The drive back to Serena’s guest house was a blur of neon highway lights and the rhythmic hum of the car tires against the asphalt. Michael sat in the passenger seat, his fingers brushing against the cold, metallic executive keycard in his pocket. Beside him, Serena drove with a calm, practiced focus, completely unaware that the quiet man in her passenger seat had just dismantled a professional hitman in a dark parking garage."You're remarkably quiet," Serena said, her voice cutting through the hum of the engine. "And you smell like... burnt copper and ozone. Did you spend your entire evening in the sub-basement archive?"Michael looked out the window, watching the city skyline flicker in the humid night air. "Something like that. Found some interesting discrepancies.""I told you," she smiled faintly, turning the car onto the quiet, tree-lined street of her gated estate. "The corporate ladders here are greasy. People don't like it when someone start wiping away the grime."They pul

The drive back from the city cafeteria was dead silent. Serena’s hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white. Every time she glanced at Michael, who sat calmly watching the traffic, her chest tightened.The moment they stepped through the front door of her guest house, she closed it with a heavy thud, locked it, and spun around to face him."Alright, Michael. No more games," Serena said, her voice shaking with a mix of fear and anger. "Ashley Vance is a man who hasn't shown a shred of weakness in forty years. He commands gods. He executes directors for minor rounding errors. But today, you shook his hand, and he looked like he had seen a ghost. He looked terrified. Who are you?"Michael slowly walked over to the dining table. He didn't look like a nervous, low-level clerk anymore. His posture was straight, his shoulders relaxed, and his eyes carried the weight of a man who had ruled this very city before she was even born."I told you my name, Serena," Michae

The carpet in the CFO’s office was still warm from the dissipating energy of Michael’s aura. Benson lay on his knees, his hands trembling against the floor as he drew in desperate, ragged breaths.Michael stood over him, his long trench coat casting a shadow that seemed to stretch across the entire room. He didn’t look angry; he looked like a landlord preparing to evict a tenant who was forty years late on rent."Get up, Benson," Michael said. His voice was quiet, but it had the weight of a physical blow.Benson scrambled to his feet, clutching the edge of his massive desk for support. "What... What do you want from me? I told you everything! I don't have the other keys!""No, but you have the authority to bring the people who do right to this room," Michael replied calmly. He tapped the bronze-edged cover of the Broken Executive's Ledger. "I want you to call an emergency board meeting. Right now."Benson’s eyes widened in horror. "An emergency meeting? At this hour? The other two Man

Michael’s eyes narrowed. Henderson.Henderson was Ashley Vance’s personal attack dog, the Commander of the Platinum Group’s elite tactical division. He was a ruthless cyborg who had traded 80% of his organic body for high-grade military cybernetics, turning himself into a walking tank."They're already here," Michael muttered, turning back to Benson. "Hide under the desk if you want to live. This audit is about to get messy."A split second later, the massive doors of the boardroom didn't just open—they exploded inward, reduced to splinters by a massive kinetic blast.Through the dust stepped a towering figure. Henderson stood nearly seven feet tall, clad in heavy, matte-black carbon-fiber armor. One of his eyes had been replaced with a crimson targeting reticle that spun rapidly, locking onto Michael. In his massive, mechanical right hand, he held a roaring, high-frequency vibro-cannon. Behind him stood a dozen heavily armed tactical enforcers, their rifles raised."Michael Oliver!"

"What... what is this?" Henderson suddenly gasped. He clutched his stomach, his knees buckling beneath him. His eyes went wide as the blue holographic screen began to spin out of control, numbers flashing at supersonic speeds.[DEBT CALCULATING...]5 Credits ➔ 25 Credits ➔ 125 Credits ➔ 625 Credits...[NOTICE: Asset conversion triggered. Converting Target's Mana Pool to settle outstanding balance.]"Stop it... make it stop!" Henderson screamed, falling directly onto his hands and knees in the middle of the carpet. The glowing blue light of the screen reflected in the sweat pouring down his face. He could feel his very life force, his magical energy, being aggressively violently sucked out of his body."MP: 400... 300... 150... 50..." the screen blinked rapidly in bright red text.The clerks stood up from their chairs, watching in absolute horror and awe. A low-level clerk was bringing down a powerful supervisor without even touching him, using the very rules of the company against him