Tuesday, 11:45 a.m.
Ground Zero
The mood was electric.
Posters for Project Skyburst had gone live that morning. Hundreds of students, freelancers, and underground inventors had already registered interest. Social media buzzed with speculation, while the official site struggled to stay online from traffic overload.
Zari looked up from her laptop, grinning. "We have over 12,000 page hits in three hours. That's more than some VC-backed launches."
Martin added, "Even two PNTU professors signed up to mentor. Voluntarily."
Leo nodded slowly, eyes on the numbers.
[Skyburst Registration: 2,118 applicants]
[Sector Attention: Trending in Local Start-Up Circles]
[Alert: Ares Proxy Entity spotted in submission logs]
That last one made his jaw tighten.
Ares was already here.
Leo gathered the core team in the conference room, drawing the blinds.
He projected a name onto the screen:
"EvoForge Technologies"
A fresh, well-funded startup that mysteriously appeared two weeks ago. On the surface, it seemed promising—innovative, ambitious, and socially driven.
But Leo had seen its shadow.
"EvoForge is a proxy," Leo said. "Funded anonymously, aggressively poaching young devs and buying up tech patents for triple their value."
Zari's eyes widened. "That's illegal if they're exploiting student ideas."
Leo nodded. "It is. And they're doing it fast. They just offered ₱5 million for a patent developed by one of our GZ Access scholars."
Aria clenched her jaw. "That's not just business—that's war."
[New Sub-Quest Triggered: Shield the Innovators]
Goal: Prevent Ares from stealing Project Skyburst candidates
Solution Paths:
— Patent lock protection (Zari & Martin)
— Talent contract & mentorship incentive program
— Public awareness campaign exposing EvoForge ethics
Time Limit: 7 days
Bonus: Enhanced Reputation Shield + Candidate Loyalty Multiplier
Later that evening, Leo met with Jared—the young scholar from Mindoro.
"You got an offer," Leo said, sliding a printed email across the table. "From EvoForge. ₱5M for your agricultural AI system."
Jared blinked, eyes wide. "Five million… for that?"
Leo nodded. "You impressed the wrong people. They want to buy it, bury it, and use it to sell overpriced equipment to farms."
Jared sat back, overwhelmed. "It's tempting. My family's drowning in debt."
Leo leaned forward. "Then let me make you another offer."
He pulled out a smaller folder.
"Stay with Ground Zero. We'll fund your prototype, file your patent under your name, and help deploy it directly to farms—for free. Your name stays on every sensor. Every code line. We'll build it together."
Jared looked torn. "That's a longer road…"
Leo smiled. "But you'll still own your soul."
[Jared Loyalty: 100% – "Legacy Seed" Status Earned]
Bonus: +10% GZ Scholar Retention
Talent Shield Skill Activated – Prevents first poaching attempt per candidate
The next day, Zari and Martin rolled out the Patent Guardian Suite—a system that auto-locks submissions with blockchain-stamped ownership seals.
"If EvoForge wants to steal something," Martin said, "they'll have to fight smart contracts now."
At the same time, Aria launched a series of infographics on social media exposing unethical corporate buyouts. One went viral within hours:
"₱5M today or ₱5 impact for 5 generations? Your idea. Your call."
Comments flooded in. Students shared their experiences with shady recruiters. Hashtags began to trend:
#MyPatentMyPower
#BuildWithGroundZero
In a luxury penthouse in Taguig, Ares sat in silence, reading the digital battlefield updates.
"Impressive," he muttered. "The boy learns fast."
A voice through the speaker asked, "Should we back off?"
Ares chuckled. "No. Push harder. Let's raise the stakes."
He tapped the table twice.
Moments later, emails began to hit inboxes across Metro Manila's campuses.
₱10M for your idea. Full buyout. No strings.
Signed: EvoForge
Back at Ground Zero, Leo stared at the newest spike on the system dashboard.
They'd just doubled the bid.
Zari looked worried. "Some of our scholars won't be able to resist that."
Leo said nothing at first.
Then: "We change the game."
"How?"
Leo's gaze turned steel.
"We build faster than they can buy."
[Main Quest Updated: Overt Challenge Detected]
Rival Heir "Ares" escalates engagement
New Goal: Launch 3 working Skyburst prototypes within 10 days
Reward: Direct Market Control + Founder Signature Tag
Penalty: Candidate loss to Rival = -2 Influence Points per unit
That night, Leo returned to the rooftop, the city glowing below him.
In just a few weeks, he'd gone from a broke student… to the center of a silent war between heirs.
And now, the battlefield was real.
Ideas. Students. Influence. Ownership.
He wasn't just fighting for his legacy anymore.
He was fighting for everyone who'd ever been forced to sell their future to survive.
And he wasn't about to lose.