The echoes of our unified roar—"HUNTERS!"—still seemed to vibrate in the dusty air of the old classroom. The raw, vengeful energy was a palpable force, a weapon in itself. I looked around the table at the faces of my inner circle. The fear was gone, replaced by a cold, hard resolve. We had our intelligence. We had our motivation. Now, we needed a plan.
"Okay, guys," I said, my voice cutting through the lingering adrenaline. "We have the information, but now, we need to deduce a strategy. We need to figure out how to use this."
Before I could continue, Anna spoke up, her voice quiet but firm. "Leader, I have something to say."
"Go for it," I said, giving her my full attention.
She reached into her bag and pulled out a small, sleek thumb drive, placing it in the center of the table. It looked innocuous, like any other piece of tech, but the way she handled it, with a strange mixture of pride and reverence, told me it was something special.
"Okay, everyone," she began, her amber eyes scanning our faces. "In this drive is a program I developed. I call it the Trojan Horse."
Tiffany leaned forward, her usual cold indifference replaced by a flicker of genuine curiosity. "What can your program do, Anna?"
Anna took a deep breath, and as she began to explain, her usual timidity melted away, replaced by the focused, passionate energy of a master craftsman describing her life's work. "Think about it," she said. "If I want to infiltrate a random phone, I would normally need to get inside it physically, using a thumb drive or manually installing the program. But my program doesn't need that. If a person who has the Trojan Horse on their mobile device designates a target, the program will find a way to attack the target's hardware and get access. There is one condition, however. The target's device must be within a one-meter radius of the host device for the initial infiltration to occur. It sends out a localized, high-frequency data burst that bypasses most security protocols."
Stacy's eyes widened. "That's amazing," she breathed. "But… that's a serious cybercrime. You could get jail time if you're caught."
A small, confident smile touched Anna's lips, a rare and startling sight. "Is finding a single pin in the entire ocean possible? They won't even be able to detect that they're being spied on. And even if they somehow did, they could never track me. My location is constantly bouncing between thousands of proxy servers across the globe. If they somehow managed to track a signal, they might reach a location, but I would be long gone before they arrived. And they would never know who was behind the hack. At any cost." She paused, letting the weight of her next words sink in. "As a bonus… I can even infiltrate army and government agency servers."
The room was dead silent. I was in awe. Tiffany, the ice queen, the one who was never impressed by anything, started clapping, a slow, deliberate applause. "I am literally looking at a cyber-terrorist," she said, her voice a mixture of shock and profound respect.
Isabel gasped. "Oh my God… it means you can control the stock market."
"For a few seconds, yes," Anna admitted with a shrug. "Long enough to cause chaos."
Stacy just shook her head, a look of utter disbelief on her face. "Adam," she said, turning to me, "you know what? Making a deal with you is the most beneficial deal I have ever made in my life. It's like we have our very own supercomputer. Oh my God, I cannot believe it."
Anna, basking in the newfound respect, turned to our two newest recruits. "Maya, Chloe," she said, her voice now full of a quiet authority. "You will both put this program on your boyfriends' phones. That will give us full access to the internal communications of the Ruthless Animals."
"Brilliant," I said, a slow, predatory grin spreading across my face. "Okay, now our spies have their work. Maya, Chloe, you will perform your parts."
Maya, her eyes sparkling with excitement, gave a confident nod. "Yes, Leader. I'll do it. I'll also try to gather more information from him while I'm at it."
Chloe leaned forward, a wicked glint in her crimson eyes. "I'll give you such good results, you won't be able to stop praising me," she purred.
"Now, let's get down to the combat part," I said, my gaze shifting to Isabel. "I have an important job for you."
"What is it, Leader?" she asked, her own expression turning serious.
"I want you to increase the pace of the bootcamp," I instructed. "And I want you to focus more on Kenji. He needs to learn some real fighting skills. He has the power, now he needs the technique."
She nodded, her jaw set with determination. "Consider it done."
Kenji, who had been listening intently, spoke up, his voice a low rumble of conviction. "I will not give you a chance to complain, Leader."
Finally, I turned back to Anna. "I want you to develop another program," I said. "A way to track every member of our guild. For their safety. I can't risk what happened last time, with you and Qasim being ambushed."
