Home / System / Ascension Protocol: From Trash to Tyrant / Chapter 115: The Pay Thief Exposed
Chapter 115: The Pay Thief Exposed
Author: Johnny
last update2025-08-31 19:17:35

The payroll chamber buzzed with the endless scratching of quills, stamping of seals, and the faint metallic echo of coin counters.

The smell of stale ink and sweat hung over the clerks like a permanent shroud. Kai lingered in the shadow of a pillar. His jaw was set and his eyes narrowed at the rows of ledgers stacked like battlements behind Vera Stone’s desk.

Her laughter still rang in his ears from earlier that day.

“Heroes eat pride, not bread.” The words gnawed at him like rust eating iron and he was indeed very angry. He hadn’t forgotten the System’s whisper. There was no way he would.

“Mission Active: The Pay Thief.

Objective: Recover stolen funds with irrefutable proof.

Reward: Credit Surge (+500), Reputation +15

Failure: Monthly credits lost. Reputation –10.”

Kai pressed a palm against the cool stone of the pillar, exhaling through his teeth. This wasn’t about losing a handful of credits. It was about principle. About faceslap, the kind that would leave a mark so deep it woul
Continue to read this book for free
Scan the code to download the app

Latest Chapter

  • Chapter 128: Torrin’s Trap

    The sound of iron against iron rang across the Vanguard base’s training field. Rows of recruits were lined up under the bright lights. The weapons in their hands were glinting under the gaze of instructors. Today was not just an ordinary drill. It was the Weapons proficiency trial, where each soldier demonstrated accuracy, speed, and composure under simulated battle condition. Scores would be posted for all to see and it would be forever etched into their record.For Kai, every eye was already watching. Not with respect yet but with expectation. Expectation that the so-called “scholar boy” would finally stumble.Torrin Blayk saw to that.The tall recruit leaned against the rack of firearms. A smirk tugged at his lips. His voice cut through the clamor with sharp mockery.“Don’t trip over your pen, Kai. This isn’t about your pretty notes, this is about real weapons. Tools for real soldiers.”Laughter rippled through the ranks.Another chimed in, emboldened by Torrin’s tone. “What’s t

  • Chapter 127: The Silent Blade

    The simulation chamber sounded like a living beast. Its walls shift to mimic rough cliffs, ruined shacks that stretched through the barren field. It wasn’t how it all looked, the Vanguard base’s engineers had designed every inch to trap, break, and humiliate the overconfident. A single mistake meant lights blaring across the control deck and failure would be stamped in real time for everyone to see.Kai stepped through the reinforced gate with a calm that only invited more jeers.“Scholar-boy going to doodle his way past the enemy?” someone called.“Better keep your neat handwriting ready for when they write FAIL across your record!” another shouted, laughter rolling through the crowd.Kai didn’t flinch. His eyes, sharp beneath the dim chamber lights, focused on the terrain ahead. He flexed his fingers once with an almost imperceptible gesture.“DING!System Notification: Mission Active – “Survive infiltration undetected.”Bonus: Subdue Leader without alert raised. Reward: Stealth S

  • Chapter 126: Shadow Assignment

    The victory over Harlen Drex still hung in the air like smoke after a fire. The recruits at Vanguard base hadn’t stopped talking about it since Kai had dismantled the tall brawler in the front of the entire barracks.But instead of basking in the triumph, Kai stood silently in the commander’s chamber with a rigid posture and he maintained a steady gaze.Commander Draegon’s office walls were made of steel. Visible holographic maps flickering with zones of red and blue. Veteran officers surrounded the commander with unreadable expressions, as though Kai was another item on their endless list of calculations.“You showed adaptability in the duel,” Draegon said at last. His gravel voice cut through the low sound of the machinery. “But fighting one brute in front of recruits is different from surviving what lies beyond these walls. You will undergo a trial.”“A trial, sir?” Kai kept his voice neutral even though he was surprised. “Reconnaissance,” another officer spoke, adjusting his data

  • Chapter 125: The Duel Without Shadows

    The training hall’s mats were stripped bare and they left only two figures under the harsh white lights. The recruits had crowded the railings. They had pressed shoulder to shoulder with whispers and jeers as anticipation thickened the atmosphere.On one side stood Harlen Drex. He was tall and whip-thin. His smirk was razor-sharp. He rolled his shoulder. He was full of the cocky swagger that had won him matches against slower recruits. On the other end stood Kai. He was silent and he maintained his dark and steady eyes. Just as stated, he made sure he didn't bring anyone along so they won't point his victory towards the direction.The instructors had permitted it. Duels like this in the vanguard base weren’t forbidden, and the commanders wanted to see how the scholar-boy would handle himself without his supposed crush.Harlen leaned forward. His eyes peered into the soul of Kai like a vulture. He parted his lips and his voice was carried across the hush. “Are you ready to show us

  • Chapter 124: The Unassisted Duel

    The training chamber was still filled with the murmurs of other soldiers after Caz Brenner’s defeat. But the noise had shifted. Before, Kai was mocked, laughed at and scorned, but now, there was now murmuring, suspicion, and an uncomfortable weight about Kai since he had been knocking down even the most powerful among them. They kept wondering how he continued defeating each of them. Caz sat on the edge of the mat. He was rubbing his ribs with his face flushed red with humiliation. He glared at Kai but didn’t step forward again. All that was left within him was his pride that had been broken in front of everyone. He still flashed back to that moment of ridicule and despair. He then wondered how Kai managed to get him to keep silent in this manner.Then, he grinded his teeth. He thought Kai would fight him at that very moment. But Kai was ever silent. He grinded his teeth and clenched his fist even though he knew there was nothing he could do to fight Kai anymore. However, there wa

  • Chapter 123: Reversal

    The training chamber at Vanguard Base was a cavern of sweat, noise, and anticipation. Steel beams arched overhead. They are lined with bright floodlights that bleached every drop of moisture gleaming on recruits’ bodies. The mats were slick from earlier rounds, and the air smelled of leather, chalk, and iron. This was where reputations were made.Kai looked at the loosed strap and then tightened the straps of his training gloves. He made sure he a strict expression that will be majorly understandable for any one else. In a distance from him was Caz Brenner. He rolled up his shoulders as he kept smirking like a predator circling prey. The humiliation attempt in the showers still hung between them like a blade. Caz believed he still had the upper hand and that Kai’s balance was just pure luck even though his eyes were harsh to behold but he believed that it was not his skill. And today, he meant to prove it to everyone. The recruits circled the mat. They were a sea of hungry eyes

More Chapter
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on MegaNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
Scan code to read on App