The True Heiress Is the Top Hacker

I glanced down at my watch; it was already 3 AM. Taking advantage of the fact that the Smith family was sound asleep, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and left.

I found a nearby hotel to stay in.

Since high school, I had been passionate about programming, teaching myself multiple programming languages.

When I went to college, I resolutely chose a computer science major and developed a strong love for hacking techniques.

I had prepared extensively for this hacker competition, and I certainly wasn't willing to give up so easily.

After the plagiarism incident in my past life, I was immediately kicked out of the Smith household. I had repeatedly checked my computer under the bridge where I had been living, and there was nothing wrong with it. So, I suspected that Sophie must have installed surveillance in my room.

Now that I was in a strange hotel, I didn't believe Sophie could steal my code again. I pulled out my laptop and began coding furiously.

With the experience from my previous life, I debugged at lightning speed and quickly completed the first step.

Looking at the program's output on my screen filled me with a sense of accomplishment, and I stretched out lazily.

Just then, Mrs. Smith called me. "Emma, why did you leave without saying anything? I haven't even compensated you properly yet."

I felt a bit helpless, but since everything was still unclear, I had to continue pretending. "I'm just a country girl; I really can't get used to such a nice house, so I decided to stay somewhere else."

After hanging up the phone, I logged onto the forum to see what Sophie might be posting now that she couldn't access my code.

But when I saw her new post, chills ran down my spine. She had included a screenshot of the last line of code from what I had just completed.

I couldn't believe it was real. Rubbing my eyes vigorously, I compared it over and over again—it was exactly the same, down to the last detail.

Trembling with fear, I looked back around the room, wondering if this hotel also had hidden cameras. In a panic, I began searching everywhere but found nothing.

I checked my computer again but still found no signs of tampering.

All I could do was reopen the webpage and scrutinize Sophie's post for any clues.

Her post read, [Today's ideas became so much clearer.]

The comments below were filled with her sycophants fawning over her. [Goddess is indeed a goddess; she managed to solve such a difficult problem in such a short time!]

[Even though she isn't Smith's biological daughter, with her skills, she'll be sought after anywhere!]

[I heard that the true daughter of the Smiths moved out today; could it be that her absence allowed our goddess to progress so quickly?]

Sophie only replied with one line, [Please don't say that; after all, it was the Smith family that raised me. They've done me a great favor. Regardless of what the true daughter wants, my adoptive parents and I will compensate her. Plus, she's participating in this competition too; I hope she can achieve good results.]

Sophie's post painted her as a kind-hearted yet pitiful young lady, giving off an impression of being both strong and tragic.

In my past life, she had used these posts to crush me completely. But after years of studying programming and consistently winning awards in competitions each year, how could I just admit defeat now?