[New York Sanctum Living Quarters]
[Rohan POV]
"Thanks for helping me today, Wong. I wouldn't have finished everything in time without you," I said.
We stood in the corridor outside my room. The light from the room lit the dark corridor. "Don't mention it," Wong replied, his hands tucked into the sleeves of his robes. "It's the least I could do. All I really did was move a few boxes."
I laughed. "A few, huh? There was barely any space to walk in there. I don't think I could've cleared that mess in a week—let alone a day."
Wong gave a small, firm nod. "It's getting late. I should head back, and you should rest while you still have the time. Didn't you say you'd be leaving tonight?"
I shrugged. "Yeah. Mordo's coming to pick me up. And… you're right. I probably could use a bit of rest after today."
Wong paused, studying me for a moment, then nodded. "Well, then. I'll see you in two months then." He hesitated before adding, "And listen—try not to do anything dangerous on your own, alright?"
I chuckled, genuinely amused. "Why would I do anything dangerous? You make it sound like it's a hobby of mine."
"Based on what I've seen you do these past two months," Wong replied flatly, "you seem to find dangerous situations even when you claim you don't like them."
I felt a strange jolt at that.
"Just… take care of yourself, okay?" Wong said, turning and starting down the hall.
"Will do, Wong. Will do," I replied, my thoughts already drifting back to his words.
He raised a hand in a casual wave and walked off toward the hall, his footsteps fading into silence. I took a deep breath, the familiar scent of incense filling my lungs.
What Wong said still felt… off. He might not know what I was planning, but he wasn't stupid. We hadn't exactly been going on picnics these past few months, so it wasn't surprising that he'd started connecting a few dots on his own. I think i should share some details about me with him.
With that thought, I turned and went back into my room. It looked almost empty now, with only two briefcases lying on the bed. I walked past them toward the desk.
Rest could wait.
The desk was still a mess—wires and circuit boards scattered everywhere, with the computer sitting at the centre.
I pushed all the clutter into the drawer. Most of it was useless anyway. What actually mattered was the small motherboard left on the desk, still connected to the computer.
This was the phone.
I had taken it apart the day I first set up the computer, and it had stayed connected ever since—quietly helping me research things like the Super Soldier Serum.
Everything else on the desk had been left there on purpose, to hide it from anyone who might come in—especially Wong. That was why I hadn't bothered cleaning this until after he left.
I sat down and typed.
"System, you there?"
A line of text appeared on the screen.
[Ready for your command, Sir]
I nodded and continued typing."What's the status on the portal? How long until it is ready for travel ?"
The screen went black. A moment later, green text appeared again.
[Energy requirement has been met 34 minutes ago. Do you wish to travel now?]
I said "NO" out loud. then i took a breath, steadied myself, and typed instead."No. I'll tell you when I am ready."
[Affirmative]
I let out a long sigh of relief.
The AI was powerful, but it took everything literally. That was exactly why I had disabled voice input in the first place. One careless sentence, and it might do something I don't want it to do. There are already big eyes looking around on the internet. I don't want to unnecessarily draw attention by accidentally hacking someone.
I really need to deal with that later, I thought, making a mental note.
"For now," I typed, "let's move on. What's the status on Project Wrench ?"
[Over the past week, the AI Operator designated "Wrench" has functioned within expected parameters. Minor issues were detected and resolved accordingly. Wrench is ready.]
"Is it really ready?" I asked again, fingers hovering over the keyboard.
[Affirmative]
I leaned towards the monitor in excitement. "Alright… let's turn it on."
Wrench was the first AI Operator I'd built using what I'd learned from the phone's system. His primary purpose was simple: keep working while I was gone. It was an AI that was separate from the phone's system.
Originally, I only wanted an AI to keep the Dark Web site online despite the constant hacking attempts. That was where the name Wrench came from—the persona I'd used his likeness in the exposé video, it felt fitting to let that persona become "real," at least on the internet.
Born from my own code and trained using the phone's AI, Wrench was essentially my personal master hacker—confined to this one computer. I had locked him down so he couldn't replicate himself or jump to other servers.
This computer would be his home for the next two months.
His secondary task was to build a digital footprint for me. Nothing too obvious—forum posts, comments, small discussions here and there. But his main assignment was to post chapters of Harry Potter on a fanfiction sites over the coming months.
It was a long shot.
The problem with Harry Potter in this world was that the "official" books were terrible—rambling, incoherent messes that read like a madman describing the movies from memory.
From snooping through the director's and his manager's emails, I'd learned that the producers wanted a proper novelisation. Multiple writers had tried—and failed. The director rejected them all, insisting none of them was "real fans."
That was why he'd published the screenplay instead of a proper book.
And that was my opening.
I'd pose as a fan, release well-written chapters online, and hope i catch their attention.
I did hear that the book version was better then the movies, so i decided to put that to the test. I used the original books, combined it with this worlds movie and book to create a hybrid of a story using all the best parts of each minimizing the plot holes.
Now all Wrench had to do was post chapters every few days for the next 2 months.
I knew the odds were slim. But it cost me nothing, and the risk was basically zero.
I'd even instructed Wrench to use bots in a few fan forums—makeing it look like the fanfic was getting a lot of viewers.
With that done, I stood up and stepped back. I summoned the phone to me, and in the blink of an eye, the motherboard vanished from the desk.
A familiar weight settled in my pocket.
I pulled the phone out. It looked perfectly normal.
