Chapter 1486: Weaken Prime Group

"I told you I’d reach out, didn’t I? It’s been a while, Nathaniel."

Nathaniel’s face shifted through a mix of expressions in a matter of seconds. For a moment, all he could do was stare at Penny with disbelief and bitterness.

This woman, after all, was the reason he was in this situation. And to top it off, she had kidnapped him — in the middle of the night, in the middle of his sleep!

"Miss Penny, didn’t you have a better way to reach out?" Nathaniel exhaled, clicking his tongue faintly. "Did you really have to drag me out like that? My heart has been in poor condition lately. That could’ve killed me."

"I did have other options," she replied with a sly smile, "but then again, where’s the fun in that?"

Nathaniel’s face soured, but then Atlas spoke.

Atlas chimed from his seat. "You were being watched. That’s why," he explained. "Penny had to time this perfectly so no one would know you’re here."

Deep lines creased Nathaniel’s forehead as he turned to Atlas with mixed emotions. What Atlas meant was that someone had bugged his hotel room—his every move had been monitored. And right now, those watchers still believed he was asleep in bed, not sitting in a luxurious room with three powerful figures.

"Get him a chair," Zoren said with a flick of his hand. At his command, Mark stepped forward from the shadows and placed a chair behind Nathaniel with a dull thud, making him flinch.

Nathaniel glanced back to find Mark’s icy gaze locked on him.

"Take a seat," Penny offered casually. "It doesn’t sit well with us that you’re sitting on the floor."

Damn it.They even let me sleep here, Nathaniel thought, huffing as he dragged himself up and sat on the chair. There was no point in resisting. What mattered was that Penny had finally reached out — albeit in her own twisted way.

"Penny told us she suspects you were the one who planted the bug," Atlas began, his voice calm and even, as always.

After Penny had thrown Zoren under the bus—only to have Atlas brand her and her husband as hopeless—the trio had finally turned their attention to business. The truth was, Atlas—or rather, the Pierson Corporation—was interested in Citadel. But they had more urgent matters to address.

After all, Penny had sent Nathaniel on a mission.

That mission had been to infiltrate the largest Information Center in Anteca. Although it had recently been raided, they all knew the operation hadn’t truly stopped. The bar that was seized was just a minor branch.

So when Penny saw Nathaniel’s name among the competition participants, she immediately knew something was up. She didn’t yet know what — but she’d prepared for the worst.

And now, here they were.

Nathaniel let out a sharp breath and nodded. "Yes. It was me."

"I begged my way into the Information Center — but begging alone wasn’t enough," he explained. "It just so happened that I offered skills they needed, and Prime Group was running an open campaign for software experts to join the Cyber Competition. That’s how I got in."

"They told me to join and carry out one task: plant the bug so X could infiltrate the system. They didn’t give me all the details, but I figured they were targeting Prime Group’s data."

Penny tilted her head, raising her eyebrows knowingly at Zoren and Atlas. "See? I told you."

Zoren gave her a proud smile. Atlas, meanwhile, simply looked away.

"So they’re targeting Penny now?" Atlas muttered, a sharp glint in his eye. "Aside from Prime Group’s data, did you find out anything else about the Information Center?"

"I’m not sure why they’re interested in Miss Penny specifically," Nathaniel admitted. "But I do know this: the Information Center isn’t what it used to be."

"We know," Zoren replied. "The original boss was taken down not long ago. Someone else is running things now."

"Not just someone," Nathaniel said, eyes narrowing. "A bigger organization. I’ve been trying to piece together how they operate, and I’m convinced that whoever’s behind this is far more powerful than we expected. I managed to pick up intel — global intel. They’re targeting people all over the world."

He clenched his jaw and leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. "Miss Penny is one of them. But if I’m right, their goal isn’t to kill her—it’s to cripple Prime Group."

Silence fell over the room. Penny, Zoren, and Atlas exchanged quick, tense glances before their eyes settled back on Nathaniel.

"What makes you think they only want to cripple Prime Group?" Atlas asked. "How can you be sure they won’t kill her?"

"I’ve been snooping around," Nathaniel said. "I noticed that when someone becomes a high-priority target—when they get a metaphorical hole in their head—they’re passed to assassins. And a few of those people were reported dead shortly after the order was given."

He hesitated, then continued, his voice lower. "What’s worse is that these deaths weren’t reported as murders. They were ruled as natural causes. Which means either the killer is extremely good—or the people declaring the deaths are in on it. But that seems unlikely. These victims were from all walks of life: politicians, businessmen, even regular civilians."

"It’s a drug," Penny said after a brief silence, tapping her finger on the armrest. "A drug that kills slowly and painfully. By the time the person is pronounced dead, the drug is already untraceable."

Nathaniel’s brows furrowed as Atlas and Zoren exchanged a look.

They’d heard of a drug like that not long ago.

It was the same one given to Stephen Bennet to eliminate Chairman Bennet. The same drug Slater had recovered. The one Mint had been investigating long before any of them realized its full implications.

Nathaniel let out a long breath, eyes steady as the others turned back to him.

"They didn’t put a hit out on Miss Penny. Not directly. This mission — this plan — is just to weaken Prime Group. That’s what they told me." He paused. "But that doesn’t mean they won’t put a hit on her head in the future."