Chapter 383: Returning the Favour [1] At Level 4, Noah’s programming skills had become among the absolute best on Earth. He was either the single most capable programmer alive or, at a minimum, within the top three practitioners globally. Once he reached Level 5, Noah was certain he would become definitively the best programmer in existence, surpassing even legendary figures in the cybersecurity and software development communities by a large margin. But even at Level 4, this level of capability represented a national cyber threat. Noah now possessed the technical ability to hack through the digital defenses of advanced countries’ government systems and military networks without insurmountable difficulty. Firewalls that stopped 99.9% of attackers were merely puzzles to be solved. Encryption protocols designed by teams of experts over the years became obstacles he could navigate around or through, given sufficient time and motivation. Security measures that protected national secrets and critical infrastructure were vulnerable to someone operating at his current skill tier. Of course, such intrusions would take some time and effort to execute properly without detection. Penetrating truly hardened government systems required patience, multiple vectors of attack, and careful operational security to avoid triggering sophisticated intrusion detection systems. But for what Noah needed to use his programming skills for right now, there was absolutely no need for anything that sophisticated. He wasn’t planning to infiltrate the Pentagon or hack Chinese military databases. He needed to deal with some insurance scammers—common criminals with no understanding of proper digital security, certainly no national threat whatsoever. The difficulty gap was laughable. It was like using a nuclear weapon to deal with a household pest. Noah began his investigation by searching the internet for the names of the scammers. They had been forced to use their real legal names in the settlement contract to make it binding and enforceable, which meant he now had their actual identities rather than aliases or street names. Within a short span of minutes, his enhanced search capabilities and technical knowledge allowed him to find their online presence. The woman—whose name was apparently Michelle Grant according to the contract—had multiple social media profiles where she shamelessly showcased her wealth. Photos of her posing beside an Aston Martin DB11 with the caption "Hard work pays off! #blessed #success #livingmybestlife." The audacity was almost impressive. More posts showed luxury vacations to Bali and the Maldives, designer handbags from popular brands worth tens of thousands of dollars, expensive jewellery, and dining at Michelin-starred restaurants. Her entire online persona was constructed around projecting wealth and success, with no hint that every penny came from destroying innocent people’s financial lives through fraud. Her two enforcers—Marcus and Troy , according to property records Noah cross-referenced—had less sophisticated online presence, but their social media still showed off expensive watches, luxury brand clothing, and the general lifestyle of people living well beyond legitimate means. Noah’s expression remained cold as he scrolled through their digital footprints. They documented everything themselves, apparently too stupid or arrogant to consider that their conspicuous consumption might attract unwanted attention or serve as evidence of criminal activity. He began compiling a comprehensive dossier on all three individuals, meticulously mapping their digital lives. Noah’s fingers flew across the keyboard as he initiated his intrusion into their accounts. With Level 4 programming skills, breaching the security of standard social media platforms and personal email accounts was almost insultingly easy. These weren’t hardened government systems with sophisticated defences—these were consumer services designed for convenience rather than maximum security. Of course, they had amazing security, but for someone like him it was rather easy. Within minutes, he had complete access to their social accounts and cloud storage. Her password security was pathetically weak—she used variations of the same password across multiple platforms, and none of them included proper complexity or two-factor authentication. Marcus and Troy were even easier. Their digital hygiene was virtually nonexistent, with passwords like "Marcus1988" and "TroyP123" that any amateur could guess. Once inside, Noah began exporting everything. Chat records between the three siblings—because yes, they were actually siblings running this scam as a family business. Private messages discussing their various ongoing frauds. Photos and videos they’d shared privately that would never see public posting. Financial records stored carelessly in cloud drives. Bank account information. Incriminating conversations about past scams and victims they’d successfully extorted. Noah created a folder on his encrypted drive and named it simply: "DOOM." Everything went into that folder. Thousands of messages, hundreds of photos, financial documents, voice recordings—a comprehensive archive of their entire criminal enterprise documented by their own hands. As he sorted through their chat records, Noah discovered something particularly interesting. While these three were currently running the insurance scam on Smith under Michelle’s name, they were simultaneously executing the identical fraud against another victim under Marcus’s identity. Different staged accident, different target, same playbook. They had apparently perfected this system and were running multiple operations in parallel to maximise their criminal income. The messages revealed they were supposed to meet with that second victim the next day at 10 AM at a different cafe across town. The poor mark had apparently agreed to pay $85,000 to make the "problem" disappear, just like Smith had been pressured to do. Noah found exactly what he wanted—their complete schedule, their methods, their current operations, and most importantly, their address and the exact time they would be leaving their gated community to meet their next victim. With their residential address confirmed, the departure time documented in their own messages, and comprehensive evidence of their crimes compiled, Noah had laid the complete foundation for his plan. He leaned back in his chair, reviewing the DOOM folder one final time to ensure everything was properly organised and backed up. Gigabytes of incriminating evidence, all obtained through methods that would never be traceable back to him. Satisfied with his preparation, Noah closed his computer and stood up from his desk. He walked over to his bed and lay down, staring at the ceiling while his mind continued processing everything he’d learned. His thoughts drifted to Lola, wondering what she was experiencing while he was trapped on Earth for another twelve hours. Then to the tournament, to Kenzo’s crippled hands, to the chaotic events at the World Tree that had resulted in his death. Before he knew it, despite the racing thoughts and accumulated stress, exhaustion finally overwhelmed his enhanced vitality. Noah’s eyes closed and sleep claimed him, his last conscious thought being anticipation of what tomorrow would bring when he put his plan into action against the siblings who had made the mistake of targeting his family.