I rushed back to the computer. The screen was still black.
I moved the mouse.
Nothing.
Then the display flickered.
The black screen started to get filled with cascading ASCII symbols. Lines of characters shifted and rearranged themselves until they formed a face—an ASCII mask, unmistakably styled after DedSec.
It looked exactly like Wrench from the games. I was confused about why this happened, as I never mentioned the game to the AI while making this AI operator.
A message appeared beneath it.
[HELLO WORLD! Hope you brought earplugs—'cause the bass is about to drop!]
My first reaction was pure excitement. My second was immediate cringe.
"…Yeah. That's on me," I muttered, realising what had happened.
I pulled out the phone, already guessing the cause. When making this AI Operator, I had said to the AI it didn't matter what it looked or sounded like as long as it worked, so the AI had looked up Wrench's likeness and used that as a base when designing the AI Operator, so of course it had copied the personality too, down to the last obnoxious detail.
'Too late to start over now,' I thought. 'As long as it works.'
I typed on the keyboard.
"Wrench, confirm your objectives."
[Objectives? Ha! Strong word, Mr Anderson. My primary directive—deeply embedded in the glorious code of my digital soul—is to CAUSE MAXIMUM DISRUPTION WHILE LOOKING FABULOUS.... Secondary tasks include keeping a certain website free of rats, doing some online posting here and there. generally being awesome.]
I stared at the screen for a long moment.
"…I'm too tired for this."
I ran a few final checks, set Wrench to standby, and shut everything down. The PC stayed plugged in, tucked safely into the corner of the room.
All I could do now was hope I wouldn't regret this.
===
Just as I finished cleaning the desk, I heard a knock on the door. I opened it and found Mordo standing there, his hands clasped behind his back.
I greeted him and immediately went to collect my bags. By now, I knew that if Mordo was here, it meant the Ancient One was waiting—and there was one thing I understood very well: Mordo did not like keeping her waiting.
I was already dressed and ready, so it didn't take long. I stepped out of the room carrying two large briefcases, one in each hand.
Mordo closed the door behind me, opened a portal, and we stepped through.
When I emerged on the other side, I found myself back in the attic—the same place where I had first arrived here. This wasn't my first return trip, so I wasn't particularly surprised. What did surprise me was how different it looked. The attic was cleaner now, and proper lights had even been installed.
Moments later, another portal opened, and the Ancient One stepped through.
I carefully set my bags down and replied, "Master. Everything is ready on my end, but I still haven't received the—"
"Ah, yes," she interrupted gently. "I said I would give you some magical plants we managed to grow."
She opened a portal, and a duffel bag dropped beside me. One glance was enough—I immediately recognised it as the Wasp Suit.
Understanding dawned on me instantly. She didn't want Mordo to know about the suit. That also explained why he had been strangely absent when she showed it to me earlier.
But why? I pushed the thought aside for now. There was no point speculating.
The Ancient One then turned to Mordo. At her signal, he walked to the corner of the room and returned with a long aluminum case.
Curious, I asked, "Master, what's that?"
"You mentioned having trouble selling gold," she said. "So I asked Mordo to gather some lost treasures you can sell to a lot. This should solve the money problem for you."
"Treasures, you say?" I asked, unable to hide my excitement.
Mordo placed the case on the floor and opened it. Inside, several objects were wrapped in cloth. He carefully unwrapped them one by one.
When he finished, I saw old, rusted swords, several scrolls sealed in glass jars, and a ring. At first glance, only the ring looked remotely valuable.
My disappointment must have shown, because Mordo clicked his tongue—a rare display of irritation."Don't make that face," he said sharply. "I spent an entire week hunting these artefacts down. Any one of them is enough to set someone up for life."
He was about to continue when the Ancient One cleared her throat.
After a brief pause, Mordo sighed and added, "These relics are from the Islamic Golden Age. You should be able to sell them easily to Arab collectors."
"They are authentic," the Ancient One said calmly. " so even magic won't find fault with them."
I examined the items more closely. The swords were clearly ceremonial, their blades and hilts etched with intricate patterns and Arabic verses. The scrolls inside the glass jars looked extremely fragile. And then there was a silver ring.
According to Mordo, these were all treasures—items lost to history with no realistic chance of being recovered. That alone made them valuable.
I asked if he knew more about their origins. He told me they were from Baghdad. That was all he told me.
After that, everything moved quickly. Just like last time, I stood at the centre with all my belongings—but this time, the load was far heavier. I could barely keep my balance, let alone take out my phone.
The Ancient One raised her hands, forming intricate eldritch circles in the air.
And then, I started the transmigration.
For a brief moment, I felt weightless, as if the ground had vanished beneath my feet. Then came the sensation of falling… followed by flight. I passed through something vast and unreal before finally arriving back home. From my perspective, it looked like I was with the ancient one and Mordo one minute, and then sudden flashes of lights came, and I was again in the attic, but this time I was alone.
The first thing I did was carefully set all the bags down, making sure nothing was damaged.
I descended from the attic slowly and breathed in deeply. The familiar smell of the house filled my lungs—something I hadn't realised I'd missed so much. It was still dark, with only faint streetlight filtering through the curtains.
I checked every room carefully. When I was certain the house was empty, I finally let out a sigh of relief.
Dawn was already breaking outside.
I hid most of the bags back in the attic, took only the most important ones with me, and slipped out of the house quietly.
This time, I wasn't going to a hotel.
I had a place of my own.