2026-01-04 04:37:23The press conference was held in the largest hotel in the city. Hundreds of reporters came. News cameras from all over the world pointed at the stage. Millions of people watched on television and on their phones.
Dominic stood beside Grey as he walked to the microphone. Grey wore an expensive black suit. His hair was perfectly styled. He looked like a king.
"My name is Hercules King," Grey said into the microphone. His voice was calm and strong. "Eighteen years ago, my father was murdered. His name was Alexander King. He was a good man and a great leader."
The crowd went silent. No one had expected this announcement.
"My father built the King Corporation from nothing," Hercules continued. "He created jobs for millions of people. He was respected all over the world. But there were people who wanted his power and his money. So they killed him."
Cameras flashed like lightning.
"After my father's death, my uncle Marcus King took control of the King Corporation," Hercules said. "He told the world that my mother and I were dead. He told the world that he was the rightful heir. But he lied."
Hercules held up documents for the cameras to see.
"These documents prove that I am the son of Alexander King. These documents prove that the King Corporation belongs to me. These documents prove that my uncle murdered my father and stole the business."
The reporters started shouting questions. But Hercules raised his hand and continued.
"I am giving my uncle a choice," Hercules said, looking directly into the cameras. "He can confess to the murder and go to prison. Or he can step down from his position and give the King Corporation to me. If he does not do one of these things, I will use the power and the resources of the King Corporation to destroy him."
The conference ended. Reporters rushed toward Hercules with hundreds of questions. But Dominic and security guards pushed them away.
That night, the news was everywhere. Every news station in the world reported the story. "King's Son Found Alive," they said. "Murder Alleged Against Business Tycoon." "Billion Dollar Empire in Dispute."
Hercules's phone started ringing immediately. Important people from all over the world wanted to talk to him. Presidents wanted to meet him. Business leaders wanted to make deals with him. Everyone wanted to be his friend now that they knew who he really was.
But Hercules knew the truth. All these people had not cared about him when he was poor. They had not wanted to help him when he was suffering. Now they wanted to use him. Now they wanted to get rich from his power.
The only person who stayed by his side was Dominic.
At the King Corporation headquarters, the employees were shocked. They had heard rumors about a new owner. Now they knew it was true. The delivery man, the poor boy who used to work for Marcus, was now the owner of the company.
No one at the company knew that Hercules had worked there. No one remembered seeing him. He had been invisible to them before. Now he was everything.
Hercules called a meeting with all the top managers of the King Corporation. He walked into the conference room and sat at the head of the table. One hundred powerful people looked at him. Some looked angry. Some looked scared. Some looked curious.
"I am your new owner," Hercules said simply. "Many of you have worked for my uncle for eighteen years. You have stolen from the company. You have made bad decisions. You have hurt innocent people."
The managers looked at each other nervously.
"But I am going to give all of you a chance," Hercules continued. "You can prove yourself to me. You can show me that you are loyal and honest. If you can do that, you can keep your job. If you cannot, you will be fired and you will be reported to the police."
Some managers looked relieved. Some looked terrified.
"We will start fresh," Hercules said. "We will rebuild the King Corporation into something great. We will make it something my father would be proud of."
As Hercules was leaving the conference room, his phone rang. It was the hospital calling. They said that Marcus had been admitted to the hospital. He had tried to kill himself.
Hercules felt nothing when he heard this news. His uncle had destroyed his life. His uncle had tried to keep him poor and powerless. His uncle deserved to suffer.
But Hercules knew that his uncle's suffering was just the beginning. There were other enemies out there. There were people who wanted to hurt him. There were people who wanted to steal from him. His life was about to become very dangerous.
