"See, it lies in the hacking," a grinning Lan told a grinning Dex seconds later after having closed the running database application. "There are ways to get what is wanted – by hook or by crook – as long as a person's armed with a computer, especially an excellent high-tech version such as this one."

"So, shall we hack the old roundabout way?" asked a casual Dex. "Or shall we partake in a new, delightful way before, after this, an awesome NetBattle between friends?"

"Dex, old chap, I must say I am quite surprised. Since when can you talk so quaintly?"

Lan and Dex both gave each other the oddest of glances before cracking up and doubling over with laughter, respectively. It was weird, to hear the smart words that came from their mouths – true, Lan was smarter than Dex, but to hear them talking like middle-aged, pleasant Englishmen was just odd. They both sounded idiotic, in their ears, though in reality it could be noted how their phony British accents were not as idiotic as they thought, to be sure.

Anyway, after the seconds-long bout of laughter was over, Lan gave a last chuckle before thoughtfully clicking three keys: Control, Alt, and Delete. As the Task Manager appeared, he gave Dex a friendly wink.

"If you start typing random programming codes, not forgetting to divide them by zero, it usually crashes the computer. (Don't ask me how I know, but I can say that it was a nasty business.) But, if you do that exact same thing with the Task Manager on --" Another evil wink was passed between friends. "Well, it's a nasty business indeed," Lan finished, grinning to reveal teeth that, to Dex, looked somewhat pointed. (That probably had something to do with his hallucinating imagination, come to think of it.)

"Programming codes? Like what?" Dex involuntarily leaned forward in his chair.

"Well, basic ones that wouldn't work together – that 'divide by zero' actually crashes the program you use it for." Lan manoeuvred the cursor out of the way on the screen before rolling up his sleeves to the elbow. "So, all I have to do here is type out random programming codes. They won't appear onscreen, but, Dex, I can tell you that something weird will happen after about a minute."

"OK," replied a cautious Dex. "But, Lan, why does it do this kind of thing? And how do you know that it'll work on this kind of computer?"

"It was a major glitch, I think." Lan cracked his knuckles and held his hands above the keyboard. "Something really complicated to do with programming that I can't explain – at least, that's the way I see it. And see this?" He pointed to an emblem of intertwining circles melded directly above the unit's screen. "That's a brand of extremely high-tech computers. I know 'cause Dad uses their make." He grinned. "The glitch goes for all computers by this brand—" he stood up and checked something behind the screen "–ever made before this year. This one's outdated, so it should work." His smirk expanded as he seated himself once more. "I know, but don't ask me how. It's a long story."

"How do you know?" Dex asked immediately; telling someone not to do something always tempted them to do it. Lan ignored him.

Dex nodded, deciding to respect his friend's wishes and keeping quiet as the sound of clicking began. The furious tapping away filled the silence with the movement of ten bustling fingers on numerous keys. This was it; in seconds they would be able to find...uh...what Lan was looking for again. This was what they both wanted; this was one attainable thing that required no amount of striving though a considerable amount of patience, focus, and making no mistakes.

A minute later, the file had been accessed.

"Nick DeCoren, Blaster Man, Dan Tomasetti, Renegade, Mills Thompson, Glacier Man, Matilda Cheyne, Mavis DelAir, Sprawls."

"Huh? I don't get it."

"D'oh! D'oh! D'oh! D'oh! Why, why, why?!" Lan pounded his head repeatedly against the keyboard. "Why did I ever have to doubt Maylu's judgement?!"

Dex gaped. "Yeah, why? Maylu's the— the best person I know!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

---------------------------------

Not too far away, Maylu and Roll looked at Yai, Glide, Tory, Ice Man and Rush as Yai shut down one of the headquarters' cameras, whose feed she'd programmed to send directly to her computer's database.

"Ya know, they really should have trusted us," said Maylu shrewdly.

They all burst into laughter at the boys' demise.