The Zetta Sonic
Killer Bee's

ZETTA SONIC'S

First Arc: Dragon Blood

Alex could not stop turning his eyes away from the big screen in front of him. The screen shows long rows of numbers accompanied by dates in a long table. Whoever's watching him is gonna go get goosebumps with Alex. It is not ordinary nominal but money. More precisely, large amounts of money. Transferred to several different accounts under different names. However, Alex knows the identity of the sole owner of all of those accounts.

Alex paused for a moment while pulling himself to lean on the real leather chair. Even when trying to rest, he was unable to release the attention from the main screen. This screen size is better suited for watching movies than running its dangerous hobby, hacking.

Before doing the hobby, Alex always make sure all his schoolwork has been completed and he is ready to face the quiz tomorrow. His responsible and super-disciplined supervisor, Mrs. Bellsey, ready to give him a long talk if he's not the highest score holder in the class. In addition to school affairs, Alex also made sure he had finished dinner or Mrs. Bellsey would bang on the room hard and then enter unexpectedly. Somehow Mrs. Bellsey could always guess the passcode for her bedroom door. Living in a technologically advanced home doesn't always guarantee you're safe. It was only after his assignment as a learner was completed that Alex was able to get into his room and do whatever he liked.

A light outage is done at this time in order to concentrate. The doors and windows were closed and locked. Even if the window is open, Alex has an amazing view to the park in a manor equipped with an angel-faced fountain.

The light source in the room back then was only from the large screen before him. The screen was emitting a dim light due to the black background and white writing. The two dull colors were broken by the silhouette of the bright yellow bee at the bottom right end. Killer Bee, the name of the hacker he chose.

Alex felt his heart beating. It was not because he wanted to move those numbers into his personal account. He doesn't need to. It's all his father's account. To be precise, the money was all in the account of his father, Marcus Anthony Hill.

Alex has always wondered what his father does. Mom always said that her dad was an international businessman. However, until today, when he was only 15th a few months ago, Alex never once knew the name of the company or business field that his father ran. Actually, there are also other children in the school like that. They don't care about the efforts of family members.

Alex is different. She's curious. His mind needs to be satisfied by the answer.

Unfortunately, the screen before him contained information not answers. He needs further investigation if he really wants to know what the meaning behind all those numbers is. The first thing to do, of course, is to ascertain whether everything comes with legal or illegal. From the past, in addition to wondering what his father's business, Alex always wondered if the facilities he was enjoying also came from honest efforts.

GUK!

Alex jerks. The rottweiler dog behind him barked loudly. Alex wanted to protest but canceled. His hand swept the Tablet PC over the table. In an instant, all the lights in the room lit up. The large screen before him changed showing the winning screen at the end of the game ‘Drake and His Land’ complete with the knight in armor standing on a sprawling dragon.

A pair of smaller screens flanking the main screen also come on. One screen shows an active screensaver, while another shows the latest game download process. Under the table, there is a variety of game consoles. Coupled with a large carpet, a sofa, a coffee table, and a spacious room, it was the dream room of a teenager his age.

The light of the lamp shone on his pitch-black hair, which belonged exactly to his father when he was young. His eyes were brown like those of my mother. It seems like it's just the resemblance to both parents. Alex rarely met them. I go home at least once a month, even if it's only two or three days. Dad only twice a year. The little picture in the frame at the end of the table has a better memory of his parents than he does.

Alex turns the chair, confronts the guest. On his lap, there was a game controller that he had never touched since entering the room earlier. “You almost killed me,” Alex said, venting a protest.

“I hope it's just a figure of speech.” Preston, the butler came in with a tray. He was wearing a black tailcoat suit over a white shirt. The black tie is neatly attached. Round glasses hung on his crooked nose. Her hair was completely white. Even so, his face always looked fresh and was always adorned with a gentle smile.

“No, it's real. But, luckily I already gave a final strike to Drake before he made me game over.” Alex stood up from the chair. They met in the middle of the room.

“Good work, then.” Preston placed the tray on a coffee table that stood quietly on a large velvet carpet. On top of the tray, there was a tiny teapot containing tea and snacks next to it.

Alex believes he didn't ask Preston for a snack. The man took it on his own initiative. Preston has served his family for many years. To him, Preston was like a friendly and patient grandfather who he could always tease when he was upset. Not infrequently Alex deliberately behaved badly just to test his patience. So far, Preston has always won until Alex himself is tired of teasing him.

As soon as Preston came out of the room, Alex let out a sigh as he plopped down on the pumpkin-colored sofa. The male rottweiler barked again. He asked for the cookie. Alex throws it and the dog catches it easily.

“Good work, Rover,” Alex said. His hand rubbed the dog's head. “But, next time bark faster before he goes in.”

Alex returned to the swivel chair with a cup filled with hot tea. He remembered that Preston could also access all the rooms in the house. After all, he was the butler. I thought it would be more practical if Preston could go anywhere and I agreed. Even so, Alex knew there was no need to worry.

Preston is very patient and tends to be quiet about his actions. Either because he doesn't care or because he deliberately gave Alex his freedom. Although much older, Alex is still his employer. The man was not only polite, but also always obedient to his orders. Alex is convinced that Preston knocked before entering. It's just that Alex was too focused on the screen to not hear.

Now, back to the screen.

With one swipe on the Tablet PC, Alex gets his table again. This time, he left the lights of his room on. He looked back at the numbers and began to record the date on a piece of paper for later rechecking. The rover sneaks near the legs, sits quietly.

Alex's hand started to tinker at the screen again. Before long, a notification flashes at the top right. Something quite strange happened while he was doing his act. The notification came without a name and without any identity.

Alex moves the cursor, checking what it contains. The email topic is more like a warning and the content is no less confusing.

STOP OUT!

The operation has begun. They won't stop until they find him. Gathering towards freedom. Eight to eternity. Stop turnover.

Alex frowning. Not just an ordinary message. There's a hidden message there. He was also aware of the automatic crushing feature. Whoever sent the message wanted it to vanish within two minutes. Alex hastily pulled out another sheet of paper and copied the contents even though he could instantly memorize. Sometimes the manual way is more guarantee than note it on the phone.

Exactly two minutes after the email was opened, the email window began to shake. The letters began to blur and black and white mosaics sprung up. Not until one second later, the email vanished as if it had never existed.

Alex took a deep breath. Revealing what it means might make him find answers to his father.