10x God-Tier Stealing System: Pumping S-Rank SuperHeroines Daily!-Chapter 85- Naive Nano

The basement was silent except for the soft hum of machinery and the rapid, rhythmic clatter of keys.

Fluorescent tubes flickered overhead, casting harsh, clinical light over the disorganized chaos—half-built tech sprawled across workbenches, schematics pinned to rusting walls, and empty cans of caffeine shots scattered across the floor.

Nano sat hunched forward, her eyes locked on the stream of code scrolling down her primary monitor. The screen’s glow illuminated the light sheen of sweat glistening on her collarbone. She wore a thin, oversized white blouse that had slipped off one soft shoulder, the sheer fabric clinging to her damp skin in the damp underground air.

Her breathing was steady, causing her chest to rise and fall in a hypnotic rhythm, but the tension in her shoulders betrayed a storm beneath the surface. The chill of the basement made itself known, the sensitive peaks of her breasts subtly outlining against the thin cotton of her top. She had just received a call from the Villain Syndicate’s strongest member in Zone 3.

The phone lay beside her, speaker on.

Then—

:: What did you just do, Nano?! ::

The voice shot through the room like a whip crack. Male. Controlled. Cold with authority. But beneath that icy tone was fury, barely leashed.

She didn’t pause and kept typing, her manicured fingertips hovering over the mechanical keys.

Normally, she would have flinched—offered some half-mumbled excuse or shut down altogether.

But this time something was different. There was no fear or hesitation that her past self carried due to being a supervillain clearly weak enough to be crushed by anyone.

"Why does it even matter to you?" she snapped, biting down on her plush lower lip. Her voice was sharp, unrecognizable even to her own ears.

There was silence on the other end.

’!’

Stunned.

:: I’m asking :: the voice returned, slower this time, disbelieving.

:: why did you target Blac Corporation? ::

She smirked bitterly, though there was no humor in it, a dark fire briefly flashing in her pretty eyes.

"Mind your own damn business."

The silence deepened.

In that moment, it was clear that the person on the other side of the call was hearing such a response for the first time.

Nano was someone who typically feared confrontation, made excuses, and tried to be as humble as possible.

The response didn’t come for a long while, as if the individual on the other side of the call was still processing.

For a second, Nano thought the call had disconnected.

But then—

:: I would have—if you hadn’t dragged the entire Villain Syndicate into this mess! ::

This time, the individual yielded, his voice sharp yet clearly not threatening or trying to appear dominant over Nano, as if he was already aware that she may seem humble but was not unprotected. Yet, the situation this time, caused by her, had messed things up, making his voice loud enough to cause her fingers to stop in mid-typing.

The words hit her like a physical blow to her chest. Her fingers dropped from the keyboard, resting against her smooth, bare thighs.

"...What?"

:: Check the news :: he growled.

:: You made an official announcement. The Syndicate has claimed responsibility for the attack on Blac Corporation. It’s everywhere. You’ve lit a fuse under a city that was already ready to burn. Are you out of your mind? Zone 7 is already about to be targeted by the Hero Association! ::

Her breath caught, her chest heaving visibly against her blouse.

"No... I never..."

Her mind raced.

She hadn’t submitted any declaration, any signal. She was careful. Always. Especially after all the hard work she put in to hack their network, doing everything without sleeping for 48 hours.

She now heard that all her hard work had been flushed down the drain.

’!?!’

’N-no....’

Then, a cold chill slithered down her spine as a face emerged from the depths of memory—sharp features, a twisted grin, eyes that seemed to hold fake sympathy and love, while inwardly holding the darkest dagger.

’Cruxius.’

She inhaled sharply, every muscle in her lithe body going taut, her thighs squeezing together unconsciously under the desk as a mix of dread and furious adrenaline washed over her.

That bastard.

He must have accessed her Advanced Ranking AI System, which is designed to provide internal authority to each of the high-ranking supervillains, and used her infrastructure to make it seem as though her hand pulled the trigger.

Eyes fluttering closed, she forced her racing heartbeat to slow.

"I’ll handle it," she said tightly.

:: You’ll handle it? :: the voice exploded.

:: You’ve already screwed us over—do you even know what kind of war you’ve started—::

"Shut up," she hissed, cutting him off with venom in her tone. "Don’t disturb me again... or I’ll leak everything."

She ignored him, again focusing on the computer, instantly logging in to the web of her AI system, knowing that her own weapon was being used against her and that she needed to neutralize them soon enough.

The line went quiet.

::...What? ::

There was hesitation in the voice as it inquired about what Nano was discussing.

"I know about your little affiliation with the heroes," she said, her voice like ice. "Keep pushing me, and your precious alliances go public. Including your identity. Including every classified Syndicate transaction you’ve tampered with."

’!’

There was a pause.

The voice—so confident just moments ago—now whispered, stunned:

::How do you kno—::

Click.

The line went dead.

She exhaled slowly, her head throbbing as she pushed a damp strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Cruxius," Nano muttered, her hands still poised over the keyboard, "with the setting down of the AI system, you would not be able to play with me. And this time, I will make sure to destroy you."

Her voice was a cold promise.

Her fingers began to type again—targeting core nodes of the AI Ranking Control System, preparing the emergency protocol to reclaim admin access. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

She knew Cruxius must have used this as the sole source for him to do something against her, but she was far sharper than him when it came to these mind games.

Her screen flashed red for a split second—

::X3—ERROR, the systems have been shut down.::

The robotic voice crackled through the phone’s speaker placed near the ears of a man now forming a grin, a smile stretching into clear amusement which was akin to a predator seeing a beautiful prey fall right into his trap.

Cruxius leaned back into the plush leather seat of the black, bulletproof sedan, his strong fingers resting loosely on the steering wheel.

Outside, rain drizzled against the windshield, and city lights blurred like melting stars through the tinted glass.

"...As always, you are so naïve, Nano," Cruxius murmured, amused as he rested his chin on his hand, looking towards the glass.

"...Who is this Nano?" Ytrisia purred, shifting her weight. She was seated beside him, her long legs crossed. She wore a skin-tight latex suit that left absolutely nothing to the imagination, the glossy black material vacuum-sealed against her generous curves and plunging dangerously low to display the heavy swell of her cleavage. As she folded her arms beneath her chest, it only pushed her soft assets higher, demanding attention.

"...Hm."