2026-07-31 07:12:39The doors of the banquet hall closed behind Ethan.
The noise inside faded away.
Victor Langford smiled as they walked toward the private elevator.
“Mr. Cole.”
“I’ve wanted to meet you since this afternoon.”
Ethan looked at him.
“I’m curious.”
“Why me?”
Victor laughed softly.
“I expected that question.”
The elevator doors opened.
The two men stepped inside.
The hotel manager pressed the button for the top floor.
No one spoke until the doors opened again.
The Imperial Sky Lounge occupied the entire top floor.
Floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooked the city.
The night skyline glittered like countless diamonds.
A private chef and several attendants were already waiting.
The moment Ethan entered, they bowed respectfully.
“Welcome, Mr. Cole.”
Victor gestured toward a seat.
“Please.”
The attendants quietly served dinner before leaving the room.
Only Ethan and Victor remained.
Victor poured two glasses of sparkling water.
“I don’t drink alcohol during business meetings.”
Ethan smiled.
“Neither do I.”
Victor raised his glass.
“To new beginnings.”
They lightly clinked glasses.
After taking a sip, Victor finally spoke.
“I know you’re wondering why I transferred the hotel to you.”
Ethan nodded.
“I won’t lie.”
“I am.”
Victor leaned back.
“Do you know NovaTech Electronics?”
Ethan’s heart skipped a beat.
That was the company he had just received from the system.
“I’ve heard of it.”
Victor smiled.
“I own twenty percent of its shares.”
Ethan remained calm, but inside he was surprised.
What a coincidence.
Victor continued.
“Three months ago, the company was heading toward bankruptcy.”
“Investors were leaving.”
“The board had become divided.”
“But this afternoon…”
“They informed me that someone had quietly acquired every remaining share.”
“They couldn’t even trace where the money came from.”
Victor looked directly at Ethan.
“Then…”
“I heard your name.”
Ethan stayed silent.
“So I investigated.”
Victor smiled.
“What I discovered shocked me.”
“A young man with no powerful family.”
“No political connections.”
“No wealthy relatives.”
“And yet…”
“You somehow built a fortune almost overnight.”
He laughed.
“I’ve spent forty years in business.”
“I’ve learned something.”
“The world occasionally produces people who can’t be explained.”
“I believe you’re one of them.”
Ethan smiled faintly.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Victor nodded.
“You should.”
He placed a black folder on the table.
“I also have something else.”
Ethan opened it.
Inside were financial reports.
Land ownership records.
Hotel contracts.
Business agreements.
He looked at Victor.
“What is this?”
“The current condition of Starlight Grand Hotel.”
“I thought the owner should understand what he’s inherited.”
The moment Ethan touched the papers…
His Master Business Management Skill activated.
Information flooded into his mind.
Weak departments.
Strong investments.
Hidden expenses.
Profitable opportunities.
Within five minutes…
He had finished reading everything.
Victor stared at him.
“So?”
Ethan closed the folder.
“The conference hall loses money every quarter.”
Victor blinked.
“…Go on.”
“The underground parking fees are too low.”
“The luxury suites are underpriced.”
“The restaurant sources imported seafood from the wrong supplier.”
Victor slowly sat upright.
Ethan continued.
“The hotel could increase annual profits by at least thirty-eight percent.”
Silence.
Victor looked at him in disbelief.
“My executive team spent six months studying these problems.”
“You found them…”
“…in five minutes.”
Ethan smiled.
“I read quickly.”
Victor laughed loudly.
“No.”
“You don’t.”
“You think differently.”
For the first time in years…
Victor felt genuine excitement.
He wasn’t looking at an ordinary businessman.
He was looking at a genius.
Just then…
Ethan’s phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
Congratulations on surviving tonight.
But your real enemies are much bigger than Ryan Crawford.
Enjoy your success while it lasts.
Ethan frowned.
Victor noticed.
“Bad news?”
Ethan handed him the phone.
Victor read the message.
His smile disappeared.
“Interesting.”
“You know who sent it?”
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
Victor looked thoughtful.
“Whoever it is…”
“They know about tonight.”
“They also know about you.”
Ethan slowly locked his phone.
“So it seems.”
At that moment…
The system appeared.
Warning!
Hidden Storyline Activated.
A powerful organization has taken interest in the Host.
Current Threat Level: Unknown.
New Main Mission: Expand Your Business Empire.
Objective 1: Increase Personal Net Worth to $10 Billion.
Objective 2: Recruit Loyal Allies.
Objective 3: Discover the identity of the mysterious organization.
Mission Rewards: Classified.
Ethan looked out through the massive glass windows.
The city stretched endlessly beneath him.
Until now…
His biggest enemy had been Ryan Crawford.
But according to the system…
Ryan wasn’t even the real threat.
Somewhere in the darkness…
Someone far more powerful had just made their first move.
