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Home / Urban / From Janitor To God: The System Chose Me / The New Prince of Tech
The New Prince of Tech
Author: Aurora Wynter
last update2025-08-03 19:42:28

“Who the hell is Ethan Cole?”

That single question set the digital world ablaze.

From Silicon Valley think tanks to darknet AI forums, the name “Ethan Cole” spread like a virus.

Reddit exploded with theories. T*****r threads linked his leaked blueprints to multiple start-up coups.

Telegram groups circulated footage from the Expo like sacred scripture.

“The Man Who Coded God.”

“The Ghost Behind NexusCore.”

“The Janitor Genius.”

He was no longer invisible.

He was a legend.

But in a cold, unlit basement, buried below the neon-lit city… Ethan wasn’t smiling.

There was no celebration. No champagne. No audience.

Just silence—and the soft electric hum of machines.

He sat hunched over three laptops, a cracked tablet, and a glowing AI node devouring teraflops of stolen corporate data.

Dark circles hung beneath his eyes. His body screamed for sleep. But his mind… was razor-sharp.

He whispered only one word.

“System. Show me my new face.”

[Initializing Digital Identity Protocol.]

[Generating Alias: ZERO]

[Persona Type: Elite Ghost Coder | Anti-Corporate Rebel | Founder of PhantomTech]

Across the screen, a sleek digital profile took shape.

ZERO—No past. No ties. No boundaries. A digital ghost.

Capabilities: Untraceable.

History: Scrubbed.

Location: Unknown.

Intent: Vengeance.

Ethan stared at the screen.

“Looks… terrifying,” he muttered.

[Exactly the point.]

He leaned back, fingers twitching.

Zero wasn’t just a name.

It was the version of him they created.

The version forged in silence, betrayal, and rage.

Within minutes, PhantomTech’s website went live.

Server nodes spun up in six countries.

Auto-responses, AI-generated employee bios, blockchain-verified product logs—all faked, all flawless.

[Funding secured through decentralized wallets.

Brand credibility spoofed using AI-farmed search queries. Supply chain mimicked from dormant A****n routes.]

Ethan didn’t blink.

“People will think this company’s real.”

[It is now.]

He didn’t smile.

Instead, he reached into the drawer and pulled out something small. Sleek. Black. Palm-sized.

A mini-drone.

But not like any on the market. This one moved like it breathed. Its core thrummed softly, like it had a heart.

He held it in his hand like a father holding his firstborn.

It wasn’t just tech.

It was a weapon.

It was justice.

At its core was something the world hadn’t seen yet—

a fragment of the Paragon AI.

And this was only the prototype.

***

The drone zipped through a testing tunnel, weaving through high-speed lasers, ducking micro-turrets, and scanning a 3D map in real time.

Apex’s CEO stood frozen as the final stats popped up:

Mapping Complete: 57.2 seconds.

Adaptation Rate: 99.8%.

Self-Learning Tier: Level Omega.

“This… isn’t autonomous,” a technician whispered, stunned. “It thinks. It recognized our patterns by the third pass.”

The CEO’s hands trembled slightly.

“Who designed this?”

His assistant turned the monitor toward him.

ZERO’s logo flickered onscreen—sleek, silver, and ominous.

“Encrypted delivery. Verified logs. No bugs. It’s built on something called… Paragon Core.”

The CEO leaned in, voice low and grave.

“Get me more. I don’t care what it costs.”

***

The lights in the boardroom were dim, but the projector screen blazed.

Every executive stared in horror as social media feeds flashed before their eyes.

#ZeroUnleashed

“Brooks Corp can’t catch up to a ghost.”

“Zero’s PhantomTech is rewriting AI warfare.”

A shaky voice broke the silence.

“‘Zero is building god-level tech… and selling it to our enemies.’”

Nathan stood, fists clenched, pacing like a caged animal.

“This isn’t just some hacker. This is a full-scale digital assault.”

Brooks Lili crossed her arms, eyes narrowed. Cold. Calculating.

“Then who is Zero?” she asked slowly.

Nathan stopped walking.

Everyone in the room turned to him.

He looked up, And slammed his hand on the table.

“Zero is Ethan Cole.”

Gasps.

Someone choked on their drink. Another dropped their phone.

“He’s alive?” one executive whispered, face pale.

Takashi’s jaw tightened. “Not just alive. He’s evolved. He’s building weapons. Feeding our competitors. Ripping us apart one server at a time.”

Lili stared at the screen.

ZERO’s logo pulsed like a heartbeat.

Cold. Ruthless. Inevitable.

Her voice was thin but sharp as a knife.

“Then we don’t need a lawsuit.”

Nathan looked up.

“We need a kill switch.”

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