London never slept.
It only pretended to.
Even at dawn, the city breathed—buses growling through wet streets, trains rattling underground, glass towers catching pale light like watchful eyes. History and power coexisted here, layered thick as stone and steel.
Leena stood near the window of the high-rise apartment, hands tucked into the pockets of a borrowed coat, watching the city wake up.
This was not India.
This was deliberate.
India carried memories, eyes, and roots too deep to cut cleanly. Too many old connections. Too many chances for a ripple to travel back to people she loved.
London was different.
Global.
Anonymous.
Hungry.
A place where fortunes were made quietly and destroyed even more quietly.
Behind her, Mara dropped a duffel bag onto the floor and stretched, joints cracking softly. "I still can't believe this place exists," she muttered. "Two days ago we were eating frozen rations next to a burning bunker."
"And now?" Leena asked without turning.
"Now we're in a building that probably costs more than Viktor's entire operation."
Leena allowed herself a faint smile.
James hadn't just erased them.
He had positioned them.
New identities.
Clean passports.
Residency documents that threaded perfectly through immigration systems.
Leena Johnson.
Mara Hale.
Born.
Educated.
Employed.
On paper, they had always existed.
And in London, paper mattered.
Leena turned away from the window and sat at the dining table, placing her phone down carefully. "This is where we stop surviving."
Mara raised an eyebrow. "And start?"
"Building."
The system stirred.
Not loudly.
Not intrusively.
Just… present.
Leena closed her eyes.
"System," she whispered.
Ding.
The familiar interface unfolded, crisp and precise.
SYSTEM STATUS
Host: LeenaLocation: United Kingdom – LondonThreat Level: Low (Surface) / Unknown (Deep)
System Points: 114,100
Mara leaned closer, watching Leena's expression. "You're about to do something expensive, aren't you?"
"Yes."
Leena selected System Shop.
Categories appeared instantly.
ConsumablesWeaponsTechnologySkillsSpecial Items (Locked)
Her finger hovered for a moment before selecting Technology.
This wasn't about brute force.
This was about infrastructure.
SYSTEM SHOP — TECHNOLOGY
Advanced Computational Core (Century-Class)• Processing architecture 100 years ahead of current tech• Quantum-assisted logic layers• Zero-trace hardware signature• Fully modularCost: 1200 SP
Neural Interface Input Matrix• Ultra-low latency human-machine interface• Encrypted cognition-level interactionCost: 300 SP
Adaptive Cooling & Power Unit• Silent operation• Independent micro-reactor battery• No external power dependencyCost: 300 SP
Secure Data Lattice (Black-Level Encryption)• Self-mutating encryption protocols• Immune to current and near-future cyber intrusionCost: 200 SP
Mara whistled softly. "That's not a computer."
Leena's eyes were sharp. "It's a god in a box."
She didn't hesitate.
"Purchase all."
Ding.
TECH PACKAGE ACQUIRED
System Points deducted: 2000Remaining System Points: 112,100
The air shimmered.
On the table, components materialized silently—sleek black and silver modules, impossibly compact, humming with restrained power. No brand logos. No serial numbers. Nothing that could be traced.
Leena touched the main core.
It felt warm.
Alive.
"This thing," Mara said slowly, "could rewrite markets."
"Or erase them," Leena replied.
They spent the next six hours assembling it.
Not manually—instinctively.
The system guided Leena's hands without words. Each piece snapped into place as if it had always belonged there. When the final module locked in, the machine came alive without a sound.
No boot screen.
No fan noise.
Just a soft glow beneath the surface.
Leena sat down and placed her fingers on the interface.
The world unfolded.
Markets.
Networks.
Data streams moving like rivers of light.
She wasn't hacking.
She was listening.
London Stock Exchange.
Forex.
Crypto liquidity pools.
Dark money flows hiding behind shell companies.
Patterns emerged instantly.
Mara stared at the projected data, eyes wide. "You see all that… at once?"
"Yes."
"And you're calm?"
Leena smiled faintly. "I trained in hell."
She pulled up the Skills category.
SYSTEM SHOP — SKILLS
Advanced Trading Skill• Predictive market modeling• Risk-neutral strategy execution• Institutional-level manipulation awareness• Emotionless decision frameworkCost: 500 SP
Leena selected it.
"Purchase."
Ding.
SKILL ACQUIRED: Advanced Trading
System Points remaining: 111,600
The sensation was different from combat skills.
Colder.
Sharper.
Her mind reorganized numbers into intention. She understood not just how markets moved—but why. Fear. Greed. Momentum. Artificial scarcity.
She opened a fresh trading terminal.
No leverage.
No noise.
No attention.
Just precision.
She placed three positions.
Small.
Harmless-looking.
Mara watched the numbers shift.
Ten minutes later—
Profit.
Not massive.
Not flashy.
But flawless.
Mara leaned back. "We could be rich in a month."
Leena shook her head. "No. We'll be invisible in a year."
She closed the terminal.
Money was a tool.
Influence was the goal.
Over the following weeks, London became their playground.
They rented a permanent workspace under a shell consulting firm. Leena registered three companies—one tech startup, one data analytics firm, one investment vehicle.
Each one clean.
Each one boring.
Each one lethal beneath the surface.
Mara trained.
Firearms ranges.
Urban movement.
Counter-surveillance.
She learned fast.
Dangerously fast.
Leena built networks.
Law firms.
Accountants.
Quiet investors who asked no questions as long as returns arrived on time.
No crimes.
No scandals.
Just growth.
At night, the city lights reflected off glass while Leena sat before her machine, watching deeper currents move.
Shep Corporation appeared occasionally—distant, massive, unaware.
Zak Miller's name surfaced once in a financial report.
Ryan's shadow brushed an intelligence feed.
Leena closed those windows calmly.
"Not yet," she murmured.
Mara joined her by the window, holding two cups of coffee. "Do you ever think about going back?"
Leena took the cup. "Back where?"
"To who you were."
Leena looked out at London—the city of empires, fallen kings, and quiet revolutions.
"That person doesn't exist," she said softly.
Mara nodded. "Good."
Outside, Big Ben struck the hour.
Time moved forward.
And somewhere beneath the city's ancient bones, two ghosts began laying the foundations of something no one would see coming.