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Chapter 109: Legacy Reawakened
The blue screen flickered.It was unstable.Unlike the flawless interface Ethan had relied on throughout his journey, this one was fractured.Tiny cracks spread across its edges as though the system itself had suffered tremendous damage.The familiar mechanical voice spoke again.It was weaker than Ethan remembered.Yet…He smiled.After everything that had happened…It still sounded like home.Legacy System…Emergency Restoration… 7% Complete…Warning… Core functions unavailable…Reason… Legacy sacrificed during the Final Convergence…Ethan’s heart pounded.“So…”“You survived.”The screen remained silent for a moment.Then…A new sentence appeared.Correction…This unit did not survive.This unit… was remembered.The words struck him harder than any attack ever could.Remembered.Not rebuilt.Not repaired.Remembered.The blue screen slowly continued.Human belief…Shared memories…Legacy fragments carried within countless lives…Emergency reconstruction successful.Ethan finally un
Chapter 108: The Sky Breaker
The crack spread across the blue sky.It didn’t happen all at once.Thin fractures crawled outward like veins across glass, stretching from one horizon to the other.Each new crack released a faint silver light.The peaceful meadow beneath Ethan’s feet trembled.Birds that had been singing moments before suddenly took flight.The gentle breeze vanished.An unnatural silence swallowed the world.Ren’s small hand instinctively reached for Ethan’s.His fingers were trembling.“They found us.”Ethan looked down.“Who?”Ren swallowed.“The ones who don’t want us remembered.”Another deafening roar echoed overhead.This time…It was closer.The sky shattered a little more.Chunks of blue light drifted downward before dissolving into countless glowing particles.Ethan had seen worlds collapse before.He had watched stars disappear.Yet…There was something uniquely terrifying about watching the sky itself come apart.Not because it looked destructive.Because it looked…Wrong.Like reality w
Chapter 107: The First Face
Every step echoed inside Ethan’s helmet.Crunch.Crunch.Crunch.The lunar dust compressed beneath his boots as he followed the countless footprints stretching toward the enormous black doorway.Mission Control remained connected through his communicator.“Ethan, your oxygen levels are stable.”“Heart rate elevated, but within acceptable limits.”Dr. Brooks’ calm voice filled the silence.Professor Orion spoke next.“Distance to the structure: four hundred meters.”“Proceed carefully.”“I will.”Ethan answered.He never took his eyes off the doorway.The closer he came…The larger it became.From orbit it had looked massive.Standing beneath it…It was overwhelming.It rose into the endless darkness above him like a mountain carved from midnight.Its surface reflected nothing.Not sunlight.Not stars.Not even Ethan himself.It was as though the doorway refused to acknowledge reality.Back on Earth…Sophia stood inside Mission Control.Her hands remained folded tightly together.She h
Chapter 106: The Man Who Walked Through Silence
By sunrise…Ethan had made his decision.He would go.Not because he trusted the beings beyond the black doorway.Not because he believed they meant no harm.But because he had seen something in the message that no one else seemed willing to acknowledge.They had asked.Twice.First…May we speak?Then…One may come.An enemy didn’t ask permission.An enemy simply invaded.Whatever waited beyond that door…It wanted to be heard.Whether that was a blessing or a trap…Only one way existed to find out.The launch facility came alive before dawn.Floodlights illuminated the enormous launch pad while engineers hurried around the silver shuttle.Unlike the bulky spacecraft used during the early years of space exploration…This one had been built after the Seven Days.Human technology had advanced dramatically with knowledge recovered from the Architects.Its engines were cleaner.Its shields stronger.Its navigation system could cross the distance between Earth and the Moon in less than th
Chapter 105: The Invitation
No one celebrated.Although the footprints had stopped appearing…Although the black doorway had remained closed…Not a single person inside Mission Control believed the danger had passed.If anything…The silence felt heavier.It was the silence of two strangers looking at one another across a great distance.Waiting.Wondering who would speak next.Dr. Elena Brooks stood beside the communications console, replaying Ethan’s transmission.“My name is Ethan.”“You asked if you could speak.”“You can.”She listened to it three more times before finally muting the speakers.“I’ve worked in aerospace for seventeen years.”She slowly shook her head.“I spent my entire career preparing for first contact.”She smiled weakly.“I never imagined it would begin with… permission.”Professor Orion nodded.“Neither did I.”Hours passed.The black doorway did not move.The Moon remained quiet.Scientists continued monitoring every satellite, every telescope, and every sensor aimed toward the far sid
Chapter 104: Beyond the Black Door
The three knocks echoed through Mission Control.Slow.Steady.Deliberate.Every person in the room froze.No one spoke.No one breathed.The sound wasn’t coming from the speakers anymore.It seemed to resonate through the walls themselves.Three knocks…Yet it felt as though something enormous had struck the fabric of reality.Then…Silence.Emergency lights flickered back to life.Rows of monitors rebooted one after another.Technicians hurried to their stations.“Power is returning!”“I’m reconnecting to the lunar station!”“Signal stabilizing!”Dr. Elena Brooks leaned over one of the consoles.“Get me visual confirmation.”The largest monitor flashed.Static filled the screen.Then the image cleared.Everyone stared.The giant black doorway still stood on the Moon’s far side.Exactly where it had been before.Silent.Motionless.Almost…Innocent.Kai slowly let out the breath he had been holding.“I hate doors.”Lyra looked at him.“You hate everything.”“I especially hate mysteri
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