Novels by R Z

Adrian was reviewing Evelyn's documents one more time when his eyes suddenly stopped on a particular section.He leaned closer to the screen.There, buried inside one of the documents she had sent him, was a credential that appeared to be associated with the restricted financial account.“Umm… The password is actually here?” Adrian blinked.He leaned back against the headboard and stared at the screen for several seconds.He had specifically told Evelyn not to send him passwords, authentication codes, or other private credentials until he understood the situation, yet she had apparently decided to give him everything anyway.“Maybe she started to trust me.” Adrian's expression became thoughtful.Or perhaps she was simply desperate. Either way, handing over something this sensitive told him that Evelyn was putting a considerable amount of faith in him. She wanted answers badly enough to trust a stranger she had met through HackersDen with access to something her father had deliberately

“Is Table Six's order ready yet?”Adrian, dressed in the restaurant's black waiter uniform, leaned through the kitchen window.“Yeah.” The cook slid the plate onto the counter without looking up.Adrian picked up the tray and stepped into the dining room.Yesterday I got only $75 tips. Today is even worse. If it continues like this, how am I supposed to send money to mom? Forget buying a phone. I'll be lucky if I can pay next month's rent.“Isn't that Adrian? The broke loser?”A voice stopped Adrian for half a second. He turned his head just enough to see who it was.It was his classmate from college, Gunther. He sat comfortably at one of the tables.His arm wrapped around one of two stunning girls sitting beside him. They laughed at whatever stupid thing he just said.Adrian looked away and carried the tray to table six.“Here you go. Enjoy your meal.” He set the tray on table six and gave the customer a professional smile.The elderly couple smiled and thanked him.As he was approac

[Ding!!!][System activated!]Suddenly, a sound rang in Adrian’s head, and a translucent black screen appeared in front of him, floating in the air. Fonts and edges glowing with faint golden light.Hearing a sound so close, he stumbled backward on instinct. His shoulder slammed into someone walking behind him.“Watch where you're going, asshole!” The man shouted.“S-Sorry.” Adrian apologized and stepped aside immediately. His eyes never leaving the floating panel.“Deepshit” The man muttered and walked away.Adrian's breathing had become heavy. His heartbeat beating faster.A—am I… hallucinating?[Hacking System][Host: Adrian Miles][System level: 1]— — — — —[Skills:][Hacking level: Beginner]The interface suddenly shifted from landscape to portrait, and lines of text were scrolling downward.“How the hell does this thing know my name?” Adrian stared in disbelief.He raised his hand to touch the panel. But before he could touch it, the black panel expanded and a series of golden l

Evelyn led Adrian out of the café, but the moment they stepped onto the sidewalk, she slowed slightly and looked around. The streets were busy enough that nobody paid particular attention to them, yet she still kept one hand close to the small bag containing the flash drive, almost instinctively protecting it now that she knew just how important the device might be.Adrian noticed the gesture.“You really are worried about that thing.”Evelyn glanced at him.“It is the last thing my father left me that might explain everything.”Her voice was quieter than before.“I know.”Adrian adjusted the strap of his laptop bag and looked toward the street.“You said you were going to get a hotel.”“Yes.”“Then let us find somewhere close. The sooner we get somewhere private, the sooner we can find out what is on that drive.”Evelyn nodded.A few minutes later, they reached a nearby hotel, and Evelyn stepped inside first. The lobby was spacious and brightly lit, with polished floors, a large rece

“Is Table Six's order ready yet?”Adrian, dressed in the restaurant's black waiter uniform, leaned through the kitchen window.“Yeah.” The cook slid the plate onto the counter without looking up.Adrian picked up the tray and stepped into the dining room.Yesterday I got only $75 tips. Today is even worse. If it continues like this, how am I supposed to send money to mom? Forget buying a phone. I'll be lucky if I can pay next month's rent.“Isn't that Adrian? The broke loser?”A voice stopped Adrian for half a second. He turned his head just enough to see who it was.It was his classmate from college, Gunther. He sat comfortably at one of the tables.His arm wrapped around one of two stunning girls sitting beside him. They laughed at whatever stupid thing he just said.Adrian looked away and carried the tray to table six.“Here you go. Enjoy your meal.” He set the tray on table six and gave the customer a professional smile.The elderly couple smiled and thanked him.As he was approac

He reached down beside his chair and pulled his laptop bag closer.He unzipped it carefully and removed his MacBook Pro, placing it on the small table between them. The polished aluminum caught the warm light coming through the café window, and Evelyn's eyes immediately settled on the expensive machine.“Y—you use a MacBook Pro for work like that?” Evelyn asked, looking from the laptop to Adrian with a mixture of curiosity and disbelief.Adrian simply nodded.“And I thought people used Linux for that kind of work.”“Yet I proved this machine can handle my work yesterday when I decrypted your father's archive.” He rested one hand on the edge of the laptop.“Totally.” Evelyn gave a small laugh.Adrian smiled at her reaction and reached toward the MacBook's lid. But just before he opened it, something instinctive made him stop. It was not a thought. It was the same quiet awareness that had kept him alive through several dangerous situations.Adrian slowly lifted his gaze and scanned the c