GLOBAL AWAKENING: My 10,000x Exp Multiplier-Chapter 45: []The Corporate Strike, EMP of the Architect
The boundary of the White City was a stark dividing line between two realities.
Inside the shimmering hexagonal dome projected by the [Chronos Hourglass], the marble streets were pristine and the air was clear.
Outside, the ash of the destroyed Sovereign City fell like gray snow over the ruined asphalt.
Vahn Ryker stood just inside the barrier. He was the calm center of a brewing storm.
Behind him, thousands of terrified refugees peeked out from the alleyways and bank windows.
Beside him stood Sia and Aria. Their Legendary tier gear radiated a quiet and overwhelming power.
Parked thirty meters away and idling in the apocalyptic wasteland was a fully mobilized battalion of the Sovereign Corporate Defense Force.
Three heavily armored main battle tanks had their massive kinetic cannons aimed directly at the dome!
Dozens of elite soldiers clad in high tech tactical gear had dismounted from armored personnel carriers. Their assault rifles were raised and locked on Vahn’s position.
Hovering above the convoy were two sleek black attack helicopters. Their side mounted rotary cannons tracked the trio’s every movement.
A tall and broad shouldered man with cybernetic ocular implants stepped out from behind the lead tank.
He wore the immaculate and heavily decorated uniform of a Corporate General.
He held a high frequency megaphone, his voice booming over the roar of the helicopter blades.
"Attention, unregistered Awakened!"
The General barked loudly. His tone dripped with the arrogant entitlement of a man who had spent his life giving orders to the impoverished.
"This safe zone has been identified as a critical military asset. By order of the Sovereign Elite Coalition, I am requisitioning this territory. Lower the barrier immediately and surrender your command privileges."
Vahn didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t use a megaphone.
He simply projected his voice through the localized game engine, allowing his words to carry effortlessly across the ash filled gap.
"This territory belongs to the us," Vahn stated flatly.
"Your authority is entirely unrecognized in this engine. Turn your vehicles around and return to your bunkers, General. You are not equipped for this environment."
The General let out a harsh barking laugh.
He gestured dismissively at the three tanks and the heavily armed soldiers.
"Are you blind, boy? I have enough kinetic firepower here to level this entire city block."
"I know your type. You got lucky in the game, pulled a high tier artifact, and now you think you’re a king. But this is the real world. Magic tricks don’t stop armor piercing depleted uranium shells."
Aria gripped her staff as her knuckles turned white.
"Vahn, they’re serious. If they fire those tank cannons, the physical concussive force might shatter the Hourglass’s projection matrix. The barrier wasn’t designed for sustained ballistic bombardment."
"Let them fire, Commander," Sia requested. Her voice dropped into a deadly icy cadence.
She unslung her massive obsidian kite shield and stepped slightly in front of Vahn.
"I will intercept the artillery shells. My redirection matrix can absorb the kinetic impact and return the force as thermal damage. I can melt those tanks into slag."
"Calm down, Sia," Vahn said softly. He placed a calming hand on the Vanguard’s tense shoulder.
"Intercepting ballistic missiles with a shield is statistically inefficient. It requires unnecessary exertion, and it validates their belief that their weapons are actually dangerous."
Vahn stepped past Sia and walked directly up to the shimmering edge of the dome.
He looked at the General. His expression reflected profound and deeply seated boredom.
"You view reality purely through the lens of kinetic mass," Vahn addressed the military commander.
His deep purple eyes flared with the brilliant green circuitry of his [Verdant Chronos Sight].
"You think a gun is powerful because it uses an explosive chemical reaction to propel a piece of metal forward. But you are failing to understand that the foundational rules of chemistry no longer apply here."
"I’m done talking to this arrogant peasant!" the General roared. His cybernetic eye glowed red.
"Fire a warning shot into the dome! Shatter his little magic shield and arrest them!"
The gunner in the lead tank locked his targeting laser squarely onto Vahn’s chest!
Vahn didn’t flinch. He didn’t even summon the Soul Bound Shadow Blade.
He simply raised his right hand and tapped into the massive reservoir of experience points resting in his system interface.
He didn’t need to attack them. He just needed to edit their operating system.
’System,’ Vahn commanded internally. ’Activate Architect’s Domain. Radius is five hundred meters. Target Parameter is Gunpowder and highly volatile chemical propellants.’
[System Notification] -
[Architect Permission Granted]
↳ Accessing localized physics engine.
’Override combustion physics,’ Vahn dictated. His mind worked with the terrifying speed of a supercomputer.
’Set ignition threshold to absolute zero. Render all explosive compounds completely inert.’
[System Warning] -
↳ Altering fundamental chemical reactions over a massive radius requires extreme processing power.
↳ Cost: 5,000,000 EXP.
↳ Proceed?
"Execute."
