The sun hadn't yet crested the Manhattan skyline when Liam woke. He didn't wake to the sound of a buzzing alarm or the shouts of a disgruntled landlord, but to the silence of the 90th floor. The air in the penthouse was filtered, temp-controlled, and carried the faint, expensive scent of new leather and success.
He stayed in bed for a moment, staring at the ceiling. Yesterday, he was a pariah. Today, he was a ghost in the machine of the city, sitting on a fortune that grew every time he tried to spend it.
But as he looked at his hands, he realized something. If Julian Thorne had decided to throw a punch last night instead of a tantrum, Liam might have won through sheer adrenaline, but he lacked the technique to protect his new life. Wealth without strength was just a gilded cage.
"System," he murmured. "It's a new day."
[Ding! Day 2 Sign-In is now available. Would you like to Sign-In?]
"Do it."
[Ding! Sign-In Successful!] [Day 2 Reward: 1. $50,000,000 USD. 2. System Function Unlocked: The Sovereign Store. 3. System Function Unlocked: Mandate Missions.]
The blue screen in front of him flickered and expanded. It was no longer just a notification board; it had evolved into a complex interface with tabs for 'Assets,' 'Marketplace,' and 'Objectives.'
[Host Status Check:] [Net Worth: $210,824,267.50] [Combat Power: 12 (Average Adult Male: 10)] [Business Acumen: 45 (Inexperienced Heir)] [Authority: 5 (Local Pariah)]
Liam's eyes narrowed. "Business Acumen 45? I was at the top of my class."
[Correction: The Host understands theory. The Host lacks the 'Sovereign's Instinct' to navigate the treacherous waters of global finance and corporate warfare. Your father was betrayed by a partner; clearly, the Whitmore bloodline lacks certain... defensive measures.]
The System was blunt, but it was right. Liam tapped the Sovereign Store tab.
The screen filled with icons, each more tempting than the last. Unlike the real world, these weren't physical goods. They were potential.
[Combat Tier: Krav Maga Mastery] – Cost: $10,000,000
[Business Tier: Master of Corporate Espionage] – Cost: $25,000,000
[Mental Tier: Cold Logic (Passive)] – Cost: $15,000,000
[Charisma Tier: The Devil's Silver Tongue] – Cost: $20,000,000
Liam realized the System's genius. It was giving him money through rebates, but it was creating an ecosystem where that money had to be reinvested into himself.
"If I spend a hundred million here, do I get a rebate?" Liam asked.
[Negative. The System Store is an exchange of wealth for Essence. Transactions within the System do not trigger the Infinite Rebate. Only real-world expenditures trigger the multiplier.]
"Fair enough," Liam said. "I need to be able to walk into a boardroom and make the wolves bleed. I also need to make sure no one can take me down in a dark alley."
He began selecting.
[Purchasing: 'Grandmaster MMA & Street Survival' – $15,000,000] [Purchasing: 'God-Tier Business Management & Market Manipulation' – $30,000,000] [Purchasing: 'Iron Mind (Resistance to Fear/Manipulation)' – $10,000,000]
[Total Deduction: $55,000,000. Initiating Knowledge Transfer...]
Liam barely had time to brace himself. It wasn't like reading a book; it was like a lightning strike to the base of his skull. Thousands of hours of muscle memory—the snap of a roundhouse kick, the feeling of a throat under his thumb, the way to disarm a knife—seared into his nerves. Simultaneously, his brain began to reformat. Complex financial structures, tax loopholes, hostile takeover strategies, and psychological tells became as natural to him as breathing.
He collapsed back onto the silk sheets, drenched in sweat. His muscles felt denser, his mind sharper. When he opened his eyes, the world didn't just look clearer—it looked like a chess board.
[Host Status Updated:] [Combat Power: 88 (Elite Tier)] [Business Acumen: 95 (Legendary Tier)] [Net Worth: $155,824,267.50]
"Much better," Liam rasped. He stood up, his movements now possessing a feline grace. He walked to the window and looked out at the Brooklyn skyline. He could see his father's old headquarters from here—the Whitmore Plaza. It had been stripped of the name. It was now 'Vance Global Holdings.'
