All Chapters of Aura-Link, The Office Boy’s Rise to Global Supremacy: Chapter 11
- Chapter 20
43 chapters
Chapter 11
The main gate of Rian’s apartment building opened slowly, revealing a black luxury sedan that stood in stark contrast to the dull buildings of Shoreditch. The back door opened automatically, welcoming Rian into a silence that felt heavier than usual. He climbed in, feeling the cold leather seat embrace his still-trembling body. Behind the tinted glass, the London night moved like a familiar nightmare. Streetlights chased one another, shadows twisted between old buildings, but to Rian, everything was data. Numbers. Potential threats. No longer a view.The Aura-Link system whispered softly in his mind, mapping the optimal route to the location Victoria had sent. It wasn't the quickest way, but it was definitely the safest. I made sure to avoid deserted roads and areas without any security cameras. I had to carefully think through every single turn and intersection. Yet, beneath those perfect calculations, his mind rebelled. The voices of Marcus and his "mother" buzzed in turns, binding h
Chapter 12
"This is insane! We have thirty seconds left," Victoria whispered, her eyes sharpening as she swept her gaze across the lobby.Rian didn't wait. His instincts, now amplified by the steady stream of Aura-Link data feeding into his mind, told him that diplomacy could only buy time. He took one step toward the young figure ahead, then suddenly pivoted, pulling Victoria along with him.They moved like shadows, cutting sharply to the side. Not toward the main exit, but behind a massive marble pillar anchoring the center of the lobby. It was an unexpected move, and for a brief moment, it worked."Service door! Nine meters to the left!" Rian muttered through clenched teeth, gesturing with his chin.The figures scattered across the lobby, motionless until now, began to stir. Micro-vibrations traveled through the air, a low-frequency hum that only Rian could detect. Their neural pistols started to charge. The Aura-Link whispered a quiet alert inside his head.[Warning: Target sensory lock dete
Chapter 13
Victoria looked at Rian in an unusual way. It wasn't the gaze of someone lost in thought, but rather the look of someone weighing exactly how far they were willing to go. There was something behind that silence, a decision being formed in a place no one else could see.Then she walked. Slowly, without haste, toward a wall panel on the side of the laboratory. Her finger touched the surface gently, and the air in front of her seemed to fracture.A holographic projection expanded in every direction like a flower forced to bloom in a single breath. Technical schematics stacked upon one another, winding neural network diagrams filled the space between them, and logos from a long-forgotten era drifted at the edges like the remnants of a dream that hadn't fully faded."My father... his full name was Professor Alistair Sterling."The Aura-Link flared at the edge of Rian's vision. Data appeared silently, overlaying the real world with a layer of information only he could read.[Professor Alist
Chapter 14
Below the photo, a brief caption that felt like a blow to the chest...MARCUS STERLING. THE BIOLOGICAL BROTHER OF PROFESSOR ALISTAIR STERLING.Rian took a step back, unconsciously.Marcus. The man who died in a dark alley, spending his final breath to insert the Aura-Link into a stranger's eye. The man who died hunted by drones behind his own brother’s building. Victoria’s uncle, a woman who didn't even know she had an uncle.The Federation claimed Marcus was their agent. Alistair was a former member of The Watchers who had defected to build Sterling Tech. So, the founder’s own brother was an agent for the very power most determined to destroy everything the founder had built. And somehow, for all these years, neither of them had ever mentioned the other’s name to Victoria.This was no coincidence. This was architecture. Someone had been orchestrating all of this with immense patience.Analysis. Marcus Sterling. Biological brother of Alistair Sterling, founder of Sterling Tech. Federa
Chapter 15
Victoria stared at him, her eyes sharp. "You're pale."Rian couldn't speak. His feet felt as if they were frozen to the floor. On one side, there was Victoria, whose world had just shattered before her very eyes. Her stoic face was now fragile, like cracks in an ice mirror. On the other side, there was his mother, whose last memories could slowly fade away, until one day Rian wouldn't remember what he had once longed for.The Aura-Link system pulsed in his eyes, sending waves of information. She's already fragile. Proceed. Exploit."Rian? What's wrong?" Victoria stepped closer, a wary expression eroding the fragility on her face. "Is this about Marcus? Or is there something else you're hiding?"Rian found himself breathing too fast. His lungs felt tight. He had to lie. He had to choose the right words, very carefully, so that his lie would sound like an uncomfortable truth. Something technical, something painful, something that would trigger Victoria's protective instincts.Victoria r