"Okay, Leader," she said, a look of profound gratitude on her face.
With their new assignments given, the combat-focused members of our team—Jack, Padro, Ken, Kenji, Isabel, Maya, and Chloe—all stood up and left, a new sense of purpose radiating from them. They had their missions.
Now, it was time for the other half of our war. In the room, only the four of us remained: me, Stacy, Anna, and Tiffany. The business team.
"Okay, guys," I said, leaning back in my chair. "Now it's time to work on the other planning."
"Yes," Tiffany agreed, her expression all business.
"Let's start with the company establishment," I said. "Anna, Tiffany, Stacy, please."
Stacy, who had been waiting for this moment, spoke first. "Okay, listen. For initial capital, I have at least 100 million Exo coins."
Anna's jaw dropped. She quickly did the math in her head. "One Exo coin is equal to ten million Funos," she breathed. "That means… you have one quadrillion Funos."
"That's a huge amount," Tiffany said, her usual composure finally cracking, her eyes wide with shock.
"Now that we have the funds, let's move on to the next part," I said, trying to keep the mood focused.
Tiffany, recovering quickly, took charge. "A company needs three core things to function: a Chief Executive Officer, a Head of Public Relations, and a Head of Human Resources. Adam and Stacy will be the founders, and Anna and I will be co-founders. But we still need more people."
"Yes," Anna agreed. "I can be the data analyst, and Tiffany can be the stock analyst, but we need more people to start a full-fledged company. And we need infrastructure. An office."
Stacy waved a dismissive hand. "You don't need to worry about the infrastructure. I can handle it. The guild meetings can continue in this old building, but for the company, I will find us a proper place. But finding the right people… that's the tough part."
I just smiled, a confident, mysterious look on my face. "You just decide on the place. I'll bring you a brilliant CEO, a world-class HR head, and a PR director who can charm the world. Don't worry about it."
All three of them looked at me, completely amazed. Stacy was the first to recover. "Okay," she said, a new, intense curiosity in her eyes. "I'll text you the location this evening."
"Now," I said, my tone shifting again, the easygoing businessman replaced by the cold, calculating strategist. "It's time for warfare."
"What's your plan?" Tiffany asked, her own mind already working, analyzing.
"Let's start with Kevin," I said.
Stacy nodded. "Okay. He has his sister, and the Vice-President of the student council as his girlfriend."
"Exactly," I said, a cold, vicious plan already forming in my mind. "Anna is a brilliant tech genius. She will use her skills to start a fire. We're not just going to spread rumors; we're going to weaponize the truth and twist it into something monstrous. We'll start with his family. We'll leak the fact that his mother was a well-known whore. We'll anonymously 'confirm' the old rumor that he killed his own father."
Anna looked confused. "Then what will happen? What's the use of that?"
I continued, my voice dropping to a low, dangerous tone. "Then we attack his character. We'll paint him as a predator who uses innocent, naive girls like Hailey Banner for his own gain, manipulating her love to cover his crimes. And to top it all off, we'll invent a new rumor. We'll suggest his overprotectiveness of his younger sister isn't brotherly love, but a twisted, obsessive sister complex."
It was Tiffany who answered, a slow, predatory smile spreading across her face as she understood my strategy. "It will destroy him," she explained. "It will affect the image of the Ruthless Animals and shatter the fear the other students have of them. It will attack their members' morale. And most importantly, it will make Kevin emotionally vulnerable. We'll be attacking everything he holds dear: his family, his love, and his pride."
"Exactly," I said. "Afterward, we will target Hailey with the help of the Student Council President."
Stacy looked shocked. "Why would she help you? The Northwood High President, Kendall Jenner?"
"Yeah, why would she help you?" Tiffany echoed, her own expression a mixture of disbelief and a dawning respect.
"Kendall is the eldest daughter of the Jenner group," I explained, my own intel coming to the forefront. "She wants to be the next chairman, but her father is fixed on making her younger brother the heir. She will go to any length to secure her position. Thus, she will help us."
Stacy stared at me. "Don't tell me you are also going to help her take over the Jenner group."
"That's suicide," Tiffany said, her voice flat. "Her father is a retired army chief of staff. He's one of the most powerful men in the country."