[Ding! First Mandate Mission Triggered!] [Mission: The Prodigal's Return.] [Objective: Reclaim Whitmore Real Estate from Marcus Vance.] [Deadline: 30 Days.] [Reward: 'The Eye of Truth' Upgrade + $500,000,000.] [Failure Penalty: Permanent deletion of 'Infinite Rebate' function.]
Liam's eyes turned cold. Marcus Vance. His father's "best friend." The man who had signed the documents that framed Arthur Whitmore for embezzlement while quietly buying up the seized assets for pennies on the dollar.
"Thirty days?" Liam whispered. "I'll do it in ten."
Before he could start his war, there was a loose end. A person who had suffered even more than him.
Liam picked up his phone and dialed.
"Hello?" The voice was weak, punctuated by the rhythmic beep of a hospital monitor.
"Mom," Liam said, his voice softening.
"Liam? Is that you? Oh, honey... I saw the news. They said you were kicked out of the dorms. Where are you? Are you eating?"
Eleanor Whitmore was staying in a private care facility—or she had been, until the funds were frozen. Now, she was in a municipal ward, her health declining alongside the family's fortunes.
"I'm fine, Mom. Better than fine. I'm at a friend's place in the city. Listen... I have some news. You remember that private account I told you about? The one I started with my graduation money?"
"The crypto thing?" Eleanor asked, confused. "Liam, the lawyers said all of that was seized."
"They didn't find this one," Liam lied smoothly, the 'Negotiator's Tongue' skill making the falsehood sound like absolute gospel. "I bought into a few 'alt-coins' and some tech stocks three years ago. I forgot about the wallet. I checked it yesterday... Mom, the investment bloomed. It's worth millions."
There was a long silence on the other end. "Millions? Liam, are you sure? Is it... is it legal?"
"Completely. I've already had the lawyers look at it. It's all clean, tax-paid capital. I'm moving you out of that ward today. I've already booked a suite at the Greystone Recovery Center. A private car will be there in an hour."
"Oh, thank God," Eleanor sobbed. "I was so worried about you, Liam. Your father... he's so broken in there. He thinks he ruined your life."
"Tell Dad to hold on," Liam said, his jaw tightening. "I'm bringing him home. And I'm going to make the people who did this wish they'd never been born."
The First Move: The Shark Tank
Liam didn't go to the university that morning. He went to a law firm. Not just any firm—Sterling, Stone & Finch. They were the most aggressive corporate litigators in the state. They were the "fixers" for the 1%.
When he walked into the mahogany-panelled lobby, the receptionist looked up, ready to give him the standard "Do you have an appointment?" line.
Liam didn't give her the chance. He used the Eye of Insight on her.
[Target: Brenda Miller. Net Worth: $12,000. Weakness: Behind on her daughter's tuition.]
"Tell Mr. Sterling that Liam Whitmore is here to discuss the hostile takeover of Vance Global," Liam said, leaning over her desk. He pulled a stack of hundred-dollar bills from his pocket—at least five thousand—and slid it across the desk. "And tell him that if he sees me within the next sixty seconds, there's a retainer check for ten million waiting on his desk."
Brenda looked at the money, then at Liam's eyes. She picked up the phone. "Mr. Sterling? You're going to want to take this walk-in."
Two minutes later, Liam was sitting across from Elias Sterling, a man who looked like a vulture in a three-piece suit.
"You've got a lot of nerve coming here, kid," Sterling said, leaning back. "I represented the creditors who tore your father apart. Why should I help you?"
"Because you like money, Elias. And because you know Marcus Vance is a sloppy thief," Liam said, throwing a dossier onto the desk.
With his new 'God-Tier Business' skill, Liam had spent the night pulling public records and using the System's 'Insight' to map out Vance's vulnerabilities. Vance had overleveraged the Whitmore assets to fund a failing shipping venture. He was bleeding cash, hiding it behind a curtain of shell companies.
"Vance is weak," Liam continued. "He's about to miss a margin call on the Whitmore Plaza debt. I want you to buy that debt. Quietly. I want to be the one who holds the note when the clock strikes midnight on Friday."
Sterling looked at the dossier, his eyes widening. "This... this is incredibly detailed. Where did you get this? And how are you going to pay for the debt? It's over eighty million."
"I have the cash," Liam said. "And as for where I got it... let's just say I was a very lucky early adopter of certain digital assets. Do we have a deal, or do I go to your rivals at Goldman?"
