The entire office fell silent the moment Lucas uttered those words. A tense, heavy quietness settled over the room like a blanket of fog. All eyes turned to him. Even the air felt still, like it was waiting for Zed’s reaction.Zed leaned back in his chair slowly, trying to process what he had just heard. His fingers tapped absently on the table as his brows furrowed in thought. After a few heartbeats, he finally spoke."What do you mean, 'form an army'?" he asked, his tone calm but edged with suspicion.Lucas leaned forward, his voice dropping into a near-whisper, a conspiratorial tone creeping into his words. “Find men. Women. Anyone you believe is strong enough to protect you. Fighters. Survivors. People with nothing to lose or everything to prove. People you trust—or people who will trust you because you pay them well enough. Or better yet, people who’d die for you because they believe in you.”Zed’s eyes remained fixed on Lucas. There was something about the younger man’s intensit

Zed sat there in silence after watching the video, his face clouded with confusion and disbelief.What the hell was all that about?“What the fuck does he mean by that? What the hell is going on?” Zed muttered internally, trying to piece together what he had just seen. “I stole some money? What is he even talking about? Is this some kind of setup to ruin my image or something?”Zed couldn’t recall a single moment in his life when he had ever stolen money. Not even a dollar. Stealing was simply not in his nature. So where was this accusation coming from?Was he being framed? Or was this just a massive misunderstanding spiraling out of control?“He said those guys came to his apartment immediately after the stream… meaning they were watching the stream in real-time,” Zed reflected, rubbing his chin as the pieces slowly began to come together. “That night… right after I joined the livestream, my system warned me—said people were trying to track me. It told me if I didn’t leave, they’d ge

Zed pulled out his phone slowly, the glow of the screen illuminating the sharp angles of his face in the dim lighting of the club. He swiped through his home screen until he reached his banking app, tapping it with practiced precision. The app loaded swiftly, revealing the staggering balance in his account. The system had deposited an additional eighty million dollars earlier that morning—a reward for his recent level-up.Zed barely blinked at the zeros. That kind of money had long since stopped exciting him.He turned the screen toward Jack. “I’ll need your account details.”Jack hesitated, still uncertain if he was being set up, but eventually rattled them off. Zed entered the numbers, double-checked, and hit send. A moment later, the app buzzed with confirmation.Simultaneously, Jack felt his phone vibrate deep in his jeans pocket.He pulled it out quickly, the anticipation showing in the twitch of his jaw and the narrowing of his eyes. He unlocked the screen, and as the banking no

She turned around and reached for a remote resting beside a monitor. With a quiet click, the wall behind her began to rumble softly. Panels shifted aside with mechanical precision, revealing a concealed vault embedded within the wall—its interior lined with sleek, high-grade, top-tier weapons that shimmered beneath crisp white spotlights.“This,” she said, gesturing with a flourish, “is where we keep the real gems.”Zed stepped forward, his gaze fixed intently on the vault. Awe flickered across his usually composed face. Lucas stood to his left, while Steve stood at his right, both equally mesmerized by the arsenal before them.“You don’t mind me asking what you need the weapons for, do you?” the woman inquired, her tone casual yet curious.Zed shifted his gaze to her, but before he could respond, Lucas spoke up.“If there’s one thing I know about the Black Zone, it’s that you guys don’t ask questions. Even if a kid walks in demanding a machine gun, not a single question would be aske

"Good evening, amigos," Gustavo said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.His voice was deep and composed, yet beneath that calm exterior was the subtle threat of a man who had killed before—and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again."Evening," Zed responded coolly, his tone unreadable. "How can we help you?" he asked, maintaining a casual composure that contrasted sharply with the tension rising around them.Gustavo took a few slow, deliberate steps closer. As he advanced, Steve—who was standing beside Zed—instinctively took a step back, his heart thudding hard in his chest.“When I saw you earlier, I figured you were just another one of those messengers sent by some rich prick,” Gustavo began, his voice low but firm. “You know, the type who love dressing up in fancy suits to mimic their boss. But,” he chuckled darkly, “it seems I was wrong.”He motioned slightly toward Daniel. “My comrade here told me he caught a glimpse of something... interesting. Said he saw your phone. Clai