Started with a 10,000x Multiplier in a Game World

The mandatory lockout timer triggered and violently severed the neural connection of Dante to the Zenith Protocol.

The heavy plexiglass lid of his VR capsule hissed open. It flooded the dark interior with the cool sterile light of his high-security penthouse.

He pulled the neural cables from the base of his neck and sat up slowly.

He didn’t feel the suffocating phantom weight of the [Asura Vanguard] class bleeding over into his physical form this time.

The brief rest he had taken earlier had successfully compartmentalized the aggressive combat logic. He was firmly anchored in reality.

He grabbed his datapad off the nightstand. It was flooded with messages.

[Sera: Dante! The auction profits have officially cleared escrow. We hit the thirty-billion mark. I repeat, we hit thirty billion!]

[Lila: We did it! The family of Sera is furious, but they cannot legally contest the numbers! The marriage contract is void!]

[Nyx: Put on something decent. We are celebrating. I secured reservations at the Elysium Spire for 8 PM.]

Dante read the messages, and a genuine smile broke his usually stoic expression. They had actually done it.

By systematically bleeding the major guilds dry, they had successfully bought the freedom of Sera from her corporate nightmare.

"Elysium Spire," Dante muttered and checked the time. It was currently 7:00 PM.

The Elysium Spire wasn’t a standard restaurant.

It was an ultra-exclusive five-star luxury establishment located at the absolute pinnacle of the highest skyscraper in the corporate sector of Veridia.

It catered exclusively to the elite of the planet: tech billionaires, mega-corporation board members, and the top-tier celebrities of the Zenith Protocol.

Dante walked into his massive walk-in closet.

He bypassed the casual gray hoodies and sweatpants he usually favored.

He pulled out a crisp perfectly tailored black suit he had purchased shortly after securing his initial offshore funds.

He took a quick shower, dressed, and headed down to the lobby.

The private transport hovered smoothly through the glittering neon-lit skyline of Veridia. It deposited him at the ground-floor entrance of the massive skyscraper.

The security was incredibly tight, but his name was on the VIP registry.

He rode the express elevator to the top floor and stepped out into a breathtaking open-air dining room enclosed by a massive dome of reinforced glass.

The entire city of Veridia was visible below like a sprawling ocean of light.

Sera, Lila, and Nyx were already seated at a large circular table near the glass edge.

They looked incredible.

Sera wore an elegant sweeping silver gown that perfectly mirrored her professional commanding aura.

Lila wore a simple elegant dark blue dress and looked incredibly nervous but happy.

Nyx had actually removed her signature dark glasses to reveal sharp analytical eyes. She wore a sleek high-fashion black suit.

"You clean up well, Dante," Sera smiled warmly as he approached the table.

"I try," Dante said, pulled out a chair, and sat down. "Congratulations, Sera. Thirty billion."

"We could not have done it without you," Sera said. Her voice was entirely genuine as she completely dropped her studio head persona. "You gave us the inventory. You forced the market panic. You saved my life, Dante."

"We are a team," Dante replied simply. "And I owed you for the stew."

Lila laughed, and the tension finally left her shoulders. "I cannot believe it is over. We actually beat Vanguard’s Legacy."

"We beat Silas," Nyx corrected and tapped her perfectly manicured fingernails against the table.

"The guild will probably survive under new management, but Silas is ruined."

"His family’s tech conglomerate is already initiating a hostile takeover of his personal assets to cover the billion-credit loan he defaulted on."

"Good," Dante stated flatly.

Before they could order drinks and officially begin the celebration, his sharp hyper-observant awareness picked up a sudden shift in the atmosphere. The Intuition stat of Dante didn’t ping because he was in the real world.

A group of three men walked into the dining room.

They were young, impeccably dressed in custom-tailored suits, and carried themselves with the loud abrasive arrogance of inherited wealth.

The head waiter practically bowed to the floor as he led them toward a prime table.

The man in the center stopped walking.

He looked across the dining room, and his eyes locked onto Sera.

A sleek incredibly predatory smile spread across his face.

He didn’t walk toward his designated table. He changed course and swaggered directly toward their group.

"Sera," the man called out, his voice loud enough to turn heads at the nearby tables. "What a pleasant surprise. I did not think you could afford to eat here anymore."

Sera stiffened immediately. The genuine smile vanished and was replaced by an incredibly rigid defensive posture.

Dante evaluated the man instantly.

He was tall and conventionally attractive, but his eyes were completely dead and lacked any genuine warmth. He looked like a shark that had just cornered a bleeding seal.

