The 24th Century Warrior Became a Fake Heiress novel Chapter 6

The two conversed calmly.

Meanwhile, Brett, who had been listening in on their conversation, couldn't wait any longer. Seeing that his brother seemed done talking, he eagerly exclaimed, "Isabella, how did you learn those moves just now?

"Can you really learn skills like that out in the countryside?

"Don't lie to me!"

His face was a mix of nervousness and excitement.

Isabella's display of skill earlier was just too cool.

The way she scaled the cliff—Brett would bet that even the guys on his cousin's team might not be able to do it with such precision and fluidity.

"You can."

Isabella replied flatly, "Climb every day, and if you don't climb, you don't eat. Then you'll master it."

That was how she had trained while evading mutant beasts since childhood.

However, Isabella wouldn't tell Brett the truth.

Because he would never experience such a harsh environment.

This really was a wonderful world, wasn't it?

A faint smile touched Isabella's lips.

Seeing her smile, Brett was utterly stunned.

He hadn't expected Isabella to say something so brutal with such a bright expression...

Wait...

No climbing, no food?

What kind of life had she lived out in the countryside?!

That was way too harsh!

And he hadn't heard that the girl the Powell family brought back had such a difficult life!

Given that... why weren't the Powells pampering and taking care of her?!

What were they thinking?!

Brett was profoundly shocked.

The teenage boy's face scrunched up completely, his expression one of utter disbelief and confusion.

*****

When the car reached the city, Isabella swung herself out of the vehicle.

Her movements were crisp and efficient, carrying a unique kind of grace.

"Thanks," she said simply and turned to leave.

But after taking just a couple of steps, she paused briefly, then turned back. Her voice was calm as she said, "Could I borrow some change from you?"

Isabella had originally planned to figure things out once she got to the city.

But since she already owed Eugene and the others a favor, one more small debt didn't matter much.

She would repay it.

Besides, her "fare" was extremely, extremely valuable.

At least, in her previous world, once her strength and abilities had stabilized, no one had ever been qualified enough for her to owe favors or incur debts.

Eugene smiled and said, "Of course."

He signaled the driver to hand some change to Isabella.

After all, he didn't carry cash on him.

"Add it to the fare?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Yes."

Isabella nodded.

Her gaze flicked briefly to Eugene's laptop before she turned and walked away.

After she left, Brett looked utterly speechless.

He gave his brother a look full of unspoken words and grumbled, "The Powells are just too shameless, aren't they?

"Are Isaac and the others that broke?

"They didn't give Isabella any money at all?

"Seriously?! She's their biological daughter!

"What on earth are Isaac and the others thinking?

"Did a donkey kick them in the head?"

His face was a picture of sheer incredulity.

If he hadn't seen Isabella's situation himself, he wouldn't have believed the Powells could act so incomprehensibly.

I mean?!

At least give the girl some money!

"No problem at all!"

He said, running a hand through his messy, bird's-nest hair. Then he yelled toward the noisy main area, "4638! Get up!

"All of you, over here! I'll boot up a machine for you guys!

"Come on, come on! I'll throw in an extra free hour.

"Hurry up!"

At his shout, a corner area quickly emptied out.

Then, with a clamor, a whole group of people rushed over to the machine the attendant had said he'd start for them.

After all, opportunities to freeload like this were rare, and none of them wanted to miss out.

Once they scattered, a row of computers in the corner became free.

Originally, that whole crowd had been huddled together, playing on one machine and occupying all the surrounding seats.

"Here you go, miss. Sit here. That's three machines total, comes to..."

The attendant cheerfully calculated the cost.

Isabella paid for two hours of internet time, which was usually more than enough.

The two computers next to hers were actually broken.

But Isabella couldn't be bothered to argue.

She just wanted quiet.

She settled into her corner, clicked on the network icon on the desktop.

After a few simple modifications, the IP address of Isabella's computer vanished from the network, while the cafe's local network and the attendant remained completely unaware.

After all, on their local network monitor, the icon for Isabella's computer was still right there, perfectly normal.

With her IP hidden, Isabella began browsing the web.

She first skimmed through a large portion of online posts and websites to get a general understanding of this world's internet structure, forming a rough idea in her mind.

Then she started clicking around, cleaning up some unnecessary, surface-level network data.

Soon, with a few clicks here and there—though it was unclear exactly how she did it—a dark interface completely unfolded on Isabella's screen.

It looked like an ordinary forum at first glance.

But as Isabella moved her mouse over it, the content soon revealed a completely different picture.