Nicola's expression had become increasingly aggressive. "We shouldn't negotiate with Leandro," he said firmly. "We should tell him exactly what we want." Vespera stared at him. "He's still Evren's father." "Then he should act like one." Nicola leaned forward. "He has money. He has a good job. He has benefits. Why should the Morgan family continue paying for everything while he gets to walk away?" Vespera opened her mouth to respond, but Caius raised his hand. "Enough." Everyone fell silent. Caius looked directly at Vespera. "Take Evren to Leandro." Vespera's eyes widened. "Now?" "Yes. Immediately." "Dad, it's already late." "I don't care." Caius's voice was cold. "Go to him and tell him what we have decided." Vespera stared at him in disbelief. "What exactly am I supposed to tell him?" Caius didn't hesitate. "Tell him we want one million dollars." Vespera's face tightened. "And if he refuses?" Caius leaned back. "Then leave Evren with him." The room went sile

Thiago sat quietly in the spacious lounge of his temporary apartment, a cup of coffee resting on the table beside him. His phone was in his hand, but he wasn't looking at it. His thoughts were elsewhere. He had just received another update concerning Vespera and the lawsuit. At first, he was surprised. Not because Vespera was desperate for money. He had expected that. What surprised him was how far she was willing to go to obtain it. Even at the potential cost of Evren's life. Thiago leaned back slowly. "Even your own son..." A cold laugh escaped his lips. In his previous life, he had already witnessed Vespera's ruthlessness. He had simply been too foolish to understand it at the time. He had loved her. He had trusted her. He had spent years believing that no matter how badly things became between them, there was at least one person she would always protect. Evren. But now he understood that even that assumption had been wrong. Money had always mattered more to Vesper

Thiago continued expanding his spatial storage. Every day, the available space seemed to become larger. What had once been a useful storage room had already become something far beyond anything an ordinary person could imagine. Entire sections were now large enough to accommodate mountains of supplies, vehicles, equipment, food and machinery. But Thiago understood that this was only the beginning. The ring was not merely a place to hide things. It was evolving. As its capacity increased, dormant functions were beginning to appear in faint outlines within his consciousness. Some functions were still locked, while others appeared only as vague symbols that he could not yet activate. Thiago understood why. The ring needed resources. Before the apocalypse, money and ordinary materials could help it grow. But after the apocalypse began, something much more valuable would appear. Crystal cores. The cores formed inside certain zombies after their mutations. In his previous life, su

Damian Cross checked his watch for the third time. Victor should have called by now. He sat in the back room of an expensive restaurant, one hand resting on the table while his other hand tapped impatiently against his phone. Everything should have been finished. Victor had promised him that Thiago would be brought under control. Damian had already imagined the conversation. He would offer Thiago a simple choice. Give him enough money to make him wealthy, or lose everything. Once Damian had the money, he would finally have the kind of status Vespera could not ignore. He smiled at the thought. Then his phone rang. Damian immediately answered. "Victor?" There was silence. Damian frowned. "Victor, where are you?" A weak voice finally answered. "We failed." Damian's expression changed. "What do you mean, you failed?" "Thiago knew we were coming." Damian sat upright. "What?" "He was waiting for us." Damian's fingers tightened around the phone. "Where are the others?

Then the black crystal cracked. A loud sound echoed through the chamber. Thiago immediately stepped away. The crystal shattered. A wave of energy passed through the room. The computers went dark. Then everything stopped. Thiago looked at his ring. The marketplace icon was no longer gray. It was glowing. A message appeared. NEW FUNCTION UNLOCKED. MARKETPLACE: AVAILABLE. Thiago stared at the words. For several seconds, he said nothing. Then he smiled. "Finally." He opened the marketplace. The interface expanded. Thousands of empty categories appeared. Food. Medicine. Tools. Materials. Seeds. Equipment. Rare resources. And at the bottom was another category. UNKNOWN ITEMS. Thiago frowned. "What are those?" Before he could open it, another message appeared. MARKETPLACE ACCESS RESTRICTED. CURRENT CURRENCY: INSUFFICIENT. Thiago laughed quietly. "So even the ring has money." He examined the currency requirements. Then his smile slowly disappeared. The mar