Chapter 132 - Recruiting the Army (1)

After Elfie announced a new version of the chatroom ready for downloads and handed everyone special accounts with customised usernames and passwords, Scarlet started her army recruitment. The first people she approached were none other than her sister and Jasper. However, she never let them know what the purpose was for. Elfie who watched the data logs of their chat history smiled. Scarlet certainly knew how to be the mastermind behind a grand plan.

There were a few parts to Scarlet's plans and they were divided into stages. Elfie was initially impressed by the milestones Scarlet set. She planned out the kind of resources they required and expertise in order to deal with Anastasia after Elfie pulled out the records of the crime lord's operations and businesses. While the hacker wasn't able to provide any information about Anastasia's army numbers, Scarlet filled that gap with her imagination. However, there was one thing that Elfie wasn't sure Scarlet would be able to pull off despite the meticulous planning.

"How will you know if the army will stand together even after next year, much less six years? People don't remain constant all the time. I can understand Alex and Jasper because they're like your family. However, the people in E.C. Class and Special Class aren't going to remain unchanging. After six years, everyone will be walking on different paths. Some of us might pursue higher education after graduation and some of us might start job hunting instead. Not all of the Special Class will be staying till graduation either..."

Scarlet nodded. "That's why we need that improved chatroom. You're going to help me place tracking devices to be downloaded whenever they access the platform from a new device. If possible, the program must be able to give us their location using the GPS."

Elfie looked scandalised. "That's a breach of personal privacy. It's illegal!"

The young writer deadpanned. "And hacking isn't illegal? It's not the deed that's evil but the intentions. We're not using it to blackmail them, we're using it to protect them in case Anastasia finds out and gets to them. I'm honestly thinking about convincing Dragon to set up a martial arts school or train up a bunch of bodyguards that we can deploy at will for the cause."

Elfie didn't think that Scarlet would use them for evil but the fact remains. Invading somebody else's privacy really wasn't his cup of tea no matter the reason. Elfie was a hacker and in his dictionary, he steals information, not spy on people for them. That's simply wrong and it made him feel like a pervert.

Scarlet sighed. Step one of her grand plan and already convincing her partner was hard. Eventually, they made a compromise. Elfie would create such a program but it would be downloaded into a device but remained dormant until Scarlet or Elfie needed to retrieve information about their friends. The program will only be activated with a password by either Scarlet or Elfie. At the same time, Elfie and Scarlet decided that it wouldn't be fair if the program affected everyone but themselves. Hence, the programmer made it fair. Everyone, including Scarlet and Elfie, who were part of the anti-Anastasia army will have a sleeping bug planted. As long as they were a special member of Elfie's chatroom, they would have a special bug just in case.

Once this step was resolved, Scarlet's next step was to convince Jasper to go through with his gaming company. In fact, Scarlet wanted to convince all the members in the E.C. Class to aid Jasper in his quest. The recommendation will be in the form of special tutoring from the Special Class. The deal went smoothly and it coincided with what the boys wanted.

The third stage was urging her sister to go for an acting audition that Orita had been pushing her for. Alex was introduced to modelling and acting after the signing of Britannia's contract because the photographer who did their photoshoot and stylists were very pleased with how natural Alex was in front of a camera. Genetics didn't lie and Alex was definitely Orita's daughter. Her photogenic features and ability to bring out the best in front of a camera made her a very highly scouted individual.

Up till now, Alex who had always insisted on pursuing the path of an artist remained unmoved. She preferred the comforts of her room, drowning in the smell of paint and sleeping atop canvases. Scarlet didn't think it was bad but during a war, it's a terrible idea to only be good with one kind of weapon. Claire mentioned that during her days of training, they had to know at least two weapons proficiently and fight bare-handed to hold their own against at least five people unarmed. At the same time, they ended basic knowledge in just about every other weapon. Being an all-rounder helped them to survive better. For Alex, the girl lived a very sheltered life, not knowing much about the world and Scarlet worried badly for her sister who might become the easiest target for Anastasia.

If Alex agreed to act or model, it would kill two birds with one stone. Being in the spotlight and centre of attention meant that Alex would be watched by many eyes. By that time, even if Anastasia wants to do anything to Alex, it would be incredibly difficult. The eyes of the public are scarier than the scrutiny of the law for a man like the crime lord. Secondly, Alex would learn to be more independent and wiser if she entered the working world instead of living like a pampered princess. Scarlet had asked Jin Si-Han about how the entertainment world worked and wasn't too worried if the handsome idol was by Alex's side. Scarlet was determined to persuade her sister as part of her grand plan to join Si-Han's agency to work as an actress or model.

This step took Scarlet two long weeks. Eventually, Alex was convinced that modelling and acting would help improve her art and agreed to go for tryouts. Orita was overjoyed when her daughter declared that she wanted to audition for an agency and in particular, the one that a classmate was in. Of course, Orita didn't object. In fact, she was more relieved that there would be a trustworthy and familiar face in the agency that Alex wanted to audition for.

With Alex's natural talent and good looks, she passed the audition easily with flying colours. Scarlet smiled from the shadows and tasked Si-Han to take care of her sister on her behalf.

Now that her immediate army generals were taken care off, it was time to recruit the lieutenants and knights. Scarlet looked at the long name list that consisted of very talented individuals from the Special Class and sighed. So far, she had Lin Lin and Elfie on her side without even trying. Lin Lin's role was simple. She just had to make Britannia as famous as it could be. 

For now, Scarlet's next target was Jun Le - the strategist. How could they possibly win a war without a good strategist? Luckily for Scarlet, she knew one of the world's best strategists and he was a classmate in the Special Class.