The Trillionaire's Disgrace: My Blood System Demands Sacrif.

CHAPTER 2: THE PRICE OF POWER

Marcus woke up screaming to silence.

His throat was raw, mouth open in a shriek that produced no sound. He clawed at his face, trying to remember what his mother's voice sounded like; the lullabies she sang when he was five, the way she laughed at his dad's terrible jokes, her last words before the massacre.

Nothing. Just empty space where memories should be.

The blood system's red screen hovered in his vision:

[SACRIFICES PROCESSED]

[MOTHER'S VOICE: DELETED]

[ABILITY TO CRY: REMOVED]

[CAPACITY FOR HAPPINESS: EXTRACTED]

[TOTAL GAINED: $850,000]

[CURRENT BALANCE: $850,047.23]

[CORRUPTION: 34%]

[WELCOME TO YOUR NEW EXISTENCE, ASSHOLE]

The warehouse was dark. Cold. Marcus sat against a concrete pillar, watching dawn light creep through broken windows. His face throbbed where Richard had shattered his cheekbone, but the enhanced healing was working; he could feel bone knitting together, flesh repairing itself.

He tried to feel relieved about surviving. Tried to feel angry about what the Wrights had done.

Nothing. Just cold calculation. Empty strategy.

The system had taken his happiness. He understood that intellectually. But understanding and feeling were different things.

Marcus pulled out his phone. Seventeen missed calls from Elena. Thirty-two text messages. He opened them.

"Marcus, please. This is insane. Turn yourself in."

"My brother is DEAD because of you!"

"The police will find you. Victor has connections everywhere."

"I never wanted this. You have to believe me."

"Please. For what we had. Surrender."

Marcus stared at the messages. He should feel something; anger, betrayal, maybe even lingering love. But his emotional range had flatlined. Just cold emptiness where feelings used to live.

He typed back: "What we had was you fucking Victor Kane for eight months while I delivered noodles. Enjoy the wedding."

He blocked her number.

The blood system screen updated:

[MAIN QUEST INITIALIZED]

[DESTROY THE FIVE FAMILIES]

[CURRENT PROGRESS: 0/5]

[FIRST TARGET: WRIGHT FAMILY]

[ESTIMATED DIFFICULTY: IMPOSSIBLE]

[YOUR CURRENT POWER LEVEL: PATHETIC]

[RECOMMENDATION: GET STRONGER OR DIE TRYING]

Marcus opened his banking app. $850,047.23. More money than he'd seen in three years, but pocket change compared to what the Wrights had stolen. They controlled billions. He had less than a million.

But the system offered options.

[SHOP UPDATED - NEW ABILITIES AVAILABLE]

[BUSINESS PREDICTION LV1: $200,000]

[ENHANCED CHARISMA: $150,000]

[MARTIAL ARTS MASTERY LV1: $300,000]

[PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY: $100,000]

[LIE DETECTION: $50,000]

Marcus did the math. He could afford three, maybe four abilities if he budgeted. But which ones?

His danger sense suddenly screamed.

He rolled aside as the warehouse door exploded inward. Two SWAT officers rushed in, rifles raised.

"Marcus Chen! Hands up! Now!"

More cops poured through the door. Six, eight, ten of them. All armed. All pointing guns at him.

Marcus's combat instinct assessed the situation in microseconds. Ten armed officers. One exit blocked. Windows too high to reach quickly. His current abilities: basic combat, danger sense, minor healing.

Odds of winning this fight: 0.002%

Odds of escape: 3%

He raised his hands slowly.

"On your knees! Face down! Now!"

Marcus complied. Cold concrete pressed against his cheek. Hands yanked his arms behind his back. Cuffs clicked around his wrists.

"Marcus Chen, you're under arrest for the murder of Richard Wright. You have the right to remain silent"

The officer's voice droned on. Marcus's mind raced. The system had said professional assassins were coming. These were cops but were they real cops, or were some of them on Victor Kane's payroll?

His danger sense pulsed. Three of the ten officers were giving off warning signals. Not immediate threats, but... wrong somehow.

