning her face with her hand. Though he couldn''t see her expression, he could tell she was angry. Kurt was hovering around her, offering coffee and water, clearly trying to cate her.


    Melvin''s brow furrowed in disapproval. Though he was a citizen of Moralia Country, Orient Country blood ran through his veins. He naturally hoped to see another star like ''J'' emerge from his home country and bring it glory.


    He''d done a little research on Kurt.


    The kid had some talent, but it was unrefined. With the right training aver the next few days,


    e could


    definitely improve his skills enough to have a shot at the top five But here he was, chasing girls during such a critical time.


    ????


    "Two things," Melvin said, a flicker of disdain in his eyes as he stood up and grabbed his helmet. "Keep tracking any news about J, and contact Binary Oracle. Also, inform the organizers that starting. tomorrow, no unauthorized personnel are allowed on the training grounds."