CRACK!Bones snapping echoed sharply across Suryanegara Building's underground parking lot. It was a horrifying crunch, drowning out a generator humming in a dark corner.Kaelen did not scream because air was violently punched from his lungs. He stared wide-eyed at a dusty concrete ceiling. His surrounding world instantly flashed white before dimming as agonizing pain exploded from his left calf, sending massive shocks through his nerves that made his stomach heave."Ughh..." Kaelen gagged painfully while vomiting blood and stomach acid onto cold asphalt.Two heavily built men wearing black suits released their grip on his shoulders, letting his body collapse completely onto the floor.Standing right in front of him, a young man casually swung an aluminum baseball bat he just used to shatter Kaelen's shin.Bastian Suryanegara, a crown prince who returned from a long European vacation just two weeks ago, wore a crisp light gray three-piece suit contrasting sharply against this grimy ba

Raindrops left filthy puddles across a disputed ice factory courtyard on city outskirts of South District. A faint stench of ammonia mixed with raw fish from a nearby port, creating a nauseating combination in air around them.Leon's matte black Toyota van stopped right in front of rusty, graffiti-covered iron doors.Sliding doors pulled open, letting humid air rush inside. Kaelen lowered his uninjured right foot onto wet asphalt, then grabbed a pair of aluminum crutches. Clenching his jaw tightly to endure throbbing pain from his left leg cast, he hauled his body weight out of Leon's cabin.Every time those crutch tips hit solid ground, vibrations traveled up his spine, reminding him of that surgical drill piercing his tibia just two hours ago. However, his posture remained perfectly straight. A well-fitted black suit Leon had grabbed from a safe house hid his rumpled shirt. Kaelen knew one absolute rule about places like this: once enemies notice your pain, they consider it an openi

Incoming transfer notifications chimed on Baskoro's phone screen exactly at one in the afternoon.A loan shark enjoying wrapped Padang rice for lunch inside his underground office stopped chewing. He wiped grease off his fingers using tissues, then grabbed a phone resting beside stacks of cash.His screen displayed a highly satisfying string of numbers: Thirteen billion rupiah. Transferred from an untraceable offshore escrow account. Exactly as Kaelen had promised.Baskoro laughed softly, vibrating his bulging stomach. He looked at Leon standing stiffly in front of his desk. Kaelen did not come down to an ice factory this time a man with crutches remained in a van's backseat, planning his next move with one hundred and thirty-seven billion rupiah of pure profit from selling land to NexaCorp."Your boss does not just have guts; he possesses a machine brain," Baskoro praised with an amused tone while tossing his phone back onto his desk. "Tell him our debt ledger is clear. But remind hi

CHAPTER 7: BLOOD BARGAIN IN THE SERVICE HALLWAYA wall clock inside their VVIP meeting room ticked relentlessly, while a digital screen in its corner displayed 13:48. Twelve minutes remained before Kaelen's thirteen-billion-rupiah debt officially matured, and if that cash was not paid in full, Baskoro would never grant him a second chance.Leon stood near a massive glass window holding an encrypted tablet filled with multiple terminal screens. His fingers moved rapidly as he breached Obsidian's old classified archives."I have successfully accessed our old project archives," Leon reported without taking his eyes off his tablet screen. "However, Baskoro's men are already moving. Ten thugs secured our main lobby, while three others guard basement parking access," he continued with a highly alert tone while swiping his tablet to display security camera feeds."They also brought your photos, so we cannot exit through guest routes," Leon added grimly while pointing at his screen. "I spott

CHAPTER 9: DELUSIONS AND FINAL CUTSOn Floor Forty of Suryanegara Tower, a soft pop from a champagne bottle shattered absolute silence inside Herman’s office.Bastian poured golden liquid into three crystal glasses, his hands moving so rapidly that several drops spilled onto polished marble surfaces. He did not even bother wiping them away. Since entering this room, an arrogant smile never truly faded from his face. His fingers constantly tapped against a fifty-page document cover resting before him."Digital signatures are fully finalized, Father," Bastian reported triumphantly while sliding said document toward Herman and tapping its final page with his index finger."Eighty percent of Verdant Innova shares officially belong to Suryanegara Capital for two hundred billion rupiah," he continued boastfully while raising his chin. "Next week, Aditya will bring their machine prototype to our production facilities for subsequent testing phases."Bastian raised his champagne glass, his sm