2026-04-22 05:48:53Wei was still howling on the floor, clutching his ruined wrist. The lobby was frozen.
Captain Conall and his team weren't looking at the screaming man, they were staring at the Black Centurion Card in my hand.
It wasn't just metal anymore. It was vibrating, emitting a low-frequency hum that rattled the windows. A pulse of liquid gold light throbbed from the chip, casting fractured shadows across the marble.
"Captain!" Wei shrieked, his face slick with sweat. "Why are you standing there? Kill him! He’s a criminal!"
Suddenly, every smartphone in the lobby chimed at once. A synchronized, shrill emergency tone.
Conall pulled out his tablet. His eyes nearly fell out of his head. "What the...?"
"What is it?" one of the guards hissed.
"Red-Level Alert," Conall whispered. "From the Bank of International Settlements. It’s an immediate asset freeze. Subject: Manager Wei. All accounts and pension funds. Under 'Sovereign Audit'."
Wei froze. He forgot to scream. "My accounts? That’s impossible!"
Ping.
Wei’s own phone lit up on the floor.
A notification from his bank: [Account Balance: $0.00. Status: Liquidated.]
"No," Wei whimpered. "No, no!" I started walking. I didn't head for my desk. I headed for the restricted zone.
"Stop!" A younger guard shouted. He stepped into my path, reaching for my shoulder. "You can't go back there, Han Sen! You're fired!"
I didn't stop. I looked at the interface flickering over the guard's head.
[Target: Guard 43. Debt: $9,800.00 (Mother's Medical Bills).]
[Command: Purchase Loyalty. Cost: $10,000.00.]
"Check your phone," I said. The guard blinked. His pocket vibrated. He pulled his phone out, and his eyes went wide.
"My mother’s account," he breathed. "A ten-thousand-dollar deposit? Just now? How?"
"Your mother needs that surgery, doesn't she?" I asked. "Manager Wei wouldn't give you the adConall. But I just did."
The guard’s hand dropped from my arm. He looked at me, then at the broken man sobbing on the floor.
"You bastard," the guard growled, turning toward Wei. "What?" Wei gasped. "I’m your boss!"
"Not anymore," the guard spat. He lunged forward, grabbing Wei by his good arm and slamming him face-first into the tile. "Captain Conall said you're under audit. Stay down!"
"Get him out of my sight," I said. Conall bowed again. "Immediately, Master Han."
I turned toward the gold-trimmed doors of the CEO’s private elevator. I placed my palm against the glass scanner.
[Unauthorized User,] the elevator’s AI stated. [Security Protocol Engaged—]
[System Override,] the voice in my head countered. [Liquidating Digital Deed. Overwriting Ownership.]
The red light flickered and turned a deep, royal violet.
[Welcome, Owner Han,] the AI chirped. [Penthouse Access Granted.]
The doors slid open. I stepped inside. The elevator was lined with mirrors. I saw myself—the dried blood, the mud, the vengeful fire in my eyes. I looked like a monster.
I pressed the button for the 99th floor.
Ding.
The doors parted. The penthouse was a cathedral of glass. The scent of expensive cigars and aged scotch hit me instantly. I heard laughter. It was a sharp, mocking sound I knew too well.
"And then he actually crawled!" Zhao’s voice boomed. "I’m telling you, Xiao, he was on his hands and knees, begging like a dog!"
"He was always so pathetic," Lin Xiao’s voice followed. "I don't know why I wasted so much time with him."
I walked out of the elevator. My footsteps were silent on the thick, Persian rug. They were sitting on a white leather sofa, framed by a view of the city.
Zhao had a glass of scotch in one hand and his other arm draped over Lin Xiao.
"I think the video is going to get a million views by noon," Zhao said, holding up his phone. "Maybe I'll tag his sister in it while she’s dying."
"That's cold, Zhao," Lin Xiao giggled. "I love it."
I stopped ten feet away. "The video isn't going to upload." The laughter cut off.
Zhao froze. Lin Xiao jumped, nearly spilling her drink. They both whipped around, staring at me as if they were seeing a ghost.
"Han Sen?" Lin Xiao gasped. Her face went pale. "How... how are you here? Zhao, call security!"
Zhao’s face twisted into a mask of rage. He stood up, knocking his glass over. "You? You’re still alive? How did you get past the lobby? I told them to break your legs!"
"The lobby is under new management," I said.
Zhao reached for the intercom. "Conall! Conall, get up here now!" Nothing happened.
"Conall is busy," I said. "He’s helping Manager Wei find his way to a jail cell."
"You're lying," Zhao hissed. He reached for his phone, but the screen was black. "What did you do? Why isn't my phone working?"
"Your phone is dead. Your accounts are frozen. And this building?" I looked at the mahogany walls. "This building just changed hands."
Lin Xiao stood up, clutching her bag. Her eyes were wide with fear. "Han Sen, stop this. You've lost your mind. Just leave."
"Scaring you?" I let out a short, broken laugh. "I haven't even started yet." I looked at Zhao. He was shaking from a narcissist's fury.
"I don't care how you got up here," Zhao growled. "You’re still a nobody. I’m a Zhao! I own you!"
"You own nothing," I said. "You're standing in my living room."
I held up the Black Centurion Card. The gold light flooded the penthouse. Zhao’s eyes fixed on it. He knew what it was.
"That's... that's not possible," he whispered. "I'm here to settle the debt, Zhao," I said, my voice dropping to a predatory whisper. "For the coffee. For the hand. For my sister."
The elevator behind me chimed. Captain Conall stepped out with four guards, all standing at military attention.
"Master Han," Conall said. "The building is secure. Shall we remove the trespassers?"
Zhao looked at Conall, then back at me. The realization finally hit him. The color drained from his face.