"We are not going to make Kendall the chairman," I clarified, a cunning glint in my own eyes. "We are just going to make sure her brother doesn't become the chairman."
They both started to get the idea, a new, ruthless energy filling the room. Stacy was the next to contribute. "You don't need to worry about Charles," she said, a cold, vicious smile on her face. "I'll handle him. I have proof that he has erectile dysfunction. I'll leak it. His reputation will be in tatters."
"I will handle the matter of Lina and Friedrich," I said, my own voice a low, dangerous growl. "Don't worry about them."
"This might be tough," Tiffany said, a note of caution in her voice.
"I can handle it," I replied, my confidence absolute.
"That only leaves Hughes," Stacy said.
Anna looked up, her own expression a mixture of fear and a burning, vengeful fire. "I will try my best to find more answers about Hughes," she said, her voice full of a new, unshakeable resolve.
I said goodbye to everyone. I was tired, but my mind was buzzing. We had a plan. A brutal, unconventional, and utterly brilliant plan. The hunt was no longer a distant dream. It was a detailed, step-by-step blueprint for destruction.
The final bell of the day was a starting pistol. While the rest of the student body flooded the hallways in a chaotic rush for freedom, I moved against the current. My destination was the second-floor staff offices, a part of the school that always felt unnaturally quiet, like a library in a hurricane. I had a meeting to attend—one that felt more important than any class.
I stopped in front of her door, the small brass plaque reading 'Miss L. Harrison' gleaming under the fluorescent lights. I took a deep breath. The frantic, pre-battle jitters I usually felt were absent, replaced by a different kind of nervousness—a quiet, hopeful anticipation. This wasn't a mission. This was personal.
I knocked twice, a firm, confident sound.
"Come in," her voice called from within. The crisp, authoritative tone was still there, but I could hear an undercurrent of warmth that hadn't existed before.
I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Her office was a perfect reflection of her: impeccably organized, elegant, and professional. The late afternoon sun streamed through the large window behind her, casting a golden glow that caught the highlights in her hair. She was sitting behind her desk, but the moment she saw me, a genuine, unguarded smile lit up her face, transforming the formidable "Demon Queen" into the beautiful, captivating woman I'd shared a dance with.
"Adam," she said, her voice a soft murmur that was just for me. "I was hoping you'd stop by."
"I couldn't stay away," I replied, closing the door behind me. The soft click created a sense of privacy, of our own little world separate from the school. I walked over and took the seat opposite her desk, the one usually reserved for students in deep, deep trouble. Now, it just felt like my seat.
An easy, comfortable silence settled between us. The awkwardness of our first encounters was gone, replaced by the lingering electricity of our date.
"I had a wonderful time the other night, Lily," I began, my voice sincere. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about it."
A lovely blush colored her cheeks. "Me neither," she admitted, her turquoise eyes sparkling. "It was… unexpected. In the best way possible." She leaned forward slightly, her professional mask slipping away. "But I have to admit, I'm surprised to see you here. I thought you'd be busy with your… guild."
I let a small, knowing smile touch my lips. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Not just the guild, but the future. Our future."
She looked intrigued, her full attention on me now. "Our future?"
"I'm building something, Lily," I said, my voice dropping, taking on a new seriousness. "I've partnered with Stacy Brooklyn. We're starting a company. An investment firm. It's the first step in a much larger plan."
Her expression shifted from the soft, romantic woman to the sharp, intelligent teacher. "An investment firm? Adam, that's… incredibly ambitious. Are you sure you know what you're getting into?"
"I have the best people," I said with a confidence that was absolute. "A genius data analyst, a brilliant stock market strategist, and a CEO with decades of experience." I paused, letting the weight of my words sink in. "We have the brains. We have the capital. But we're missing something crucial. We're missing a heart. A structure."
I stood up and walked over to the window, looking out at the school grounds below. "A company is like an army, or even a classroom. You can have the smartest soldiers and the best weapons, but without discipline, without a clear structure and a leader who can manage the people, it all falls apart. You get chaos. Inefficiency. Betrayal."
I turned back to face her, my gaze intense. "You see, Lily, everyone at this school, they call you the 'Demon Queen.' They're scared of you. They think you're harsh."
