2025-12-10 22:47:14“Two Thousand Dollars in cash…” he muttered as he felt the stack of bills under his pillow. He had saved up money in the past but he only saw numbers back then due to him saving all his money in the bank.
The difference of seeing mere numbers and having a thick wad of cash was like a difference of night and day. He finally felt like he was rich, which made him smile slightly.
“Who said money doesn’t bring you happiness?” he asked as he looked at his own reflection in the mirror.
He was tall, standing at six foot four inches, which was approximately 193 centimeters.
His slightly long unkempt hair was long and healthy even though it looked slightly messy. The five day old stubble was hard to not notice as he was gifted with some good genetics.
Broad shoulders, thin waist and overall, a face that was a mix of both cuteness and handsomeness.
But even with all this, he had barely gotten himself a girlfriend in his past life since he was too focused on earning money to survive while being leeched by his family.
“I am not wasting this life.” he muttered, almost like he was reminding himself to not stray back to his past habits. There was no space for redemption for his family and he wasn’t the type of person to gamble.
After saying that, he glanced at the bathroom and decided to grab some food before he took a shower and began his day. He headed out and walked straight to the dining hall on the ground floor.
“Sir, may I see your card please?” the guy at the entrance asked politely, to which Adrian nodded and gave him the room card.
The guard scanned it on a handheld scanner and gave it back to Adrian, “Sir, you do not have sufficient balance to use the dining hall. You can top up at the reception.”
Adrian casually went back, topped up 1000 dollars into his card.
“Hey young man, are you sure you’re not using a stolen credit card?”
Adrian turned around to see a middle aged woman. He frowned at her like she was the dumbest creature he had seen in his entire life.
‘I literally just paid in cash and she’s blabbering about a stolen credit card? Are rich people dumb?’ he mused as he glanced at her designer clothes and bag.
“Stop looking at my bag, you disgusting thief!” she shrieked as she tried to slap him, only for it to be dodged pretty effectively.
Adrian turned to look at the receptionist, who looked pretty worried and stunned at the same time. A sign that this wasn’t really a normal occurrence.
‘Talk about bad luck.’ he thought as he moved out from the line. He didn’t have any intention to get involved with her, not when he had already gotten his card topped up with money.
“Security!!! There’s a thief in the lobby! Stop him. Restrain him!”
Adrian sighed and turned around to look at the crazy woman but what surprised him the most, was that the others in the line were looking at him like he actually was a thief.
‘Right… my clothes are a little too cheap for a place like this.’ he thought and made a mental note to buy himself some clothes in the near future.
Soon, the security guards arrived and listened to the woman while she threw baseless accusations.
“I feel threatened to be in the same building as him. You guys should throw him out!”
Adrian watched all of this in silence while the older one among the security team approached him with an apologetic smile.
“Sorry sir, this is protocol. Do you have verification?”
“Yeah.” Adrian said as he showed him his room card and then pointed at the receptionist, “I paid in cash the day before yesterday. Debit card yesterday and today, I paid in cash once again. All of that should be recorded in your computers.”
He also took out his driver’s license along with his car rental contract, “Here’s the other documents for you to verify my identity or to check if I have any criminal records.”
“Thank you sir. I apologize for the inconvenience caused. This will only take a few minutes.” the security guy said as he walked over to the receptionist, talked to him for a few seconds and then used his walky talky to talk to someone else.
A few minutes later, he gave all the cards and documents back to Adrian and apologized before explaining the whole situation to the crazy woman.
‘She’s not my problem anymore.’ Adrian thought as he headed over to the dining hall.
A young but wealthy-looking woman watched him leave and looked deep in thought until it was her turn. After booking a room and sending one of the staff to move her luggage, she walked into the dining hall.
Adrian filled his plate with meat, eggs, pancakes and a lot of fries before he grabbed a glass of Voca Cola as his choice of beverage.
As he stuffed himself like he always did, he noticed that almost all the guests here ate in small bites. It was mostly the females but he wasn’t one to judge.
He just focused on his own food until someone placed a plate right in front of him.
Adrian looked up and saw a pretty lady who was smiling at him.
“Mind if I take a seat?”
He didn’t respond immediately but looked around instead. As someone whose day started with bad luck, the last thing he wished to do was share a table with a stranger.
Unfortunately, almost all of the tables were taken so he didn’t really have a reason to reject her.
“Sure.”
Right after saying that, he slowed down his chewing pace while the woman sat down.
“You handled the situation really well. Calm, composed and almost like you were detached.”
Adrian nodded but didn’t say a word as he went back to his food. That was until he heard her again.
“Would you be interested in a job offer? It’s just for a day but the pay is high. You look young, probably a college student.”
