Seeing Cifera waving from the second-floor balcony, Nie Bing felt an overwhelming sense of warmth and familiarity, a feeling she had only ever experienced with family.
She knew why: Cifera was one of her own—someone who not only appreciated the beauty of computer technology but also approached the world with unwavering sincerity.
True, others often called Nie Bing "too serious," but she couldn't help but laugh at their judgment. If taking things too seriously meant being "too serious," then she didn't see the term as an insult.
Nie Bing had never considered herself an introvert, yet she had never made a true friend. Genuine, kindred spirits were rare, but today, she felt she had finally found one.
Cifera, she understands me.
The thought of witnessing Cifera's masterful hacking skills firsthand and hearing the melodic clatter of the keyboard made Nie Bing quicken her pace.
Unbeknownst to her, the live stream was flooded with Bullet Comments like "Nie Bing's in danger!" and "Run!" As she eagerly ascended to the second floor, oblivious to the impending crisis.
Nie Bing didn't spot Cifera right away.
"Cifera?" she called out, but received no reply.
I just saw Cifera on the balcony. How could she vanish the moment I came upstairs?
Remembering Cifera's mischievous nature, Nie Bing realized she might be playing a prank, deliberately hiding from her.
Hide-and-seek, huh? Well, watch me catch this naughty kitty!
Earlier, the director had cut away from Cifera's shot to build suspense, leaving only footage of Nie Bing entering the villa and ascending the stairs. As a result, viewers in the official live stream were equally clueless about Cifera's hiding spot.
Some couldn't resist switching to Cifera's personal live stream, only to find the camera pointed at a massive crystal chandelier in the center of the second floor!
Perched on the chandelier's disc like a true cat, Cifera lay prone, her eyes fixed on Nie Bing below, who was scanning the area with a hunter's gaze.
As Nie Bing drew closer, the speed of Cifera's tail swishing back and forth gradually increased.
[Holy shit! What am I seeing?!]
[Just arrived—any handsome guys care to explain how Cifera managed to climb onto the chandelier in such a short time?]
[Simple: one jump, one grab, one pull, and she's up there.]
[...Are you serious?]
[Seriously! A guy in the live stream earlier said he had a similar chandelier at home. After watching Cifera's moves, he thought he could do it too, so he tried.]
[Um... is that guy still in the live stream?]
[Yep, still here!]
[Bro... are you okay?]
[I'm alive, I'm alive! On my way to the hospital now.]
[...]
Cifera's effortless maneuver to hide on the chandelier stunned everyone, but there was barely any time for discussion. Nie Bing was about to walk directly beneath her.
In this tense moment, the audience instinctively held their breath.
Would Cifera successfully ambush Nie Bing, or would Nie Bing's keen senses detect the attack in time for a counter-kill?
The answer was about to become clear.
The instant Nie Bing passed under the chandelier, her back turned to Cifera's position...
Cifera moved!
She extended her legs, hooked the toes of her shoes over the edge of the chandelier's pan, and immediately flipped her entire body downward, hanging upside down directly beneath the chandelier, her face less than five centimeters from Nie Bing's nape.
The entire maneuver was fluid, agile, and virtually silent. Even a rising star like Nie Bing remained completely unaware.
"Hello there, Little Bingbing~"
As Cifera greeted her, she gently patted Nie Bing's nape.
"!!!"
Nie Bing jolted in fright. If she hadn't recognized Cifera's voice, she would have reflexively retaliated.
Turning around, she found Cifera standing behind her, smiling mischievously.
"Sigh~ You—" Nie Bing sighed in exasperation. Just as she was about to lecture Cifera about not scaring people randomly and risking getting punched, Cifera's finger suddenly pressed against her lips.
Noticing Nie Bing's confused expression, Cifera's smile widened:
"You've already been stunned by me, so you can't talk, okay?"
"???"
Nie Bing's mind struggled to catch up.
What does she mean? Is this some kind of game again?
"Little Bingbing, you're not as clever as I thought," Cifera teased. "According to the show's rules, my sneak attack was successful. I've already knocked you unconscious!"
!!!
Suddenly, a terrifying truth flashed through Nie Bing's mind.
Her initial intuition hadn't been wrong after all. Cifera was indeed an impostor who had infiltrated the competition!
She fooled all of us!
First, she used the "Mysterious Expert" keyword from the promotional posters to dress up as a Catgirl, matching the clues.
Then, using deception techniques that even Master Lian couldn't see through, she had successfully gained the trust of every member except Nie Bing herself.
Finally, when Nie Bing questioned her, she had produced a pre-prepared invitation letter to deflect suspicion.
A computer expert surpassing even Nie Bing, yet remaining completely unknown? Cifera's true identity must be that of a Hacker!
There were indeed only seven genuine invitation letters, each unique.
But the problem was that no one knew who the seventh recipient was, forcing everyone to rely solely on the design of their own invitation letters to verify Cifera's.
As a formidable Hacker, obtaining a template of the invitation letter from the Production Team in advance would have been child's play.
At the time, we were all too trusting of Master's authority. Upon seeing Cifera's invitation letter, we immediately assumed she was a legitimate expert.
Even after discovering her formidable computer skills, it never occurred to us that she might have used hacking techniques to forge the invitation.
The consequence? We'd all been completely fooled by her. It was clear now that she was the Commander Lin Zhiyuan had mentioned, the mastermind manipulating the other contestants from behind the scenes!
I never imagined that the first friend I genuinely wanted to make would slap me across the face right from the start.
And it stung terribly...
Noticing the change in Nie Bing's expression, Cifera knew she had finally grasped the situation. She patted Nie Bing's shoulder consolingly.
"Little Bingbing, don't be discouraged! You're not the only one who got tricked, you know~"
"Hmph." Nie Bing brushed Cifera's hand away, her composure returning.
"Of course I'm not discouraged. You were too careless. With your strength, I doubt you could knock me unconscious with a single blow.
"That means I'm actually fully conscious right now. Combined with the Pursuers waiting downstairs, you have absolutely no chance of escaping!"
"Is that so? I don't think so."
"Fine, we can involve the Production Team to settle this."
"No need. I can prove it to you myself."
With that, Cifera walked over to the conference table, where the large watermelon she had previously brought out lay.
"Your mouth must be dry. I'll cut this watermelon for you."
"Wait, you're not thinking of using your hand..."
Nie Bing trailed off, unable to finish her sentence as Cifera struck.
Her slender fingers snapped together, and a seemingly gentle hand chop landed on the watermelon.
A split second later, the watermelon let out a soft crack and split perfectly in half.
"Wow, this watermelon is so sweet! Little Bingbing, come and have some too~"
"Why aren't you saying anything? Oh, right! I forgot you've already fainted. How could you eat watermelon in that state?"
"Hmm, after I finish eating, I'll come over and deal with you. Just stay put and don't move, okay~?"
"Oh, and by the way, even though this is just a capture-style variety show, you still need basic acting skills. You should at least be lying on the ground, right?"
"Yes, lie down like that, but make it look more natural, like you just stumbled."
"The movement is natural enough, but your expression is too tense. It's obviously fake. The audience won't buy it!"
"..."
Watching Cifera direct a despairing Nie Bing into various poses, the live stream audience couldn't contain their laughter any longer!
The earlier tense atmosphere had completely dissipated. No one had expected this comedic spectacle to unfold so suddenly.