Chapter 16
Victoria looked around the brightly lit lab. "This place is too cold and too much radiation. Come with me."She took Rian's hand, gripped it, and pulled him out of the lab through a hidden side door. The winding secret corridors now felt warmer, illuminated by a soft, fading yellow light. They passed several steel doors, some of which opened automatically with Victoria's fingerprint, until they finally stopped in front of a cream-colored double door."This is my private space," Victoria said, scanning her iris on the panel beside the door. "Only I have access. No one will disturb us here."The door opened, and Rian stepped into a space completely different from the image of Victoria he knew. This wasn't a cold office or a sterile laboratory. Though on the smaller side, the upscale apartment felt incredibly cozy. A massive, deep-toned velvet sofa anchored one corner, framed by towering shelves stacked with classic literature. Nearby, a compact fireplace cast a gentle, amber light acros
Chapter 17
Rian saw the data behind his eyes, a bright green line of light guiding him toward the most effective lie. He needed a reason. A motivation. Something to make her believe that everything her father had done was for her sake."He said your father..." Rian paused, his voice faltering. He swallowed hard, forcing tears to gather at the edges of his eyes. The guilt was real. The tears were performance. "He said your father was trying to protect something. Something precious. And that you were... part of it. He said this secret would destroy you if you never learned the truth."Victoria went still. Her eyes widened. Shock, fear, and something far deeper churned behind them."What secret?" she whispered. "What has my father been hiding from me?"Rian knew. This was the bait. This was the open door. All he had to do was push."He said, to protect you, to protect his legacy, he hid the final key somewhere no one would ever think to look," Rian said, leaning in slightly, his voice dropping to a
Chapter 18
Victoria's words, "Whatever it is. I swear," echoed in the silence of her private apartment, a promise heavy with a trust Rian knew he didn't deserve. He watched her tear-streaked face, the fragile hope in her eyes, and felt only a chilling void in his own chest. The burning pain in his brain had faded, leaving behind an emptiness where a memory should have been. Five percent. A small fraction, but enough to rip a hole in the fabric of his past.He didn't remember how he got to the sofa, only that the soft velvet cushions now cradled his back. The fire in the hearth cast dancing shadows, but they offered no warmth. Rian awoke to the subtle scent of jasmine and old wood, the taste of dried salt on his lips. His eyes, the right one still faintly glowing with the Aura-Link's cruel intelligence, scanned the room. Victoria was gone.He sat up slowly, his body aching, not from any physical exertion, but from a profound weariness that settled deep in his bones. He tried to remember. His moth
Chapter 19
"It's beautiful," Rian murmured, mostly to himself. But what good is beautiful if it's locked?"He designed it to be impenetrable," Victoria said. "Even I couldn't open it. I tried everything. Jewelers, safecrackers, even some of the best quantum engineers at Sterling Tech. No one could find a way in without destroying it."Rian felt a subtle pulse from the Aura-Link. It wasn't a command, not an alert, but a strange resonance. He focused his vision, trying to push past the surface. He needed to see into the mechanism. Not to hack it, but to read it. Like reading an ancient scroll.[Initiating X-RAY SCAN: MECHANICAL COMPONENTS. ETA: 0.05 seconds.]The world around him blurred, then resolved into a shimmering, wireframe overlay on the watch. He observed layers of complex levers, springs, and gears that interlocked with purposeful, flawless accuracy. Every particle and every tiny flaw was mapped by the Aura-Link. He looked for anything out of place as he scrolled through the layers of th
Chapter 20
"We need to leave," Rian said, his voice strained, a raw edge of desperation in it. He gripped the pocket watch tighter. "Now."Victoria didn't ask again. Her expression turned serious. Her instincts as a CEO who constantly faced crises immediately took over. She gave a short nod, her blue eyes meeting Rian’s with a mixture of concern and determination. Fifteen minutes later, they were inside Victoria’s black Rolls-Royce Phantom, which had been parked neatly in the apartment’s private garage. The V12 engine hummed with a low rumble. Rian sat in the passenger seat, Alistair’s pocket watch now safely tucked into his jacket pocket. Victoria drove skillfully, speeding through the quiet London night streets, heading north. The silence between them was thick, heavy with unspoken tension. Rian gripped the armrest, his heart pounding with every turn of the wheels that carried them further away.The Aura-Link in his eye flickered, projecting a digital countdown in the corner of his vision, 23