Ting!
The soft chime of the VVIP elevator broke the tension inside the cabin. The doors slid open, and the icy air from within blended with the overwhelming presence the System had infused into my body. Elena and I stepped out, making our way down the top-floor corridor of PT Arkadia Jaya.
At the end of the hallway, the automatic glass doors to the main boardroom opened wide. The sharp clicks of Elena's heels and the firm rhythm of my leather shoes echoed through the vast room, silencing every conversation inside.
The atmosphere was suffocating.
Siska sat proudly beside Brandon, looking down on the board of directors with open contempt. Her face radiated triumph, clearly reveling in her position as the company's "new mistress," at the very place where I had once worked myself to exhaustion as a courier who was constantly insulted.
Brandon stood at the front with a microphone in hand, his face dripping with arrogance as he prepared to finalize the hostile acquisition of the company's logistics assets.
"With the legally recognized transfer of the majority shares, I, Brandon Dirgantara, hereby declare that..."
"That decision will never be legitimate without the signature of the true owner."
My voice cut through the room, cold and thunderous, leaving his sentence unfinished.
Siska flinched violently.
Brandon froze in place, the microphone slowly lowering in his hand.
A suffocating silence immediately swallowed the room. Dozens of executives turned their eyes away from Brandon and toward me.
The man they had treated like garbage just yesterday now stood before them in a custom-tailored charcoal gray suit worth one hundred million rupiah.
Everything about me, my physique, my gaze, even the way I stood, radiated absolute authority that crushed the resolve of everyone in the room.
"Arkan?!" Siska shrieked hoarsely. Her voice cracked with disbelief, her eyes nearly bulging from their sockets. "Y-you... how the hell is a bum like you in here?! Who gave you access?!"
I ignored her as though she were nothing more than a passing breeze.
With slow, intimidating steps, I walked toward the head chair at the end of the marble conference table, while Elena followed beside me carrying a black briefcase filled with crucial legal documents.
"My apologies, Mr. Brandon," I said as I removed my suit jacket and handed it to Elena.
I sat in the executive chair, crossed one leg over the other with effortless confidence, making the already tense room feel even heavier.
"It seems this meeting is operating under the wrong agenda. Today's agenda isn't acquiring the logistics division. It's conducting a complete restructuring of the Dirgantara family."
Brandon burst into laughter, though it sounded forced. The veins in his neck bulged as his fury mounted.
"Have you lost your damn mind, trash?! You think renting an expensive suit lets you walk in here and steal my position? Security! Throw this delusional bum out right now! Drag him out!"
The two burly security guards took two steps forward before stopping dead in their tracks.
At that exact moment, Elena activated her holographic tablet, projecting a transparent financial audit across the boardroom's main wall.
"Take another look with your own eyes and see who currently owns the majority of the company's preferred shares," Elena said.
Her voice remained calm, but its certainty struck everyone in the room like a hammer.
Chaos erupted.
One of the commissioners, an elderly man wearing glasses, rose from his chair with trembling hands as he read the data displayed on the company's central system.
"The... the data is authentic!"
His face turned deathly pale.
"Within the last thirty minutes, an enormous capital inflow occurred. Someone purchased fifty-one percent of our shares at a premium price... entirely in cash! Every single share is now registered under Arkan Wijaya!"
Those words stunned everyone.
Brandon, who had stood so proudly only moments ago, collapsed heavily into his chair. His eyes were empty with disbelief.
"T-that's impossible! You manipulated the data, didn't you?!" Siska screamed hysterically.
She jumped to her feet, pointing a trembling finger directly at me as she breathed frantically.
"Brandon! Say something! He's just a poor courier who lives on instant noodles every day! Yesterday he almost got killed by a truck! Where did this bum get one hundred billion rupiah?! Answer me!"
"Exactly, Siska," I said, cutting through her hysteria with deadly calm.
I took a box from one of Elena's shopping bags and placed it in the center of the expensive marble table.
A box of martabak.
