I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

"We already know part of Sensei's purpose... although we found out it through 'special means'."

At this point, Chihiro glanced meaningfully at Tama, causing the latter to shudder slightly, as if recalling the 'fear of being dominated'.

“Sensei, it’s not entirely safe here. Let’s move to a nearby room that’s equipped with special EMP anti-eavesdropping devices and talk there.”

Amamiya readily agreed and nodded decisively: "Okay."

Chihiro then looked at her turquoise eyes with a hint of weariness, like a mother looking after her own child.

After glancing at her team members, she sighed, smoothed her hair slightly, and turned to say, "You guys should all come along too..."

After leading Amamiya to a meeting room on another floor, Chihiro closed the meeting room door and activated a special device.

"...Alright, now Sensei can speak freely."

Given the other party's 'frank and straightforward' demeanor, Amamiya decided it wasn't appropriate to change the subject and try to gain favor before getting down to business.

Amamiya then took out the "Notice to the Caesar Group" from his collar and placed it on the table.

"Then I'll get straight to the point... In short, I need everyone in Beritas to provide some assistance with my upcoming special operation."

The 'small cards' that Amamiya took out, with their trendy artistic style and unprecedented visual flair, instantly attracted the attention of Beritas's genius geeks.

Maki was the first to lean over and pick up the small card to examine it carefully.

Perhaps because the 'color' is similar to herself, Maki found the design of this little card particularly novel.

After reading the cringeworthy copy above, Maki's eyes started twinkling with excitement.

"Is this...is this some kind of unique, trendy art?!"

"An advance notice..."

Qing, who seemed to know a little about the inside story as well, had a thoughtful expression on her face.

The most excited person present was probably Xiaoyu.

But the one who least showed it was Xiaoyu.

She simply stared, slightly lost in thought, at the notice that had been passed around among Maki, Haru, and Chihiro.

Finally, after the notice arrived in her hands, she blushed slightly, for some reason.

“That’s right.” Meeting the gazes of the geniuses from Beritas, Amamiya spoke calmly, “It is a ‘premonition letter,’ and a premonition letter of great significance…”

"I wonder if you're familiar with 'phantom thief literature.' Before committing a 'theft,' phantom thieves like to send a warning letter to their target to showcase their superior thieving skills... and this warning letter is no exception."

"It can alert the target, thereby solidifying the desires in their heart... In this way, I can infiltrate the target's inner world and steal their desires."

Considering that the geniuses of Beritas might already know all the inside stories, Amamiya didn't explain it to them from the beginning, but simply mentioned the purpose of the advance notice.

"My purpose in coming here... is to entrust the people of Beritas with the task of getting the announcement letter released to the Caesar Group."

"Only in this way... can the Caesars Group 'repent'."

After listening to Amamiya's account, the girls looked at each other and remained silent for a short while.

"A phantom thief?! Too, too..."

Maki was unable to describe the inexplicable excitement and novelty she felt.

To be honest, she was even considering getting involved in the 'phantom thief's activities'.

Infiltrate the inner world of others, steal their twisted desires, and correct their minds!

It's such an incredible thing to say!

What will their inner world look like? A demon king's palace? A futuristic sci-fi metropolis? Or a 'different world' filled with fantasy elements?

"What a novel idea..."

Qing looked at the 'announcement letter' with a deep gaze, but was thinking about something else.

Could there be secrets in another world that are difficult for us to access through physical means? Or perhaps... special technologies whose operating principles are hard to understand?

The only one who seemed 'emotionally normal' was Xiaoyu, who calmly asked as if she had planned it all along: "Sensei means... that they need our channels to help 'release the announcement'?"

Amamiya nodded: "I need the help of everyone in Beritas..."

"Although it sounds a little strange and illogical..." Chihiro sighed, "but since it's Sensei's request and it's something we can do, of course we'll help Sensei."

...Is it really possible to do that?

To take over all the display equipment on the black market in a short period of time and make them play the same content...

