Dick walked toward his room, only to be stopped by Lana standing just outside his door. Her arms were crossed, eyes red-rimmed like she'd been crying, but there was a fire behind her stare—something desperate, something she couldn't hold back any longer.
"Please, can we talk?" Her voice was soft, almost pleading, the usual cold edge missing.
Dick eyed her for a moment, debating whether it was worth his time. "Didn't we already go through this?"
Lana shifted on her feet, wringing her hands. "I just… I'm in trouble. I need a favor."
Dick raised an eyebrow, not moving. "Is that right? You don't say."
She swallowed hard, biting her lip. The silence between them stretched for an uncomfortable beat, her discomfort evident as she struggled to find the words. Finally, she blurted, "I need money."
Dick let out a low chuckle, shaking his head. "You've got to be kidding me, Lana. You're asking for money?"
Lana flinched at the sharpness in his tone, her eyes dropping to the floor. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't have to. I swear—"
"No, I don't think you get it." He took a step toward her, his voice dropping to a cold, steady tone. "I'm not your personal ATM. Go beg someone else."
She looked up, her eyes wide with desperation. "Please, Dick. Just this once—"
"You already owe me five grand. Where's that?" He didn't bother hiding the edge of contempt in his voice. "Or did you think I'd forget?"
Lana's lip trembled, but she didn't respond. The shame was written all over her face—too proud to grovel, but too desperate not to.
Dick leaned in closer, his voice cold. "You came to me with nothing, Lana. I helped you because it suited me. But don't confuse that for charity. You're not my problem. And you sure as hell don't get to waltz in here like you've got any more favors to ask."
Her shoulders sagged, eyes flicking down to the floor again. "I know… I know I messed up. But—"
"No buts." He cut her off sharply, his patience gone. "I'm not bailing you out. You're on your own. Figure it out."
Lana's face crumpled, the weight of his words hitting her like a punch. She took a shaky breath, trying to keep herself together, but it was clear she'd already lost. "I-I'll pay you back," she muttered, barely audible. "I'll find a way, I swear."
Dick didn't bother responding. He turned his back on her, pushing the door to his room open. Lana, not ready to accept his rejection, slipped inside before he could close it, shutting it behind her. Her hands moved quickly, desperate fingers pulling at his shirt, eyes wide and pleading.
"Please, I'll do anything. You can do anything to me," she whispered, voice trembling as she tried to unbutton his shirt, her breath hot and shaky against his skin.
Without hesitation, Dick slapped her face, his face hard, cold. "I told you before," he growled, gripping her wrist, twisting it just enough to make her wince. "With that kind of money, I can buy beauties way above your level for days."
Lana flinched, her cheek stinging from the blow of his words more than his hand. Tears welled up, her eyes shimmering with humiliation. "It's a matter of life and death," she whimpered, the sob catching in her throat as she held her cheek, her body shaking from the rejection.
Dick snorted, releasing her wrist. "Life and death, huh?" He crossed his arms, eyes narrowing. "Alright, I'll bite. What is this 'life and death' situation?"
Lana swallowed, rubbing her wrist as she took a shaky breath. Her voice came out hoarse, barely above a whisper. "It's not just me. It's... Mike. We—we did something stupid."
"Not surprising," Dick muttered. "What'd you do this time? And who the hell is Mike?"
Her eyes darted around the room like she was trying to find a way out, but there was none. She had to face him. "M-Mike is my boyfriend. We... hired someone. A hacker. We needed to get our hands on the exam papers for graduation. Mike thought it'd be easy—just a quick deal. We'd pass, graduate, pay the guy off, and move on."
Dick's eyebrow shot up, but he didn't say anything, just let her keep talking.
"But the hacker..." Lana's voice cracked, her hands trembling. "He's got more than we thought. He didn't just get the exams—he found dirt on us. Everything. Texts, emails, private shit we never thought could be exposed. He's threatening to go public unless we pay him. And it's... it's way more than we thought."
"So you screwed yourselves over by trying to cheat your way through school," Dick said flatly, watching her squirm. "Classic."
"I didn't know it would go this far!" she cried, her voice desperate. "I thought it'd be simple! But he's demanding twenty grand, Dick. And we don't have it."
"That's where you think I come in," Dick said, leaning against the wall, arms still crossed. "You want me to pay your ransom."
Lana bit her lip, nodding slightly, shame coloring her face. "I thought maybe... since you helped me before..."
Dick barked a harsh laugh, shaking his head. "You thought wrong. Twenty grand? Why don't you call Jared? Maybe he'll bail you out again."
Lana flinched at the mention of Jared, her eyes flickering with panic. "I can't... I can't go back to him. You know what he's like. Please, Dick. I'm begging you. I don't know who else to turn to."
He pushed off the wall, stepping closer, his voice low, dangerous. "And what's stopping this hacker from screwing you over again if I did bail you out? You think this guy's just gonna walk away once he gets his money?"
Lana's face paled, her hands twisting together nervously. "I... I don't know. But if we don't pay, Mike and I are done. We'll be expelled, blacklisted. Our lives will be over."
