Standing in front of the door with his subordinates behind him, Joe exhaled as he felt all the mental defenses that he’d built up for years crumbling, being replaced by longing and desire.

His façade of nonchalance, dominance, and control was fading, giving way to vulnerability and a longing to be loved, giving way to the real him deep down that was locked under layers of mental barriers for years.

He still remembered the first day that he met her like it was just yesterday.

The mere thought of her fair skin and her soft touch left him feeling hot, making his nether regions to throb anticipatorily.

In the ruthless world of survival where he had to claw his way to the top by being more ruthless and devious than his enemies, in a world that left him scarred and traumatized, forcing him to adapt to become a monster and to ride the storm, she was his peace in the midst of the storm.

It was already 3 years now, and he still couldn’t forget the first night that he spent with her. After that night, he knew he’d been compromised.

He knew that he had fallen.

But in those 3 years, she’d proven to him time and again that loving her was not misguided. She’d stolen his heart completely in those 3 years.

Now, she was his temple of solace, she was his peace.

She was his therapy.

Joe exhaled again, then he pressed his fingerprint on the door’s surface and the silent biometric door slid open with a soft metallic hiss after confirming his identity, revealing a massive chamber that was illuminated by ambient lighting that were embedded directly into the walls.

This room was tagged VVIP, and its looks lived up to the billing.

The ceiling stretched high overhead in smooth curved arches of obsidian alloy, threaded with glowing lines of blue energy that pulsed faintly like veins through the structure.

The distant hum of advanced machinery echoed subtly through the underground complex, giving the room a sense of immense hidden power.

Despite being buried underground, the room that was more like a suite didn’t feel closed in.

Entire walls displayed hyper-realistic artificial skylines that were projected through ultra-HD holographic panels, simulating a futuristic night city that was drenched in neon rain, creating a perfect scenery for a romantic night.

The holographic illusion was so perfect it felt as if the room was facing another world entirely.

Occasionally, holographic lightning flickered across the simulated skyline, casting dramatic flashes through the luxurious chamber.

The floor? It was crafted from polished black marble with a reflective surface so smooth they mirrored every light in the room.

Elegant silver patterns ran across the stone like psionic circuitry, while a long indoor water feature flowed quietly beside the lounge area, glowing faintly with bioluminescent blue light beneath crystal-clear water.

At the center of the suite stood an enormous circular King-sized bed layered with dark silk sheets and silver fur blankets.

Thin streams of holographic mist drifted lazily around the bed, creating an almost dreamlike atmosphere. While nearby, expensive liquor bottles rested inside transparent cooling chambers, and on another side floating screens projected slow-moving constellations into the air above them.

This VVIP room was the perfect suit of luxury fitted for nobles, and there were just 10 of them in the entire underground entertainment hub.

75% of Bourdillon Hotel’s budget was spent in constructing these 10 rooms for the richest of the richest among Omnicore society in Neo Solace who wanted an experience outside the chaos of home and the inner district.

Despite how luxurious and romantically-inclined the room was, Joe didn’t pay attention to any of it. He’d seen more luxury than this.

Instead, his eyes drifted towards her immediately.

Standing by the side of the bed like she’d been waiting for a while was her... Ms. Anabella, the only woman who stole Joe’s heart.

Staring at her, his breath hitched.

The golden underground lighting wrapped around her figure beautifully, accentuating her already stunning beauty.

With extraordinarily fair skin that almost glowed against the darker tones of the room, she wore a delicate blue see-through night gown that was woven from translucent fabric that shimmered faintly whenever she moved.

The gown rested lightly against her body, flowing smoothly over her curves like liquid silk, making Joe’s body react in erratic ways.

Her long pale hair fell over one shoulder in gentle waves, while one slender leg emerged through the side slit of the gown as she stood straight, looking at him with innocent eyes that were filled with the same longing that filled his.

Those eyes, those gentle blue eyes... that look...

Joe melted.

"Joe," she called softly.

Hearing his first name from her lips, the Earl could not hold himself any longer as whispering, "my love", he moved towards her with swift steps and embraced her gently.

He squeezed her body gently against his, feeling her touch, the softness of her breasts and inhaling her scent greedily. "You bought a new perfume?" He asked.

"Yes," she said with a faint blush on her cheeks. "How is it?"

"It’s perfect," he smiled and whispered amid already ragged breathing. "Just like you".

Her mere presence was turning him on, and their close proximity was driving him crazy. That look she always gave him, everything about her, they were why he always missed coming here.

"I missed you," she whispered in his ear and that did it.

Joe shuddered slightly, then he forgot restraint as his arms ravaged through her body, caressing the curves of her hips, grabbing her ass and squeezing gently, eliciting a moan from her.

Their movements grew fast and frenzied, filled with desperate love and longing and before they knew it they were already on top the King-sized bed.

Clothes, shoes, and protective gear flew to the side, including underwear and within less than 2 minutes of entering inside the room, Joe found himself intertwined with the only woman that he’d ever loved.

...

Outside the hotel.

Click!

{LIVE footage from VVIP Room 006.}

With stoic expressions on their faces, their gaze hardened and filled with murderous intensity, Leon and Lt. Colonel Umar Farouq watched.

... 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

[8:28pm]

Just outside VVIP Room 006.

It was already more than 15 minutes since the Earl entered inside the VVIP room, and finally, the sounds of the Earl’s passion started echoing out despite the room supposedly being sound-proof.

The room was actually sound-proof and the only reason why the guards heard it was because they were all Ascended, and every single one of their senses was enhanced.

Hearing the sound of their boss and his mistress’ passion, a few of them blushed while the others remained stoic.

That was when Daren coughed and said. "Um, I think I need to use the bathroom".

The others looked at him weirdly, giving him a stare that was filled with a lot of meaning. Daren was taken aback, but he didn’t ask or stay as he left.

Immediately after leaving the sight of the other guards, instead of going to the bathroom though, he walked straight to the control chamber of the underground Bourdillon enterprise where the surveillance room was.

Within just a day since being promoted underground as a favorite of CEO Hwang Luo, despite his high position, Leon already developed amicable relationships with most of the workers here in very little time.

He already developed a reputation among the workers down here as down to earth, easy-going, and sociable.

This was why when they saw him enter the surveillance room, nobody asked him what he was doing here as instead, they greeted him with big smiles and asked him what gist he brought.

He had another reputation among them, Daren always came with a gist!

Daren didn’t disappoint as he walked towards those in charge of the CCTV cameras around the hotel, leaning against their table and folding his hands in a dramatic manner as he began narrating in perfect blabbermouth style.

He didn’t reveal the Earl’s identity, but he blabbered about how the noble he was tasked to guard his door was currently having the time of his life and how his mistress was shamelessly showing her passion unabashedly in a loud manner.

From the look on their faces, they clearly loved such gist.

They all laughed and chipped in with their opinions.

And as they became engrossed in his storytelling, becoming distracted, away from their sight Daren’s left hand seamlessly slipped a tiny mosquito-sized device and plugged it into the central computer behind him.

...

At the exact same time that Daren plugged the device, far away in the inner ring within Madam Ophelia’s suite, Talia’s computer received the signal.

["Connection stable!"]

Seeing this, her eyes gleamed.

Bzzz!

Her neon green ADE flared in a subtle manner away from the Omnicore Eye and instantly, she went to work hacking into Bourdillon Hotel’s server.

...

3 minutes later by the time Daren was done satisfying his colleague’s gist cravings, unknown to them, their surveillance system was already compromised.

And at the exact same time, 2 D Rank Ascended moved.

Leon and Lt. Colonel Umar Farouq infiltrated!