The afterglow in the studio was short-lived, replaced by the cool, calculating hum of a high-stakes play. Sylvia lay against the pillows, her breath finally steady, her eyes watching me with a mix of submission and intense intellectual curiosity. I didn't waste time. I pulled the encrypted drive toward my workstation, the violet glow of the System flooding my vision as I prepared to rewrite reality.
"You're not just going to hand that over, are you?" Sylvia asked, her voice still husky. She sat up, pulling a silk sheet around her, watching as my fingers danced across the mechanical keyboard.
"Diana Vance wants a culprit for the missing three million," I said, my Intellect scanning the ledger's architecture. "I'm going to give her one. But it won't be a ghost. It'll be a titan."
I began the alteration. It was a delicate surgery. I didn't delete the "S. Valentine" signature; I buried it under a new layer of digital breadcrumbs. I used the System to simulate a series of offshore accounts linked to 'Miller Construction & Logistics'—the firm owned by Brad's father.
I forged a trail of emails, timestamped and encrypted, that made it look like the "ghost" was actually a sophisticated AI program run by the Millers to drain city funds for their failing real estate ventures. It was perfect. It wasn't just a frame-up; it was a character assassination.
"You're destroying them," Sylvia whispered, leaning over my shoulder. "That family... they'll lose everything. The house, the business, the reputation."
"They were already rot dressed in a Sunday suit, Sylvia," I replied, hitting the final 'Execute' command. "I'm just the one providing the autopsy."
[ QUEST UPDATED: THE LADY'S GAMBIT ]
[ EVIDENCE FABRICATED: SUCCESS PROBABILITY 98% ]
Hours later, I stood in Diana Vance's sterile, glass-walled office at City Hall. I slid the drive across her mahogany desk. She didn't look at the files immediately. She looked at me, her eyes tracking the faint, lingering scent of Sylvia's perfume and the slight dishevelment of my collar.
"You look like you've had a busy night, Mr. Chaycer," she purred, opening the files.
She scrolled through the data I had "recovered." I watched her face. There was a moment of stillness—the moment she realized the evidence pointed directly at one of the town's most prominent families. Then, a slow, dangerous smile spread across her lips.
"The Millers," she mused. "How clumsy of them. And how convenient for me. They've been a thorn in the side of the state's expansion plans for years."
"The evidence is ironclad," I said. "Every cent is accounted for."
Diana closed the laptop. She knew. I saw it in the way her eyes sharpened—she knew I had altered the path, but she didn't care. To her, the truth was a commodity, and I had just handed her the best deal she'd seen in a decade.
"Consider your 'Automotive' shop legalized, Lucas," she said, standing up and walking toward the window overlooking the town. "I don't care who gets burned, as long as the fire clears the path I need. You've proven you're worth the 'special exception'."
[ MISSION COMPLETE: THE LADY'S GAMBIT ]
[ REWARD: 500 INTELLECT XP / DOMAIN LEGALIZED ]
[ NEW STATUS: 'SHADOW ALLY' OF DIANA VANCE ]
By the time I returned to school, the atmosphere was thick with a different kind of tension. The principal stood in the foyer, shouting over the din of excited students.
"Listen up! Due to the mid-term faculty retreat, the Senior Class trip to Blackwood Creek has been moved up to tomorrow! One week in the Ozarks. Pack for the wilderness, people. No cell service, no distractions. Just team building and nature!"
Blackwood Creek. A rural stretch of dense forest and isolated cabins, hours away from the nearest town. It was the perfect setting for a "one-week trip"—and an even better setting for the chaos I was about to unleash.
I saw Rishie standing by her locker, looking overwhelmed. She saw me and her grip on her backpack tightened. "Are you coming, Lucas? Or is the 'Mogul' too busy for a camping trip?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Rishie," I said, catching Chen Yue's gaze from across the hall. She was leaning against a pillar, a dark, knowing smile on her lips. She knew I had done something last night. She could smell the change in the air.
As the school buzzed with talk of campfires and hiking, the System hummed in the back of my mind.
[ NEW EVENT DETECTED: THE BLACKWOOD CHRONICLES ]
[ OBJECTIVE: CONSOLIDATE POWER IN THE WILDERNESS ]
[ WARNING: ISOLATION INCREASES RISK OF PHYSICAL CONFRONTATION ]
The Behemoth was going to the woods. And by the time we returned, the hierarchy of Rokehurst High—and the Miller family—would be nothing but ash.