The morning sun spilled through the reinforced glass windows of Lin Chen's private office atop Polaris Financial Tower, gilding everything in warm gold. But the light inside him burned far brighter.
He wasn't just wealthy now.He was dangerous.
[System Notification]📈 Mission Chain "Strategic Financial Annihilation" Completed💰 Total Gold Coins: 10,218,000🧠 System Level Cap Reached. Preparing for evolution...
🔓 New Function Unlocked: "Wealth Aura" (Passive)🔹 Description: Projects psychological and metaphysical pressure proportional to gold coin balance.🔹 Effects: +25% Influence in negotiations, +15% intimidation against hostile targets, +10% attraction from high-net-worth individuals.
Lin Chen leaned back, hands laced behind his head.
He could feel it—the shift.
People in the office spoke softer when he passed. Elevator doors didn't close on him anymore. Investors no longer waited for his pitch—they fought for a seat near him.
He wasn't just building wealth anymore. He was reshaping how wealth moved around him.
Power Feels Different
The system's interface shimmered with golden brilliance, brighter than ever before. Lin Chen navigated to his stats page:
Wealth System v2.9.9 — Ascension Candidate Detected
💰 Total Gold Balance: 10,218,000🎯 Level Threshold Reached – 100%
✅ Secondary Abilities Upgrade Available:
🔸 [Market Dominance] → "Mass Influence" unlocked
🔸 [Asset Management] → Now includes AI Smart Fund Architect
🔸 [Event Prediction] → Range increased from 2 to 5 days
🚨 Next System Evolution: Requires Completion of Hidden Legacy Chain – Progress 2/5
The Wealth Aura surrounded him now, subtly warping attention like gravity. When he entered a room, he didn't walk in—he became the center.
Fame Has Its Price
The financial world wasn't silent about Lin Chen's recent movements. Online boards were full of whispers:
"The Ghost Strategist might be real. Someone nuked Yongheng from orbit."
"Is Black Knight and Null Hawk the same person?"
"New power axis forming: not old money, but system-born capital sharks."
And with that came… visitors.
Dozens of them.
Some were aggressive suitors from venture funds.Some were government liaisons, asking polite but sharp questions.And some came with smiles too perfect to trust—old titans of capital hoping to bring him into their fold before he started building his own empire.
[System Alert: Negotiation Sentiment Detected – Potential Manipulation Attempt]Target: Tan Shousheng – Former Deputy Director of Eastern HoldingsIntent: "Acquisition or Elimination"
Lin Chen gave the man no hand to shake.
"Polaris doesn't need your legacy," he said coolly. "We're writing new rules here."
Le Chu's Visit – A Subtle Shift
Later that evening, as the city lights began to shimmer, Le Chu arrived again.
She didn't come unannounced this time.
There was tension in her expression—respect, yes, but also concern.
"You're not the same," she murmured. "Not the Lin Chen I met at that underground auction."
"Maybe I was never meant to stay that Lin Chen," he replied without looking up from his console. "I just hadn't awakened yet."
Her fingers tightened around the folder in her hand.
"Someone's watching you. Not just Erebus. Not just governments." She slid a photograph across his desk. A blurry, long-range shot.
A man in a trench coat. Watching Polaris Tower from a rooftop.
[System Note: Unknown Observer Identified. Affiliation—Unregistered. Hostility Level: ???]
Le Chu whispered, "They're not afraid of you now. But they will be soon."
End of Chapter Hook
[System Alert: System Core Stabilizing for Evolution Upgrade.]
Countdown to Evolution: 72 Hours
New Primary Module to Unlock: ???
Lin Chen stared at the glowing countdown.The system was changing. He was changing. And the world had only just begun to notice.
But he didn't want to play their game anymore.
He wanted to build his own.