Chapter 23: Hidden Program

"Master, Supervisor Gilson of Leeson Security Company is at the door. He would like to see you!" 

David was practicing the eighteen movements of Bodywork in the underground gym when he heard the familiar voice of Emma, the robot butler, through his identity bracelet.

While he was on a break for the past few days, he had used the Electronic Warfare Retaliation abilities that he had mastered to reinforce the security system of his residence.

After obtaining the Electronic Warfare Retaliation ability, he looked closely at the security system of his residence and realized that it was extremely flawed. It was no wonder that it had easily been disrupted by the female mercenary that day.

Initially, David did not even want to meet Supervisor Gilson, no longer needing the security company to rebuild his security system. However, after considering the possible compensation that Leeson Security Company might give him, he decided to proceed with the meeting.

In the lobby, Supervisor Gilson anxiously moved his obese body, agitation radiating off of him. The soft, cushioned couch, luxurious as it was, did not feel good to him at all. 

He took the time to look at the pretty secretary seated next to him. If he could not settle matters with the owner of the home this time, he would likely lose his supervisor position and his gorgeous secretary would then work for someone else. 

Emma, the robot butler, invited them to enter, but David, the owner, did not show up for some time. His absence made Supervisor Gilson feel even more uneasy.

David, however, had no ulterior motive for making him wait. He merely delayed his appearance out of courtesy to his guests, thinking it would be polite to wash off the sweat on his body from practicing the eighteen movements of Bodywork before meeting them. To his surprise, it caused Supervisor Gilson to misunderstand the situation.

Supervisor Gilson scrutinized the residence, trying to estimate its value. Although he knew that the owner of the residence was related to a statesman, the basis of compensation would still be dependent on the value of the residence. 

However, he could tell that the owner was affluent, simply by looking at the fruit juice in his and his secretary's hands. 

There were limited agricultural resources on Planet Rocky, most people only able to afford synthetic food. The cup of natural fruit juice in his hand looked unassuming but it meant that there was a private cultivation base of fruits and vegetables in the residence. 

Planet Rocky was threatened by the bugs, which meant there was a thick barrier belt belowground every city. The belt was made of steel and a bug-resistant material. There were even numerous sensors installed in the inner layer of the belt, meant to prevent insects from sneaking into the city.

The existence of the barrier belt limited the size of the space belowground, making the underground resources of Pelan City extremely precious. The limited space below ground meant that it was even more expensive than the land aboveground.

At the sight of David entering the lobby, Supervisor Gilson's chubby body jiggled as he leaped up from the couch and introduced himself with a smile, saying, "Mr. David, I'm Gilson, the sales supervisor of Leeson Security!".

The secretary put on her best smile as well, Supervisor Gilson having brought her along specifically to ease any tension present.

"Nice to meet you, Supervisor Gilson!" David smiled and nodded, gesturing for Supervisor Gilson to take a seat before proceeding with the discussion. 

David's maturity made Supervisor Gilson think highly of him, especially since David was not at all attracted to the secretary and her smile. At David's age, he ought to have raging hormones. 

"Mr. David, I deeply apologize on behalf of Leeson Security's for the losses that you have incurred as a result of this incident!" Supervisor Gilson began by expressing his company's stand. 

"Supervisor Gilson, I accept your apology. However, what are you guys planning to do about it?" asked David, cutting straight to the chase. He didn't care about Gilson's words, not having the time to chat with him. He just wanted to settle the matter immediately.

"Mr. David, Lesson Security will replace your current security system with a top-grade one, free of charge. We will also pay for all of your losses from this incident, and additionally compensate you with 200,000 credit points. What do you think?" asked Supervisor Gilson. He had directly told David about the plan that he had thought of beforehand, not expecting the latter to be that straightforward. 

"We'll go ahead with that," David agreed, standing up and reaching his hand out to shake hands. 

Supervisor Gilson couldn't help but stare at David in shock, dumbfounded at the turn of events. 'Isn't this supposed to be a mutual discussion?' he thought. 'Why did he just agree to it? All the lines that I came up with are now useless.' 

