Monday morning brought an email that made Aiden's enhanced analytical mind flash warning signals:
FROM: Malcolm Zhang, Zhang Capital Ventures SUBJECT: Lunch Meeting - Investment Opportunity
Mr. Schols,
Your recent market performance has caught our attention. I'd like to discuss potential opportunities over lunch. This Thursday, 12:30 PM, The Sterling Club.
Best regards,Malcolm Zhang
Aiden researched Malcolm Zhang for three hours. What he found was simultaneously impressive and disturbing: forty-three years old, Harvard MBA, net worth estimated at $300 million. Known for aggressive acquisitions, hostile takeovers, and a reputation for crushing competitors.
"This is bad," Jade said.
Aiden looked up from his laptop. He was in the student center, and he definitely hadn't spoken aloud.
A girl stood beside his table—Chinese-American, maybe twenty-five, with an asymmetrical haircut dyed purple at the tips and multiple piercings. She wore a leather jacket over a t-shirt that said "I VOID WARRANTIES" and had the kind of confidence that came from knowing she was the smartest person in most rooms.
"Excuse me?"
"Malcolm Zhang. The email you're staring at like it contains nuclear launch codes." She pulled out the chair across from him and sat uninvited. "He's bad news. And you, Aiden Schols, mystery millionaire, just got his attention."
"Who are you?"
"Jade Wu. Hacker, information broker, and currently your unsolicited adviser." She pulled out her phone and slid it across the table. Malcolm Zhang's face filled the screen, along with information that definitely wasn't public. "Malcolm doesn't do friendly lunches. He identifies threats and neutralizes them."
"I'm not a threat. I'm a college student."
"You're a college student who made over a million dollars in four weeks with investment moves that don't make sense. You're beating algorithms designed by people with PhDs. That makes you either incredibly lucky, impossibly smart, or—" She leaned forward. "Operating with information you shouldn't have."
Aiden's heart rate spiked. "What are you implying?"
"I'm not implying anything. I'm telling you that Malcolm Zhang is investigating you. He's had people digging into your finances, your history, looking for leverage." She pulled her phone back. "Also, your system's electronic signature is detectable to someone who knows what to look for. You might want to be more careful."
The blood drained from Aiden's face. "My system?"
"The holographic interface only you can see? The mysterious source of your suddenly supernatural investment abilities?" Jade smiled. "Yeah. I can't see it directly, but I can see its data trails. And if I can see them, eventually someone else will too."
"How do you—"
"How do I know? Because three years ago, I found evidence of similar systems. Different users, different abilities, all generating unusual data patterns. I've been tracking them. Trying to understand what they are, where they come from, why they choose who they choose." Her expression grew serious. "You're not the first, Aiden. But you might be the most visible. And that makes you vulnerable."
Aiden's enhanced intelligence processed multiple angles simultaneously. This girl was either delusional, dangerous, or telling the truth. Given that he had an impossible system, option three seemed likely.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because Malcolm Zhang is part of something bigger. A network of old money elites who view new money as a threat to their control. They identify rising players and either absorb them or destroy them." She pulled up more files. "In the last five years, seven 'promising young entrepreneurs' with trajectories similar to yours have either had public scandals, legal troubles, or mysterious financial collapses. All connected to Malcolm's network."
"What do you want from me?"
"Want? Nothing. Yet." Jade stood. "Consider this a warning. Malcolm Zhang doesn't meet with people to offer opportunities. He meets with them to identify weaknesses. If you take that lunch meeting, he'll own you or destroy you. Your choice."
She walked away, leaving Aiden staring at Malcolm's email.
His phone buzzed. Text from Sophia: "Coffee before your meeting with Professor Hayes? I have questions about the partnership terms."
Then Victoria: "Reviewed my proposal yet? I have a potential co-investor interested, but I'd prefer working with you."
Then the system pinged:
THREAT DETECTED: Malcolm ZhangDanger Level: HighRecommended action: Investigate before engagement
NEW CONTACT DETECTED: Jade WuClassification: Potentially valuable allyWarning: Trust carefully
Everything was accelerating. Corporate sharks circling. Jade's warnings about system detection. Victoria's partnership offer. Sophia's project. His own growing wealth attracting attention he wasn't ready for.
Aiden looked around the student center—students studying, laughing, living normal college lives. A month ago, that was him. Now he was being warned about secretive elite networks and mysterious systems.
He pulled up Malcolm's email again and typed a response:
Mr. Zhang,
I appreciate the interest, but I'm not looking for new partnerships at this time. Thank you for reaching out.
Best,Aiden Schols
Then he texted Sophia: "Coffee sounds perfect. And I want to hear every question."
The system had given him tools. But Jade had just taught him something more valuable: visibility was dangerous. Success attracted predators.
And if he wanted to keep building—to fund Sophia's research, partner with Victoria, protect what he was creating—he needed to be smarter about who he trusted.
Starting with a purple-haired hacker who knew too much.
And avoiding a corporate shark who wanted to know more.