Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress novel Chapter 1458

Chapter 1458: Meet and greet

The Next Day...

Even though Penny didn’t make it to the semi-finals, she watched the competition through a live broadcast. She wasn’t required to be present, especially since Yugi was there to ensure the event ran smoothly.

Now that the semi-finals were over and the finalists had been decided, the competitors were given three days to rest before the big event. Until then, Prime Group was providing them with accommodations, food, and everything else they needed for the duration of the competition.

It was also part of their schedule for each team to meet with Penny before the finals.

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[TEAM A’s Practice Room]

"Hey, are you sure T. Mouse is coming today?" one of the team members asked, casually playing on the computer instead of practicing. "He’s going to be our boss, so should I prepare?"

"Why would you need to prepare?" another member smirked. "It doesn’t matter if we meet the big boss or not. If we win, we’re all walking out of here as millionaires."

"He’s right," another chimed in, chuckling while gaming. "It’s not like they can withhold our prize money just because we didn’t meet the boss."

"But from what I heard, Prime Group has been scouting all the players." Unlike the others, the fourth person wasn’t playing but instead watching stock prices on his screen. "Win or lose, they might offer us jobs. That wouldn’t be a bad backup plan. Team D is pretty good. I played a round with one of their guys, and he finished coding in under half an hour."

The fifth team member, who had been quietly jotting down notes in a notebook, finally looked up. "It’s not a rumor. It’s true," he said flatly. "And don’t get mad if someone brings up the worst-case scenario. This is a competition—ten teams are fighting for first place. Having a backup plan, like getting hired by Prime Group, isn’t a bad idea."

He added in a quiet mumble, "The hacking market is tough. And illegal. Might as well make decent money doing something we’re good at—legally."

The fourth person smiled and nodded. "Exactly. And from what I heard, Prime Group’s cyber security and R&D departments are top-notch. Sounds like a solid deal."

The other three remained silent, clearly unimpressed by their teammates’ perspective. To them, Prime Group needed them—not the other way around. Otherwise, why would they host this competition in the first place? Besides, how could they bow their heads to someone who probably didn’t even understand the basics of what they did?

Still, despite their pride, the group ultimately agreed to meet the elusive T. Mouse.

Similar conversations echoed through the other practice rooms, where different teams had varying opinions on the matter. Some were already thinking ahead, considering a job offer as a fallback plan. Others were solely focused on winning. A few wanted both—a championship title and a career opportunity.

Not all of them were full-time hackers, but many were.

However, despite their differences, they all agreed on one thing: they doubted any of the higher-ups truly understood their skills. In their minds, T. Mouse was just another capitalist. After all, being a good businessman didn’t necessarily mean he had the technical expertise they did.

Yet, in the end, curiosity won out. Everyone agreed to meet the mysterious boss.

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Two Hours Later...