They walked out and entered the exclusive executive elevator. Once the steel doors sealed shut—ensuring no eavesdroppers could listen—Kael instantly dropped his professional posture. He loosened his tie the exact second the floor indicator blinked downward."Just for the record," Kael muttered, letting out a long, dramatic exhale. "The coffee downstairs tastes like filtered mud. If we actually have to buy a cup to maintain this cover, I officially request a hazard pay increase."Seth let out a dry chuckle, crossing his arms and leaning back against the polished steel wall. "Drink it and build some character, Kael. Consider the terrible taste a fitting punishment for taking a whole week just to bring me to a dead end."Kael gasped loudly, placing a hand over his chest as if Seth had physically struck him. "A dead end? Boss, I worked absolute miracles just to get this frozen trail! Do you have any idea what I had to endure?""Enlighten me," Seth replied calmly, raising a single eyebrow.

Seth smirked and shook his head. "He is far too arrogant. He will undoubtedly copy it first. He considers your program incredibly powerful, to the point of causing all this commotion. There is zero chance he will just pass it up."Chloe bit her lip; the logic sounded sound."But the most important thing is, can you build it?" Seth asked. If Chloe could not, then the entire plan became useless."Of course! Are you underestimating my abilities?!" Chloe hissed. Despite her instability, she refused to be insulted.Seth smiled. "Good girl!""Do not call me that!" Chloe snapped. Her face was no longer pale; instead, it flushed a deep red."What? I was only praising you. Dustin always gets happy when I praise him with 'good boy'." Seth felt baffled. He didn't feel he had made a mistake that warranted being yelled at until her face turned that red."I am not Dustin!" Chloe yelled again, spinning her chair to face her computer."Okay... okay..." Seth had initially wanted to praise her to make

Gareth Olympus accepted the silver flash drive from Bradford’s hand with a wide grin that revealed all his front teeth. His eyes gleamed with absolute satisfaction."Good job, Bradford," Gareth praised as he tossed the flash drive to his personal assistant. "Copy that program to my private server right now."His assistant moved swiftly, plugging the device into the laptop Gareth usually used for work—strictly for light tasks such as typing or reviewing documents.Gareth himself paid little attention to the copying process. He lacked any deep understanding of IT, using laptops only for basic daily tasks."You planned all of this brilliantly, Mr. Olympus," Bradford praised, bowing slightly with a sycophantic smile. "That loser from Delizco practically wept in the lobby when I threatened him with treason charges. And Seth Corbyn? He handed over this program like an obedient dog. He offered zero resistance, completely meek and sweet."Gareth chuckled softly, picking up a cigar from his d

Seth strode down a corridor of BioCore he rarely visited—the drug-testing area.The last time he had been there was when he dragged Morgan in. Now, Dr. Patel had moved the doctor to a restricted underground facility, leaving Seth with almost no reason to return to this area.Except for today. He needed to meet a special guest.At the far end of the testing ward sat a VVIP treatment room, boasting luxury that surpassed any private hospital suite. Seth had personally ordered the construction of this room to accommodate one man who visited routinely.Initially, the man came once a week, though the frequency had decreased as his body steadily recovered.Seth knocked on the white door. An answer came instantly, as he had already scheduled an appointment."Come in."Seth walked in casually, smiling as he saw Jack Greenwood sitting on the sofa, reading the morning paper. The veteran politician looked significantly healthier.Color had returned to his face, erasing the deadly fatigue caused b

"Mr. Greenwood? What is the meaning of this disrespect?" a council executive reprimanded, shocked and offended by the forced invasion.Jack ignored the reprimand. He marched straight to the podium where Gareth stood, then slammed a thick folder containing hundreds of printed pages onto the round table with a loud thud."I have to interrupt this ridiculous joke, Generals, because we have a far more disgusting problem in this room." Jack's voice sounded as cold as ice, echoing through the suddenly silent room.Jack stared directly into Gareth's eyes, radiating pure disgust."Gareth Olympus did not fake this national security threat status for money alone," Jack declared loudly, ensuring every syllable reached the corners of the room."His personal computer secretly siphoned data illegally. And when our investigative team confiscated it this morning, we found more than just evidence of military financial manipulation..."Jack paused his speech for a moment, letting the tension peak in th