The string of notifications left Cipher completely dazed. She hurriedly tossed a flimsy excuse about "suddenly remembering something" to Lu Zhaoran before bolting back into the house and ducking into her bedroom.
'Why did the system update all of a sudden? "Abnormal energy intrusion"... did that lie I just told actually take effect?' Cipher speculated as she stared at the lines of text floating before her.
She suspected it was triggered by her claim that she could "gain more power through credits."
'Anyway, can I still use the other functions while the system is updating?'
At that thought, Cipher silently called out for her System Inventory. The familiar interface shimmered into existence before her eyes. She tried storing an item and found it worked perfectly; even the sedative syringe she had just acquired slid right into a slot.
'Inventory works... what about the gacha?'
Since the inventory was fine, she tried to initiate a pull. This time, the familiar gacha graphics didn't appear. Instead, a new prompt popped up:
[System is updating. Gacha function is currently disabled.]
So, no pulling for now.
'Whatever. I don't use the gacha that often anyway. I'll just wait and see how long this update takes. I've got nothing better to do, so I might as well read for a bit... Oh, right! I forgot to mention the terminal.'
Remembering her goal, Cipher went back to Lu Zhaoran and brought up the device. Lu Zhaoran agreed readily, mentioning that it could probably be delivered by the afternoon.
With that settled, Cipher retreated to the study to continue her novel. It was, after all, her only source of entertainment at the moment. As for the Spark Team, given the morning's chaotic events, they decided to take a rest day and resume taking commissions tomorrow.
★ ★ ★
Evening.
Cipher tucked her brand-new terminal into her system inventory, let out a massive yawn, and stretched her limbs.
"Ah, life is so much better with a phone, nya~" she murmured comfortably to herself.
Ever since the latest model terminal developed by Apex Entertainment arrived, Cipher had been having a blast. It looked like a smartphone, but its performance outclassed many high-end computers from her previous life. It even allowed her to project a screen to play PC games, leading her to drop several hundred credits on a handful of titles immediately. Where did she get the keyboard? It came free with the terminal, of course!
She had spent the entire afternoon gaming. Thanks to her enhanced reflexes, she had already managed to shatter several world records.
"Time for business."
Cipher stood up, her gaze shifting toward the Mercenary Association.
"Selling my intel, are you? I'll make you realize that not everyone's information is up for sale."
The moment she finished speaking, she vanished from the room.
A short while later, Cipher arrived at the entrance of the Mercenary Association, her body flickering with a faint purple glow as she stepped inside.
'This place still smells terrible. So pungent.'
Despite this being her third visit, she still found the heavy scent of alcohol nauseating. She moved swiftly toward the door behind the counter. After a quick glance to ensure no one was watching, she pried the door open just enough to slip inside.
Closing the door behind her, she inhaled the clean air and closed her eyes in bliss.
'Much better. I wonder what brand of air purifier Shen Yan uses? The air quality here is better than at Lu Zhaoran's place.'
After a silent moment of appreciation, Cipher headed up to the second floor. The main hall was empty, so she focused her attention on the office door behind the monitors. Faint voices drifted from within.
'Is that where Shen Yan lives?'
Sensing movement inside, she couldn't make out every word, but she definitely recognized Shen Yan's voice. She pressed her cat ears against the door to listen clearly.
"Boss Shen, you owe us an explanation! Because of your inaccurate intel, we lost over a dozen members. Even Tan Rui and Chu Ke—Chu Qingyu's son—were captured by the target!"
"Heh, Captain Li. I told you before: I wanted you to bring back information on the target. Instead, you took your men and tried to stage a kidnapping."
"Now that your little operation failed, you want to pin it on me? What, looking for a scapegoat to deflect your superiors' rage?"
"You—!"
"Enough," Shen Yan interrupted before Captain Li could finish. "I am not a member of your Countercurrent Coalition. I have no obligation to take responsibility for your stupidity. If you really want to press charges, I'll be more than happy to report this to the Mercenary Association headquarters."
A series of beeps followed as the call was disconnected.
'Looks like this guy is pretty busy.'
Hearing the commotion inside, Cipher couldn't help but let out a mischievous grin. She stealthily cracked the door to Shen Yan's room open.
"Who's there?!"
The moment the door moved, Shen Yan, who had been checking his terminal, reacted instantly and looked toward the entrance. Naturally, he saw no one.
However, a certain catgirl had already silently crept into the room.
"Nobody? How is that possible? Did the door open on its own?"
Shen Yan frowned. He didn't believe for a second that the "wind" had blown it open. After a moment of thought, he reached a conclusion.
"A stealth-type ability user?"
'Eh? He actually guessed it. Though I'm not exactly an ability user.'
Cipher was a bit surprised by his deduction. She had expected him to be like a character in a bad novel and assume it was some random fluke. Watching Shen Yan look around tensely, reaching for his terminal to make a call, Cipher's grin widened.
"I'll be taking that."
Cipher snatched the terminal straight out of Shen Yan's hand. She sat down on a nearby sofa and allowed her form to materialize.
"You?"
Stunned by the theft of his terminal, Shen Yan's confusion quickly turned to recognition as he saw Cipher sitting comfortably on his sofa.
"That's right, it's me~"
Cipher responded in a playful, mocking tone while casually tossing his personal terminal up and down in her hand. Seeing Shen Yan staring at her with a deep frown and no response, Cipher stashed his device into her system inventory and looked him in the eye.
"Well? Boss Shen, you look surprised."
"Back then, I thought you had simply leaked our commission info to some high-level mercenaries. But I never imagined..."
"Your actual goal was to leak it to the Countercurrent Coalition, using them as pawns to gather intel on me, wasn't it?"