The exact same cheap martabak Brandon had smashed outside his mansion gate the night before.
"I am a courier. And as a courier, I learned the single most important thing in life."
"Delivery addresses."
I slowly rose to my feet, staring at Siska as she instinctively backed away until her back struck the wall.
The overpowering scent of her expensive perfume was completely overwhelmed by the smell of fear seeping from every pore of her body.
"Last night, when the two of you trampled on my dignity, I finally realized something..."
I leaned close, whispering directly into her trembling ear.
"...my real address was never the filthy streets where I was humiliated. It was the seat of power where you and your rich boyfriend have been living in comfort."
"Arkan... you..." Siska sobbed as tears ruined her carefully applied makeup.
"You always said life was about investments, didn't you? You threw me away and chose Brandon because he was a much more promising asset."
I smiled faintly, looking at her with utter disgust.
"Unfortunately, your investment turned into a total loss, Siska. The man beside you is nothing but an empty shell. His company's debts are about to drag both of you into becoming the real homeless beggars."
"YOU BASTARD, ARKAN!"
Brandon roared.
Having completely lost his sanity, he vaulted over the table and grabbed the collar of my expensive shirt, his bloodshot eyes burning with the humiliation of watching his pride collapse into dust.
"You think you've won just because you bought some shares?! I'm a Dirgantara! My family's influence in Arkadia's market can't be brought down by some damn courier like you! I'll make your life worse than death itself! You hear me?!"
I didn't resist.
I let his trembling hands clutch my collar.
Instead, I stared directly into his eyes with the gaze of an apex predator locking onto prey already cornered at the edge of a cliff.
"Brandon."
"Look around you. Wake up."
My voice was barely above a whisper, yet every word echoed throughout the silent boardroom.
"Ask the commissioners standing here. Are they going to remain beside the spoiled son of a bankrupt family who survives on empty threats, or stand behind the man capable of injecting one hundred billion rupiah into this company in the blink of an eye?"
The moment I finished speaking, one commissioner slowly rose to his feet and bowed respectfully toward me.
A second followed.
Then a third.
Until finally every director abandoned Brandon's side and walked around the conference table, taking their place behind me.
Siska watched the scene in complete shock.
Every trace of arrogance disappeared from her face, replaced by utter defeat.
Brandon slowly released my collar as though he'd just touched a burning iron.
His steps faltered as he realized he had lost everything in less than an hour.
"Counselor," I called without turning around.
A middle-aged man dressed in a formal black suit, the elite attorney recruited by Elena's team, entered the room carrying a thick stack of legal documents bearing the national seal.
"As instructed, Mr. Arkan. Every debt owed by PT Arkadia Logistics that matured today under the Dirgantara Group has been fully acquired. Technically speaking, every inch of property, the entire truck fleet, and even this company's official corporate seal are now the lawful property of Mr. Arkan Wijaya."
Brandon gasped for breath, his face flushing red as he struggled to contain both rage and tears.
"Arkan... listen to me... w-we can talk this through, right? We're partners... we can split the profits..."
The man whose voice had thundered with arrogance moments ago was now reduced to a pathetic plea.
I sat back down in the executive chair and slowly turned it around until my back faced them.
Beyond the towering glass wall stretched the magnificent skyline of Arkadia City's financial district.
"Elena."
"Yes, sir?"
"Take over the entire operational system. Fire Siska in front of Brandon this very second. Starting tomorrow morning, make sure neither of them has access to any commercial property under our banner. As the new ruler of the logistics industry, I have no need for employees who enjoy cheating and have no idea how to value loyalty."
"Understood, sir."
"ARKAN! DON'T DO THIS! I'M YOUR GIRLFRIEND, ARKAN! I MADE A MISTAKE!"
Siska screamed hysterically, trying to rush toward me before the security guards, now firmly on my side, restrained her without hesitation.
I stopped my chair from turning just before they dragged them away.
"Siska, I remember your exact words yesterday outside Brandon's house."
"'We're over.'"