Sterling smiled, a predatory gleam in his eye. "Ten million retainer, you said?"
Liam slid his black titanium card across the desk. "Charge it."
[Ding! Expenditure Detected: $10,000,000.00 (Retainer).] [Multiplier: 15x.] [Rebate: $150,000,000.00!]
Liam felt the vibration of his phone.
[Current Balance: $295,824,267.50.]
He had just spent ten million to hire the best shark in the city, and his wealth had nearly doubled. He was no longer playing the game; he was rewriting the code.
As Liam left the law firm, he headed toward a high-end coffee shop in the Financial District to review his next steps. The 'Mandate Mission' required him to reclaim the company, but he wanted more than just the deed. He wanted the Vance family's total humiliation.
He was stepping out of his Koenigsegg—which he had parked in a 'No Parking' zone, uncaring of the fine—when a voice stopped him.
"Liam?"
He turned. It was someone he hadn't expected to see so soon.
It was Julian's older sister, Vivian Thorne.
Unlike Julian, who was a spoiled brat, Vivian was a shark. She ran the Thorne family's venture capital arm. She was five years older than Liam, sharp-featured, and famously cold. In the past, she had always looked at Liam as a "pretty boy" with no substance.
[Target: Vivian Thorne.] [Net Worth: $450 Million.] [Status: Impressed / Suspicious.] [Current Thought: 'The rumors were true. He's back, and he's driving a four-million-dollar car. Where did he get the capital? I need to know his source.']
"Vivian," Liam said, his voice neutral. He didn't offer a smile.
"I heard about last night," she said, leaning against the pillar of the coffee shop. She was dressed in a sleek power suit, her eyes scanning Liam like he was a balance sheet. "My brother is throwing a fit. He says you're using 'blood money' to play dress-up."
"Julian always was a slow learner," Liam replied. "I'm not playing, Vivian."
"That car costs more than the Thorne family's annual charity budget," she noted, nodding toward the Jesko. "And I hear you just dropped five million on the university. That's a lot of 'crypto' gains, Liam."
"The market was kind to me," Liam said, stepping closer. He was now taller than her, and with his 'Physical Enhancement,' he radiated an intensity that made her blink. "Is there a point to this, or are you just here to admire the car?"
Vivian chuckled, though there was no warmth in it. "I like winners, Liam. And I like mysteries. My father wants Julian to 'crush' you before you can reclaim your family's social standing. But I? I think you've found a way to cheat the system. I want to know how."
"You want to know my secret?" Liam leaned in, his voice a low growl near her ear. "The secret is simple, Vivian. I stopped caring about the rules. And soon, I'm going to own the board you're playing on."
He pulled away, leaving her visibly shaken.
"Wait," she called out as he turned to walk away. "There's a gala tonight. The 'Founder's Circle.' Marcus Vance will be there. He's announcing the final merger of Whitmore Real Estate into his own firm. If you're really 'back,' that's where you'd be."
Liam paused, his back to her. "I'll be there, Vivian. But tell Marcus not to bother with the announcement. I've already decided that company is going into probate."
Liam returned to his penthouse. He spent the afternoon in the System Store, purchasing more specific skills: Advanced Hacking, Social Engineering, and Asset Valuation.
By the time the sun began to set, he had spent another $30 million, but he felt like a god. He knew every bank account Marcus Vance owned. He knew every mistress, every bribe, and every hidden debt.
He stood in front of his mirror, adjusting his tie. Tonight wasn't about the money. It was about the message.
[Ding! System Warning!] [Marcus Vance has hired private security. Threat Level: Moderate.] [Would the Host like to purchase 'Bulletproof Aura' (Passive) for $50,000,000?]
Liam paused. "No," he said, a cold smile playing on his lips. "I want to feel the danger. It makes the victory taste better."
He walked out of the penthouse, the master key in his hand. He had 29 days left on his mission, but tonight, he was going to take the first bite out of the man who killed his father's spirit.
As he drove the Jesko toward the gala, his phone buzzed. It was a text from an unknown number.
I know where the money came from, Liam. We need to talk. - Sara.
Liam deleted the message without replying. He didn't have time for ghosts. He was too busy becoming a nightmare.