"Han," Lin Xiao stammered, taking a trembling step toward me. "Han, baby, listen... I was just—"
"Quiet," I said. I looked at Zhao. "Get out," I said. "Exactly the way I was kicked out last night."
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Chapter 20: The Trash Returns
Zhao Ming looked up from the dirt. His nose was bleeding fast, the drops of blood hitting the loose gravel between his fingers. He wiped his mouth with his torn sleeve, squinting through the dim light of the tenement courtyard. He expected to see a rival CEO. He expected to see an old billionaire or a foreign investor who had bought out his family's company.Instead, he saw me, he saw my old jacket. He saw the former errand boy he had stepped on at the hotel last week."You?" Zhao Ming gasped. His voice was high and thin. He shook his head back and forth, his face twisting up. "No, no, this is wrong. You're the delivery kid. You're the trash from the lobby.""I am Han Sen," I said. "You're a front," Zhao Ming screamed, his fingers digging deeper into the mud at my feet. He looked around the yard at Song Lin and the other nine men, his eyes wide and bloodshot. "He's a front! Who is backing you? Is it the Lin family? Is it the Murongs? Tell me who paid you to do this! A piece of garba
Chapter 19: The Fall of Bio-Gen
Elder Ma gasped for air, he was a mortal old man once again. He sprawled on the concrete, his trembling hands scraping against the rough gravel of the tenement roof. His gray silk robes were completely wet from a dirty puddle of rain water. He wiped a fresh line of blood from his cracked lips and looked up at my leather boots."Zhao Tian," Ma wheezed. His voice was thin, shaky, and completely broken. "Zhao Tian sent me here. He told me to kill you today, he told me to bring your head back to the main tower before sundown.""I know," I said. "He's desperate," Ma muttered, his head dropping back down against the wet floorboards of the roof. "The family assets are frozen and he has no options left. He is losing everything."I didn't answer him, I pulled my old smartphone out of my jacket pocket. The digital clock on the system interface showed the forty-eight-hour deadline was hitting right now. The time on the screen read exactly four o'clock in the afternoon. The afternoon market bel
Chapter 18: The Elder’s Pride
The concrete on the roof was cracked. I stood near the edge, my fingers gripping the rusted iron railing. The metal left orange flakes of rust on my skin, that I didn't care about. I held my phone in my left hand, watching the trading screen. The Bio-Gen stock index was a straight line downward. It was at twelve dollars now. It had started the morning at ninety-two. "The short is hitting them hard," I muttered.Suddenly, a loud crack split the air behind me. The gravel on the roof scattered. I turned around slowly, keeping my phone in my hand. A man stood near the brick access shed. He wore traditional gray robes made of heavy silk and the hem of his robe was dusty, but his leather boots looked brand new. His hair was completely white, tied back with a leather cord. He looked about sixty, but his chest was broad. This was Elder Ma of the Iron Fist Sect."Han Sen?" Elder Ma asked. He took a slow step forward, his boots crunching on the loose gravel. "The rat who thinks he can buy th
Chapter 17: Shorting the Beast
The digital numbers kept moving in the corner of my vision. Forty-eight hours, the clock was running down. I had exactly forty-eight hours to destroy Bio-Gen Corporation, or the system would take my life as the final payment.We were back in the small warehouse room we rented. The table was made of wood, covered in dust and grease. Old Lu rubbed his face with his bare hand, his fingers leaving streaks on his dry skin. He checked the screen of his tablet."The opening bell just rang," Lu said. He tapped the red button on the plastic frame. "The market is open. Bio-Gen is trading at ninety-two dollars a share.""Dump the positions," I said. "Are you sure?" Lu asked. His thumb stayed right above the glass. "Once we execute, there is no stopping. Two billion dollars is our whole capital.""Dump it," I said. "Yes," Lu said. He pressed his thumb down hard.The Auditor Group's short positions hit the market servers instantly. A massive block of twelve million shares was offered for sale. On
Chapter 16: The Auditor Group is Born
The next morning came too fast. I sat in a booth at a cheap diner three blocks away from the hospital. The plastic seat was cracked, the tape fixing it scratching against my trousers and the table was sticky from old syrup.Old Lu sat across from me. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his collar was wrinkled. He didn't look at his coffee. Instead, he slid a thick stack of white registration papers across the table. The top page had an official corporate stamp on it, still wet with blue ink."It's done," Lu said. He took a small sip of his black coffee and grimaced. "The registry office opened at seven, I paid the rush fee."I looked down at the documents. "The name?""The Auditor Group," Lu said. He tapped the paper with a blunt finger. "Registered as a global investment conglomerate. We have the legal right to short assets, buy debt, and execute hostile takeovers now. We are an official entity.""Good," I said. "It's not good yet," Lu said. He pulled his tablet out and placed i
Chapter 15: The Bio-Gen Discovery
Two security guards grabbed Director Sun by his arms. He kicked his feet, but his slippery black shoes couldn't get a grip on the floor. They dragged him straight down the corridor toward the service elevator."You can't do this!" Sun yelled. "I've worked here for twelve years!"Nobody answered him. The hospital staff stood by the nursing station, keeping their heads down. The new security team I bought didn't say a word either. They just threw him into the elevator and slammed the metal gate shut.I walked back into the luxury suite. Old Lu was already shifting Yue's pillows. We moved her bed back into the corner, right next to the monitoring equipment, her breathing was steady. The digital screen showed her heart rate was sixty-two beats per minute."Is she safe now?" Lu asked, dropping his hands. "For now," I said. "Lock the door."Lu walked over and turned the heavy brass deadbolt, it clicked into place. Then he sat down at the small wooden table in the corner, pulling his scratch
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