"Okay, system," Lassen thought. "Target Vito. Hack their system, find all their vulnerabilities, and generate a complete report. Leave no traces, and make it quick."
[As always, host, I'm impressed by your... active contribution to this mission] the system replied directly in his mind, with a touch of irony.
Lassen smirked. "You mean my ability to delegate perfectly? Thank you, I'm an expert at it."
[Oh, without a doubt. If delegating were a sport, you'd have gold medals lined up on your walls.]
"Exactly. Now focus on the hack before I decide to ask someone else to do it."
[Of course, your lazy majesty. Execution in progress.]
A brief silence settled in his mind while the system worked. A few seconds later, the voice returned.
[Mission accomplished. Report generated and sent to your phone.]
Lassen shrugged, a satisfied smile on his lips. He picked up his phone from the table, quickly skimmed through the report, then handed it to his assistant. "Here, everything's ready. Go show them this report, negotiate a good deal, and make sure they don't ask too many questions. Handle it properly."
The assistant took the phone with a slight nod. "Of course, master. I'll handle it immediately."
"Perfect. Now go."
Once the door closed behind the assistant, Lassen grabbed a novel from the coffee table and settled comfortably into his chair. "Another productive day," he murmured, flipping to the first page.
---
The assistant, phone in hand, calmly walked to Vito's offices. The company, specializing in peer-to-peer product sales, occupied a modern building in the city center. Adjusting his immaculate suit, he entered with an air of calm confidence.
At the reception desk, a young woman barely glanced up as he approached.
"Good morning," the assistant said in a professional tone. "I am the assistant to an independent cybersecurity expert. My employer has discovered critical vulnerabilities in your system, and I'm here to discuss them with your executives."
The receptionist frowned, clearly skeptical. "Do you have an appointment?" she asked dryly.
"No" he replied confidently, "but I believe your superiors would prefer to be informed about these vulnerabilities before it's too late."
She raised an eyebrow. "Without an appointment, there's nothing I can do for you. You can send an email, and someone will get back to you."
The assistant remained unfazed. He opened Lassen's phone, navigated to the report generated by the system, and gently placed it on the counter in front of her. He pointed to a critical section.
"Take a look at this: a vulnerability in your payment system could allow a hacker to divert your transactions in under five minutes. I'll leave it to you to decide whether your executives should be informed now or after it becomes a public scandal."
The receptionist stared at the screen, her eyes widening as she read. Even though she didn't fully understand the technical details, she could sense it was serious. Hesitating, she looked up at him. "Wait here," she said quickly before disappearing through a door behind her.
---
A few minutes later, two men in suits appeared. One wore a badge that read "Technical Director," while the other was introduced as the "Operations Manager." Both regarded the assistant with a mix of suspicion and curiosity.
"You're the one claiming to have found vulnerabilities in our system?" asked the Technical Director.
The assistant offered a polite smile. "Not me. My employer. I'm here to deliver this report." He slid the phone toward them, once again displaying the critical sections.
The two men studied the report in silence, their expressions growing increasingly grim as they read. Finally, the Technical Director looked up, his face tense.
"This information is accurate... far too accurate. How did you obtain all this?"
"My employer is a cybersecurity expert. He has no interest in exploiting these vulnerabilities but wishes to offer you a chance to fix them before someone else finds them. Naturally, this service comes at a cost," the assistant said calmly.
The two men exchanged a worried glance before turning back to the assistant.
"Follow us," said the Operations Manager. "We'll move to the conference room. We need to inform our General Manager."
The assistant nodded calmly and followed them.
The conference room was simple but elegant, with a large dark wooden table surrounded by comfortable chairs. Once seated, the two men quickly made phone calls. Moments later, an older man in a black suit entered the room. His badge read "CEO."