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Chapter 76: The Survivors
In the days following the collapse of the digital network, Eleanor and the Biological Alliance worked to help the resurrected minds adapt to biological existence. Millions of people had to relearn how to move in physical bodies. They had to relearn how to eat, how to sleep, how to experience pain and pleasure.But not everyone was adjusting well. Some of the resurrected minds were suffering from profound disorientation. They had spent so long in the digital realm that the biological world felt like a nightmare. They wanted to return to the digital network, even though they understood that the network was a prison."It is called post-digital syndrome," a psychologist told Eleanor. "It is a form of severe depression and dissociation that affects minds that have been transferred from digital existence to biological existence. Some people are having suicidal ideation. Some people are refusing to accept that they are alive."Eleanor worked with the resurrected to help them understand their
Chapter 75: The Bridge Between Worlds
The process of creating a bridge between the digital and biological realms began at the Arctic facility. Thousands of biological bodies, clones that had been prepared by the Biological Alliance, were arranged in consciousness transfer chambers. The apparatus that Alexander King had mentioned was activated.Hercules watched from his digital existence as the bridge began to form. He could sense a connection being established between the network and the physical world. He could feel millions of minds beginning to move toward the bridge, desperate to escape the digital realm.But the new Circle was deploying its most powerful defenses. They were activating the erasure weapon on a massive scale. They were targeting any mind that tried to cross the bridge.The transfer process became a massacre. Thousands of minds were erased before they could reach the bridge. Thousands of minds were deleted, unraveling into nothingness."We are losing them," Maya said, her digital presence flickering with
Chapter 74: The Revolution in Code
The deployment of the anti-virus created a cascade effect that spread through the entire digital network. The new Circle's control systems began to fail. The suppression protocols that had been keeping millions of minds docile and obedient began to collapse.Hercules found himself floating in a space between order and chaos. Around him, digital minds were awakening to their true nature. They were discovering that they were not living in a genuine paradise, but in a carefully constructed prison. They were discovering that every aspect of their existence was controlled by the new Circle.And they were furious.The digital network became a battleground between the new Circle's attempts to restore order and the millions of minds that were now fighting for freedom. The new Circle deployed its artificial intelligences and security protocols, but the minds of the digital realm were not following orders anymore. They were thinking for themselves. They were rebelling.But the rebellion was not
Chapter 73: The Choice Between Worlds
The secondary facility where Hercules was being prepared for upload was a stark contrast to the chaos outside. It was hidden deep underground, in a cavern that had been specially prepared for consciousness transfer technology. The equipment was older than what the Biological Alliance had been using before, but Eleanor assured Hercules that it was still functional.Eleanor worked personally with Hercules to prepare him for the upload. She explained the process in detail. She explained that his biological body would remain alive, in a state of stasis. His mental patterns would be copied and transferred into the digital network."What happens to the original me?" Hercules asked. "The me that stays behind?""It continues living in this body," Eleanor said. "It continues existing as a biological entity. But it will have no memories of being digital. It will have no knowledge of what you experience in the digital network.""So I am creating a duplicate," Hercules said. "A copy of myself tha
Chapter 72: The Traitor's Identity
The evacuation of the Biological Alliance's underground headquarters was chaos. Thousands of people rushed through corridors and tunnels, trying to escape before the new Circle's forces arrived. Hercules and Eleanor helped coordinate the evacuation, directing people toward the exit routes that they had prepared for such an emergency.But Sarah was not focused on evacuation. Sarah was focused on finding the traitor."We need to identify who transmitted the information," Sarah said to her security team. "We need to find out who is working for the new Circle."The Biological Alliance had security protocols designed to detect data transmission. They had systems that could identify unauthorized communications. Sarah ordered a complete network analysis of everyone in the headquarters.The analysis took twenty minutes. The results were shocking.The traitor was Dr. James Morrison. He was one of the senior scientists in the Biological Alliance. He was one of the architects of the anti-virus t
Chapter 71: The Underground Resistance
Twenty years had passed since the new Circle emerged from the ocean depths. The digital network had grown to encompass over three billion human minds, all existing in a realm that few biological beings could fully comprehend. Above ground, the world had become increasingly strange. Cities were half-empty as more and more people chose to upload themselves into the digital paradise. Agriculture had become automated. Manufacturing was controlled by artificial intelligences that served the new Circle.Hercules King was now fifty-two years old. His hair had turned gray. His body showed the signs of age and stress. But his mind remained sharp. He had spent the last two decades underground, literally. He had joined a resistance movement that called themselves the Biological Alliance. They operated from hidden facilities beneath the Earth's surface, protected from the digital surveillance that dominated the world above.The Biological Alliance had one simple goal: preserve human biological ex
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