2024-10-29 00:32:28James couldn’t help but smirk as he read through the high school reunion chat on his phone. The messages from Luke Hunter, flaunting his “success” and throwing jabs about James’s past poverty, were nothing short of juvenile. The insults piled up, old accusations resurfacing, and his former classmates joined in, laughing at his expense.
Same old Luke, James thought, feeling a familiar anger simmer inside him. Memories of high school came flooding back—the day Luke had framed him for theft, the shame he endured, the way everyone had turned on him. But today, he wasn’t that powerless teenager anymore. He was ready to respond… in his own way.
James opened his banking app, set up a string of transfers, each accompanied by a custom message, and began sending money into the group chat.
A notification appeared in the chat:
James Smith sent $50
“Luke is a dumbass.”Within seconds, another:
James Smith sent $100
“Luke is a coward.”The chat exploded with curiosity and laughter as each new transaction hit, each one laced with another jab at Luke.
“What’s going on?” one former classmate typed, confused but intrigued.
“Free money? I’ll take it!” another replied, laughing.
James Smith sent $200
“Luke, bite me if you can!”People began accepting the transfers eagerly, laughing and repeating the messages as they joined in. The insults spread, echoing through the group chat as more people accepted the money, unaware of who was behind it or why.
Finally, their old high school teacher joined the chat, confused but intrigued by the free cash and copied the message: “Luke is a coward.”
Luke’s frustration was visible, his replies growing angry and desperate as he tried to stop the chaos. “Whoever is doing this—stop it right now!”
But the chat continued to spiral until James was finally removed from the group. He put his phone away, satisfied. The wealth his father had left him wasn’t just a lifeline—it was freedom, power, and, in this case, a bit of poetic justice.
Arriving at the towering Maple Properties building, James paused, taking in the sleek glass exterior. Just a few years ago, he had been thrown out of this very building, humiliated and penniless, while asking for wages he was rightfully owed. Today, he was returning—but this time, as the company’s new CEO.
As he approached the entrance, a security captain stepped forward, eyeing him skeptically. “What do you want?” the captain asked, his tone dismissive. “Here to demand money or something?”
James smiled calmly. “Actually, I’m here for business. My business.”
The captain raised an eyebrow, sizing him up. “Look, if you’re here to ask for a job—”
Just then, a familiar voice called out from behind. “Well, if it isn’t the pauper,” sneered Luke, stepping out of his car. He looked James up and down, still smug but visibly irritated from the group chat fiasco.
James turned to face him, holding his gaze with steady, unflinching eyes. “Luke,” he greeted, his tone cool and composed. “Funny seeing you here.”
Luke crossed his arms, his expression a mix of arrogance and frustration. “Thought you could humiliate me in that group chat and get away with it, huh? Still pulling those cheap tricks, I see.”
James smiled, unfazed. “Cheap? The money seemed to work pretty well, didn’t it? You could call it an investment in honesty.”
Luke scowled, shifting uncomfortably. “You think you’re clever, don’t you? But at the end of the day, you’re still just a nobody.”
“Maybe I was,” James replied, stepping closer until he was eye-to-eye with Luke. “But things have changed.”
Luke scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Oh yeah? Enlighten me. What could possibly be different?”
James glanced up at the Maple Properties logo gleaming above them. “I’m here to take over Maple Properties as CEO. So, if you’re looking for a ‘somebody,’ Luke, you might want to take a closer look.”
Luke’s jaw dropped, the smirk slipping from his face as the weight of James’s words sank in.
James offered a final, unwavering smile. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a business to run.” He strode toward the entrance, leaving Luke stunned, facing the reality that the man he once humiliated was now in control of an empire.
