Chapter 18: Expanding the Reach
With Emma Frost now a potential, albeit hesitant, recruit, Adam's focus shifted back to the core mechanics of Finex. The next system upgrade loomed like a distant but powerful beacon, and with it came the cold, hard reality of its prerequisites. One hundred members. One hundred million dollars. The former was a numbers game, a steady flow of disillusioned mutants and opportunistic humans recruited through the clinic and Finex's expanding network. The latter, however, was a different beast altogether. It was a game of strategy, of finance, of making the ludicrous amounts of money he needed without attracting the wrong kind of attention. He was a ghost in the machine, and a ghost couldn't be a billionaire on paper without raising a few red flags.
Adam sat in his office, a holographic projection of Finex's financial ledger shimmering in front of him. The numbers were impressive, but the growth curve needed to accelerate. "Okay, so we're at thirty-five mil. That's good. That's a good number for a moderately successful, but not suspiciously so, global conglomerate. But we need a hundred. That's… a lot of zeros. A lot of zeroes that can't just magically appear out of thin air. Unless, of course, you're me," Adam muttered, a wry smile on his face. He leaned back in his chair, his mind racing, a symphony of numbers and possibilities all laid out before him.
"Ben, I need you to diversify our portfolio. I want us to get into more legitimate businesses. I want us to get into real estate, tech, biotech… anything that isn't directly related to our… primary business. I want us to be a hydra. A hundred heads, all of them completely unrelated, all of them feeding the same body. And I want you to start using some of the X-genes we have in storage to give us an edge. A temporary, discreet edge," Adam said, his voice a low, conspiratorial whisper.
He had a few X-genes in storage that were perfect for this. He had a persuasion gene, a minor ability that could make a person more charming, more persuasive, more… convincing. He had a luck gene, a minor ability that could give a person a brief, but powerful, surge of good fortune. He had a few more, all of them minor, all of them perfect for his grand plan. He was going to use them to subtly influence his way to the top. He was going to use them to make Finex a financial powerhouse. He was going to use them to make his hundred million.
[SYSTEM USAGE: X-GENE Gifting (TEMPORARY, SELECTIVE). TARGET: FINEST FINANCIAL TEAM. TARGET X-GENES: PERSUASION, LUCK, CHARISMA. STATUS: SUCCESSFUL. DURATION: 24 HOURS. BACKLASH: MILD MENTAL FATIGUE. COST: $5,000 PER X-GENE.]
The system's message flashed in his mind, a cold, clinical confirmation of his power. He had just given his financial team a temporary, but powerful, advantage. He had just given them the tools they needed to succeed. He was not a hero. He was not a villain. He was a businessman. And he was going to win this game, no matter the cost. He was going to get his hundred million. He was going to get his level up. He was going to get his power. And that, in the end, was all that mattered.
He spent the next few weeks monitoring his financial team, watching them as they made a series of shrewd, almost supernatural, investments. They bought a tech company that was on the verge of bankruptcy, only to have a rival company buy them out for a massive profit a week later. They bought a piece of real estate that was considered worthless, only to have a major corporation announce they were building a new headquarters right next to it a few days later. They were on a roll. They were on a winning streak. And Adam was the one pulling the strings.
He had Emma Frost's help, too. Not directly, of course. She was still a hesitant recruit, a queen who was still trying to decide if she was going to bow to a king. But she was a master of finance. She was a master of the market. And she was a master of the human mind. He used her knowledge, her expertise, her ruthless cunning to guide his financial team, a silent, unblinking eye on a market that was a chaotic mess of numbers and possibilities. She was a perfect partner, a perfect asset. She just didn't know it yet.
He had another idea. Another game to play. He was going to use his domain to find and temporarily deactivate a few of the more powerful, but less known, telepaths in the city. He wasn't going to steal their powers. He was just going to… borrow them. He was going to use them to get an edge in the market, a psychic edge that could give him the information he needed to make the right moves. It was a brilliant, cruel, and utterly perfect plan.
[SYSTEM USAGE: X-GENE DEACTIVATION (TEMPORARY, SELECTIVE). TARGET: VARIOUS MUTANTS. TARGET X-GENE: TELEPATHY. STATUS: SUCCESSFUL. BACKLASH: MILD MENTAL FATIGUE. DURATION: 10 MINUTES. COST: $1,000 PER MUTANT.]
The system's message flashed in his mind, a cold, clinical confirmation of his power. He had just stolen a few minds, a few thoughts, a few secrets. He had just gained an edge in a game where every second, every detail, every thought mattered. He was a ghost. A whisper. A shadow. And he was going to win this game, no matter the cost. He was going to get his hundred million. He was going to get his level up. He was going to get his power. And that, in the end, was all that mattered.
The clinic, of course, was still a key part of his plan. He was still offering his "power removal" services, steadily accumulating X-genes and influence. He was still recruiting new members, a steady flow of disillusioned mutants and opportunistic humans who were all too eager to get a taste of his power. He was building an army, a shadow organization that was growing in the darkness, a ghost in the machine. And with every new member, with every new dollar he made, he was getting closer to his goal. He was getting closer to a world where he, Adam Stiels, would be the one in charge. He was an architect. A player. A master of a system that could give him everything he wanted. And he was going to win. He was going to get his queen. He was going to get his level up. He was going to get his power. And that, in the end, was all that mattered.
Love [ Xmen Gene Domain ] ? Unlock More Chapters and Support the Story!
Dive deeper into the world of [ Xmen Gene Domain ] with exclusive access to 35+ chapters on my Patreon, plus 5 new chapters every week! Your support starting at just $5/month helps me keep crafting the stories you love across epic universes like [Grimm, Teen Wolf ,MCU and Arrowverse].
By joining, you're not just getting more chapters—you're helping me bring new worlds, twists, and adventures to life. Every pledge makes a huge difference!
👉 Join now at patreon.com/TheFinex5 and start reading today!