The mansion was quiet. Doah and Tersa had finally gone to bed, clutching their new tablets and dreaming of the city we were building. School was going to vacate later this month, and that would be our signal to leave this place. We would visit my mother and the new headquarters, and once graduation was over, we would move there permanently.
I sat in front of my new Banio laptop. The screen glowed, reflecting in my eyes. It had been a long time since I took an online job, but I needed to keep my skills sharp and see what the world was talking about.
"UIA," I whispered. "Log me in. Use the Anomaly tag."
UIA: Accessing... Master, where would you like to browse? I have mapped the three main pillars of the deep web.
"Let's check the Iron Forum first," I said.
UIA: A small correction, Master. The Iron Forum is strictly for the military and high-level security of various nations, kingdoms, and empires. Unless you want to start a war or steal a tank, it might be too loud for tonight.
If you want a challenge, the Golden Veil is for researchers and geniuses. They host problems that haven't been solved for decades with massive cash prizes. And then there is the Black Market... where any kind of work is available for the right price.
I leaned back, cracking my knuckles. "The Golden Veil sounds too slow for me tonight. I want to see what the world is hiding. Let's look at the Iron Forum. I want to see what the military thinks about the current energy crisis."
The Iron Forum
I bypassed the seven layers of encryption easily. The interface was cold, gray, and filled with encrypted files. These were the generals and the defense ministers of the world, talking in shadows.
One thread caught my eye immediately: [TOP SECRET: THE SOLOAN KINGDOM POWER GRID FAILURE].
I clicked it. The reports were panicked. Apparently, the Soloan Kingdom's main power plants were failing because they couldn't handle the new high-speed data transfers required for modern warfare. They were looking for a "New Age Architect" to redesign their grid.
"They're desperate," I muttered. "They're offering a bounty of 50 million Star Cash just for a blueprint."
"UIA, can we solve this?"
UIA: Master, the Soloan grid is using a model from twenty years ago. With the FaceTalk logarithms we just developed, I can rewrite their entire grid structure in six minutes. However, if you do this, the Soloan military will have your digital fingerprint.
"Not if we use the 'Anomaly' mask," I replied, a smirk playing on my lips. "Let's give them a blueprint that works, but keep a 'kill-switch' in my pocket. If they ever try to move against my home country, I'll turn their lights off with a single click."
The Black Market
After submitting the encrypted file to the Iron Forum, I moved to the Black Market. This place was different—chaotic and dark.
I saw a post that made my heart stop: [WANTED: INFORMATION ON THE 'MONSTERS DEN' ANOMALY. REWARD: 1 BILLION CREDS].
Someone was looking for me. Or at least, they were looking for the source of the tech that had been appearing in Galena.
"They're getting close, UIA," I said, my voice low.
UIA: The post was uploaded from a server within the Anroud Dynamics headquarters. It seems your previous business partners are not satisfied with just buying your engine. They want the creator.
I closed the laptop slowly. The gift from my sisters was powerful, but the world I was stepping into was becoming more dangerous by the second. We weren't just students anymore. We were targets.
"We need to move faster," I thought. "The city back home needs to be more than a headquarters. It needs to be a fortress."
I leaned back in the plush leather chair of my study, the blue light from the Banio super-laptop illuminating my face. The realization that Anroud Dynamics wasn't hunting me for a fight, but rather to recruit the "Anomaly," changed the game. It was a move of respect—or perhaps a desperate attempt to stay relevant.
I opened a secure channel and sent a quick, encrypted text to the Siglav Bank CEO:
"Create a new private account under the name Anomaly. All future transactions and bounties from the forums must be funneled there. Also, start the legal and technical paperwork for FaceTalk to go public in exactly two months. I want a full audit of every cred we've put into it."
A few moments later, the CEO's reply flashed on the screen:
"Understood, Chairman. Regarding the audit: as of today, we have allocated the entire 6,000,000,000 Creds from the Home Project fund into the development and infrastructure of FaceTalk to ensure its core is unbreakable before the public launch."
I closed the laptop with a satisfied click. The piece of "useless" social software I bought for 10 million Star Cash was now a 6-billion-cred fortress. In sixty days, the world wouldn't just be talking on FaceTalk—they'd be living on it.
I sat back, my eyes heavy as the clock ticked past midnight. I had just finished moving billions of creds and securing the future of our digital empire, but my mind was still buzzing. Before heading to bed, I decided to take one last look at the Iron Forum. If I was going to be the "Anomaly," I needed to see which nations were in desperate need of a miracle.
"UIA," I whispered. "Filter the Iron Forum for the highest priority requests. Only lucrative jobs from kingdoms or countries in crisis. I want something that pays in Star Cash or rare materials."
The screen flickered, and the gray interface of the military forum began to populate with high-stakes listings.
UIA: Master, the global landscape is messy. I have found three major requests that match your skill level and 'Anomaly' status.
