Chapter 20: The Morning of a New God
The first rays of sunlight that pierced through the shattered windows of the Sterling penthouse weren't red anymore. They were a pale, pristine gold, reflecting off the shards of glass that littered the marble floor like diamonds. The "Blood Moon" was over, but the city that woke up today was not the same city that had gone to sleep.
I woke up with a jolt, my hand instinctively reaching for the obsidian blade that wasn't there. I wasn't on the cold floor of the hallway. I was in a massive, silk-lined bed.
[System Status: Online]
[Neural Damage: 92% Repaired]
[Current Authority: Rank 3 (Sovereign)]
[Active Skill: Shadow-Link – You can now perceive the city through the desires of its citizens.]
The weight on my chest shifted. I looked down to see Elena. She was fast asleep, her head resting on my shoulder, her fingers still curled tightly around the fabric of my shirt as if afraid I would vanish if she let go. The golden strings of her loyalty had evolved into something much deeper—a shimmering, unbreakable tether that the System labeled as [Eternal Bond].
I moved slowly, trying not to wake her, and stood by the window. I closed my eyes and activated [Shadow-Link].
Suddenly, the city of Oakhaven exploded into my mind. I didn't just see the buildings; I felt the collective hunger of five million people. I felt the greed of the bankers, the desperation of the homeless, the ambition of the young interns. It was a symphony of desire, and I was the conductor.
[Ding! City Control: 45% (Uncontested)]
A soft chime came from my bedside table. It was my private phone, but the screen was displaying a logo I had never seen before—a stylized silver eye with three pupils.
"Congratulations, Fang Li. You've successfully cleared the 'Trial of the Shadows'. Grandmaster Zhao was merely a gatekeeper, and you've kicked the gate off its hinges. But remember... when you kill a king, you don't just take his throne. You take his enemies."
The message vanished, replaced by a set of coordinates located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
"The Tower of Babel," I whispered, the name surfacing from a deep, locked part of the System's database.
I headed to my office on the top floor. The Sovereign Guard, or what was left of them, stood at attention in the hallway. Their armor was scarred, but their eyes—linked to mine through the Rank 3 upgrade—now glowed with a permanent, faint blue hue. They were no longer human; they were the first of my [System-Guardians].
Inside my office, Isabella Vane was sitting in my chair, her boots up on my desk. She was holding a file labeled 'The Global Consensus'.
"You look better for a man who died twice last night," she said, her violet eyes scanning me with a renewed intensity. She stood up, her playful smirk replaced by something more professional, more... submissive.
[Aura Perception: Isabella Vane]
[Current Desire: To be the Queen's Right Hand]
[Bond Level: 65/100]
"The Triad is in shambles, Fang," she continued, tossing the file toward me. "The Five Families have officially signed over their logistics and security sectors to Sterling Global. You are now the wealthiest man in the country, on paper at least. But there's a problem."
"The 'Global Consensus'?" I asked, looking at the file.
"They're the ones who gave Zhao his powers," Isabella said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "The System you have... it's not the only one. There are others. In London, in Tokyo, in Moscow. And they don't like it when a 'New Player' skips the tutorial and kills a Grandmaster in his first week."
I walked to the window, looking out at the city I now owned. I could feel the 5,000 DP burning in my account, waiting to be spent on even greater evolutions.
"Let them come," I said, the silver rings in my eyes glowing with a cold, divine light. "I didn't start this game to be a player. I started it to be the one who writes the rules."
[Ding!]
[New Arc Unlocked: The Global Contenders]
[Objective: Establish a 'Sanctuary' in Oakhaven and prepare for the Arrival of the First Apostle.]
I looked back at Isabella. "Prepare the Vanguard. We're not just defending a building anymore. We're building a fortress that can withstand the world."
The first arc had ended with blood and fire. The second arc would begin with the birth of an empire.
(Volume 1)