"So don't ever say my name again with that filthy mouth."
"You're nothing more than expired merchandise, no longer worthy of taking up space in my company's warehouse."
Crash!
The boardroom doors slammed shut.
Brandon's hysterical screams, filled with threats, and Siska's tearful sobs of regret gradually faded down the corridor, leaving only silence behind. A wave of relief settled deep in my chest. There was no overwhelming sense of satisfaction, only absolute clarity. It turned out that the world was remarkably easy to control when you possessed unlimited capital.
I turned my chair back toward the table.
The remaining commissioners waited for my orders, their bodies trembling, their heads bowed in nervous submission.
"The real meeting has only just begun," I said flatly, opening the thick folder in front of me. "We're going to discuss how to strip away every remaining Dirgantara Family asset in the real estate and entertainment sectors until they're completely wiped off the map. Are you prepared to work for your new owner?"
One by one, they bowed in unison, their voices filled with both fear and respect.
"Of course, Mr. Arkan! We're ready!"
I glanced at my new luxury watch, a high-end brand Elena had fastened onto my wrist earlier. It was only four in the afternoon.
Today was my first day standing at the very top, and this was only the beginning of the systematic destruction I had carefully planned.
I leaned back into the luxurious chair and closed my eyes for a moment, letting my ambition breathe freely.
The discarded courier was dead.
The new owner of Arkadia had been born.
Suddenly, at the edge of my vision, the System's holographic display flickered back to life, glowing with a dim yet intense golden light.
[Target Achieved: 50%. Arkadia Power Ranking: Top 50.]
[System Recommendation: Recruit a black market network to expand intelligence access into the other three major families.]A faint smile tugged at the corner of my lips.
The other three major families?
They could wait.
I'd reduce the remaining ruins of the Dirgantara Family to dust before paying each of them a visit.
But just as I was about to dismiss the holographic display, a blood-red emergency notification suddenly flashed. A piercing burst of static exploded inside my head.
[EMERGENCY WARNING: External Intervention Detected!]
[A hidden Dirgantara Group asset within the black market sector has just been activated by a third party. An unknown encrypted signal is tracking your real-time location.] [Warning: You are not the only 'System' user in this city.]My heart lurched.
My eyes snapped open as I stared at the unstable holographic screen trembling before me.
There was another System user in Arkadia?!
Before I could fully process the horrifying warning, every light in the boardroom suddenly went out.
Pitch-black darkness swallowed the room.
A thunderous crash erupted from the direction of the VVIP elevator outside.
Then Elena's sharp cry shattered the silence.
"Mr. Arkan, watch out!"
Latest Chapter
Turning Point at the Edge of Death
The static hiss from the communicator lying on the marble floor sounded like the dying scream of despair. Crack... crack... Every second felt like a dagger slicing through my nerves. I lay sprawled there, half my body completely paralyzed, my breathing ragged, yet somehow hollow in my throat.Elena... you can't leave like this."Elena? Answer me, damn it!" I shouted, my voice hoarse to the point of breaking. But the only response was a cold, oppressive silence, as though the room had transformed into a vacuum.Before me, the System interface flickered wildly with a deep red light, displaying a countdown that mocked me as a human being:[CRITICAL FAILURE: Soul Transfer Cannot Be Stopped!][Total Soul Drained: 16%][Time Remaining: 22:15:03]"I won't let you win, Siska!" I growled. My teeth clenched so hard they felt as though they might crack. Pain exploded inside my head, as if thousands of burning nails were being driven into my brain. Yet beneath that agony, a fire of rage blazed, h
Elena on the Front Line
"Arkan! Grab the wheel!"Elena's scream shattered the silence inside the cabin as the car suddenly spun out of control. The tires shrieked against Arkadia's rain-slick asphalt as the luxury sedan swerved violently to the right. My hands had gone completely numb. Every nerve in my left arm was dead, while the vision in my left eye twisted beneath a blood-red haze that burned across my retina. Inside my head, it felt as though a pair of invisible hands were ripping my sanity away by force.Siska... Siska was draining my soul from miles away.With the reflexes of a military veteran, Elena threw herself across the console, seized the steering wheel with one hand, and slammed the brakes with all her strength. The car lurched to a violent stop just inches from the highway's concrete barrier.I gasped for air, clutching my chest as it pounded in sync with the flashing crimson countdown in the corner of my vision.[23:54:12 Until Permanent Soul Fragmentation]"We have to get back to the penth