Vahn snapped his fingers.
The sound echoed like a gunshot across the dead city.
A massive invisible pulse of pure systemic authority erupted from Vahn’s position.
It swept over the military convoy in a fraction of a second.
It didn’t deal damage. It didn’t throw them backward. It simply rewrote the code of their weapons.
Inside the lead tank, the gunner slammed his fist onto the firing mechanism. He fully expected the massive roar of the 120mm cannon.
Nothing happened!
There was no explosion. There was only the pathetic hollow click of the firing pin striking the primer.
"Fire the main gun, damn it!" the General yelled over the radio.
"Sir, it’s a misfire! The primer engaged, but the powder won’t ignite!" the gunner responded frantically.
"Then use the infantry! Shred that dome!"
The fifty elite soldiers raised their assault rifles and squeezed their triggers simultaneously.
A chorus of hollow metallic clicks echoed across the wasteland.
Not a single bullet left a chamber!
The gunpowder inside their magazines had been fundamentally altered by the game engine. It was no longer an explosive propellant. It was just harmless gray dirt.
Panic rippled through the military ranks.
Soldiers frantically racked their charging handles and ejected useless rounds onto the ash covered streets.
They stared at their expensive state of the art weapons in absolute horror!
"What did you do?!" the General screamed.
He pulled his own sidearm and aimed it at Vahn. He pulled the trigger three times.
Click. Click. Click.
"I updated your machines," Vahn replied casually. He dropped his hand back into his pocket.
"Your weapons rely on chemical combustion. I simply turned combustion off in this sector. You are currently holding very expensive and highly inefficient metal clubs."
The General’s face flushed purple with rage.
"You think you can disable our guns and win?! I have three armored tanks! Run them over! Crush the dome with the treads!"
The tank drivers slammed their feet onto the accelerators!
The massive diesel powered engines roared as thick black smoke poured from their exhaust pipes. The fifty ton war machines lurched forward.
"They’re charging!" Aria warned. She raised her staff to cast a binding spell.
"Aria, relax," Vahn chuckled. His eyes glowed brighter.
"A tank engine requires controlled combustion to function. And I just turned combustion off."
Before the lead tank could cross ten meters, its massive engine seized.
Without the ability to ignite fuel, the pistons locked instantly.
A horrific grinding screech of tearing metal echoed across the ruins as the internal components of the tank shredded themselves to pieces.
The war machine violently shuddered and died, grinding to a halt entirely.
Seconds later, the other two tanks suffered the exact same fate. Their engines completely failed, trapping the crews inside heavy metal coffins.
The two attack helicopters hovering above suddenly lost all engine power!
Their rotors stopped spinning.
The pilots screamed in terror as the multi million dollar aircraft fell from the sky like dropped stones.
They crashed heavily into the ash covered streets and shattered their landing gear.
Because the aviation fuel could no longer ignite, there were no explosions. Just the sickening crunch of useless metal hitting the ground.
In less than thirty seconds, the entire Sovereign Corporate Defense Force had been completely neutered without Vahn ever throwing a punch.
The General stood frozen in front of his dead tank.
He stared at his useless pistol. His mind was completely incapable of processing the sheer god like manipulation of reality he had just witnessed.
Vahn walked slowly through the barrier. His boots crunched against the ash.
He stopped five feet from the trembling military commander.
"The era of corporate armies and ballistic threats is over, General," Vahn stated. His voice echoed with cold absolute finality.
"The Spire dictates the rules now. And I dictate the Spire."
Vahn turned his gaze to the terrified soldiers. They had dropped their useless rifles and were backing away slowly.
"You have two options," Vahn announced to the broken battalion.
"You can drop your corporate insignias, strip off your tactical gear, and enter my city as unarmed civilians. If you contribute to our logistics, you will be fed and protected by my Vanguard."
"Or, you can turn around and walk back into the wasteland with your metal clubs, and see how long you survive against the Abyssal hunting packs."
The soldiers didn’t hesitate at all.
One by one, the elite operatives began shedding their tactical vests. They dropped their useless guns into the ash and walked toward the glowing warmth of the White City.
The General fell to his knees. His cybernetic eye glitched violently as he stared at the dirt.
Vahn turned his back on the military remnants and casually walked back toward his team.
Sia stood at attention. A rare fierce smile of absolute pride rested on her face.
Aria let out a long breathless laugh. She shook her head at the sheer absurdity of the man she had sworn to follow.
"Perimeter secured, Commander," Sia reported. She stepped aside to let him pass.
"Good," Vahn said.
His eyes drifted away from the surrendered army and looked upward.
He looked past the rain and past the red clouds toward the colossal dark silhouette of the Chronos Spire looming in the sky.
"Our home is safe. Now, it’s time we start climbing the tower. We have an Overlord to evict."