"Sounds like you should've thought of that before you tried to cheat," Dick replied, his tone cold, unforgiving.
She crumbled, her shoulders shaking as the weight of her situation pressed down on her. Tears welled up in her eyes again, but she fought to keep them from falling. "I know we messed up. I know. But I'm asking for your help. Just this once, please."
Dick stared at her, his expression unreadable. He could see how desperate she was, how trapped. But that wasn't his problem. He had his own plans, his own goals. Lana's crisis didn't fit into any of that.
After a long silence, he finally spoke. "You want help? Fine. But it comes at a price."
Her eyes flickered with a mix of hope and fear. "I'll do anything. Just... just tell me."
Dick smirked, leaning in close enough that she could feel the heat of his breath. "From now on, you do exactly what I say. No questions, no hesitation. I owe you. Understand?"
Lana nodded quickly, too eager to think about what that actually meant. "Yes. I'll do whatever you need. Just... just help me fix this."
"Good." He straightened up, his smirk widening. "Now, tell me everything about this hacker. Where he is, what he knows. I want every detail."
Lana swallowed hard, nodding again. "His name's Luke. We met him through a mutual friend. He said he could get into the school's system without leaving a trace, but..."
"But he left plenty about you instead," Dick finished for her, shaking his head. "Figures. He's got you by the throat now, and you're too stupid to see it."
She flinched, looking down at the floor. "I didn't know it'd get this bad..."
"You never do," Dick said coldly. "But you dragged me into this, so now it's my problem. I'll handle it."
Lana looked up at him, hope glimmering in her tear-streaked eyes. "Thank you, Dick. I... I don't know how to repay you."
"You'll find out soon enough," he muttered as she left, closing the door behind.
He knew paying off the hacker was a short-term fix. It wouldn't solve the root of the problem. Luke would just come back for more—like a shark smelling blood. The key was to either take him down or find out exactly what leverage he held. But Dick wasn't a hacker. He needed tools, something that could give him control over the situation, fast.
Opening the General Shop in the system, Dick scrolled through the list of abilities, eyes narrowing at the various options. Most were basic skills—strength boosters, social manipulation aids—but he needed something more specialized. Something that could deal with tech.
Then, he spotted it.
[Ability: Digital Ghost
Cost: 150 GP
Effect: Grants the user advanced hacking skills, including the ability to erase digital footprints, access restricted files, and bypass security systems.]
150 GP was 15 NP. Dick didn't hesitate. He tapped the screen, confirming the purchase. His points dropped from 25 to 10, but he barely felt the hit. Within seconds, a surge of information flooded his mind—code structures, encryption keys, firewall bypass methods. It was as if he'd spent years training in cybersecurity, every trick and tactic now at his disposal.
"Alright, let's see what Luke's been up to."
Dick sat down at his desk, pulling out his keyboard. Within minutes, Dick was deep inside the school's server, bypassing layers of encryption like it was nothing. It was laughable how weak their security actually was. He found the folder Luke had tampered with, evidence of the stolen exams, but that wasn't all. Luke had left a trail of breadcrumbs, little markers to show just how much dirt he'd dug up on various students. Lana and Mike weren't his only targets.
"Greedy bastard," Dick muttered under his breath, fingers flying over the keyboard as he dug deeper.
Luke had compiled a dossier on several students, blackmail material ready to be used if needed. But he wasn't smart enough to cover his own tracks. Dick found Luke's digital fingerprint easily—clumsy, like an amateur trying to play in the big leagues.
Dick muttered, his tone cold. "Luke's been sloppy. He thinks he's safe because his targets are too dumb to fight back. But he's got no idea what's coming."
Within minutes, Dick had traced Luke's online activity back to his real identity. He wasn't some shadowy hacker hiding in the depths of the internet. He was a kid, just like them, using his skills to extort anyone dumb enough to trust him. Luke's real name was Liam Turner, a sophomore at a nearby university. He lived in a cheap apartment downtown with his widowed mother.
"Got you," Dick muttered, smirking as he saved Luke's personal information to a file. It was always the amateurs who thought they were invincible. They covered their tracks just enough to fool the average idiot, but it didn't take much to find the cracks if you knew where to look.
Liam Turner. Lives at 13th and Clark. His phone was linked to a burner account, but the apartment? That was a different story. The lease was under her mother's name. Rookie mistake.
Dick leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers against the desk. The kid probably thought he was untouchable, sitting on his mountain of stolen data. But now, with everything laid bare in front of him, it was only a matter of how Dick wanted to play this. He could erase the evidence, make it seem like nothing ever happened. But where was the fun in that?
No, Liam was going to learn a lesson the hard way.
Standing up, Dick grabbed his coat. He wasn't planning to give this kid time to react. The longer he waited, the more likely Liam would catch wind of someone snooping around in his files. And Dick wasn't in the mood for some cat-and-mouse bullshit.
It didn't take long for Dick to reach the apartment complex. The place was a rundown, beige box of a building on the corner of 13th and Clark, with peeling paint and a few broken windows that no one bothered to fix. Typical. He scanned the street, noting the lack of security cameras. Liam had probably banked on the fact that his shithole of a home wouldn't attract much attention.