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Chapter 119
Sub-level – The Corridor of Steel and FireFor a heartbeat, no one moved. The only sound was the slow, mechanical hiss of Genesis’s breath, echoing through the frozen corridor. The monster’s frame smoked from within, its veins of light pulsing unevenly, struggling to stabilize.Emily’s hands shook as she aimed her weapon again, but the weight in her chest was heavier than steel. Zane wasn’t there anymore. His scream still reverberated in her bones.Riley’s voice broke the silence, hoarse and trembling. “He can’t be gone. He can’t.”Victor pulled himself upright, console sparking in his hands. His face was pale, sweat dripping down his jaw. “If Liam pulled him back into the neural grid—” His throat tightened. “Then he’s still in there. Somewhere.”Genesis turned, its glowing eyes locking onto them again. It stepped forward, each impact shaking loose more panels from the ceiling.James staggered back, clutching his ribs, but raised his broken knife all the same. “I don’t care what it ta
Chapter 118
Sublevel – The Corridor of Steel and FireThe red lights bled across the walls, turning the frozen corridor into a tunnel of hell. Every breath steamed in the cold, but sweat trickled down Emily’s spine all the same. She could feel the tremors under her boots, the hum of machinery deep below, the pulse of something unnatural growing stronger.Genesis moved first.It charged like a living avalanche, shoulder ramming the wall as it came. The steel groaned under its weight, sparks flying in wild arcs. Emily fired, each shot cracking through the chaos, but the rounds only slowed it like pebbles striking a storm.James darted left, knife flashing. He plunged it into Genesis’s side, twisting hard. The blade bent with a screech of metal, snapping off in his hand. Genesis turned, eyes glowing brighter, and with one sweeping backhand, it hurled him across the corridor. He crashed into a bulkhead, crumpling with a groan.“James!” Emily shouted, but there was no time.Ethan was already moving. H
Chapter 117
Inside the Base – Lower CorridorsThe deeper they went, the louder the hum became. Machinery. Generators. Or something far worse.Emily held up her fist—halt. Ahead, a bulkhead door hissed, releasing a breath of freezing air. Beyond it, shadows moved in synchrony, like a rehearsed dance.James muttered, “More of Liam’s toys.”Victor tapped his scanner. “Correction—more of his failures. Power spikes suggest instability. They won’t last long.”“Unstable or not,” Emily whispered, “they’ll kill us just as dead.”They advanced. Ethan took point, his body trembling with both adrenaline and something darker—a pull, like gravity, tugging him forward. Toward Zane. Toward answers.⸻Observation Deck – Liam’s LabRiley strained against her bonds, wrists raw. Below her, through reinforced glass, she saw them: pods. Rows of them. Each one holding a figure suspended in viscous fluid, wires burrowed deep into skulls.Some twitched. Some screamed silently. Some floated still as corpses.Her stomach c
Chapter 116
Baltic Coast – Two Nights LaterThe wind screamed like a living thing. Snow lashed sideways, stinging skin through thermal masks. The abandoned NATO base loomed ahead—half-buried in ice, its skeletal towers jutting from the cliffside like broken teeth.Emily crouched behind a dune, scanning the compound with night-vision. Heat signatures pulsed faintly through the fractured roof. Guards. Patrolling in precise, mechanical formations.“Not mercenaries,” James muttered over comms. “Their movements are too… synchronized.”Victor adjusted the frequency scanner. His face tightened. “They’re not mercs. They’re augmented. Neural links. See how they pivot? Same lag time. Same feed.”Ethan exhaled slowly, steadying his rifle. “So Liam’s already field-testing them.”Emily felt the cold settle deeper in her chest. This wasn’t just a lab. It was a proving ground.“We go quiet,” she said. “No alarms. No second chances.”James gave a curt nod, slipping a suppressor onto his weapon. “Quiet I can do.”
Chapter 115
Undisclosed Location – Two Days LaterThe safehouse wasn’t safe anymore. Not really. Not after the message. Not after the drone.Emily stood in the command room, staring at the freeze-frame of Liam’s last broadcast. His eyes—cold, calculated—still burned on the screen. It was no longer about Ethan. It wasn’t even just about Revenant. This was bigger. And darker.Victor paced behind her, muttering calculations. James was silent, but alert, checking ammo counts and comms frequencies. Even Ethan, still pale and recovering, had insisted on being briefed.They didn’t have much time.“Whatever Liam’s built,” Victor said, “we’re already behind. The fact that he sent that footage means he’s ready. Confident.”“Cocky,” James corrected. “Which might be our only advantage.”Emily turned. “We need to know where that lab is. And fast.”Victor paused. “There’s something… odd about the video metadata. It’s been wiped, but the compression artifacts? They’re consistent with Valkyrie equipment.”“You t
Chapter 114
Safehouse Echo – 5 Days LaterClassified Location, Somewhere in Northern EuropeThe snow outside fell in slow spirals. Gentle. Almost peaceful.Emily sat on the edge of the metal steps overlooking the clearing, arms wrapped tightly around her knees. She hadn’t slept much. Not because she couldn’t—but because she wouldn’t. Sleep meant letting her guard down. And the past few years had taught her that peace rarely came without a price.Behind her, the door opened.James stepped out, quiet as ever. He didn’t say anything at first. Just walked over and stood beside her, hands tucked into his coat pockets.“You been out here all night?” he asked finally.Emily shrugged. “Don’t know. I lost track.”He looked at her, carefully. “He’s stable. Heart rate’s back to baseline. Neural readings are slow, but functional. Victor says that’s a good sign.”Emily nodded, but her eyes didn’t move from the trees.James sat down beside her. “You’re not convinced.”“It’s not that.” Her voice was soft. “I ju
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