In the days that followed, Mo Chen's "art project" took on a new, deadly serious dimension. With Silas as her clandestine quartermaster, her burning became strategic.
She didn't just buy and destroy random art. She purchased high-grade titanium alloys and other exotic metals, then used her plasma cutter and her burgeoning [Minor Pyrokinesis] to melt them down in the Nevada hangar. The system registered the destruction of the raw materials, and Silas used the resulting molten metal to forge custom tools: reinforced body armor plates, non-reflective blades, specialized lockpicks.
She burned through millions buying up old, decommissioned server racks. Silas and a small, trusted team of his own—people from his past life who asked no questions—salvaged the processors and memory, building a powerful, offline supercomputer to run simulations and hack into Thorne Global's systems.
Her personal wealth, converted from the ashes of her consumption, slowly grew. It was still a pittance compared to the family fortune, but it was hers. Untraceable and liquid.
Silas watched her work, his expression unreadable. One night, as she was using her blue-white flame to weld a seam on a custom chest plate, he spoke.
" The fire… it's new."
Mo Chen didn't look up. "It's part of the… project."
" It is not a normal fire," Silas stated. "It burns hotter, cleaner. It responds to your will. Your mother spoke of a… different kind of energy."
Mo Chen froze. She had never told him about the system. "This is my energy," she said finally, her voice tight. "Born from this."
He accepted her answer with a grunt. "Good. Use it. Your enemy will not fight fair."
Her training intensified. Silas drilled her in close-quarters combat, in stealth, in sabotage. He taught her how to disable a man twice her size, how to plant explosives, how to disappear. The burning had forged a body that was strong, resilient, and fast. She was no longer a socialite; she was a weapon being sharpened.
With eight days to go, the system delivered another reward.
[Ding! Host has demonstrated advanced strategic asset destruction. Unlocking Tier 2 Perk: Thermal Sense.]
[Thermal Sense: Host can now visually perceive heat signatures through solid objects at a short range. Effective range: 10 meters.]
It was a perfect tool for the trap they were setting. She could now see through walls. She could see the gas, the wires, the people waiting in ambush.
The bait was ready. The trap was being set. The wedding day was hurtling towards them.