In Ayane's opinion, this requires astonishing computing power to achieve.

"Thank you very much, Chihiro, and everyone in Beritas..."

Amamiya sent the recorded video to Chihiro in person, and then, as if suddenly remembering something, casually sent out a 'special mini-program' made by Futaba, containing hundreds of electronic viruses.

"I don't know if this will work... This is a virus package created by... uh, a hacker friend of mine. She told me it might be useful for things like 'sending a pre-announcement message'."

"She also proudly told me that in order to make it work in other regions, she deliberately optimized the compatibility significantly to ensure that almost all electronic devices could operate it."

...A hacker friend?

Chihiro pushed up her glasses, and her gaze behind the lenses suddenly sharpened.

Is Sensei also interested in hacking techniques such as network attack and defense?

Looking at the enthusiasm emanating from the young man's words and actions, feeling his adorable charm that made me want to hug him and 'rub' him, and that refreshing and clean aura that inexplicably made my heart itch...

Chihiro suddenly realized that Sensei seemed to be getting more and more attractive and likable the more she looked at it...

Chihiro's previously dormant thoughts began to stir, and with her curiosity about everything, she opened the virus package sent by Amamiya.

Soon, she frowned slightly.

About half a minute later, the device in Chihiro's hand became scalding hot and gradually started to emit black smoke.

The unexpected reaction from the device did not startle Chihiro; instead, it made her thoughtful and curious.

After casually tossing the device, which was about to explode from the heat, out the window, Chihiro took out another tablet and began analyzing it.

"Interesting...interesting..."

The other three genius girls from Beritas, probably seeing the vice minister for the first time, all curiously gathered around.

Then they saw their 'deputy minister' scrolling through the code page, deep in thought.

Given the special status of the 'Deputy Minister,' they wisely refrained from disturbing her and waited quietly.

A moment later, Chihiro took off her glasses, rubbed her eyes, let out a long sigh, and then put her glasses back on.

Chihiro...?

Chihiro put down the tablet, looked at Amamiya seriously, and said, "I've roughly looked through these hundreds of virus samples provided by Sensei. These are special virus samples that have never appeared in Kivotos before. Their design level and the degree of code optimization are... amazing."

Amamiya hadn't expected that the virus sample designed by Futaba would receive such high praise.

He exclaimed in surprise, "...Stunning?"

"Yes, my assessment of it is 'stunning'."

Chihiro is clearly not a tsundere like Serika; she is an "Empress" type who never hesitates to praise things she likes.

So she didn't say anything euphemistic or to exonerate herself, but simply repeated the 'evaluation' that Amamiya had captured.

"Frankly speaking, judging solely from the original framework of the code... ah, that is, the 'basic framework of the program used to write this code,' from this perspective alone, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe this code as 'outdated relics.'"

"However, the level of optimization and compatibility of its code is simply amazing. I would even assert that it is the work of a top hacker of a certain era."

Amamiya smiled to himself, thinking that it was indeed top-tier coding skill for its time.

Futaba Sakura is the genius girl who founded the 'Robin Hood organization' Megiddo.

The 'Double-Leaf Cannon' virus she wrote about is something that can render an entire country's security measures and Red Hacker groups helpless.

When she learned that Amamiya was going back to the countryside, Futaba, under the pretext that "jok might still be useful in the future," insisted on installing a "virus gift pack" she had written on Amamiya's phone. The pack contained hundreds of viruses that, if not activated, would cause unpredictable consequences.

Futaba's coding skills are truly exceptional. With the hundreds of viruses she provided, if Amamiya wanted, he could easily become a cyber hacker like Aiden Pierce, capable of doing a multitude of things with just a mobile phone.

For compatibility and other considerations between regions, Futaba worked overnight to optimize the compatibility of the hundreds of viruses that she had forced upon Amamiya... Futaba was so exhausted that she slept for a whole day and night after completing the optimization.

