Chapter Two-Hundred and Ninety-ThreeThe bus doors opened with a loud hiss, and the passengers stepped onto the cold marble plaza outside the Central Citadel gates.Lina followed her family into the crowded courtyard. Towering security fences surrounded the entrance, while automated scanners checked the wealthy executives and officials arriving for the morning summit. Luxury vehicles lined the road beneath glass canopies, and security officers moved between them. Lina reached for her phone to check the map, then remembered the battery was dead.A sharp laugh cut through the noise.“Look at that, girls! The public bus just dropped off the provincial trash!”Lina’s stomach tightened.Eleanor emerged from beneath a glass canopy, her designer jewelry glittering as she hurried toward a young man walking behind the academy students. “Gideon, my darling son!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. “I’m so glad you arrived early. I was just explaining to these Capital refugees how thing

Chapter Two-Hundred and Ninety-FiveLaughter swept across the plaza, drowning out the wind blowing between the marble pillars. Gideon threw his head back, pointing his phone stabilizer at Adrian’s face.“Turn off the lights?” he repeated, laughing. “Listen to this hobo! He thinks sharing a name with the specialist in the mainframe makes him powerful enough to control the grid.”He gestured at Adrian’s worn clothes. “Look at your feet, boy! You’re standing in rubber flip-flops on my father’s property. The only thing you’ll turn off today is your family’s future!”Director Vance gave a cold chuckle and adjusted his spectacles. “Marcus, your provincial friends are truly delusional. Threatening people outside the supreme checkpoint gate? This is embarrassing.” He turned to the security officers. “The deadline has passed. Erase the Andrew ledger line and close the silver barriers.”Marcus’s face tightened. “Director Vance, please. Just give us a chance to—”“Enough.”Vance dismissed him wi

Chapter Two-Hundred and Ninety-SevenThe marble floor of the central Citadel registration hub stretched out beneath massive gold chandeliers, humming with the quiet sound of thousands of data terminals. High-tier executives moved between the desks, their tailored suits clicking softly against the stone as they prepared for the morning summit.Martha pushed through the heavy bronze security turnstiles, her fingers gripping the wet collar of her coat as she looked around the grand hall in a daze. She hurried after Marcus Lohan, her voice dropping into a frantic, high-pitched whisper. “Marcus! Did your insurance company arrange that amnesty pass? Did you call the clearinghouse directors to save us at the gate?”Marcus Lohan stopped near a decorative pillar, his face still pale as he looked down at his trembling hands. He let out a low, exhausted sigh and shook his head in confusion. “Martha, please. My firm operates on a second-tier maritime insurance charter. We don’t have the leverage

Chapter Two-Hundred and Ninety-NineThe air inside the Supreme Compliance Committee Room was freezing, thick with the scent of polished mahogany and the faint electrical hum of high-tier servers. A massive horseshoe-shaped table made of dark, solid oak dominated the center of the soundproof chamber, lined with seven high-tier world patriarchs. Each man wore a deep-crimson sovereign ring on his finger, their cold, indifferent eyes fixed on the glowing terminal screens embedded in the desk panels. These were the true council handlers of the Global Core—the judges who could erase an entire provincial family line with a single keystroke.Martha pushed through the heavy double doors, her knees trembling so violently that her heels made a frantic, irregular clicking sound against the hardwood floor. She practically collapsed into a wooden chair near the back gallery, her fingers digging so tightly into her wet mink coat that her knuckles turned bloodless white. Across the room, Tracey and C

Chapter Three-Hundred and OneThe entire Supreme Compliance Committee Room remained silent long after Adrian walked toward the exit.None of the seven patriarchs dared to speak. Director Vance stood beside the podium, his eyes following the young man in the faded T-shirt and blue shorts. He had spent years enforcing the rules of the Global Core, yet he had never seen anyone overturn a decision of this magnitude so casually.Director Cross said nothing as Adrian passed him. He simply stepped aside, allowing the young man to leave without a single question.Behind them, the security guards dragged Charles and Tracey through the service exit. Tracey’s angry screams echoed down the corridor, but no one moved to help her. The same people who had laughed at Lina minutes earlier were now too frightened to even look at one another.Lina followed Adrian out, holding her verified transfer file tightly against her chest. She was still struggling to understand what had happened. A few minutes ago