210 STOMACH FOR TRAGEDY?
Dan smirked and scanned the room for more loot.
Embedded in sealed pods were Cores of Electricity and Kinetic Energy…he absorbed them both as the energy crackled through his veins.
Then, in the final vault, he found sothing unexpected.
"The Heart of Shu," he whispered. "Perfect."
He assimilated it before heading back.
The manager and secretary were still under the table, their limbs tangled and shook the table, utterly oblivious to the invisible guy passing them.
"Didn't think he had that much stamina," Dan murmured.
"Yeah… sorry for the bad estimation… he must have taken booster dicine," Kail said over the comm, trying not to laugh.
Ignoring him, Dan opened a window, tossed the heavy bag into the night, then vaulted after it…. catching it midair before gliding into the shadows.
"Rember to plant the evidence", Dan reminded.
"Of course, I've put the unique signature of the Nuralith hackers on the Veyran servers. They'll beco the main suspect when they do a forensic tomorrow", Kail replied smiling.
"Nuralith's signature? Where did you get that?" Liorea asked.
"When the Nuralith hackers attacked our server last ti. Do you think I wouldn't copy their signature before they left?" he replied.
She gave him the thumbs up.
Then Dan was off to the next facility on his list.
By dawn, he had raided six Veyran facilities, stripping them of their hidden fortunes.
In one night, Dan Dark had stolen over seven billion aur…and it was the beginning of the end for the Veyran empire.
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That night, Dan couldn't sleep.
He sat in the dark, his eyes glued to his Connect Vision, a wide grin spreading across his face. Tonight's haul… it was more than a victory…it was a feast.
Heart of Ra Level 3: 4/7
Heart of Shu Level 3: 4/4
Core of Electricity Level 6 (activated): 32/50
Core of Kinetic Level 6 (activated): 32/32
Core of Echo Level 3 (activated): 4/7
Core of Light Level 4 (activated): 8/10
Core of Mind Level 3 (activated): 8/12
Core of Genesis Level 3 (activated): 8/13
Core of Blood Level 7 (activated): 64/69
With a single night's raid, he had amassed more Cores than he had collected over months in the deserts of Anu. The sheer weight of the loot made his chest swell with satisfaction.
He even managed to get four Core of Blood for Eryn to improve her resistance to the cursed blood.
"Looting really is the richest profession," he muttered to himself, chuckling in the silence.
He leaned back in his chair, staring at the numbers scrolling across the screen. Each Core, each Heart, wasn't just wealth—it was power.
And with this power, Dan Dark was no longer just a player in Silver City… he was a force no one could ignore.
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[Veyran Corporation Headquarters]
"What do you an six of our secret facilities were raided in a single night?" Rione Veyran shouted, red-faced with fury.
"It's true, Father. Look at this," Swaye Veyran said, projecting holoscreens of the aftermath. The footage showed the inside of each facility…but every trace of the intruder had vanished.
"Where is the thief? There are caras everywhere, guards in every corridor. Soone had to catch sothing!" Rione bellowed.
"That's the strange part," Swaye replied. "Every piece of evidence… were scrubbed clean. The servers, the logs, even the physical traces—they were wiped with professional precision."
"Who could pull off sothing like this? The Trionix Corporation? The Governor?" Rione demanded.
"We don't know yet," Swaye said grimly.
At that mont, the IT manager hurried in, holding a small device. "Sir, during the post-raid inspection of our systems, we discovered this."
"What is that?" Rione asked, narrowing his eyes.
"It's a hacker's relay device. It could penetrate our servers and send information outside undetected," Chris Go explained.
"You're the IT manager…how could sothing like this enter our building?" Swaye scolded.
Chris swallowed hard.
Then it hit him.
"It's Linsee Dahl from Nuralith Corporation. She ca to my office a few days ago… unannounced. At the ti, she seed suspicious, but I didn't realize why. Now I know…she installed the device in my office," he explained.
"You'll need concrete proof before accusing Nuralith," Swaye warned.
Chris quickly projected additional holoscreens, showing server logs. "Here. These signatures… they match the known patterns of Nuralith hackers."
"Linsee Dahl? Nuralith? We have no quarrel with them. Why would they target us?" Rione asked, incredulously.
Then Swaye's eyes narrowed in realization. "It's Eryn Veyran. The girlfrom lrose city that we sent to the Nuralith family as compensation after… the murder of Carl Nuralith. She disappeared. The Nuralith have been furious and asking her back from us ever since… but we just don't know where she went."
"You an they're taking revenge on us… because of that girl?" Rione snapped.
"It's possible," Swaye said. "Macan Nuralith lost his only legitimate son…the heir to his empire. He'll stop at nothing for vengeance."
Rione slamd his hand against the table. "Macan Nuralith thinks we fear him? We do not! We only tried to avoid conflict. If it's a fight he wants… then it's a fight he'll get!"
-----
Liorea paced the room, thoughts tumbling over one another.
"What's the matter, Liorea?" Dan asked.
"It doesn't add up," she said without looking at him. "Even if we raided Veyran's secret banks, that alone wouldn't start a war between them and Nuralith."
Kail snorted. "Are you sure? Seven billion aurs. If I were a Veyran, I'd march on Nuralith this instant and demand it back."
Liorea shook her head. "Wealthy families think in different scales. They don't start wars over re suspicion. And from Nuralith's side, they haven't seen any proven treachery from the Veyrans…. normally they'd negotiate, reach a compromise, and walk away."
"Does that an we did all this for nothing?" Eryn asked.
"Not nothing," Liorea replied. "Just not enough."
"What else do we need, then?" Dan asked.
"I don't have a plan yet," she admitted.
A chi cut through the room….Kail's comm pinged. "Hey, Veyran family is throwing a ball," he said. "They've invited every major house to their residence."
Liorea's eyes lit. "That's it. The Veyrans want to get Nuralith to the negotiating table. The ball is the excuse."
Dan's mouth curved. "A ball?" he mused. "What if… the Veyrans do sothing there that would really piss off Nuralith?"
"Like what, Boss…have them kill Carl Nuralith all over again? He's already dead," Liorea said, half-joking.
"Not that," Dan said, smiling. He had a plan.
"Why are you smiling? Don't tell you're turning into Linsee Dahl again," Eryn snapped.
Dan chuckled. "No…no. This ti I want you to be yourself."
Eryn blinked, incredulously. "You're serious? Being myself is the plan?"
Liorea's lips curved. "I'm guessing we have another script to play."
Dan's smile went colder, a hard edge beneath it. "This ti there will be tragedy… if you have the stomach for it."
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