The city's skyline glittered under the night haze, each neon spire a jagged reminder of the House of Spires' stranglehold. Jarek stood in the penthouse suite of his newly acquired data consultancy, the glass wall reflecting the faint glow of his system interface. This wasn't just another asset — it was the key to getting inside.
The System pulsed in his vision:
[Strategic Opportunity Detected]
Target: Spire Syndicate Supply Chain Hub — code name: GLASSTOWER.
Chance of success with current resources: 41%.
Recommendation: Asset infiltration through compromised subsidiaries.
Jarek smirked. "Forty-one percent's a coin toss. I like those odds."
The consultancy wasn't just crunching numbers; they handled encrypted financial routing for hundreds of mid-tier corporate clients — and three of them were shell companies feeding the Spires' logistics network. That was the entry point.
The plan was surgical: acquire leverage over those three shells without raising alarms. The System highlighted the chain of ownership in glowing red threads, tracing them through dummy directors, offshore accounts, and fake mining ventures.
[Resource Allocation Prompt]
Invest: 2,500,000 credits in targeted buyout & influence campaign.
Estimated ROI: Tangible asset control within 72 hours.
He didn't hesitate.
[Credits Spent: 2,500,000]
[Luck Multiplier Activated: 2.8×]
[Credits Reimbursed: 7,000,000]
The rebate dropped into his account before the ink on the buyout contracts metaphorically dried. The System didn't just give him money back — it gave him room to breathe, to strike again immediately.
Through quiet boardroom votes, back-channel bribes, and one very compromising video leaked at just the right time, the shells were his. Not publicly — on paper, nothing had changed. But behind the scenes, the Spires' supply chain now had a set of wires running straight into Jarek's hands.
That's when the System dropped something new:
[Feature Unlocked: Covert Operations Mode]
You may now allocate credits toward destabilization efforts against hostile entities. Effects will manifest as real-world disruptions, proportionate to funds committed.
It was tempting to throw everything at them right then. But Jarek knew patience would make it hurt more.
The first move was subtle. He redirected shipping manifests — not enough to trigger full audits, but enough to delay high-value cargoes by days. Then came phantom invoices routed through his shells, slowly draining their liquidity. The Spires didn't even notice at first; they thought it was an accounting error.
By the second week, the cracks were showing. Fuel convoys went missing. Their procurement divisions started fighting with their logistics chiefs. Rumors spread about theft within their own ranks.
And then came the hammer.
[Strategic Opportunity Detected — High Impact]
Asset: GLASSTOWER Main Hub — security downgraded due to internal conflict.
Opportunity: Direct economic strike — cause catastrophic revenue loss.
Required investment: 12,000,000 credits.
Success probability: 89%.
Jarek wired the funds instantly.
[Credits Spent: 12,000,000]
[Luck Multiplier Activated: 3.1×]
[Credits Reimbursed: 37,200,000]
Hours later, newsfeeds exploded. GLASSTOWER's eastern wing went up in flames after a "maintenance accident" — a lie, of course. In truth, a cascading system fault planted by his consultancy's code fried every automated loading drone on site, sending billions in goods crashing into the docks below.
Camera feeds showed burning crates and panicked workers. The Spires' PR teams scrambled, but the footage was everywhere before they could spin it.
The System chimed one last time that night:
[Mission Update]
Objective: Inflict measurable damage to hostile entity — Complete.
Reputation gain: +Moderate among corporate rivals.
Reputation loss: -Moderate among Spire affiliates.
Jarek watched the chaos unfold from his high-rise balcony, the skyline flickering with emergency lights. The Spires would know it was him soon enough — but by then, it wouldn't matter. He'd already be three moves ahead.