Chapter 1040


    Callum hauled over theptop and dragged an extra chair up for Atticus to sit down and get cracking on


    hacking the surveince system on the spot.


    The pressure was on; they knew that Lysander might have already rallied his tech troops and started


    scouring the monitors.


    A second''s dy could blow their cover wide open.


    Wiping the surveince footage clean was critical, a race against time.


    Atticus booted up theptop, and his little fingers danced across the keyboard at lightning speed. His


    cute, boyish features were a mask of serious concentration, so absorbed in his task that the world


    around him might as well not exist.


    Thssa, the other three kids, Evelyn, and Callum huddled around Atticus, watching in awe as his


    fingers blurred over the keys, almost creating afterimages.


    They were all breathing slowly as if treading on eggshells, terrified of distracting him.


    ...


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the town, Lysander''s ten coding elites was also in nonstop action.


    They''d just cracked the radar code and were gearing up to check the Starhaven surveince when their


    screens went ck. Not just one, but all ten.


    The tech wizards were stunned.


    "Mr. Sinir, the footage has been wiped. It was all nk." one of the programmers reported.


    Lysander''s handsome face was as cold as an oing storm. How could he forget that his son,


    Atticus, was aputer prodigy?


    "Get the terrestrial surveince! With audio! Pull up every camera around Star Harbor Vi and check


    every road!" Lysandermanded with the authority he was born with.


    He had personally witnessed the ne taking off from the Star Harbor Vi''s courtyard. The ne''s


    noise would be audible throughout its flight.


    While ground traffic wouldn''t be disturbed by the flight, the sound of the ne would be unmistakable.


    "Right away!"


    The programmers got to work, each hacking into a different intersection''s surveince feed.


    Back at the airport, Atticus finished erasing the Starhaven airspace footage and finally let a smile crack


    his concentrated expression. "Done." he announced with a sense of triumph, snapping theptop shut


    and wiping the sweat from his brow.


    Callum was astounded — it had only taken two minutes!


    The so-called best hacker in Starhaven had told him it would take at least five.


    But Atticus did it in two, erasing the footage without a trace.


    Callum was both surprised and enlightened. True talent could be found in the most unexpected ces;


    those who boast about their skills weren''t necessarily the best.


    "Alright, time to roll out." Callum said, his tension easing now that the surveince was out of the


    picture. Without it, Lysander would have a much tougher time tracking them. Their journey ahead was


    now a lot smoother.


    He ushered Thssa and the others onto a private jet bound for Weston Country.


    Callum wouldn''t risk buying tickets and leaving a paper trail for Lysander to follow. Fortunately, the


    airline''s owner was an old friend who owed him a favor. Because of that, he secured for Callum seven


    unlisted seats on the flight with no check-in required.


    This way, they could leave the country without leaving a trace. Even if Lysander tried, he wouldn''t be


    able to find them.


    They boarded the jet. Ten minutester, it took off into the sky, heading for Weston Country.


    Thssa gazed out at the clouds through the window, seeing the sky a deeper blue, the clouds an


    even purer white, the golden sunlight filtering through them and casting a heavenly glow.


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    Breathing in deeply, Thssa relished the view only avable from high above, feeling a profound


    sense of rxation.


    This was the air of freedom, elusive and precious.