Chapter #17

"Where did you learn how to do that?" Dana jumped on Zeno's back as she bombarded him with questions.

The excess adrenaline did nothing good to her after her fear passed away.

"It's martial arts. Although I took him down, let's hope things won't escalate." Zeno sighed as he took Dana off his back.

"Then you can just beat them again!" Dana said, reminding him that the girl in front of him is still six years old.

[Duh, just look at her.] System quipped.

Zeno had the urge to facepalm but endured it while they walked towards the school entrance.

There Zeno once more saw Alex Mercer, his clothes looked ruffled and some parts of it were ripped.

He seemed to have just reached the gates of the kindergarten section, he immediately went to Dana to check her out for injuries.

"You're okay right?!" Alex looked over his sister frantically.

Zeno just remained silent as the third wheel while Dana explained what happened.

Alex took a glance at Zeno who waved at him. He couldn't believe this kid took down someone of his age.

"I know Kung Fu." Zeno said.

[You don't know Kung Fu.]

'Does is matter?'

"Thank you for protecting my sister." Alex thanked Zeno.

"Meh, it lowers my popularity, it works out for me." Zeno replied.

Instead of being angry Alex was actually relieved, being used for convenience was many times better than being plotted.

Some might call him paranoid but he would argue it's not paranoia if you know they're out to get you.

'Still, Zeno is a tad bit too smart for his age... I'll keep an eye on him.' Alex decided.

"Zeno, can you take Dana back to our house, she knows the way. I have some unfinished business." Alex asked with a smile.

Zeno knew Alex was probably going to beat up that boy while he was down but didn't care.

"Oh, he'll regain mobility in fifteen minutes." Zeno reminded just before leaving with Dana.

'He is too sharp for his age.' Alex's paranoia was tingling but Zeno wasn't a threat for now.

Cracking his knuckles he entered the classroom while yelling. "Time to pay bitch!"

Truly one wonders how such a person became a genetic engineer.

______

School years became peaceful after that incident, things didn't escalate like Zeno had feared.

Instead he became the feared kid that was isolated, the teachers too had been looking into Zeno's case but he didn't have a single flaw.

His grades were perfect, he never broke a rule that they can prove. Teachers soon realized that he just didn't bother with anyone as long as he wasn't being provoked.

This was enough for them to let him go. Dana too was left alone due to her friendship with Zeno.

Even though Alex told her to leave Zeno alone Dana couldn't keep herself from talking to him.

She was just too lonely especially since Alex went to college, Zeno didn't push her away like he did to the rest of the class.

So she ended up sticking to him like gum.

Zeno, who had been dealing with too many things at the moment, took solace in the simple and childish conversations he had with Dana.

What was he busy with?

First of all, he got Tyrone into stock's market. He didn't get him rich right away to avoid attention but this required him to do more research about companies.

On the other hand he was living somewhat of a double life with his previous life's memories.

For the last, he was getting prepared for the birth of the public internet. Zeno had a dream of becoming the best Ethic Hacker of this world and helping companies for money.

The Internet had become a thing a year ago while it is not widespread, the town's infrastructure is capable of connecting.

This was done by Tyrone who bribed the Mayor for it to be built.

For his dream Zeno had been building his own computer system in the garage. All of this was too much for his mind alone.

[How are you even going to get paid? Internet banking is not a thing yet right?]

'Please don't ruin this for me...'

[It should be just around the corner, don't worry about it.]

Soon the fresh users of the internet all heard about the Ethical Hacker Yellow Dragon who kept making a name for himself.

Zeno prevented many of the shocking hacking events that would have made history and created his own.

Though some of them were done in weird ways like, calling the employee that got his password stolen and reprimanding him like a child.

Although nobody knew his identity, not even the government. Zeno had a good time in the early years of the internet where not much was present.

'Handling computer systems are too easy for me.' Zeno sighed in admiration while looking at his work.

[Bro, give me some credit here.]

'No, I don't think I will '

______

Life was going good for Zeno while he was having his dreams of being a hacker. School was therapeutic for him ever since System took care of the boring parts.

That is until his grandmother died during a Gang R*pe. Apparently after Tyrone ditched her she got desperate and assaulted a local street gang.

According to the official report. The leader was barely able to take her down after she got weaker from exhaustion.

Zeno had seen the faces of her victims when he went to the police station for questioning.

Those poor gang members were haunted, Zeno argued no amount of therapy would fix them.

He even heard some of them discussing suicide. They didn't want to live with such marks in their lives.

The scene made Zeno remember why no one bothered to bully him, sure paralyzing someone was big but the main reason was his grandmother.

The town was terrified of her, they thought what she might do to their family if they bullied her kid.

While Zeno didn't care what his grandmother had done nor about her death. This still presented a problem since he was just thirteen years old.

Zeno could guess that he'll be sent to an orphanage since he didn't have any other living relatives.

"I want to open a emancipation case at the court." Zeno said to the cops before they let him go.

He even had the forms filled out and everything, he even got himself a lawyer.

Actually, Tyrone helped him get a lawyer, people didn't find it weird since Tyrone was known to be Horny Granny's boy toy and people figured he had a soft spot for Zeno.

Zeno used his identity as the Yellow Dragon to convince the lawyer first. While Zeno indeed made history, his real identity has always been hidden.

It should be enough for him to get emancipated considering how much money he has in his bank account.

'Wherever I go, I cannot run away from fame.' Zeno sighed once again.

Surely the news would go out and he will be approached by people if not the government.

[The Cringe! You gotta warn me before saying such things.]

Soon the case was brought to the court and it was one of the fastest trials in history.

Zeno already had everything he needed to prove his case, coupled with the best lawyer he could get his hands on. The job was finished in less than five minutes.

Zeno got back to his house feeling proud and free. The first thing he did after coming back home was inviting Alex and Dana to celebrate.

Alex had just come back for holidays, it worked out for Zeno since he knew Alex wouldn't let Dana come alone.

"I finally can sleep without hearing that old bag of bones!" Zeno threw himself to the couch before his face scrunched.

'I need to change everything in this house.' He decided as he ignored his senses.

"Well, I am happy for you Zeno. I wish I could get away from mom too." Dana sat down across Zeno.

"Just hang on, Dana, you can leave the house in five years." Alex said bitterly.

He had been living his life in college but his head was always back here worrying about his sister. Unfortunately he can't just take her since he doesn't have a job.

"Nah, I got used to dealing with mom. It's just that some days it's too much." Dana slumped.

"Well, you can drop by whenever you want. After I cleanse this house with holy fire of course." Zeno said revitalizing Dana while Alex's brows twitched.

"Yeah! I can finally see your garage to see what you're hiding!" Dana said excitedly.

She always wondered what Zeno got in there but she couldn't sneak in since it's her only real friend's house.

"Hahaha. No." Zeno was quick to deny her.

The garage is where Zeno is keeping his computer with all the modifications and such.

"Fine be that way stingy, but I might come unannounced just so you know." Dana said seriously.

Her mother's drinking problem was getting serious with each day, the siblings had given up on her long ago.

"Anyway, let's forget about the depressing stuff. I got this new movie from Blockbuster." Said Zeno as he pulled out a CD case.

"Is it a comedy again? I want to watch some horror movies." Alex grumbled but he still sat down with a beer in his hand.

Initially Zeno wanted to watch How High. Despite its low score he loved that movie but he had to consider Dana.

'Anyway I'll watch it alone later.'