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188. Home
The forest was quiet except for the sound of the wind blowing through the tall trees. It was a small island in the middle of a very large sea. The water was a deep blue color and it went on forever in every direction. Large waves hit the rocks at the edge of the island all day and all night, making a loud crashing sound. This place was very far away from any city and far away from anyone who knew Adrian or the work he used to do. The air smelled like salt from the ocean and like the sap from the pine trees that covered most of the land.Adrian walked through the thick forest with a heavy axe in his hand. He had aged since he left the city five years ago. He was twenty three years old now and he did not look like a teenager anymore. He had a very strong and authoritative aura about him. He was still very handsome, but his face looked more mature and serious. He had gotten bigger too, especially his chest and his arms. His pure cotton T-shirt was tight around his biceps and his chest. H
187. Good News Times Two
The morning sun filtered through the expansive windows of the high-rise apartment, casting long, peaceful streaks of light across the hardwood floor. It was a far cry from the small houses that they used to live in the past.Sophia sat on the plush designer sofa, her posture relaxed and confident. She looked more mature now; the soft roundness of her face had given way to sharper, more defined features, and the lingering expression of grief and longing that had once defined her was gone. In its place was a quiet, self-assured serenity. She held a steaming cup of coffee in her left hand, while her right hand steadied the morning newspaper."Adrian's finally decided to show himself," Sophia murmured, her voice steady and clear. "He’s on the front page."From the kitchen, the sound of a whistling kettle cut off, followed by the heavy, familiar footfalls of someone who walked with a certain swagger. Ethan walked out, wiping his hands on a dish towel before tossing it aside. He looked broa
186. Back Home
A young man, barely into his twenties, lunged out from the crowd. He was a junior researcher, his face twisted in a mask of fanatical grief. He didn't have a weapon; he just had a blind, suicidal rage. He ran at Adrian with his hands outstretched, a pathetic display of loyalty to a man who would have sacrificed him without a second thought.Adrian didn't even blink. As the boy reached him, Adrian moved with a blurring, mechanical speed. He swung the butt of his shotgun in a short, brutal arc, catching the boy in the jaw. The sound of bone shattering was loud in the enclosed space.Before the boy could fall, Adrian grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the steel wall. He didn't hesitate. He jammed the front end of the shotgun’s barrel under the boy’s chin, pinning him there.The boy’s eyes cleared for a split second, the rage replaced by a sudden, cooling realization of his own mortality. He tried to speak, to plead, but the barrel was too deep.Adrian pulled the trigger.T
185. New Leadership
Adrian raised his eyebrows, the cold light of the submarine’s bridge reflecting off his visor. He didn't look like a man cornered by a billionaire’s grand vision; he looked like a man listening to a boring lecture."You really did manage to keep an eye on me, huh?" he said, his voice dropping into a casual, almost conversational tone. It was the kind of voice you used with a neighbor you didn’t particularly like but felt obligated to acknowledge. "Anyway."Pavlov frowned. He was used to terror, used to rage, or even used to the cold silence of a professional killer. He was not used to being treated as someone ordinary. To a man who viewed himself as the architect of a new world, being treated as "someone normal" was a sharper insult than any bullet. He opened his mouth to retort, to remind Adrian of the sheer scale of the power he wielded from this underwater tomb, but Adrian was already moving.Adrian reached into his tactical pocket. To Pavlov’s eyes, it was a simple, fluid motion;
184. Face To Face
Adrian stood on the edge of the swim platform, the matte-black metal of the interceptor slick beneath his boots. The night air was biting, but he didn't feel the cold. He adjusted the straps of his deep-sea infiltration gear, a specialized suit provided by the System that looked more like liquid armor than a diving suit. It was a pressurized, self-contained unit that didn't rely on bulky tanks; instead, it used a high-tech electrolysis module to pull oxygen directly from the surrounding water. He pulled the visor down, and a faint blue HUD flickered to life, displaying his depth, heart rate, and a topographical map of the abyss below.Without a second thought, Adrian leaned forward and tipped into the black water.The silence of the ocean swallowed him instantly. Below the surface, the world of wind and salty waters vanished, replaced by a crushing, rhythmic thrum of the deep currents. He swam at a steady, methodical pace, his powerful strokes propelled by the suit's integrated thrust
183. The Hunt Begins
He took a deep breath. There was a boat waiting for him at a private dock two hours away. The mission was finally reaching its endgame. He stepped out of the shadows of the alleyway and walked casually.He felt a strange sense of clarity as he moved. For the first time in months, there was no internal debate, no worrying about jealousy or social standings. There was only the target, the objective, and the silent promise he had made to himself. Pavlov Vance had taken enough from the world."You invited a guest, Pavlov," Adrian thought as he reached the black SUV Mark had stashed for him. "I'm just making sure I'm the only one who shows up to the party."Inside a parking lot.Adrian climbed into the driver's seat, the interior of the car smelling of fresh upholstery and gun oil. He started the engine, the low hum feeling like a heartbeat. He didn't look back at the penthouse looming in the distance. He didn't think about the two women who were currently probably talking about their futu
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