From Sneers to Cheers: Anthea’s Ascent (Anthea )

On the other side of town, a scream tore through the tranquility of the villa.

"Damn! Someone took the gig!" Daniel nearly popped his eyes out of his head when he saw the notification that someone had accepted the mission. He eagerly accepted the friend request and sent a message, "Hello, sir?"

There was no immediate reply, which only amped up Daniel's anxiety. He clicked over to the stranger's profile, which was sparse at best.

The profile was the default one.

The ID read: Phoenix·YC, a stupid name.

But the name wasn't the real kicker. The real shocker was that this person was a newbie!

A freaking newbie without a single notch of experience...?

What the actual heck? Were rookies really this ballsy nowadays to take on an ultra-rare mission with extreme difficulty!

The guy probably didn't even know what it meant and just went for it...

At that thought, the excitement on Daniel fizzled out like a dud firecracker.

He'd been hoping for a professional, and instead, he got a total noob. What a letdown!

Daniel ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, his annoyance so intense it was ruining his whole morning.

The next day, Anthea, after accepting his friend request, replied while brushing her teeth, "Hello, any other specifics I need to know about this task?"

Silence from the other end.

She pocketed her phone and continued her morning routine. Têxt belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.

Once done with her teeth, she headed to the farmers' market to pick up some groceries for breakfast. Carole had been downing sleep-inducing medicines every night, so breakfast duty had fallen to Anthea.

In another villa.

Sherman sat by the window, flipping through a book.

"Sherman," Daniel stepped inside, "You needed something?"

Sherman turned another page, not bothering to look up. "Someone took the mission?"

At the mention of the mission, Daniel clouded his face over. "Yeah, but it's a rookie. I think he's mistaken."

Daniel had his suspicions that this rookie was a kid. After all, who else would choose such a tricky task for their first gig?

Just then, Daniel's phone buzzed.

He checked it, which was a message from Phoenix YC. "Yeah, I'm here. Any other specifics I need to know about this CIS data design diagram?"

Daniel couldn't be bothered to waste more time, replying dismissively, "Everything you need to know is on the task page. You've got three days."

The reply came back quickly, "Got it."

At the sight of this, Daniel deepened mockery in his eyes.

He really wanted to know what kind of fool he was dealing with.

What an audacity!

Daniel didn't bother replying further and he promptly deleted the rookie from his contacts.

Sherman then said, "If it's a rookie, we should repost the mission."

Daniel shook his head, "The platform rules say the shortest duration for a task is three days."

Until those three days were up, they couldn't cancel or repost the mission.

Wasting three days would piss off anyone. Sherman frowned slightly and changed the subject, "Any news on that shipment?"

"I've got that one sorted."

At that, Sherman softened his expression, "Keep a close eye on the CIS. We can't afford to waste any more sets of three days. There must be solutions after all."