The blood system screen appeared:

[EMERGENCY QUEST]

[ESCAPE POLICE CUSTODY]

[TIME LIMIT: 2 HOURS]

[REWARD: CORRUPTION -5%]

[FAILURE: PRISON OR DEATH]

[SHOP UNLOCKED: EMERGENCY PURCHASES]

[TEMPORARY ENHANCED STRENGTH: $50,000 (1 HOUR)]

[TEMPORARY INVISIBILITY: $100,000 (5 MINUTES)]

[BRIBE SEED (PLANT EVIDENCE): $75,000]

Marcus's mind worked through scenarios. Enhanced strength could let him break cuffs and fight, but ten armed cops would shoot him down. Invisibility might work, but five minutes wasn't long enough to get far. The bribe seed was interesting; plant evidence to frame someone else or create reasonable doubt.

But there was another option.

"I didn't kill Richard Wright," Marcus said clearly. "I want my lawyer."

One of the cops, the tall one with the scar, one of the three triggering his danger sense leaned down. "Shut the fuck up, Chen. Multiple witnesses saw you attack him. Your gun, your bullets."

"I shot him in the knee. He was alive when I left. Check the coroner's report. Check the bullets. I'm betting they won't match."

Scar-face's expression flickered. Just for a second.

Got him.

"The killers who finished Richard off used different weapons," Marcus continued. "Probably suppressed nine-millimeter. I had a .38 revolver. The bullets won't match because I didn't kill him. Someone else did."

Another cop, a woman with sergeant stripes frowned. "How do you know what weapons they used?"

"Because they tried to kill me too. Check the construction site on Baker Street. You'll find shell casings. Run the ballistics. I'm betting they match Richard's actual cause of death."

The sergeant pulled out her radio. "Dispatch, send a team to the Baker Street construction site. I want that area processed."

Scar-face stepped closer to Marcus. "Doesn't matter. You still assaulted him. You're still going down."

His danger sense spiked hard.

This cop was dirty. Working for someone. Victor Kane? The Crimson Court? Didn't matter. He was a threat.

Marcus needed leverage.

The blood system offered an option:

[SPECIAL ABILITY UNLOCK]

[TRUTH SERUM VOICE: $200,000]

[FORCES TARGET TO ANSWER ONE QUESTION TRUTHFULLY]

[COOLDOWN: 24 HOURS]

[WARNING: OBVIOUS SUPERNATURAL EFFECT - USE CAREFULLY]

Marcus hesitated. Two hundred grand for one question. But if he could expose a dirty cop in front of other officers...

"Buy it," he whispered.

[PURCHASE CONFIRMED]

[BALANCE: $650,047.23]

[CORRUPTION: 38%]

[ABILITY INSTALLED]

Information flooded Marcus's brain how to modulate his voice, which frequencies triggered involuntary truth-telling in human brains, the exact words to use.

Marcus looked directly at Scar-face. Let the new ability activate. His voice came out different layered, resonant, impossible to ignore.

"Officer, who paid you to kill me?"

Scar-face's eyes went wide. His mouth opened. Words spilled out before he could stop them: "Victor Kane paid me fifty thousand to make sure you didn't survive custody. Supposed to look like you attacked me and I"

He clapped his hand over his mouth. Too late.

Every cop in the warehouse was staring.

The sergeant's hand dropped to her sidearm. "Johnson. What the fuck did you just say?"

Scar-face, Johnson went for his gun.

Marcus's danger sense screamed. His combat instinct kicked in. Even handcuffed, he could move.

He rolled aside as Johnson fired. The bullet hit another cop, one of the other dirty ones Marcus's danger sense had flagged. That cop went down.

Chaos erupted.

The sergeant and six clean cops opened fire on Johnson. He dove behind equipment. Bullets went off. The third dirty cop pulled his weapon, shot the cop nearest to him, tried to create an opening.

Marcus used the confusion. His enhanced strength from earlier purchases, still active, let him snap the handcuff chain. Not free, but mobile.

He ran for the windows. Jumped, crashed through glass, landed hard in the alley below. His healing kicked in immediately, repairing cuts.

Behind him, gunfire continued. Sirens wailed.

Marcus ran.

The blood system screen appeared as he sprinted:

[EMERGENCY QUEST STATUS: IN PROGRESS]

[YOU STARTED A SHOOTOUT WITH COPS]

[WANTED LEVEL: MAXIMUM]

[EVERY OFFICER IN THE CITY LOOKING FOR YOU]

[ESCAPE TIMER: 1 HOUR, 47 MINUTES]

Marcus's danger sense guided him through alleys, away from patrol cars. His combat instinct helped him stay low, move quiet, avoid cameras.