Besides, the compensation he had offered David was nowhere near the maximum amount of credit points that he was initially prepared to pay. However, that was not a good thing, as it would most likely cause others to misunderstand the situation, thinking that Leeson Security was bullying the child of a statesman. 

However, since it had already been agreed upon and he couldn't justify an increase in the amount given, he had no choice but to stand up and shake David's hand. 

"Mr. David, please grant me access and I'll upgrade the security system for you," Supervisor Gilson requested, wanting to complete his given task.

David did not mention that he had reinforced the security system, as it was a little hard to explain. Rather, he simply activated the permissions and allowed Supervisor Gilson to access and connect to the residential security network.

Supervisor Gilson worked quickly on the devices that he had brought with him, upgrading and replacing the security system of the residence in less than five minutes. 

"Mr. David, the software component of your security system has been upgraded to the highest level possible. Our technicians will visit your home within three business days to add in the appropriate hardware for the system. If you're satisfied, let's sign a settlement agreement!" Supervisor Gilson explained with a smile. 

The smile on Supervisor Gilson's face grew even wider as he watched David sign the document with his electronic signature, silently using his identity bracelet. 

David saw Supervisor Gilson off, a sullen expression on his face. Just a moment ago, he had received an alert from his initial security system when Supervisor Gilson upgraded the replacement security system. 

The security system he had reinforced was not as comprehensive and functional as the one from Leeson Security, but it was much more advanced in terms of security.

At the end of the day, the security system installed was only civilian-grade, and no matter how advanced it was, the functions were very limited.

The fact that David would still receive security alerts about Supervisor Gilson's operations after he granted the latter access meant that the security software that had been installed contained programs that shouldn't exist.

Taking out the K2 Electronic Warfare Retaliation device, he connected it to the security system and began his search. 

Soon, he discovered a hidden permissions program, which would cause all the security devices in his residence to automatically shut down once activated. Outsiders would then be able to enter his residence with ease.

David once again marveled at the remarkable abilities of the person who wanted to deal with him. The attack by the mercenaries had just been an accident, but that person had seized the opportunity to modify his security system and weaken his residence's defenses.

If he hadn't gotten the Electronic Warfare Retaliation ability and installed his own security program in the security system beforehand, he would have been left in the dark. He might not even have known how he would die when the time came. 

David had modified the hidden permissions program and tweaked it to send a prompt to his identity bracelet immediately after it was triggered. It would then be up to him to decide whether or not to grant it access. 

He did not intend to go to Leeson Security, since they were an exposed enemy, which meant that they were not terrifying. The truly terrifying thing was that he did not know who the enemy really was or how powerful they were!

He thought of the Warhammer Mastery (82% Intermediate), the Sniping (20% Intermediate), and the Bodywork (99% Beginner) Knowledge Orbs. As long as he was given some time, could definitely achieve an explosive growth in strength. Then, he would no longer be put in such a passive position, like he was now.

Supervisor Gilson sat in his car after leaving David's residence, a sullen expression on his face, which was completely devoid of the joy he ought to feel at having solved the company's troubles.

He typed out a text into his identity bracelet—"Mission accomplished!"

"Honey, I'd like to eat some natural vegetables!" the female secretary spoke softly. 

"Okay, I'll take you out for a huge feast for dinner!" Supervisor Gilson exclaimed with a smile while waving his hand. 

Before the New Year, some staff from Leeson Security visited David's residence to install more security monitoring devices, all of which were compatible with the top-grade security system software. 

David checked each and every one of those security monitoring devices, not stumbling upon any more hidden programs or features. 

His enemy probably wasn't interested in his personal life, just wanting to be able to attack him with ease. 

Time passed and the hidden permissions program wasn't activated until the 31st of December.

According to David's judgment, the enemy most likely wanted to wait for the previous matters to die down before trying to deal with him once again. 

With such an ambiance, the New Year Cocktail Reception held by the government arrived.