Chapter 17: The Alchemist of Desires
The journey back to the Sterling estate felt like a transition between two different worlds. Behind me lay the North Tunnel, a tomb of concrete and smoke where I had just defied the "Silence" of the Triad. Ahead of me rose the spires of the city, where the lights of Oakhaven twinkled like diamonds on a velvet cloth. Inside the armored sedan, I sat in total darkness, my fingers tracing the jagged edges of the [Fragment of the Bone Flute]. Even through my gloves, the relic emitted a rhythmic, icy pulse that seemed to resonate with the silver watch on my wrist.
[System Notification: Deep-Scan in Progress...]
[Item: Fragment of the Bone Flute (Cursed Class)]
[Analysis: This artifact utilizes 'Aura Suppression' logic. It is a primitive, blood-based precursor to the Host's System.]
"So, Grandmaster Zhao is playing with ancient shadows while I build the future," I murmured to myself. My reflection in the window showed a man whose eyes no longer just observed the world—they analyzed its very fabric. Choosing the [Wealthy Family] status hadn't just given me money; it had unlocked a tier of "High-Society Intuition" that allowed me to see the hidden price tag on everything, including souls.
The car pulled into the private courtyard of the Sterling mansion. I didn't head to the sleeping quarters. Instead, I went straight to the reinforced study on the top floor. Elena was there, pacing the floor with a glass of untouched amber liquid in her hand. When the doors opened, she didn't just look at me; she scanned me for injuries with a desperation that made the golden strings of her loyalty shimmer in my [Aura Perception].
"You're late," she said, her voice a mix of relief and barely contained anger. She looked at my ruined suit, then her eyes fell on the velvet pouch in my hand. "The reports from the North Tunnel... the police are calling it a 'gas explosion', but my contacts in the military are whispering about a massacre. What is that thing, Fang?"
"This is the reason the Five Families are afraid to breathe without the Triad's permission," I said, placing the pouch on the obsidian desk. I pulled the fragment out. The room's temperature seemed to drop instantly, a fine frost forming on the edges of the desk. "It's a piece of their leash. And tonight, I'm going to learn how to snap it."
I sat down, leaning back into the leather chair. The System's HUD flared to life, casting a blue glow over the room.
[Warning: High Mental Strain Detected!]
[Would you like to 'Consume' the artifact to evolve 'Aura Perception'?]
[Cost: 500 Desire Points + 24 Hours of Neural Fatigue]
"Elena, stay back," I commanded, my voice cold and focused. "Whatever happens in the next ten minutes, do not touch me."
I reached out and gripped the bone fragment with my bare hand.
SCREAM.
It wasn't a physical sound, but a psychic explosion. I felt the agony of a thousand suppressed desires—lives lived in silence, muffled by the flute's cursed melody—flood into my mind. My veins turned a translucent, ghostly white as the necrotic energy fought against the System's blue fire. I could feel my "Wealthy Family" status acting as a buffer; my refined upbringing and the "Sovereign's Body" I had purchased earlier prevented my heart from stopping under the sheer weight of the curse.
[Ding! Evolution Successful!]
[Skill Upgraded: 'Sovereign's Eye' (Rank 2)]
[New Ability Unlocked: 'Desire Injection']
Description: You can now force a specific, overwhelming desire into a target, overriding their logic and instincts for 60 seconds.
I gasped, my forehead slick with sweat, as the bone fragment crumbled into gray ash in my palm. The world didn't just look different now; it looked fragile. I looked at Elena, and for the first time, I saw the "Strings of Fate" connecting her to the people in the building below. They were glowing, vibrant, and now... I knew exactly how to pull them.
"Fang? Your eyes..." Elena whispered, her glass slipping from her hand and shattering on the floor. "There's a silver ring around your pupils. You... you don't look human anymore."
"I am whatever I need to be to win, Elena," I said, my voice resonating with a new, terrifying authority.
But the moment of triumph was short-lived. My encrypted phone vibrated with a frequency that bypassed the System's current filters. It was General Drax.
"Fang Li," the General's voice was a jagged rasp of static. "The Triad has stopped playing games. They've declared a [Blood Moon]. Grandmaster Zhao has activated every sleeper cell in Oakhaven. They aren't going for your shipments anymore. They are descending on Sterling Plaza with everything they have. Assassins, mercenaries, and the remaining Silent Sisters."
I stood up, the silver rings in my eyes glowing with a predatory light. The war for the city had reached its zenith. My new "Wealthy Family" status meant I had a palace to defend, and the "Desire Injection" gave me the ultimate weapon to defend it.
"Tell your men to open the gates, General," I said, a dark, calm smile playing on my lips. "I don't want them fighting on the streets. I want the Triad to enter my home. I want them to think they've finally cornered the King."
"Are you insane? They'll slaughter everyone!"
"No," I replied, looking at the city skyline as the moon began to take on a reddish hue. "They're coming for a massacre, but I'm going to give them a nightmare. Tonight, Oakhaven learns that in my house, even your own heart can become your executioner."
[Ding!]
[New Mission: The Siege of Sterling Plaza]
[Objective: Survive the 'Blood Moon' and eliminate the Triad's influence in the Five Families.]
[Reward: Rank 3 Authority | Ultimate Skill Unlock]