The victory against HydraCorp's spy lit a fire of hope across AquaPure's supporters. Orders doubled. Volunteers lined up at the warehouse gates. For a moment, it almost felt like they were untouchable.
But HydraCorp never hit the same place twice.
The Codex flared a warning in Rafael's mind before dawn:
"Threat vector shift detected. Anticipated strike: Financial disruption. Estimated impact: severe."
By midmorning, the first blow landed. The bank called. AquaPure's account had been "temporarily frozen" pending an investigation into "suspicious transactions." Salaries, raw material payments, and shipping contracts—all trapped in limbo.
"Suspicious?" Rafael snapped into the phone. "We've done everything by the book!"
The bank officer's voice was apologetic but firm. "Sir, we're just complying with higher directives. Please seek clarification with the regulatory board."
Higher directives. Rafael didn't need the Codex to know whose hand was behind that.
Hours later, suppliers who had worked loyally with AquaPure for months began calling in, their voices strained.
"Sorry, boss, but HydraCorp reached out. They're offering double… and threatening to blacklist us if we stay with you."
Another said bluntly, "We have families. We can't afford to be crushed."
Maria stormed into Rafael's office, slamming a ledger on his desk. "Half our supply chain just walked. The rest are demanding cash up front. Cash we don't have because the accounts are locked."
As if on cue, Rosa rushed in with her phone. "Boss—look!"
A news ticker scrolled across the screen: "Government Launches Surprise Audit of AquaPure". HydraCorp's fingerprints were all over it.
The team looked at Rafael, their faces pale. "They're trying to choke us out," Jericho muttered. "Starve us without ever firing a bullet."
Rafael leaned back in his chair, forcing his voice to stay calm even as fury burned inside him. "They think cutting the money cuts the mission."
The Codex pulsed in his mind, cold and clear:
"Countermeasures available:
— Emergency parallel banking via trusted cooperatives.
— Community barter networks.
— Leverage public donations.
— Media framing: 'Big Corp strangles small innovator.'
Probability of survival: 49%… with aggressive adaptation."
Rafael's lips curved into a thin smile. "Then we adapt."
He called the workers together. Instead of despair, he gave them a challenge.
"We don't need HydraCorp's money. We don't need their banks. If they want to starve us, we'll feed ourselves another way. Cooperatives, NGOs, donations, even barter—whatever it takes. They can freeze our accounts, but they can't freeze the people's trust."
The words hit harder than any peso could. The workers erupted in cheers, fists raised.
That night, the first cracks in HydraCorp's plan appeared. Fishermen donated crates of fish in exchange for filters. A neighborhood cooperative offered to handle payroll through their own credit union. An online fundraiser, started by university students, hit half a million pesos in hours.
HydraCorp wanted to suffocate AquaPure. Instead, they had triggered something harder to kill: a people's movement.
Still, Rafael knew this was only a temporary reprieve. Money wasn't just fuel—it was armor. Without stable cash flow, the next HydraCorp strike could cut even deeper.
As he stood alone in his office, the Codex whispered a chilling new line of text:
"Next escalation predicted: Direct assault on leadership credibility. Probability: 82%."
HydraCorp had failed to break AquaPure's body. Now they would try to break its heart—Rafael himself.