He needed somewhere to hide. Needed time to think. Needed

His phone buzzed. Unknown number. Against his better judgment, Marcus answered.

"Hello, Marcus." The voice was smooth and cultured. Familiar somehow. "That was quite a performance at the warehouse."

"Who is this?"

"Someone who's been watching you. Someone who knows what you really are." A pause. "Someone who knew your parents."

Marcus stopped running. "Who the fuck is this?"

"Meet me at the old Chen Estate. North gate. One hour. Come alone. I'll explain everything including who really killed your family."

The line went dead.

The blood system screen flashed:

[SPECIAL QUEST DETECTED]

[MYSTERIOUS CONTACT]

[REWARD: UNKNOWN]

[DANGER LEVEL: EXTREME]

[PROBABLY A TRAP]

[DEFINITELY A TRAP]

[GO ANYWAY? YOUR FUNERAL]

Marcus stared at his phone. The Chen Estate had been sealed after the massacre. Three years abandoned. Could be an ambush. Probably was an ambush.

But someone knew about his parents. Someone had information.

He checked his balance: $650,047.23.

Checked his corruption: 38%.

He'd already sacrificed his mother's voice, his tears, his happiness. Already murdered cops. No, they'd murdered each other, but nobody would believe that. Already broken.

What was one more risk?

Marcus headed north, toward the ruins of his family's legacy.

The Chen Estate loomed ahead, twenty acres of overgrown gardens and a mansion that looked like something from a gothic novel. The gates were chained shut, rust eating through metal.

Marcus's danger sense was screaming. Every instinct said turn back.

He climbed the fence anyway.

The grounds were a maze of dead vegetation. Fountains that once sparkled now held stagnant water. Statues of Chen ancestors watched with empty eyes.

Marcus reached the north gate. Empty. Nobody there.

Then he felt it; cold pressure against the back of his head. A gun barrel.

"Don't move," a woman's voice said. "I need to make sure you're really him."

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Someone your mother trusted. I've been trying to protect you for three years." The gun lowered. "Turn around slowly."

Marcus turned.

The woman was maybe thirty-five, Asian features, dressed in tactical gear. She looked exhausted. Haunted.

"My name is Agent Sarah Chen. I'm FBI. And I'm your cousin."

Marcus's blood went cold. "I don't have any cousins. Everyone died in the massacre."

"Not everyone. I was deep undercover when it happened. By the time I surfaced, you'd already been forced into that marriage. I've been investigating ever since." She gestured toward the mansion. "We need to talk. And you need to see what I found."

The blood system screen appeared:

[NEW CHARACTER: SARAH CHEN]

[RELATIONSHIP: ???]

[TRUST LEVEL: UNKNOWN]

[DANGER ASSESSMENT: MODERATE]

[ADVICE: TRUST NO ONE]

[ESPECIALLY FAMILY]

Sarah started walking toward the mansion. Stopped when Marcus didn't follow. "I know about the system, Marcus. I know what it's doing to you. And I know how to stop it before you hit one hundred percent."

Marcus's hand instinctively went to his chest, where the corruption sat like ice in his veins.

"How do you..."

"Because your father had one too. And it killed him." Sarah's eyes were hard. "The Chen Massacre wasn't random gang violence. It was an execution ordered by people who knew about the Ancestral Systems. People who've been hunting system users for five hundred years."

She opened the mansion's front door. Inside was darkness.

"Your parents died trying to protect you from what you're becoming. The least you can do is learn why."

Marcus stood at the threshold. Behind him, sirens echoed through the city. Ahead, darkness and a cousin he'd never known existed, offering answers that might be lies.

The blood system screen pulsed:

[MAJOR DECISION POINT]

[ENTER THE MANSION: UNLOCK HIDDEN LORE]

[REFUSE: STAY IGNORANT, STAY SAFE (RELATIVELY)]

[CHOOSE WISELY]

[OR DON'T]

[EITHER WAY, YOU'RE FUCKED]

Marcus looked at Sarah Chen's face. Tried to see his mother in her features. Tried to feel hope that maybe, finally, he had an ally.

Felt nothing.

He'd already sold his happiness. Might as well buy some answers.

Marcus walked into the darkness.

Behind him, the door swung shut with a sound like a coffin closing.

[CORRUPTION: 38%]

[TRUST: ZERO]

[ANSWERS: INCOMING]