Alliance in the Darkness
The breath I had just taken caught in my throat.The crimson text lingering in the corner of my vision continued to flicker faintly as I stepped away from the penthouse window, distancing myself from the reflection that had just grinned at me with something horrifying."Arkan? What's wrong?"Elena's voice shattered the silence, sharp and probing. Her blue eyes shifted from the dashboard display to me, immediately noticing the drastic change in my posture.I looked down at my wrist.The hands of the analog watch were ticking normally again, as if those few impossible seconds of reverse motion had been nothing more than a hallucination brought on by extreme exhaustion.But the cold that lingered deep within my soul was far too real to dismiss as a delusion.The Competitor was already inside.It had planted its seed."It's nothing," I lied, swallowing the anxiety churning inside me. I forced a predator's smile to conceal the fractures spreading through my mind. "Just... the lingering dat
System Bug and Evolution
My breath caught in my throat. Inside the SUV's cabin, which had suddenly become suffocatingly tense, I stared at Elena as she slammed on the brakes without warning. The tires screeched violently across Arkadia's rain-slick asphalt, triggering instant panic.In front of me, the dashboard display continued flickering erratically, projecting a blood-red warning that pulsed relentlessly across my vision.[WARNING: Your Device Has Been Infiltrated by a Primary Competitor System (High Level). Consciousness Synchronization Is in Danger.]"Arkan! What's happening?!" Elena shouted. Her voice, usually as cold as ice, cracked with panic. Her hand moved instinctively, drawing a semi-automatic pistol from beneath her blazer while her sharp eyes scanned beyond the windows. The cabin had gone dark after the vehicle's electrical system completely failed."He's... he's inside my head, Elena!" I groaned, clutching both sides of my skull.Agony crashed into me, as though a burning needle were being for
Property God’s Challenge
The screen of my phone reflected my wide eyes. That blood-red sentence seemed to burn itself into my retinas."...from another System user.""Damn it!" I cursed, nearly hurling the phone onto the asphalt.My blood surged violently, no longer from anger, but from a horrifying new reality. All this time, I had believed I was the only predator empowered by this System. But tonight, beneath Arkadia's pitch-black sky, I realized I was nothing more than another chess piece on a board far larger than I had ever imagined. There was another monster out there.And it had just laughed at me."Mr. Arkan? Are you alright?" Elena stepped closer, her aura instantly shifting into tactical alertness as she noticed the drastic change in my expression."We've been set up, Elena," I hissed, my jaw locked tight as I squeezed my phone until my knuckles turned white. "Our short selling... someone hijacked it. Someone who knew exactly what I was thinking. Contact the field team at Green Oasis right now! We'r
After the Storm of Destruction
"Mr. Arkan, watch out!"Elena's scream was swallowed by the deafening crash of the VVIP elevator door being smashed apart. In the total darkness, flashes of sparking electricity briefly illuminated the silhouettes of several heavily built men armed with tactical weapons as they moved with terrifying speed. My heart pounded, yet the System's icy presence refused to let panic take hold. Before the intruders could even raise their weapons, Elena exploded into motion through the darkness. Bones shifted with sickening cracks, followed by muffled groans of pain.Only three brutal minutes later, silence returned.When the emergency lights flickered on with a dim crimson glow, smoke already filled the room. Three unidentified attackers lay unconscious across the marble floor, while Elena stood in front of the desk, breathing slightly harder than usual as she wiped a streak of blood from the corner of her mouth."They're professionals, sir," Elena whispered, her eyes blazing with vigilance. "B
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