"Only a few female hackers are members of that community, and I know them all. Are you a newcomer?" Mel asked. She had rarely visited the Hacker Community since she married. If she recalled correctly, the last time she had checked the community was five years ago.
"Not really. Someone invited me to join that community. If I'm not mistaken, I was in middle school. So it's about nine or ten years ago..." Scarlett explained.
"Wait, you joined when I was still active there. May I know your hacker ID?"
"Trinity—"
"Damn! So Trinity is you? I recognized that name. You were the youngest member at the time. Wow, I never imagined we were connected in this way," Mel exclaimed, looking in amazement at the young girl before her, realizing that the person she had known online was now sitting across from her. What surprised her even more, this girl was the young daughter of Uncle Roland Gilwynn.
Scarlett blushed at being noticed by her idol. "Sister Mel, would you believe me if I said I've idolized you for a long time?" she confessed shyly.
"Hahaha," Mel laughed upon hearing Scarlett's words. "Of course, I believe it. Almost all the hackers in the Hacker Community idolize me. I'm not surprised to hear that..."
Scarlett nodded, acknowledging that she wasn't the only one star-struck by Queen; many hackers she knew felt the same way.
"And, if I'm not mistaken, your husband's hacker's name is... Black, right?" Scarlett continued, expressing her curiosity.
Mel was once again shocked. 'How on earth does this girl know that?' She was left speechless and didn't directly answer Scarlett's question, instead offering an ambiguous response.
"Okay, let's stop discussing that matter," Mel smiled at Scarlett, attempting to steer the conversation back to a more important topic. "There's something I want to ask you, Scarlett. I hope you'll answer it honestly..." Her tone became serious.
Even though she was surprised by Mel's sudden change in expression and confused when she heard Mel want to ask her something, Scarlett still nodded. "Yes, sister, you may ask," she said.
"Do you still remember how you got into the hacker community?" Mel asked.
Scarlett was silent for a moment, trying to recall what had happened several years ago.
After a while, she said, "At that time, I suddenly entered the Hacker Community forum—"
"You mean auto login?" Mel's beautiful brow arched slightly.
"Yes. At that time, the link for auto login appeared in my browser. I thought it was spam on my computer. However, after I investigated, it turned out that the link directed me to the website of the Hacker community, the community I had been searching for. So, I started to open that forum to hone my hacking skills and learned many things from other members," Scarlett explained.
Mel, upon hearing Scarlett's explanation, frowned, utterly confused.
'Why did Scarlett find that community differently from mine?' Mel pondered. She still remembered receiving an encrypted email at that time and having to complete a series of challenging quizzes to become a member.
'But why did Scarlett enter that community so easily?' This question bothered her mind. She knew that the Hacker Community recruited talented hackers. Still, she had never heard of someone being recruited directly without a test, like Scarlett. Unless this girl was exceptionally talented or had a connection to the creator.
After several minutes of thinking, Mel could finally resolve the matters that had been bothering her since she became a member of the Hacker Community—the creator's identity. If she wasn't mistaken, one of the creators was Rosalie Withers, Scarlett's mother.
"Scarlett, did you ever wonder how you became so skilled with computers?" Mel asked once more. "Did someone teach you?"
"No one taught me. I just learned the basics in school, and—" Scarlett suddenly paused, recalling something she had never considered important until now. However, upon hearing Mel's question, she felt it might be relevant.
"I suppose it's because I always played a computer game and read a few books my mom bought for me. Why do you ask, sister?" Scarlett inquired.
"A game?"
"Yes, if I recall correctly... When I was in kindergarten, my mother installed that game for me. It was a strange game, but I kind of liked it..." Scarlett smiled, reminiscing about those memories. She had limited memories of her mother, and this was one of the few she still had.
Mel was once again lost in thought, trying to find an answer to the curiosity in her mind. After a while, she continued, "Scarlett, now I'm certain your mother was a talented hacker. You must have heard from Alex that I attempted to locate her, but she wiped all traces of herself completely, right?"
"Yes, I've heard about that." She feels goosebumps to learn about her mother.
"Well, that made it impossible for me to find her. To this day, she really challenges me. She's one of the few people I encountered in my hacking career whom I couldn't surpass..." Mel explained, her voice tinged with helplessness.
Scarlett was utterly shocked.
"That's why from the start, I said that my mother's and your mother's cases are very different..." Mel could sense that Scarlett looked gloomy at this moment. However, she knew she had to tell the truth and couldn't guarantee finding her mother.
Mel added, "Your mother managed to wipe all traces that would give me a chance to trace her. She was always one step ahead of me."
Scarlett couldn't help but feel frustrated. She had thought that meeting someone as formidable as Hacker Queen would make it easier to find her mother. But now? It seemed like she had hit a dead end.
"However, we still have a chance to find her—" Mel paused momentarily when she saw Scarlett's face tense up looking at her. She continued, "I used to search for Rosalie Withers alone, but now there's you. With your talent and knowledge about her, I'm confident we can locate her..."
The joyful light returned to Scarlett's eyes upon hearing Mel's words.
"Sister Mel, I'm ready to help! Please guide me—"
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