The helicopter's rotors whipped the $100 bills into a chaotic whirlwind around the Grand Plaza. General Sarah Vance stepped onto the pavement, her combat boots crunching on the gravel. She didn't look at the defeated Master Yan or the thousands of mercenaries. Her eyes were locked on Ethan.
"Mr. Clarke," she said, her voice cutting through the noise like a blade. "I am General Vance of the Global Economic Security Task Force. You just triggered an 'Omega-Level' financial event. Do you realize that by 'spending' twenty billion dollars in a single transaction, you've caused the currency of three sovereign nations to devalue by 15%?"
Ethan took a calm sip of his hundred-year-old cognac, leaning back into his gold throne. "Is that a problem, General? I thought the free market encouraged spending."
"This isn't 'spending.' This is financial warfare," Vance snapped, gesturing to the tablet held by her aide. "By acquiring those debts through the System's automated clearinghouse, you now technically own 40% of the public infrastructure in Greece, Italy, and Spain. The leaders of those nations are on a frantic call with the UN. They want their sovereignty back."
Ethan's eyes flickered. He didn't care about politics. He cared about the blue screen in his peripheral vision.
[World-Eater Protocol: Active.]
[Current Goal: Purchase 'The First City' (Price: $100 Billion).]
[Progress: 0/100,000,000,000]
[Deadline: 47 Hours, 42 Minutes.]
"They want it back?" Ethan stood up, the Aura of the Sovereign radiating from him so intensely that the soldiers behind General Vance instinctively took a half-step back. "Then they should have paid their bills. I don't give refunds."
"Mr. Clarke, be reasonable," Vance lowered her voice, a hint of a threat creeping in. "You have wealth, yes. But we have carriers. We have satellites. We can freeze your life with a single command. You're a citizen of this country, and—"
[Ding! New Task Triggered: The 'General's Threat'.]
[Task: Show the world power that money is more lethal than steel. Buy the 'Iron Shield' Satellite Network and turn off the General's communications.]
[Budget: $50 Billion.]
[Reward: S-Rank Skill 'Technological Singularity' & 100 Attribute Points.]
Ethan smiled. It was the smile of a predator. "General, you talk about satellites. Do you mean the 'Iron Shield' network? The one your military uses for global GPS and encrypted comms?"
Vance froze. "How do you know about that? That's Top Secret."
Ethan looked at Luna, who was already typing furiously on her tablet.
"Luna, the 'Iron Shield' is owned by a private defense conglomerate, isn't it? The Lockheed-Thorne Group?"
"Yes, Boss," Luna replied, her voice trembling with a mix of excitement and fear. "They've been struggling with their latest rocket failures. Their stock is plummeting after the Yan family's collapse tonight. I can buy a controlling interest right now for $45 billion."
"Do it," Ethan said. "And spend another $5 billion as a 'performance bonus' to the engineers to change the administrator password."
General Vance laughed, though it sounded forced. "You're delusional. You can't just buy a military-grade satellite network on a whim. The SEC would block it. The Pentagon would—"
BEEP.
Vance's high-frequency encrypted radio, clipped to her shoulder, suddenly emitted a long, flat tone. Then, a robotic voice spoke over the secure channel.
[Access Revoked. Administrator: CLARKE, ETHAN. System Status: Offline.]
Vance's face went from pale to ghostly white. She grabbed her radio, frantically clicking the dial. "Base, this is Vance! Report! Base! Do you read me?"
Silence.
Across the plaza, the tablets held by her aides went black. The lights on the helicopter flickered and died. Even the digital sights on the snipers' rifles shifted to a "Software Locked" screen.
In ten seconds, Ethan Clarke had blinded the most powerful military force on the planet.
"You... you monster," Vance whispered, looking up at the sky as if she could see the satellites shifting their orbits. "Do you have any idea what you've done? You've just decapitated our national defense!"
"I didn't decapitate it," Ethan said, walking up to her until they were inches apart. He reached out and plucked the dead radio from her shoulder. "I bought it. There's a difference. Now, if you want your 'secure comms' back, the rental fee is $1 billion per hour. Payable in advance."
Master Yan, still on his knees nearby, let out a hysterical, broken laugh. "She told you, General! I told you! He's not a man! He's a plague! He's going to buy the whole damn world!"
[Ding! Task Completed!]
[Reward: S-Rank Skill 'Technological Singularity' Unlocked! (You can now control any digital device within 1 mile with your mind.)]
[Progress: $50 Billion / $100 Billion toward 'The First City'.]
Ethan felt a surge of cold, digital energy flow through his brain. Suddenly, he could "see" the city's power grid, the bank servers, the cell phone signals—all of it laid out like a map. He could feel the pulse of the world's data.
"Raven," Ethan called out.
"Yes, Boss?" Raven stepped forward, her hand still on her katana.
"Take General Vance and her team to the Grand Hotel. Give them the Presidential Suite. Treat them well, but don't let them leave. I need to have a talk with the 'First City' representatives, and I want the General to watch."
"The First City?" Vance looked up, terror in her eyes. "You... you know about them? The Hidden Council? The ones who have controlled human history for three hundred years?"
"I don't care how long they've controlled it," Ethan said, looking at the countdown on his screen. "I have forty-seven hours to make them an offer they can't refuse. Or rather, an offer that will make them realize they're just another item on my shopping list."
Ethan turned to the crowd of mercenaries. "Clear the plaza. I want a private jet ready in thirty minutes. We're going to Switzerland."
"Switzerland?" Luna asked. "Why Switzerland, Boss?"
"Because that's where the 'First City' keeps their physical gold," Ethan said. "And I've decided I want to buy the Alps."
The Private Jet — 30,000 Feet Above the Atlantic.
Ethan sat in the ultra-luxury cabin, watching the world map on his screen. Every time he blinked, he could see the flow of money moving across the globe.
"Boss," Luna said, walking into the cabin. She looked exhausted. "I just received a message on an encrypted channel. No sender ID. It just says: 'The First City does not accept buyers. We only accept sacrifices. Turn the plane around, or you will never land.'"
Ethan looked out the window. In the distance, four F-35 stealth fighters had appeared, flanking the private jet. They didn't belong to the US Air Force. Their wings bore a strange, golden sun emblem.
The 'First City's' private air force.
[Ding! Emergency Task: The Sky Siege.]
[Task: The First City is trying to shoot you down. Do not fight back with weapons. Buy the pilots.]
[Target: $5 Billion per pilot.]
[Time Limit: 5 Minutes.]
Ethan leaned back and smiled. "Luna, get me the flight frequency for those fighters. I want to talk to the pilots. It's time to see how much 'loyalty' costs in the First City."