The Iron Forum: Global Crisis Board
Country/Kingdom The Problem The Reward
The Kingdom of Oria Their deep-sea mining drones keep losing signal in the "Abyssal Trench." They need a communication patch that doesn't break under pressure. ☆30,000,000 Star Cash
The Republic of Zale Their national defense shield has a 0.02-second lag. A rival nation is using high-frequency missiles that can slip through that gap. ☆75,000,000 Star Cash
The Soloan Kingdom (Updated) They are now offering a "Consultant Seat" and a blank check for a localized energy grid that can withstand a "Monster Tide" EMP. ☆100,000,000 Star Cash + Rare Mana Ores
I looked at the Soloan Kingdom offer. One hundred million Star Cash and Rare Mana Ores. Those ores were exactly what I needed if I ever wanted to finish the SIGLAV Guild and attract top-tier hunters. Money alone wouldn't bring the S-Ranks, but the materials to forge their weapons would.
"The Soloan Kingdom is tempting," I muttered. "But they are the ones who caused the banking crisis that led to me buying SIGLAV Bank. If I help them, I'm strengthening an enemy."
I scrolled down further and saw a tiny, blinking red icon at the bottom of the list. It wasn't from a kingdom, but from a private research colony near the Monsters' Den.
[REQUEST: URGENT REPAIR OF THE 'AEGIS' WEATHER DOME. THE MONSTER TIDE IS COMING EARLY. IF THE DOME FALLS, THE ENTIRE SECTOR WILL BE WIPED OUT.]
My heart skipped a beat. That sector was right next to my home village. If that dome fell, my mother and the 6-billion-cred city I was building would be under six feet of snow and monsters before I even arrived.
"Forget the money," I said, my sleepiness vanishing. "UIA, intercept that request. Tell them the 'Anomaly' is taking the job. I don't want their Star Cash—I want full control over the Dome's satellite feed once I fix it."
UIA: Strategic choice, Master. Fixing that dome will give you a private "eye in the sky" over your new headquarters. I am sending the first layer of the repair code now.
I spent the next hour working in a trance, my fingers flying across the Banio laptop. By the time I closed the lid, I had saved a sector, secured a satellite, and earned the respect of the local border guards—all while sitting in my pajamas in a bedroom in the city.
"Now," I yawned, finally feeling the weight of the day. "I can sleep."
I didn't just take one job; I took them all. I sent encrypted messages to the Kingdom of Oria, the Republic of Zale, and even the Soloan Kingdom. My terms were simple and non-negotiable:
"Pay half the bounty upfront to the Anomaly account. I will deliver the finished results in two months. Accept or find someone else."
My inbox exploded with complaints. They were fuming. The Soloan generals called it an insult, and the Oria miners called it a scam. But they had nothing on me. They couldn't find my location, and they couldn't find anyone else with my level of logic. One by one, the "Payment Confirmed" notifications started rolling in.
I leaned back, a cold smile on my face. I could actually finish all those jobs in two days, but I wanted to relax. More importantly, I wanted them to wait. In business, if you do something too fast, they think it's easy. If you make them wait, they think it's a miracle.
The New Research: Project Aegis-Suit
But I wasn't just going to sit around. I had a new plan to secure our safety in Galena before we moved to the Monsters' Den.
"Doah! Tersa! Wake up!" I called out the next morning.
The girls stumbled into the lab, rubbing their eyes. "Sadd? It's six in the morning," Tersa groaned.
"We have a new project," I said, pulling up a blueprint on the Banio laptop. "We are going to build an AI Battle Suit with a neural-link helmet. And we aren't going to sell it. We're going to gift it to the Galena Military."
The girls' eyes widened. They were fully awake now.
"A gift?" Doah asked, looking at the complex schematics. "That's worth billions! Why give it away?"
"For honor and maximum security," I explained. "If we give the military a weapon that makes them invincible, we become the most important people in the country. They will guard our family, our bank, and our home project with their lives. It's the ultimate insurance policy."
For the next few weeks, the lab became a furnace of innovation. We worked like a single mind with six hands.
I handled the core AI and power source. Doah took charge of the neural-sync logarithms, ensuring the helmet could read a soldier's thoughts before they even moved a muscle. Tersa worked on the physical armor plating and the chip capacity, making sure the suit was light enough for a human but strong enough to stop a tank shell.
"The sensor array is finished," Tersa said, her fingers flying across the screen. "It can track forty targets at once."
"The AI interface is steady," Doah added, her face pale with concentration. "It's beautiful, Sadd. It feels... alive."
By the time we were done, we had created a masterpiece. It wasn't just a suit; it was a guardian.
"This is our ticket," I said, looking at the shining helmet. "When we present this to the Ministry of Defense, the Venan name will be untouchable. We won't just be rich; we will be national heroes."