*THREE MONTHS LATER*
Alex's organization had evolved beyond simple crime. With Agent Chen providing federal cover and David's hero credentials legitimizing their operations, they'd become something unprecedented: a criminal empire that actually improved the communities it controlled.
*CURRENT STATUS:*
*VILLAIN RANK: MASTER*
*VILLAIN POINTS: 12,000*
*TERRITORY: ENTIRE CITY*
*MONTHLY INCOME: $50 MILLION*
*CIVILIAN APPROVAL RATING: 73%*
But Alex was no longer interested in building a criminal empire. He wanted answers.
"Show me what you've found," he said as his core team gathered in their new headquarters—a legitimate office building that served as cover for their real activities.
Maya activated the wall display, showing a global map dotted with colored markers. "System users worldwide. Red for villains, blue for heroes, green for unknown classifications."
The pattern was unmistakable. System users appeared in clusters, always with roughly equal numbers of heroes and villains. Conflict was inevitable, and it always followed the same pattern: escalation, direct confrontation, and the elimination of users until only a few remained.
"It's a battle royale," Elena observed. "On a global scale."
"But why?" David asked. "What's the point?"
Agent Chen pulled up classified government files. "I've been digging through federal databases. Project Olympus—a joint venture between military contractors and tech companies that was supposedly shut down in 2019."
"Supposedly?"
"The funding disappeared, but the research continued through shell companies. They were developing something called 'Enhancement Protocol Testing'—experiments in human augmentation using advanced AI systems."
*MAJOR CONSPIRACY DISCOVERED*
*QUEST COMPLETED: UNCOVER SYSTEM ORIGINS*
*REWARD: 3,000 VILLAIN POINTS*
*NEW QUEST: INFILTRATE PROJECT OLYMPUS*
*DIFFICULTY: EXTREME*
Alex studied the data with growing understanding. "We're not users. We're test subjects."
"Test subjects for what?"
"For creating the perfect human enhancement system. They're using us to debug the technology, to see which approaches work best under real-world conditions."
Maya's expression darkened. "So everyone who's died..."
"Acceptable casualties in the name of scientific progress."
The room fell silent as the implications sank in. Hundreds of system users worldwide, living and dying according to the whims of researchers who saw them as lab rats.
"We're going to shut it down," Alex decided.
"How do you shut down something this big?" Elena asked.
Alex's smile was the predatory expression that had become his trademark. "The same way you handle any other hostile takeover. You eliminate the competition and acquire their assets."
*VILLAIN POINTS: 15,000*
*FINAL QUEST ACTIVATED: DESTROY PROJECT OLYMPUS*
*REWARD: SYSTEM MASTERY*
*WARNING: FAILURE WILL RESULT IN WORLDWIDE SYSTEM USER TERMINATION*