◤ ??? ◢
░▒▓ 「 т н є ι η ν є η т σ я 」
He looked over to the others to see if they noticed anything yet. For example, the fact that the attacks stopped. Most of them were just staring at their screen and drinking coffee, so they must have noticed. It wouldn’t be long before Tadashi being the only one typing would become conspicuous. Well, it’s not like he was doing anything wrong. He looked back at the screen. Geeky references, that is. He wondered how old this guy could be — it was pretty much impossible to tell by the way he writes, but the references and the fact that he stopped working to chat with Tadashi made him think he must have been young. [ <!—Just so you know, I would have accepted the offer if you’d offered a whole box of oreos. Giving someone half a box seems like quite a cruel thing to do, though. —> ]
█░▐「 gσт тσ вє α нєяσ 」
Within a minute the screen flashed, a new line of text popping up at the bottom of the code in response. He craned his neck, his shoulders hunched as he leaned forward to read the message. Eyes quickly scanned the reply, hazel hues flickering with amusement, as his lips twitched, the corners curling upwards in a wry smile.
He had to admit, this guy was funny. Alex supposed they could even be friends - you know, if it wasn't for the fact he was trying to hack into and steal this guy's software. Committing criminal offences against someone can kind of put a damper on a friendship. Stifling a yawn that even the ludicrous amount of sugar and luminous green energy drink in his bloodstream couldn't suppress, he removed his glasses, setting them down on the desk so as he could rub the sleep from his bleary eyes.
By this point it had to be rapidly approaching three in the morning, perhaps four and he still hadn't managed to bypass the block this guy has put up, too preoccupied with making small talk instead. If he was being honest, all he wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep for a solid fifteen hours, 500k be damned. It'd still be there for him to hack in the morning. It'd be a piece of cake. Especially if he waited until whoever he was talking to, clearly his biggest challenge at this point, was offline. Resetting his glasses on his face, pushing them up the bridge of his nose, he scooted closer to the keyboard.
[ <!— Half a box of oreos and a Best Buy coupon? C'mon, cut me some slack, I'm on a budget here —> ]
Of course, that wasn't entirely true - he was about to be five hundred thousand dollars richer, but that was a minor detail.
[ <!— You win this round, but we'll see about next time —> ]
And with that, he logged off.