A flicker of hurt crossed her face, and she looked away. "I'm just trying to maintain standards."
"I know," I said, walking back towards her desk. "That's what they don't see. They don't see that your 'tyranny' is just a form of effective management. You command respect. You identify a student's weaknesses and you push them to be better. You set clear expectations and you enforce them without exception. You're not a demon, Lily. You're a leader. A brilliant one."
She stared at me, her lips slightly parted, completely speechless.
"My company," I continued, my voice a low, persuasive hum, "needs a leader like that. We need someone to build our team from the ground up. Someone to recruit the best talent, to set our internal policies, to create a culture of excellence and discipline. We need someone to be our gatekeeper, the person who ensures that every single person who joins our ranks is worthy of being there."
I stopped directly in front of her desk, looking down at her. "We need a Head of Human Resources and Talent Development. And I can't think of a single person on this planet more qualified for that role than you."
The silence that followed my proposal was absolute. She just sat there, frozen, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and utter disbelief. I could see a war of emotions playing out on her face.
"You're… you're offering me a job?" she finally managed to say, her voice barely a whisper.
"I'm offering you a partnership," I corrected her gently. "I'm offering you a new stage, a bigger one than this classroom. A place where your skills won't be feared by teenagers, but respected by professionals. A place where you can build something real, something that lasts." I leaned down, placing my hands on her desk, my face just inches from hers. "Remember what you told me on our date? About feeling lonely, about wanting something more than this? This is it, Lily. This is your chance."
She let out a short, incredulous laugh, though her eyes were shining. "Adam, this is insane. I'm a history teacher. What do I know about running a corporate department?"
"You know how to manage people," I shot back instantly. "You know how to identify potential. You know how to inspire discipline and loyalty. The corporate jargon, the paperwork… that's the easy part. You can learn that. What you have, that innate ability to lead… that can't be taught. You're a natural."
My skills, Casanova and Incubus, were active, not as a tool of seduction, but as an amplifier for my sincerity, a way to project the absolute, unwavering belief I had in her.
"I'm not just asking you to do this for the company, Lily," I said, my voice a low, intense murmur. "I'm asking because I want you in my life. Not just on dates, not just in secret. I want you by my side, building this future with me."
Her breath hitched. My words had hit their mark. I had seen past the teacher, past the 'Demon Queen,' and I had spoken directly to the ambitious, brilliant woman she kept hidden from the world.
She stood up, a new, powerful light in her turquoise eyes. The shy, flustered woman was gone, replaced by the formidable presence I knew she was capable of.
"You don't just want a Head of HR, Adam," she said, her voice a low, challenging purr. "You want a queen for your new kingdom."
A slow, triumphant smile spread across my face. "Every king needs a queen," I replied.
She walked around the desk until she was standing directly in front of me. She reached up and straightened my tie, her fingers brushing against my chest, sending a jolt of electricity through me.
"This is a very interesting proposal, Mr. Wilson," she said, her eyes sparkling with a new, dangerous light. "And a very bold step for our relationship."
"I'm a bold man," I said, my own voice a confident murmur.
She just smiled, a mysterious, intoxicating expression that was a promise of things to come. "I'll have my resignation on the headmistress's desk by the end of the week."
The professional had merged with the personal, and in that small, sunlit office, our new, powerful alliance had just been forged.
The heavy oak door of my house clicked shut behind me, the sound feeling less like an arrival and more like stepping onto a stage. The air inside was still and quiet, thick with the unspoken tensions of the past few days. Isabel was in her room, probably doing homework, but I could feel the presence of the two most important women in my life like a low hum in the background.
I found them in the living room. Mom was curled up on one end of the sofa, a book open on her lap, though her eyes were staring blankly at the wall opposite. Aunt Christine was at the other end, nursing a cup of tea, her expression a mask of elegant melancholy. The silence between them wasn't comfortable; it was the fragile quiet that follows a storm, where no one is quite sure if it's truly over.
I knew I couldn't just burst in with a business proposal. This required a delicate touch, a strategy. My skills, Napoleon and Chanakya, weren't just for fighting bullies; they gave me a new kind of clarity, an intuitive understanding of the emotion