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Chapter 57 - Chapter 22: The Reluctant Alliance

Leo's victory at the shareholder meeting was a silent, bloodless coup. Damian Black's hedge fund went into a death spiral the next day, and the media, once Finch's weapon, now spoke of Leo Zhang in tones of awe and fear. He was the architect, the strategist who could see ten moves ahead. But Leo felt no triumph. As he sat in his vast, silent office, he knew the public victory was merely a prelude. He had won a battle of perception; now came the war of reality.

The System's interface glowed, crossing off the first quest and highlighting the second with an ominous, pulsing red light.

[Endgame Quest 2: The Bleeding Empire] [Description: Alistair Finch has used his root-level access and decades of influence to subtly sabotage three critical international divisions: European Logistics, South American R&D, and Asian Manufacturing.] [The sabotage is designed to look like organic failure. You must identify and reverse the damage in all three divisions before the quarterly report is finalized in 28 days.] [Failure Condition: A negative quarterly report will trigger a no-confidence vote from the board, resulting in your immediate termination.]

Leo pulled up the real-time data feeds from the three divisions. It was a horror show. In Europe, a newly implemented, hyper-efficient shipping algorithm was inexplicably failing, creating massive delays. In South America, a brilliant research team was suddenly bogged down in bureaucratic red tape, their projects stalled. In Asia, a series of minor, unrelated factory equipment failures were causing a cascade of production shortfalls.

Each problem was a masterpiece of subtle sabotage. On their own, they were explainable corporate issues. Together, they were a symphony of destruction, and Finch was the conductor.

Leo realized the trap immediately. His internal network, his spies like Ben and Anna, were useless here. They could tell him what was happening, but they were too junior, too far from the epicenters of power in Berlin, São Paulo, and Singapore to uncover the why. Finch's Corporate Omniscience meant any internal investigation would be a wild goose chase, with the CEO always one step ahead.

He couldn't win this war from inside the castle walls. He needed an external force. An army that Finch couldn't see coming.

He needed someone whose entire existence was predicated on finding the truth that powerful men tried to hide. Someone with unimpeachable credibility, a global network, and a mind as ruthlessly analytical as his own.

He needed Evelyn Reed.

It was a massive gamble. Contacting her was an admission that he was facing a problem he couldn't solve alone. It would expose his flank to a woman who was, at best, a neutral power. But the alternative was certain failure.

He sent the message through their old, encrypted channel. It was just two words.

A meeting.

Her reply was instantaneous.

My office. Now.

Evelyn Reed's consulting firm occupied the top three floors of a rival skyscraper, a gleaming needle of steel that stared back at TitanCorp Tower like an equal. Her office was a minimalist expanse of white and grey, a sterile, orderly space that felt more like a laboratory than an executive suite. She sat behind a large, empty desk, her posture a straight line of coiled, intellectual energy.

"Mr. Zhang," she said, her voice devoid of warmth. "I trust this isn't a social call. My firm's analysis of your recent shareholder performance was… compelling. You play the game well."

"The game has changed," Leo said, getting straight to the point. "I am no longer fighting for a promotion. I am fighting the man who owns the game. And he is breaking it."

He laid it all out. The System. Alistair Finch being the Primary User. The final, impossible gauntlet. The sabotage of the three divisions. He gave her the raw, unadulterated truth, a truth so outlandish it could only be real. He was giving his greatest rival the ultimate weapon against him: the full, insane context of his existence.

Evelyn listened, her expression never changing. She was a perfect, analytical engine processing an impossible new data set. When he finished, she was silent for a full minute.

"A CEO deliberately sabotaging his own multi-billion-dollar company to test a potential successor," she finally said, her voice a low, clinical murmur. "It is the single most inefficient, irrational, and egomaniacal corporate strategy I have ever encountered."

She looked at him, and for the first time, he saw something in her eyes beyond professional respect or rivalry. He saw the righteous, burning fury of a zealot who had just been shown the ultimate heresy.

"This isn't just a threat to you, Mr. Zhang," she stated. "Alistair Finch's instability is now a systemic risk to the entire global market. He is no longer a rational actor." She stood and walked to her window, looking out at TitanCorp Tower. "He must be removed."

It was not an offer of alliance. It was a declaration of holy war.

"My firm has auditors and analysts in every major financial center," she said, turning back to him. "They are the best in the world. They are loyal to me, and to the truth. They will be your army." She paused. "But they will not work for free. And my price is not money."

"What is it?" Leo asked.

"When you win," Evelyn said, her voice a blade of ice, "you will open TitanCorp's books to me. All of them. The secret projects, the black budgets, the 'Reality Rewrite' skill you mentioned. You will give me complete, unrestricted access to the truth. I will conduct the single greatest corporate audit in history. I will put the monster on a leash."

She was not asking for a partnership. She was asking for the keys to his future kingdom.

It was a devil's bargain. To win the throne, he had to agree to let his greatest rival become his permanent warden. But in the face of certain annihilation, it was the only choice.

"You have a deal," Leo said.

Evelyn gave a curt, satisfied nod. The reluctant alliance was forged. The hunt for the ghost in the machine had begun.

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