The True Heiress Is the Top Hacker

I felt like an ant on a hot pan, sweating with anxiety.

I kept replaying the situation in my mind, trying to figure out where things had gone wrong.

Since there were no cameras in the room, the issue had to be with my computer.

I couldn't believe that Sophie was also a skilled hacker. But if she could steal my code without me noticing, why didn't she just write her own and compete fairly?

I pushed those thoughts aside for now. I added an extra layer of login authentication to my code and then set up a trap using some hacking techniques.

Next, I continued coding along the lines of my previous life's strategy. If she wanted to steal my code, she would need to bypass the new permissions I had set up. Any login attempt would leave a trace, allowing me to track her down through her IP address.

After completing these tasks, I couldn't help but feel like a genius. I logged onto Sophie's forum to see if she would try to copy my new code.

During this time, Mrs. Smith called me again, still crying on the other end. "Emma, please come back! Mom misses you; I haven't even compensated you properly yet."

Her words made me incredibly impatient, and I rolled my eyes three times.

In my past life, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Smith, and Kyle never gave me a chance to explain; they just pinned all the blame on me. I always felt that they were involved in this whole mess too.

Even though Mr. and Mrs. Smith acted like they were taking care of me after I returned home, my gut told me they had ulterior motives.

Frustrated, I bit my nails and made an outrageous demand, "If you want to compensate me, then write me a check for 5 million first to prove your sincerity."

Mrs. Smith gasped at the other end of the line, and then Kyle quickly snatched the phone away from her. "5 million? Who do you think you are? If you come home now, we'll pretend nothing happened. But if you keep causing trouble, don't bother coming back—we'll act like you never existed!"

"Fine! That's what you said! Don't call me again!"

With that, I hung up and refreshed the webpage again to check Sophie's forum.

Her post had been updated as if it were a direct challenge to me; the code in the image was identical to what I had just written.

She captioned it. [My sister has run away from home; seeing our parents so downcast makes me sad too. This is probably all I can write today.]

[PS: Everyone help me think of ideas! My sister has run away from home, and I don't want our parents to be sad. What can I do to persuade her to come back? Do I really have to leave?]

[Since Mr. and Mrs. Smith didn't let you leave, why don't you just stay there? Why is Emma being so dramatic? Does she even understand what it means to prioritize those who came first?]

Soon after, someone commented anonymously, [What if she wants to win the championship in this hacker competition?]

Sophie didn't reply.

But her sycophants couldn't hold back.

[How shameless! She still wants to win the hacker competition? That's our goddess's hard work!]

[I heard that the true daughter of the Smiths just returned and is competing in this hacker competition too; they say she plans to learn everything in 30 days—how ridiculous!]

[Oh my gosh! Does that anonymous commenter know some insider information? Goddess, be careful! Don't update anymore; protect your hard-earned results!]

People began digging into who this newly recognized village girl from the Smith family was and why she was so malicious.

Slowly but surely, some started suspecting it was me while others defended that I had always been at the top of my department and had no need to plagiarize.

But immediately someone countered that being at the top of the department didn't mean much; this was a national competition after all—who knew if I had plagiarized?

No wonder everyone was so convinced it was me who plagiarized after the incident in my past life; it turned out there had been constant subtle manipulation behind the scenes.

Thinking back to when Ethan took me to the border and how the cold steel of a blade sliced through my skin sent chills down my spine.

I felt exceptionally restless; without realizing it, my palms were sweaty.

In a hurry, I checked the trap I had just set up—it clearly showed that only I had logged into my computer with no traces of anyone else.

My heart sank as confusion washed over me. How on earth did Sophie manage to steal my code?