Scholar's Advanced Technological System

A prison in Southern California.

Mason was pushed into a meeting room by two guards.

The thick metal door closed, and the small room was quiet.

Mason’s eyes were a little puffy, his hands were cuffed, and he looked exhausted. He stared at the man across from him.

It was a man in his forties, well dressed in an ironed suit, wearing an expensive-looking watch. He dressed like a successful, upper-class person. However, his calloused hands didn’t belong to someone who sat in an air-conditioned office all day.

Mason had a vague idea of what was going on, and he grinned from ear to ear.

“I’m guessing you’re not my lawyer.”

“A lawyer can’t save you, but we can.” The man in the suit smiled and extended his hand as he said, “Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Brandon Melsen. I’m your boss now.”

Like he had just heard a funny joke, Mason placed his cuffed hands on the table and began chuckling.

After a while, he sat up straight and looked at Melsen.

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken. I’m a patriotic person, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be a slave to the White House.”

“We’re not the White House, we’re the CIA.”

Melsen’s smile disappeared. He reached forward and stared deadly into Mason’s eyes. He then sat back down and said, “The court hasn’t decided on a sentence yet, but based on the evidence we collected from your home, even if you hire the best lawyer in California, you’re going to spend the rest of your life behind bars.”

Melsen paused for a second, and he had an evil smile on his face.

“And Mr. Mason, they’re going to love you in there.”

Mason nervously frowned and said, “What do you mean?”

Melsen smiled and said, “I’m just saying, they love skinny boys like you.”

Mason’s face turned white.

Beads of sweat began to roll off his forehead.

Melsen smiled with satisfaction and continued, “You’ll have time to consider my proposal before sentencing… Of course, if after spending a few months in prison, you decide you want to make a deal. That offer might be off the table.”

Mason hesitated for a while before he spoke.

“What do you want me to do…”

Melsen smiled and said, “The CIA is looking for an expert in information technology. If you help us, you won’t be put in a prison with those real criminals. Also, if you do a good job, we can reduce your sentence. You could be a free man in five or six years.”

Mason hesitated for a long time.

Melsen looked at his watch.

He only planned on giving Mason ten minutes of time.

Fortunately, it didn’t take that long.

After three minutes, Mason spoke.

“I agree…”

“Fantastic, we’re now on the same team.”

Melsen didn’t expect Mason to agree so quickly, but he wasn’t surprised that Mason took the deal.

The CIA agent leaned back on his chair and said, “I can’t get you out of cuffs yet, but I promise you’ll be transferred to another facility in three days.”

Mason was scared, and he nervously asked, “Where are you bringing me?”

“I can’t tell you yet.” Melsen folded his arms and said, “Now, I’m going to ask you questions, and you’re going to answer truthfully. This is part of the deal.”

“Go ahead,” Mason said in a defeated voice, “but I have to remind you that even though I’m the leader of Eagle Hunter, I don’t know the identities of the members.”

Melsen smiled and said, “You mean those buddies of yours? Don’t worry, all of them were arrested within half an hour of your arrest… Let me think… Lone Wolf, Hunter, and Kid… but he was arrested in China.

“Some people are on the run, but it’s only a matter of time before we catch them. We know who they are. Even if we let them loose, the Chinese will never give up. You should just persuade them to surrender themselves. I’m sure they’d rather be caught by us than the Chinese.”

Already…

Been caught?

After hearing Melsen list the IDs, Mason’s face turned white. He began to sweat from his forehead, and his eyes were filled with disbelief.

This is impossible!

I thought that, even though I was caught, the others would escape.

But now this guy is telling me all of them were caught within half an hour?

This meant that, not only did Dr. Z hack my computer and servers, but he was also able to hack the other members of the Eagle Hunter group.

Is this guy… even human?

Melsen stared at Mason’s eyes and felt something was wrong, so he said, “You have to tell me everything you know.”

Mason muttered to himself, “Devil…”

“Devil?” Melsen frowned and said, “I’d advise you to choose your words carefully.”

“He’s a devil! He’s not human…”

Mason’s eyes were bloodshot. He grabbed his head with his cuffed hands and said, “This is not something a human can do, it’s impossible!”

Melsen said, “Calm down, speak clearly. We think the person you were hacked by was a cyberwarfare expert. We have three suspects, and we need you to confirm…”

Mason suddenly snorted.

He shook his head and said, “Those guys? They’re good, but they’re not that good. Mr. Melsen, even the best hacker has to follow the rules of physics. Unless someone has superpowers… Listen, I didn’t even get a chance to fight back.”

Melsen frowned and said, “So what you’re saying is, when the person was hacking you, you were powerless?”

If that’s true, then maybe we’re underestimating China’s cyberwarfare capabilities.

Melson heard the words he least wanted to hear…

“Yes.” Mason looked at Melsen with his bloodshot eyes and said, “I didn’t stand a chance. When he was hacking me, he was still sending me messages to humiliate me… He’s the devil.”

“I’m an atheist, I don’t believe in those things.” Melsen shrugged and said, “Then what username did he use when he communicated with you?”

“Did you not watch the news?”

Mason chuckled and spoke.

“His name is Dr. Z.

“It’s not like you’ll ever find him…”