The morning after the reunion felt unusually peaceful. The city was alive, birds chirping over the silver skyline, and Jackim's mansion smelled of fresh coffee and quiet victory. For once, he woke up without the System's beeping notifications or the sound of his assistant panicking over calls from investors.
He smiled to himself, remembering last night the laughter, the forgiveness, the dancing, the unexpected confessions. For the first time in years, he'd felt human again. But life, as always, has a way of reminding you that peace is just the silence before the storm.
At 9:12 a.m., his phone buzzed.
It wasn't a normal buzz. It was a chaotic one dozens of missed calls from his CFO, Kelvin, and messages marked URGENT.
He sat up, brows tightening. "What the hell—?"
Before he could call back, the System blinked red on his smart screen.
[SYSTEM ALERT: Host's financial networks under coordinated attack.]
Source: Unknown (Encrypted Protocol: WHEEL-DX-00).
Estimated Damage: $1.8 Billion Assets Frozen.
Jackim froze. "No… not again."
He threw on a robe, stormed into his office, and turned on the global network hub. His team's voices filled the speakers, overlapping, panicked:
"Sir, accounts in Hong Kong have been suspended!"
"Dubai branch access denied someone changed the encryption keys!"
"Headquarters servers are being overridden we can't reach BragTech's mainframe!"
Jackim's heartbeat thundered in his ears.
Kelvin's voice cut through, tense and shaky. "Boss, it's The Wheel. They've launched a coordinated global strike. Every asset, every partner, every server. They're trying to erase you from the system."
He clenched his jaw, staring at the holographic projection of red alerts spreading across the globe.
London. New York. Nairobi. Dubai. All flashing ACCESS DENIED.
[SYSTEM STATUS: Temporary blackout initiated.]
Reason: Host must face trial without assistance.
Message: Sometimes even the strongest must fight without armor.
The System his most powerful ally had gone silent.He laughed bitterly. "So this is how you test me, huh?"
By noon, the chaos had reached the public. News headlines screamed:
"BRAGTECH UNDER CYBER ATTACK – WHEEL CORP STRIKES BACK?"
"BILLIONAIRE'S EMPIRE CRASHING IN REAL TIME."
"IS JACKIM OCHIENG FINISHED?"
Stocks plummeted. Employees panicked. Investors fled.
Lina called him, her voice trembling. "Jackim, what's happening? Everyone's saying you're broke"
He interrupted softly, "Lina, calm down. I'm not broke. Just… in a fight."
"But you sound so calm," she said, almost crying.
"Because panic never fixed a problem," he replied. "Tell everyone to hold the line. We're not done yet."
He hung up and looked at Kelvin. "Get the Black Ace online. Every member, every country. We're going dark."
Kelvin nodded. "Already done. But, boss, we can't fight The Wheel digitally. They've outnumbered us."
Jackim stood, eyes cold and steady. "Then we fight them physically."
That night, the Black Ace gathered in an underground warehouse. The air was thick with tension, lit by the pale glow of monitors and the smell of machine oil.
Jackim walked in wearing a black leather jacket, not the billionaire suit the world was used to. His face was calm, but his eyes burned like wildfire.
Kelvin briefed the group. "The Wheel's attack plan is simple—they cripple his assets, spread fake news, and destroy his reputation. They want him silent."
Jackim raised a hand. "Then we'll speak louder."
The men and women before him straightened.
He looked at them one by one. "You joined me because you believed in something. Not money, not fame but a dream that even the poor could rise without kneeling. Today, that dream is under attack."
He paused, voice tightening. "They can take my money. They can freeze my accounts. But they can't freeze my will."
The room erupted in applause and cheers, fists pounding tables.
Kelvin's eyes glistened. "That's the Jackim I know."
The counterattack began at midnight.
Jackim didn't have his System anymore—but he had intelligence, grit, and people who trusted him.
He sent small teams to reclaim physical data centers, intercept couriers, and manually reset encryption locks.
Hackers worked from candle-lit basements, typing furiously to reclaim server space.
It wasn't glamorous—it was war.
Meanwhile, Jackim personally met with his most loyal partners.
Some shut their doors. Others whispered, "We can't risk it."
Only one old man, Mr. Patel—the first investor who had believed in him—stood firm.
"You helped me when I was drowning, boy," he said. "If they burn you, I burn too."
Jackim smiled faintly. "Then let's burn brighter than them."
Three days into the chaos, his empire was bleeding. Over 60% of his assets were gone. The world thought he had vanished.
But in a small, dim-lit warehouse in Nairobi, Jackim sat at a wooden table surrounded by his exhausted team.
They were bruised, hungry, sleepless.
Kelvin placed his hand on the table. "Boss… we can't keep this up. Maybe… maybe it's time to give in."
Jackim looked at him tired, but not defeated.
"Kelvin, do you know why I brag?"
Kelvin blinked. "Why?"
"Because every brag was once a promise I made to the boy who had nothing. I can lose all this and still have that promise."
Kelvin's voice cracked. "And what if we fail?"
Jackim leaned forward, eyes sharp. "Then we'll fail loudly enough for history to remember."
At dawn on the fourth day, an unexpected message came through.
Not from the System.
From a hacker codenamed ShadowFox, a mysterious ally who'd been tracking The Wheel for years.
"Check server node 9-G in Zurich," the message said. "That's their weak point."
Jackim's eyes widened. "Kelvin, get me Zurich."
Within hours, Black Ace agents infiltrated the data facility under the guise of IT staff.
At exactly 3:03 p.m., Jackim typed the final override command himself.
ACCESS GRANTED.
WHEEL ENCRYPTION BROKEN.
SYSTEM RESTORATION IN PROGRESS.
He stared at the screen, chest heaving, as the red alerts slowly turned green.
Kelvin let out a choked laugh. "You did it! You freaking did it!"
But Jackim didn't smile. He simply muttered, "No. We did."
Hours later, a global broadcast went live on all major news networks.
Jackim appeared on screen, wearing a simple black hoodie, sitting in a dim room. No suits, no filters just raw, human truth.
"Good evening," he began softly. "You've probably seen the headlines. They say I lost everything. Maybe they're right. But let me remind you money can be stolen, power can be hacked, but willpower? You can't touch that."
He leaned closer to the camera, his voice trembling not from fear, but from conviction.
"I was once a nobody. A janitor. A dreamer. The Wheel thinks it can break me with zeros and codes. But I built my empire from rejection. I built it from laughter, pain, and stubborn hope. So if they want a war, they'll get one—but not the kind fought with money. The kind fought with purpose."
He looked directly into the camera.
"To everyone watching don't let anyone tell you your story's over. You can restart it anytime. Even if your system shuts down."
And then, with a small grin, he added, "Now excuse me while I brag my way back to the top."
The internet exploded.
Millions watched, millions cried. Hashtags flooded every corner of the web:
#BragWithPurpose
#JackimLives
#UnbreakableDream
That night, sitting in the darkness of his restored command room, the System finally reactivated.
[SYSTEM RESTORATION COMPLETE.]
Performance Review: Host survived 7 days without assistance.
Reward: Unlocked—Human Resilience Trait.
Bonus: +500 Million Capital Injection for Recovery.
The golden light washed over his face.
Jackim whispered, half-smiling, "You were watching the whole time, weren't you?"
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]: Sometimes, strength is built by silence. Welcome back, Jackim.
He leaned back, closed his eyes, and let out a long breath.
He wasn't just a survivor anymore.
He was the storm itself.
And for the first time in a week, he laughed—quietly, deeply, like a man who had wrestled life and won again.