“Sensei… I think we might have some special common ground regarding these ‘viruses’.”

Chihiro smiled slightly, revealing a friendly smile under the incredulous gazes of her fellow members: "If Sensei is interested in things like network attack and defense, hacking techniques, or the like, you can come to me."

Amamiya immediately stood up and gently took the hand the girl offered.

"I do need a mentor like Chihiro to guide me along this journey."

[...and established contact with Chihiro.]

[Coopetition restrictions have been lifted!]

What cutting-edge technologies does the Engineering Department possess in Chapter Four?

[...and established contact with Chihiro.]

I am you...you are me.

Here you receive a new covenant.

[As the saying goes, "Break through destruction to find the wings of resistance."]

Here you are bathed in the light of hope and blessed. You have obtained a fragment of the ultimate mystery of the "Empress"...

[To further propel us toward the future...]

[Coopetition restrictions have been lifted!]

【Kamu Chihiro (Empress) ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆】

[★1 Ability Unlocked!]

-

Chihiro Kagami/The 'Cyber ​​Hacker' of Truth

Arcana: The Empress (I.The Empress)

【Assistance Ability ★1 - Hacker's Sense】

[Hacker's Sense: Code architecture techniques learned from Chihiro, applicable to Giwatos, and some special hacking methods. These might prove useful in various situations, including activities in the other world and daily life.]

Increase hacking capabilities on devices and improve awareness and understanding of items in the 'electronic devices' category.

[Assistant's Profile: Vice-Minister of the hacker group "Beritas". She is said to possess exceptional programming skills and is a powerful hacker, but also a normal person who is careful not to misuse her abilities. She is also the most 'righteous' member of "Beritas," often instructing her members on proper hacker ethics. To improve my programming skills, I've decided to learn Giwatos's hacking techniques from her...]

After clasping each other's hands, Chihiro smiled, revealing a kind and caring older sister-like smile.

"Then, please take care of me from now on, Sensei."

Perhaps it was the 'cuteness that made one want to destroy' quality that she felt from Amamiya, or perhaps it was the warm and sunny feeling that Amamiya gave off... Chihiro herself did not realize that her 'enthusiasm' was increasing.

Even her members gradually found it somewhat unbelievable.

"Regarding the 'announcement letter' you mentioned... Beritas will handle this through online means without leaving a trace."

"As for the delivery of the physical notice, we previously went to the engineering department of the Millennium and received some technical support from them..."

Amamiya now understood what Maki meant by 'going to the engineering department'.

Why did Chihiro make a trip to the engineering department beforehand to get technical support, instead of recommending him directly to Amamiya like she did with the 'celebrity Himari'?

...Perhaps, it was because she considered that the engineering department's style was too 'unique' and difficult to communicate with, so she went there in person?

"Technical support from the engineering department?"

"Yes, in Beritas's name, I commissioned the engineering department to create an 'advertising drone.' Its effect is quite simple: to promptly print and distribute various 'posters,' 'cards,' and other promotional materials."

"The engineering department also added a modular custom system, an anti-reconnaissance system, an optical camouflage coating, and an anti-radar coating to it. And taking into account that it is very likely to be a disposable device, a special self-destruct function was set for it."

"Once activated, it will destroy itself to the point of being 'absolutely undetectable as a material remnant'... to that extent."

"The engineering department named this drone 'Legless Bird No. 1' and explained to me the reason for this naming."

Mimicking the tone of the person who introduced her, Chihiro pushed up her glasses and began to explain.

"There's a kind of bird in the world that has no feet. It can only fly, and when it gets tired, it sleeps in the wind. This bird can only land once in its life, and that's when it dies." This drone is the same; once it's started and taken off, there's no possibility of it landing—the moment it lands is also the moment it self-destructs.

As Chihiro pulled out a drone and began to explain its various functions, Amamiya's brow twitched slightly. He thought to himself, "The engineering department's inventions are really outrageous."