The Ring Of The Billionaire System

Targeted

"Come out. I've known you were following me for three blocks."

I threw those words into the chilly New York night air without turning back. My voice was sharp, even as my palms broke into a cold sweat inside my jacket pockets. My new shoes struck the pavement in a rhythm I intentionally accelerated—one block, two blocks, three sharp turns that should have thrown off anyone trailing me.

Yet the footsteps behind me remained. Consistent. Unhurried, but never falling behind.

I turned abruptly into a narrow side alley beside a closed storefront. Still, the shadow behind me clung close.

I made another turn, this time ducking into a cramped, dead-end alley that ended at a tall brick wall covered in graffiti. A trap I had deliberately set, even as my heart hammered far faster than I cared to show.

The footsteps behind me came to a halt right at the alley's mouth. I turned, putting on as calm an expression as I could muster, though my hands remained tightly clenched to hide their shaking.

The man in the black jacket stood a few yards away, hands buried in his pockets, his face as unbothered as if he had anticipated this trap from the very beginning.

"Now tell me. Who sent you?"

The man smiled—not the nervous twitch of someone caught red-handed, but the satisfied grin of a teacher watching a student pass a test. "Good. It means your instincts are starting to wake up, Alsean."

"I didn't ask for a compliment." I forced my voice to stay flat, even as my chest heaved. "I asked who sent you."

"My name isn't important, Alsean Zeffran. I'm just a courier." The man took a step forward, hands still in his pockets. "Sent from the Smith Conglomerate. The big boss simply wants to ensure you'll attend the dinner party later."

I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second, activating the newly unlocked Eye of the Heart, hoping my hands would stop trembling before he noticed. A faint line of text floated above his head.

[INTENTION: HIDING TRUE PURPOSE]

"You're lying," I said, my voice nearly breaking, though I held it together. "You're not just a courier. You're hiding something."

The smile on his face faded slightly. "You don't need to know more than that."

"Then I won't be attending the party."

"Not a wise choice, Alsean. The people who invited you don't take kindly to rejection."

"What people? Just your boss, or someone else behind him?"

The man went silent, his eyes darting quickly toward the mouth of the alley, as if checking whether anyone was listening. "Actually, the boss looking for you isn't—"

A sharp hiss cut off his sentence, followed by the man's body violently convulsing. His eyes widened, his mouth opening soundlessly before he collapsed heavily onto the ground.

"Sir!"

I dropped to my knees, supporting his body as it twitched for a few seconds. A small burn mark was clearly visible on his neck, the distinct sign of a long-range taser projectile. His eyes remained half-open, his lips moving weakly.

"Do... don't go... alone to the party..."

His body went limp. He was still breathing, but completely unconscious.

I looked up sharply, scanning the rooftops, the dark windows, and the alley entrance. There was no one. The attacker had vanished as quickly as they appeared, as though they had never been there in the first place.

"System, who just attacked him?"

"Detection failed. Target utilized a trajectory beyond the Heir's current sensor range."

"There's a third party," I whispered, my voice trembling. "It's not just the Smith Conglomerate targeting me."

I reported the incident to the nearest police station, asking for assistance with the unconscious man, before walking back home alone. My steps were still subtly shaking, though I forced my face to look ordinary every time I passed someone on the streets of night-time New York.

"Warning! Artifact broker activity increasing within a three-kilometer radius."

"What do you mean?"

"It is highly probable they are searching for artifacts similar to the Ring of Prosperity."

I swallowed hard. How many eyes were watching me right now?

I brought my steps to a halt, staring down at my hand beneath the pale, flickering streetlight. "System, I need to know more about this ring. Up until now, you've only given me piecemeal information."

"Partial access to Heir Archives now available."

A small panel of light materialized, displaying names that were mostly redacted.

"Over the past seventy years, four Heirs were recorded prior to the old man who willed the ring to you. Three of them vanished without a trace."

"Were they killed?"

"Further information cannot be accessed at the Heir's current level."

"Why does it have to be restricted?!"

"Higher-level information will unlock as the Heir ascends in rank."

"If the previous three vanished, will I suffer the same fate?"

The system did not answer. It remained silent, as if even the system itself had no guarantees to offer.

Screeech!

The sharp squeal of tires echoed from the right. Before I could fully turn, something deep within me pulsed violently.

"Danger Instinct active. Three seconds."

I lunged to the left without thinking. My body hit the sidewalk just as a motorcycle roared past, grazing the exact spot I had been standing a fraction of a second earlier. The motorcycle sped away without lights or a readable license plate.

"Dammit!" I hissed, my chest rising and falling rapidly. My palms were scraped raw from breaking my fall against the asphalt.

"Skill successfully acquired."

A new panel flashed briefly at the corner of my vision, accompanied by an additional line that made me freeze.

[300 EVOLUTION POINTS ACQUIRED.]

[ACCESSING NEW MENU: SYSTEM SHOP (PARTIALLY LOCKED)]

I pushed myself up, wiping the blood from my palms.

"What's the System Shop? Can I use it now?"

"The System Shop remains partially locked. Currently, only basic defensive items are available."

A faint smile touched my lips—exhausted, yet a spark of drive ignited amid my fear. At least tonight wasn't just about running away and almost dying for nothing.

My new phone rang just as I reached my apartment building. Rosse's name appeared on the screen. I took a deep breath before answering.

"Hello, Rosse."

"Alsean, where have you been? You haven't replied to my messages since noon. I was getting worried."

"Sorry, Rosse. Something came up suddenly."

"Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet."

"Alsean..." Rosse's tone shifted slightly. Not with anger, but with concern. "You always do this. When you have too much on your mind, you forget to eat entirely."

I offered a faint smile. "You still remember."

"Because you never change."

Silence stretched for a few seconds.

"Alsean."

"Yeah?"

"If you're exhausted, don't keep it bottled up by yourself. Even if I can't do much to help, at least I can listen."

I closed my eyes for a moment. After a night filled with threats, those simple words felt infinitely more comforting than anything else. "Thank you, Rosse."

The call ended. I looked at my phone screen for a moment before slipping it back into my pocket. A small, subconscious smile appeared on my face. In a world suddenly filled with enemies and secrets, there was still someone who called me just to make sure I had eaten.

Stopping outside my apartment door, I reached out to turn the knob, but my eyes caught something tucked underneath the hinge. A plain black envelope—no name, no return address—lay neatly on the floor as if deliberately placed by someone who knew exactly when I would return.

I crouched down, scanning the hallway once more before touching it. No one was there. Only the night wind and my own heartbeat sounded far too loud in my ears.

My hands trembled as I opened it.

Inside lay a single old photograph, slightly yellowed with age. The face of the old man who had willed the ring to me smiled peacefully inside the frame, far younger than when I had met him on that rainy night.

Over his face, a thick red cross was drawn, accompanied by words that made my eyes widen.

You will be the fifth.

For the first time since receiving the ring, the reality sank in: even my own home was no longer a safe place.