All Chapters of Aura-Link, The Office Boy’s Rise to Global Supremacy: Chapter 1
- Chapter 10
11 chapters
Chapter 1
The foul stench from the piles of black plastic bags, soaked by the night's rain, seemed to seep deep into Rian's pores. As a janitor at the grand Sterling Tech building in Shoreditch, London, the worst part of the job wasn't cleaning the toilets after a board meeting. It was hauling the remains of that filth into the dark alley behind the building when the clock hit eleven. London was being unkind, the thin drizzle felt like ice needles piercing the fabric of his thin jacket, which was already starting to fray at the elbows.Rian let out a long sigh, white mist curling from his mouth. He dragged the two massive trash bags with whatever strength he had left. Only one thought occupied his mind: getting back to his cramped apartment, making a bowl of instant noodles, and sleeping. He never expected much from life. To him, being "invisible" amidst the hustle and bustle of this cosmopolitan city was the safest comfort zone. However, tonight, the silence of Shoreditch was shattered by some
Chapter 2
The world seemed to spin on the wrong axis as Rian blinked his eyes. The first thing he felt was the damp, signature scent of his moldy apartment walls, followed by a pain that hit the bridge of his nose like a sledgehammer strike. He groaned, trying to move his arms that felt as heavy as lead, only to realize he was sprawled on the cold floorboards, right beneath a small window that let the gray London light sneak in.Rian tried to remember. A dark alley in Shoreditch. Blood. A man named Marcus. A weapon that evaporated into grains of light. And... something forced into his eye."Damn it," he whispered in a raspy voice he barely recognized.He tried to open his eyes, but his right eye felt sticky, as if a thick fluid had dried there. Trembling, he touched his eyelid. There was no blood, but a creeping heat, a rhythmic throb that pulsed in sync with his heartbeat. When he finally managed to open both eyes fully, Rian nearly fell backward in horror.His left eye’s vision was normal; he
Chapter 3
The marble floor of the Sterling Tech lobby reflected the light from the crystal chandeliers hanging majestically from the thirty-foot ceiling. To others, this place was a symbol of London's technological advancement, a temple for geniuses and billionaires. But for Rian, this lobby was nothing more than a vast expanse he had to ensure remained gleaming before the executives' expensive shoes could soil it. That morning, his head still felt like it had been struck by a sledgehammer. Every time he blinked, his right eye throbbed, sending waves of heat radiating to the base of his brain.Rian tried to focus his gaze on the mop bucket and his dull blue uniform, which felt itchy against his skin. However, the Aura-Link system in his eye wouldn't let him rest. As soon as he turned toward the glass revolving doors ahead, a flood of data immediately invaded his vision.[Object Detected: Type-7 Biometric Security Sensor][Status: Active - Security Flaw: Encryption Protocol Has a 0.02 Second Lag
Chapter 4
The hand he had been pointing at the floor was now… truly trembling, no longer from anger, but from pure terror. He swallowed hard, his eyes darting wildly looking for an escape."What... what are you babbling about? Have you gone mad?" Julian stammered. His voice rose an octave, a sign that his defenses were beginning to crumble.Rian stepped forward again, this time so close that Julian could smell the aroma of coffee soaking into Rian's shirt."I know everything, Julian. I know about transaction reference number CT-9901. I know you used your manager access to forge the Chief Operating Officer's digital signature. If I blink right now, the building's security system will send all that evidence to the CEO's desk in less than a second."The Aura-Link system showed Julian's emotional graph entering the Collapse zone.[Target Status: Cornered. Probability of Physical Assault: 65%.][Movement Analysis: Right Shoulder Tensing. He Will Attempt to Slap You in 1.2 Seconds.]Sure enough, driv
Chapter 5
The scent of the spilled coffee mingled with the smell of Julian’s cold sweat, creating a suffocating atmosphere in Sterling Tech’s main lobby. The resulting silence was no longer just a lack of sound; it was a heavy stillness, as if the air in the room had suddenly frozen.Every eye was fixed on Rian, a young man who for the past two years had been regarded as little more than a piece of office furniture, invisible, ignored, and easily trampled. Now, however, he stood tall with a gaze that seemed capable of stripping away anyone’s darkest secrets.Julian remained kneeling on the marble floor, his trembling fingers clutching a silk handkerchief now stained with the brown liquid. He looked up, staring at Lady Victoria Sterling with a pale, ashen face, then turned to look at Rian with a mixture of hatred and horror. He wanted to scream, to hurl insults, but his tongue felt like lead. Victoria’s question hung in the air, demanding an answer that could change Rian’s entire life in an inst