"Julian," Sera said tightly.

"Who is this guy?" Dante whispered to Nyx.

"Julian," Nyx hissed quietly, her eyes narrowing.

"He is the heir to the rival tech conglomerate. The guy the family of Sera was trying to force her to marry. He is also one of the major real-world financial backers of Silas."

Julian stopped at their table. He didn’t look at Dante. He completely ignored Lila and Nyx.

His gaze was fixed entirely on Sera and dripped with condescension.

"I heard about your little auction today," Julian sneered and leaned his hands on the edge of their table. "It was a cute stunt. You managed to temporarily inflate the market and hit your quota. Barely."

"I hit the quota, Julian," Sera stated coldly. "The marriage contract is void. We have nothing to discuss."

"Oh, Sera, do not be naive," Julian laughed softly.

"A technicality does not stop a merger. Silas might be a bankrupt idiot who could not secure a digital token, but my family still controls the hardware distribution."

"Your board of directors will eventually cave. They always do."

Julian finally glanced at the rest of the table. He looked at the simple black suit of Dante and was completely unimpressed.

Julian was a predator.

He recognized that Sera was celebrating her independence, and he wanted to completely shatter the mood.

He wanted to publicly humiliate her, flaunt his immense wealth, and reassert his dominance over her social circle.

And if things escalated, he had a backup plan.

Julian casually reached into his tailored jacket pocket.

Dante caught the slight almost imperceptible movement. The thumb of Julian brushed against a small concealed vial.

The eyes of Dante narrowed.

It was a classic disgusting tactic among the ultra-wealthy elites of Veridia.

Drug the target, force a highly publicized scandal, and ruin their reputation so thoroughly that their corporate backers had no choice but to force compliance to save face.

Julian was intending to drug Sera and the girls tonight to destroy the Astral Vanguard studio.

Dante didn’t stand up. He didn’t punch Julian in the jaw.

That would just result in Dante getting arrested by the heavy security of the restaurant and leaving the girls completely exposed.

He had to play the game.

Dante slumped slightly in his chair. He let his perfectly rigid posture collapse.

He widened his eyes and put on an expression of complete wide-eyed awe.

"Wow!" Dante exclaimed loudly. His voice was completely devoid of its usual calm deadly edge.

He sounded like an incredibly naive uneducated tourist.

"Are you really a billionaire?! This place is amazing! The portions are so tiny, though! I am starving!"

Julian froze. He looked down at Dante utterly baffled by the sudden outburst.

Sera, Lila, and Nyx stared at Dante in complete shock.

They knew he was the most lethal calculating player on the server. Seeing him act like an absolute idiot was incredibly jarring.

But Nyx was an analyst. She caught on instantly.

She saw Dante subtly gesture toward the jacket pocket of Julian. She realized what Julian was planning, and she realized what Dante was doing.

Nyx kicked Sera under the table.

Sera blinked, and her business mind rapidly adjusted to the play.

"This is Dante," Sera introduced him quickly and intentionally made him sound unimportant. "He is a... logistical consultant from the outer sectors. He has never been to the corporate tier before."

"A logistical consultant," Julian repeated. A massive arrogant sneer replaced his confusion. He looked at Dante with absolute disgust. "A country bumpkin."

"It is so shiny here!" Dante continued and looked around the room with wide eyes. "But I really wish they had bigger plates. I usually eat a whole roast boar!"

Julian laughed loudly and thoroughly enjoyed the display of sheer poverty.

This was perfect. He could humiliate Sera by showing everyone that she associated with uncultured peasants.

"You poor thing," Julian mocked. He stepped back from the table and gestured grandly to a hovering waiter. "You have no idea what true luxury is, do you? Allow me to educate you."

Julian looked at Sera, and his eyes flashed with predatory triumph.

"I insist on covering your entire tab tonight, Sera," Julian declared loudly to ensure the nearby tables heard him.

"Consider it a congratulatory gift for your little auction. Order whatever you want. I want to show your consultant how the elites dine."

Julian smiled and waited for Sera to refuse, which would make her look weak and intimidated.

Dante didn’t give her the chance.

"Really?!" Dante cheered and slammed his hands on the table in fake excitement. "Anything we want?! You are the best, Mr. Julian! I am going to order so much food!"

The smile of Julian tightened slightly, but his massive ego wouldn’t let him back down from a public boast.

"Anything you want," Julian confirmed and crossed his arms.

"Oh, you are going to regret that," Nyx whispered softly and hid a vicious smile behind her hand.

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