The top floor of TitanCorp Tower was not an office. It was a statement. The elevator opened not into a reception area, but directly into a vast, silent space that seemed to hang in the sky. The floor was polished white marble, the ceiling a starfield of tiny fibre-optic lights, and the three exterior walls were a single, seamless pane of floor-to-ceiling glass. It was like standing on the bridge of a starship, with the entire city spread out below like a conquered galaxy.
In the center of this impossible room, a single man stood looking out at the horizon. Alistair Finch. He was older than Leo expected, with impeccably tailored clothes that seemed simple but radiated an aura of immense, understated wealth. He turned, and his eyes, a pale, piercing blue, held a look of ancient, weary intelligence.
"Leo Zhang," Finch said. His voice was calm, almost gentle, yet it carried the absolute authority of a man who had not been told 'no' in decades. "The most successful candidate the System has ever produced. Congratulations."
Leo's Calm Mind was a fortress of ice, but even it could not fully shield him from the sheer presence of this man. The CEO's Corporate Omniscience was a tangible weight, a sense of being seen, analyzed, and understood on a level that was deeply unsettling.
"You're the Primary User," Leo stated. It wasn't a question.
Finch gave a small, sad smile. "The first. Yes. I commissioned the System forty years ago. An AI designed to do one thing: find the perfect executive. A mind capable of navigating the infinite complexities of the global market with perfect, logical efficiency. It was a search for my replacement." He gestured to the city below. "A successor to this throne."
He began to walk slowly around the room, his hands clasped behind his back. "The System has tested thousands. Most fail at the intern level. A few, like your Mr. Graves, make it to the senior levels before their ambition outstrips their talent. But you… you are the first to reach the endgame."
"The endgame?" Leo asked, his voice a low murmur.
"The final protocol," Finch clarified. "The System was designed with a paradox. It seeks the ultimate individual, but it cannot allow two apex predators to coexist at the top of the same food chain. It creates instability. Now that you have reached the executive level, the System must resolve this paradox. It must choose one of us."
He stopped in front of Leo, his gaze intense. "I did not summon you here to fire you, Leo. I summoned you here to offer a partnership. Help me guide this company for the next decade, and this will all be yours. But the System doesn't care about my wishes. It only cares about its primary function."
As he spoke, the familiar blue text of the System flared in Leo's vision, but it was different. It was stark, cold, and edged with the same glitching silver as before.
[ENDGAME PROTOCOL: ACTIVATED] [Condition: Two SSS-Rank users detected in dominant positions.] [Objective: Determine the singular, optimal CEO candidate through a final, winner-take-all competition.]
[The Final Gauntlet has begun.] [Quest 1: The Shareholder Rebellion. (Alistair Finch has subtly influenced the media to frame you as a reckless, dangerous executive. A significant bloc of shareholders is now calling for your removal. You have one week to quell the rebellion or be forced out.)] [Quest 2: The Bleeding Empire. (Alistair Finch has used his influence to destabilize three of TitanCorp's key international divisions. You must identify the source of the bleeding and stabilize all three before the next quarterly report, or face a catastrophic loss of board confidence.)] [Quest 3: The King's Gambit. (Defeat Alistair Finch in a final, direct confrontation of strategy, manipulation, and will.)]
Leo stared at the quests. They were impossible. They were not just corporate challenges; they were direct attacks from the CEO himself, using his immense, unseen influence to turn the entire company against him.
"The System has just issued its final test," Finch said, his voice laced with something that might have been regret. "It will now use every tool at its disposal to make us fight. It will turn the board, the media, and the market itself into our weapons. Only one of us will be left standing at the end."
He offered a hand. "Work with me, Leo. We can fight it together."
Leo looked at the CEO's outstretched hand, then at the impossible list of quests glowing in his vision. He understood. This wasn't an offer of partnership. It was the first move in the final battle. The king was testing his challenger's will to fight.
To accept the hand was to lose.