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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112. The Soft Sense Of Peace
Kenny shook his head, his face turning grim. "It’s worse than just greed, Adrian. Pavlov likes keeping things hidden. He loves the concept of fake scarcity. He actually has the cure for cancer in his hands right now, but he hasn't released it to help the world. He won't."Adrian tilted his head. "Why not?""Because he owns multiple other pharmaceutical companies," Kenny explained. "Those companies make billions by selling pills and medicines that only treat the symptoms. They help a little, but they never fix the problem. If he released the cure, his other businesses would die. So, he keeps the real miracle for himself and sells the world a slow fix."Adrian nodded slowly. "Even though he has the things that can help humanity, he’s keeping them to himself and is using them as a way to make even more money. That logic is flawed, but it’s not like we can change his mind with words."The room went silent for a moment as Adrian looked at the amber liquid in his glass. He didn't care for t
111. Pavlov Vance
One week had passed since the fire at the mansion. During that time, Adrian and Kenny had both played their parts in the silence, disappearing into the background of a city that was currently reeling from the sudden vacuum in the underworld.Adrian hadn't touched the situation directly, but he didn't leave things to chance. He had reached out to Mark, using the hacker’s skills to scrub every digital trace of that night. Every frame of footage from the docks, the street cameras near the car incident, and the security feeds from Kenny’s factory was purged. As far as the official record was concerned, those events were ghosts.Back in the present, Adrian walked through the lobby of a quiet, mid-range hotel. He moved with his usual lack of presence, drawing no eyes as he headed straight for the third floor. He reached room 306 and gave a sharp, rhythmic knock.The door opened almost immediately. Kenny stood there, looking much better than he had in the basement, though a few fading yellow
110. Raid At Evan's Mansion 2
He dropped the empty, smoking pistols onto the floor. He began walking toward the main door where Evan was hiding. He knew he hadn't killed every single person in the mansion yet, but he also knew there was no need to hunt them down one by one.They were injured and they had no choice but to wait for him to take care of his real target first.Adrian stood before the intricate wooden door that led to Evan’s private quarters. He didn't bother kicking it down; he wanted control, not noise. He pulled out his lockpicking set, his fingers moving with a dexterity that felt supernatural. In less than two seconds, the tumblers clicked into place. He cracked the door open just a few inches, not enough for a man to see through, but just enough to toss in two more smoke grenades.The reaction from inside was instantaneous. Panic-stricken shouts were followed by the deafening roar of gunfire. Bullets shredded the wood of the door from the inside, splinters flying like shrapnel into the hallway. Ad
109. Raid At Evan's Mansion
Adrian stood at the base of the final staircase. He looked at Kenny and tilted his head toward the exit. "Go outside and just wait for me. Use that shotgun if anyone tries to get close, but stay out of the house," he said. His voice was calm, which seemed to bother Kenny even more than the violence, but he nodded and started moving toward the backyard.Once Kenny was out, Adrian turned his attention to the stairs. He walked up the first flight casually. He knew from his system screens that the middle floor was empty. Evan had pulled every warm body he had to the topmost floor to create a human shield. As Adrian reached the landing, his posture changed. He became a ghost, his weight shifting so perfectly that the floorboards didn't even creak.He reached the bend in the stairs and slowed down. He kept his gaze angled up, scanning the railing. He was right to be cautious. A guard was standing at the very top of the steps, clutching a handgun with white knuckles. The man was sweating, hi
108. I Want To Be Your Friend
Adrian sat down on the chair opposite to Kenny, his movements slow and deliberate. He remained silent for a few seconds, letting the weight of the situation settle between them, before he lifted two fingers."Two options for you. Or should I say, two offers," Adrian said. "One, I kill you along with Evan and wash my hands of this whole mess. Two, Evan dies and you come out alive, but you work under me."Kenny did not answer right away. He let out a painful chuckle, his chest heaving as he struggled to breathe. He coughed again, his face twisting into a deep frown as the movement jarred his broken ribs. He looked up at Adrian, his eyes searching the younger man’s face."All this because your friend got beaten up?" Kenny asked, his voice rasping."Why not?" Adrian asked back, his expression unreadable. "In fact, I will go deeper. There are people above you, aren't there?"Kenny’s gaze sharpened at those words, and he let out a long, heavy sigh. "Indeed. So you knew. I had a doubt that L
107. It Really Was You
He moved silently, circling the perimeter of the mansion while using the thick trees as cover. He kept his movements slow and deliberate, ensuring he stayed out of the reach of the security lights. Once he reached the far side of the estate, he opened his system screen to check the feed from the camera following Evan.The sight on the screen made him pause. Kenny was tied tightly to a wooden chair in the center of a cold, concrete room. He had been beaten badly. Dark bruises covered his face and his shirt was torn, revealing more purple welts across his chest and arms. He looked exhausted, his head hanging low as he struggled with the pain.Adrian made the camera screen disappear and quickly opened the system shop. He began to scroll through the long list of available skills and items, looking for something specific."I need something that makes me invisible," he thought as he swiped through the options.He found several stealth related skills, but none of them reached the level of tr
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