Chapter 6
The elevator doors slid shut with a subtle hiss that sounded incredibly expensive, cutting off the noise of the Sterling Tech lobby and leaving behind a chilling silence. Inside the cramped space lined with titanium panels and silver mirrors, Rian felt like a rat being driven into a golden cage. Beside him, Lady Victoria Sterling stood tall without so much as a glance. Her side profile looked like a perfect yet cold marble carving; a sharp jawline, a straight nose, and long eyelashes that curved beautifully but remained frozen.Rian's right eye throbbed intensely. A dim blue light began to dance at the edges of his vision, as if the Aura-Link system was struggling to process the presence of the woman beside him.[Warning: Magnetic Field inside Elevator Increasing.][S-Class Target: Victoria Sterling – Data Sync 18%...][Target Heart Rate: 72 BPM – Unnaturally Stable.]Rian swallowed hard, trying to dampen his own heartbeat which now felt like a drum pounding inside his chest. He glanc
Chapter 7
"The real world is very cruel, Rian," Victoria said with a voice full of hidden sorrow."My father spent his entire life trying to figure out what lay behind those 'numbers.' He died because of it. And I... I am nothing more than the leftovers of his mad ambition."[Target Status: Emotional Defense Level Decreased to 45%.][Manipulation Successful. Target Beginning to Relate to User.]Rian felt a small pang of guilt prick his heart. He was manipulating the honest emotions of a woman who seemed to have suffered her entire life. However, Aura-Link possessed no mercy. The system continued to urge Rian to lock in the deal."I didn't know about your father, Ma'am. All I know is that now, every time I look at a computer screen, I can see the cracks in it. I could see Julian's lies before he even opened his mouth," Rian said, his voice steadier now. "If you hand me over to the police, they won't understand. They'll dissect my head in a government basement lab. Please... don't let that happen
Chapter 8
The Watchers. They weren't waiting until tomorrow. They were already here. And they knew exactly who Rian was."M'lady," Rian's voice trembled as he pointed toward the screen, which was beginning to display geographical coordinates for London being locked onto by orbital weaponry. "We don't have time to get a suit tailored. They just locked a target on this building."Victoria Sterling didn't waste a second. She snatched a pistol from behind her desk drawer and glared at Rian with a lethal flash in her eyes. "Then show me what that eye of yours can do, Rian. Right now!"***The floor-to-ceiling mirror in Sterling Tech's exclusive dressing room seemed to reflect a stranger Rian had never seen before. The young man who usually spent his days with a grimy mop and a blue polyester uniform smelling of cheap detergent was gone.In his place stood a young man in a three-piece midnight blue suit, handcrafted by the finest tailors on Savile Row. The cut was precise, following the lines of his
Chapter 9
"Victoria, you look stunning as always," Arthur said with a very thick posh accent. He then turned to Rian, extending his hand in a demeaning manner. "And who is this? I didn't know Sterling Tech was now hiring fashion models to accompany their CEO for dinner."Rian felt a surge of anger in his chest, but the Aura-Link immediately dampened the emotion. A digital command appeared in his vision.[Target Weakness Analysis: Arthur is currently facing a financial crisis in his property company. He strongly dislikes men who appear more intelligent than him.][Dialogue Instruction: Use Microeconomic Terms. Crush His Mental Dominance.]Rian accepted Arthur's handshake, but he applied a slightly firmer pressure, making Arthur wince involuntarily. "Rian. Lead Strategic Consultant. I didn't realize Sterling Tech allowed nearly bankrupt ex-lovers to arrange our CEO's dinner schedule," Rian replied in a very casual tone, almost as if he were talking about the weather.Arthur's face suddenly turned
Chapter 10
The dim streetlights of Shoreditch flickered erratically, casting Rian’s long shadow across the asphalt still damp from the remnants of the rain. The suit, worth thousands of pounds, clung to his body like a suffocating, foreign skin.Although he had just won a psychological battle against Lord Arthur at that high-end restaurant, no sense of pride remained in his chest. Instead, a cold void began to crawl from the corners of his eyes, snaking down his spine and freezing what little human emotion he had left.Rian stepped into the musty hallway of his apartment building. Usually, the creak of the floorboards in this old building would keep him on edge, but now, even the slightest noise was analyzed by Aura-Link as meaningless sound wave frequencies.His world was no longer about feelings or memories; it had transformed into a tedious heap of data. He stared at the peeling walls, and the system in his eyes immediately spat out numbers:[Humidity Level 72%, Black Mold Growth Risk: High.]