The combination of the "Viper" algorithm, Liam's restorative elixir (which was slowly strengthening Yun Ming), and the Ghost Network's security created a period of fragile stability. The Yun family's finances stabilized. Jin Lei was too busy putting out fires to launch new attacks. The Mo matriarch was licking her wounds.
It was the calm before the storm, and Ye Xia used it to consolidate her power. She officially moved into the leadership suite within the Yun estate. She held councils with the elders, her authority now unquestioned.
One evening, she stood on her balcony, looking out at the city. She held the ugly, structured tote bag that was now her armored briefcase. She thought of the golf clubs, the MP3 players, the medical equipment, the exotic fruit that never was. All of it, purchased in a frantic race to fulfill a bizarre system's demands, had become the foundation of her strength.
The system wasn't just a source of power; it was a lesson in lateral thinking. It forced her to see value where others saw waste, to weaponize absurdity.
A familiar voice spoke from behind her. "You're thinking about the golf clubs, aren't you?"
She turned. Mo stood there, having slipped past her security with effortless ease. He was looking at her with an expression that was no longer just calculating interest, but something warmer, more respectful.
" Among other things," she admitted.
" Jin Long is impressed," Mo said, stepping beside her. "And furious. You've checkmated his son and proven you can't be bullied or bought. He's recalling Jin Lei to Singapore for a... re-education."
This was significant. Jin Long was admitting his heir's failure.
"What happens now?" Ye Xia asked.
" Now," Mo said, his gaze intense, "he stops seeing you as a problem to be managed and starts seeing you as a true rival. The next move won't be from a angry boy. It will be from the Dragon himself. And it will be something we cannot predict."
Ye Xia nodded, feeling the weight of the coming confrontation. But this time, she didn't feel fear. She felt ready. She had an arsenal built from waste, a network of allies, and a power that was truly her own.
" Let him come," she said