Even Today, the Genius High School Programmer Cashes In on Day Trades, Completely Flustered by Beautiful Girls' Growing Affection.

54 Hours.

I turned the hands of the clock back to 25:00 on Friday.

After purchasing the first prop on Carmeli for 198,000 yen, I immediately began work on the second prop.

It was malware designed to hijack a smartphone — a type of computer virus.

The fastest way to gather solid evidence would be to look inside Nanase’s phone. All the information I needed should be concentrated there. Of course, I couldn’t just walk up to her and say, “Let me see your phone.”

My plan was to approach Nanase directly, infect her phone with the malware, and extract the data. I believed this was the most reliable method — and the one that would take the least amount of time.

Malware itself could be found all over the internet.

However, almost none of it was usable. Most would get caught by smartphone security apps.

I needed something with a completely new signature pattern and behavior. In other words, I had no choice but to make it by hand.

I’m good at programming, but networking is completely outside my expertise. I searched desperately and pushed forward, but the work proved extremely difficult.

To begin with, searching in Japanese yielded almost no useful references. Even in English, the results were limited.

The most helpful resource turned out to be a Russian website. Naturally, I couldn’t read Russian, so I had to work while constantly using translation sites.

What I was most particular about was making sure no confirmation message appeared during infection. If something like that popped up, she would grow suspicious immediately.

Excluding bathroom breaks and quick meals, I worked nonstop for thirty hours straight. Eventually, I managed to create something that looked plausible.

Nanase’s phone was the familiar iPhone with the apple logo. Fortunately, it was the exact same model as mine, so I could test it on my own device.

I started testing, but the malware refused to activate at all. I double-checked the script, but there didn’t seem to be any problems. No matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find any further clues.

In the world of computers, this kind of thing happens all the time. The logic looks correct at first glance, yet the program simply won’t run.

There was no other choice.

I would have to go through trial and error, checking every single possibility one by one.

I took a two-hour nap and resumed work. The issue was likely a mismatch in the parameter and loop combinations. I listed out every possible combination using Excel’s autofill function.

There were over 2,000 possible combinations. I deleted the ones that were obviously wrong, but that still left more than 1,500.

I checked them one at a time.

Modify the script → save → transfer to phone → verify on PC.

Repeat.

I continued the process endlessly. My consciousness grew hazy. Every time it did, I recalled Yukina’s face and forced myself to keep going.

No matter how much I worked, the results wouldn’t come. For someone like me, who had always succeeded by simply trying, this was a first.

I kept repeating the process mechanically. I had long since passed the 1,000 mark.

Maybe the bug isn’t even in this part?

Doubt began to creep in. If that were the case, how much more time would this take? Days? No… weeks? I couldn’t even imagine.

Before I knew it, the time had reached 6 a.m. on Monday morning. I had to leave the house by 7:30. I would also need time to shower.

I might not make it in time.

Panic started to set in. If I couldn’t finish, what then? Go to school and continue after I got home? Or skip school entirely and keep working? The sooner the better. Before those guys could make their next move.

My thoughts were on the verge of shutting down when the monitor suddenly reacted differently than before. No error message appeared. The emulator window remained pitch black. Five seconds passed.

Then, my own smartphone’s home screen suddenly floated up inside the window.

“Huh?”

A dazed sound escaped my lips.

Why is my own phone screen showing on the monitor?

I stared blankly at the display, still trying to process what I was seeing.

The second prop was complete.

It had truly come down to the last possible moment.

I had endured these 54 hours with only two hours of sleep, three cups of instant ramen, and two takeout beef bowls that my old man had brought home.