Chapter 52Adrian listened to the Mayor but let the System analyze the voice patterns.[ SYSTEM ANALYSIS: ][ TRUTH DETECTED: 60%. ][ DECEPTION DETECTED: 40%. ][ CONCLUSION: HE IS OMITTING THE KEY PLAYER. ]"Who were the investors?" Adrian asked. "Who was the Sponsor?"Sterling turned back. "I don't know names. They hide behind shells and proxies. But we are hurting them, Adrian. Tonight, you destroyed the Butcher. You disrupted the Hive. We are making them bleed."It was a seductive story. It painted Sterling as the regretful ally, the man trying to atone. It was almost perfect.Almost.Adrian stood up. "I'll keep the file. If that's alright.""Of course," Sterling smiled. "It belongs to you.""I should go," Adrian said. "I have a sister to check on. And a city to patrol.""Rest, Adrian," Sterling said warmly. "You've earned it."Adrian turned to leave. He walked toward the elevator, about to go home and analyze every lie that Mayor had just given him. He knew his father was some

Chapter 54"Actually, Vargo," Adrian showed him the screen. "I just bought the block. For a dollar. The transaction cleared now.""You... you can't..." His eyes widened in shock. "Please, we can talk about this, we are both men, don't shame me like this.” "I'm not a man like you, Mr. Sack. First, you have a terrible name and then you prey on the weak and vulnerable,” Adrian shrugged. "And since I'm the landlord," Adrian stood up, looking at the terrified families huddled behind the police barricade. "I'm making some policy changes."He turned to the crowd."Attention residents of Sector 9!" Adrian shouted. "As of this moment, your rent is set to zero. Permanently. And Vargo here?"Adrian grabbed Vargo by the collar and tossed him toward the crowd."He's volunteering to help move your furniture back in. If he stops working before sunset, call me."The crowd cheered and as instructed began to move towards Vargo to hand him boxes, heavy furniture, and bags of trash to carry.[ MISSION

chapter 56Adrian hissed as he saw the system chime again before he could decide who was driving the submarine. “I cleared all the missions!" He hissed. “I need to pay my father's old factory a visit." [SYSTEM ALERT][GAME IS HOST’S PRIORITY] Adrian groaned and finally accepted the offer. The next eight hours were a blur of blue text, broken bones, and hostile takeovers.The System, seemingly realizing that Adrian was no longer content with playing the tutorial, accelerated the timeline. It threw missions at him like a machine gun firing tracer rounds.[ MISSION: PORT AUTHORITY. ][ OBJECTIVE: SEIZE THE DOCKS FROM THE RED SCORPIONS. ][ RESULT: COMPLETE. (METHOD: BOUGHT THE UNION). ][ MISSION: ENERGY CRISIS. ][ OBJECTIVE: STABILIZE THE GRID. ][ RESULT: COMPLETE. (METHOD: RE-ROUTED PROJECT LAZARUS GENERATORS). ][ MISSION: PUBLIC OPINION. ][ OBJECTIVE: BECOME A HERO. ][ RESULT: COMPLETE. (METHOD: PAID EVERY CITIZEN'S UTILITY BILL FOR A YEAR). ]Adrian sat in the back of his ar

Chapter 58 As he arrived at the designated spot to meet Kael, the wind atop the Helios Tower screamed like a banshee, tearing at the loose fabric of Adrian's suit. It was the highest point in the industrial district, a skeletal spire of rusted steel and blinking warning lights that pierced the smog layer.It was the perfect place for a family reunion.Adrian stood on the grated walkway, rain lashing his faces and his breath came in ragged gasps, his chest heaving from the climb and the skirmish with the perimeter drones. Opposite him, standing on the very edge of the abyss, was the Overseer.The Mayor had said he'd be hard to find, but nothing was hard for Adrian Black. Not with the help of the system. The Overseer didn't look like a monster, nah. In fact, he didn't look anything like the Butcher. He rather looked like some sort of a mirror.The Overseer wore a sleek, white suit that shimmered with kinetic dampening fields, tech far more advanced than anything Adrian had seen on t

Chapter 60Marcus Vane, the former tycoon of Aethelgard, dropped to his knees in the filth of the floor and crawled toward Adrian."Lord Black," Marcus wheezed, his voice cracking. "My lord, please...""Father, get up!" Evelyn shrieked, mortified. "Don't beg him! He's the reason we're here!""Shut up!" Marcus roared at his daughter, a flash of his old temper surfacing. "You don't understand power! He won! He is the King now and he can help us!"Adrian didn't say a word, he simply stood there and watched as Marcus reached and grabbed the hem of his trousers. He kissed the fabric like it was a display of submission so total it made Adrian’s stomach turn."Please," Marcus sobbed, looking up with bloodshot eyes. "I can't take this anymore. The cold, the hunger and all the rats. Those bloodsuckers actually bite our feet at night. We are dying here, Adrian. I beg you. Have mercy."Adrian looked down at the man who had framed his father. The man who had kicked him into the mud and refused t