"We got 837 million Neo Credits!"

"..."

At first, Leon couldn’t believe his ears. He thought he heard wrong.

’837 what?!’

Hearing the sound of that figure and the way it rolled off the tongue, for a few seconds, he couldn’t talk as he fell into a daze. He spaced out for a few more seconds before he looked at Talia with even more scrutiny.

He wanted to see if she was lying.

Seeing the grin on her face though, he knew that she was telling the truth.

"837 million..." Leon repeated in disbelief.

’Holy sh*t! What did I get myself into???’

Just a few months ago, 100 Neo Credits felt like a big deal for him.

And just about a month ago, he was deep in debt with the Geneforge Clans through Leviathan Quay having borrowed money from them to use for his projects in exchange for being their mechanic.

And just a few weeks ago, he got his very first credit alert of 100+ million Neo Credits after a big stroke of fortune.

Then, he already thought he was filthy rich and he was, yet now he just discovered that they completed a heist of over 800 million Neo Credits!

All of this within a short period of time.

Leon felt dizzy.

’Life really comes at you fast,’ he thought. ’I’m no longer broke!’

He was not the only one who was stunned.

For a few seconds after that figure was listed, Daren and the Lt. Colonel became quiet as they let the ridiculous sum of that money settle on their head, and then Lt. Colonel Umar Farouq finally broke the silence.

He was still standing by the door, and his face was grim as he looked outside.

"Guards are coming this way..."

That snapped the entire team into a state of alert.

Instantly, Leon picked up his smartphone and spoke into it. "It’s time. Commence the final operation".

...

Above ground, in one of the rooms within Bourdillon Hotel.

2 mundane electricians were working together in a room that was already vacated, fixing the LED light bulbs after already fixing the electrical fault that affected this specific room of the hotel.

One of these two electricians was Brick in disguise.

With the CH Mask, he intercepted the real electrician early on his way to the emergency job and knocked him out, dropping him inside a dumpster where people could easily see him, then he wore his clothes, wore his face, and took his place.

At this moment, as the two electricians continued working, one of their smartphones suddenly beeped.

Beep!

Immediately after the beep, a message followed.

"Commence the final operation".

That was all Brick needed to hear.

Having looked at his phone without his consent, his colleague looked at him with a face full of sarcasm and mockery. "Operation? A crack electrician like you?" He chuckled. "You’re falling for another scam right? What operation is that?"

Brick looked at him, then he sighed. "I’m sorry bro".

"Sorry for what...?"

Bam!

One hit to the back of the neck and Brick knocked the mundane Geneform out, then he opened the ceiling of the room and deliberately made a wrong electrical connection.

The reaction was instant.

BZZZT!

There was a bright flash of light like lightning, and then the room suddenly went dark... then fire erupted!

Brick carefully carried his colleague to safety from the fire and waited for a few seconds to let it kindle, and then he finally raised an alarm.

"FIRE!" "FIRE!"

"HELP!!!"

"My friend is unconscious!"

Well, that did it.

Instantly, a commotion started in the infamous hotel, spreading everywhere like wildfire in harmattan.

And as the hotel panicked, he walked out amid the commotion.

...

Underground...

WOM! WOM! WOM!

4 guards were walking towards the Eastern end of the VVIP area to check up on their colleague who was tasked to guard there alongside the noble’s guards, and that was when the alarms started ringing.

They froze.

One of them looked up, his face serious, then he said. "It’s a fire alarm".

"The alarm being this loud means it’s serious".

His face became solemn as he turned to his 3 companions. "Go back and ask for directives on what to do, let me go check on Raye".

"I’ll join you guys soon".

"Ok". The 3 other guards nodded and immediately turned around, running off to go curb the commotion that’ll definitely follow the alarm.

Left alone, the final guard exhaled and finally turned around to go check on Daren. The moment he turned around though, he realized that something was wrong.

The atmosphere felt different for some reason.

Not just that; he suddenly realized that at some point he was no longer alone!

’W-what?!’ He was stunned.

He saw Daren, and 2 other people, strange and unfamiliar people.

"Raye? Who are these peo...?"

Bam!

One straight punch from Daren knocked him out. He dragged his body into a corner, and like ghosts, the 3 of them disappeared out of the corridor.

Behind them, the door to Earl Joe’s room was still closed like nothing happened, and loud music could be heard playing from inside the room.

To anyone who didn’t know, the Earl was having a great time inside.

Outside, Brick met with them and together, they disappeared into the night. The assassination was done, now it was escape time!

...

At the heart of the underground entertainment motel for nobles, CEO Hwang Luo sat on his luxurious office chair when he got news of the fire outbreak.

A fire incident was not something small.

Afterall, it would likely result in the fire service and even the police coming to his hotel. For the official hotel above, it meant nothing but for the enterprise underground, it meant everything.

He could not afford to let the media and the public know about the enterprise, it would effectively ruin his business completely.

Majority of his customers were highly reputable nobles from the inner ring who came here to have a good time away from their family and the media.

He promised them privacy, and it was up to him to enforce it.

If this fire outbreak resulted in the identity of one of his VIP customers being revealed, it may spell the end of his main business enterprise.

This is why he immediately clamped down with authority the moment he got the news of the fire outbreak as picking up his smartphone, he made calls.

Click!

"Boss?"

"Lock the motel down!" He ordered authoritatively in the trademark mechanical voice of Synths. "Seal the underground!"

"Make sure that even if the police come, they won’t find any evidence of what we’re doing underground!"

"Make sure that paparazzi have nothing to pick on".

"Yes boss!"

Immediately after calling his subordinates and giving them orders, he dialed a new number.

Ring... Ring...

{Outgoing call to Officer Liang!}

Click!

"CEO Hwang".

The Synth immediately smiled. "Officer. A fire outbreak just happened in my hotel".

"I know, my boys are already about to mobilize".

"That’s why I called," he paced around his room. "I believe I still have your account details. I’ll paste something to you soon enough, just tell your boys to focus on just keeping calm and to not sniff where they’re not needed".

There was silence for a few seconds, then the officer on the other end chuckled. "We’ve been business partners for a long time and we understand each other, don’t worry about my boys. They’re well behaved".

He hesitated for a few seconds, then he added. "Add 10 extra this time".

"Done". Hwang Luo immediately smiled again. "I’m glad we understand each other, thanks. It’s nice doing business with you".

He ended the call, and immediately after that there was a knock on his door.

"Yes, come in".

The door was pushed open and it was his personal assistant, a Synth.

Hwang Luo scowled. "What now?"

"The nobles are restless, they want to know what’s going on above. They want to be assured that they’re safe".

Hwang sighed, then he waved his assistant off.

He stared at the wall for a few seconds, then he returned to his desk and called the control room of the underground structure, requesting access to all the hidden speakers in all the rooms of the motel for a broadcast.

Once he gained access, he started the broadcast.

He cleared his throat. "Hello, this is Mr. Hwang Luo speaking".

"I understand your fears and apprehension, and I want to use this avenue to tell all of you to calm down. Everything is under control".

"Your life is not in danger".

"You don’t have to worry about the fire. My boys are already there and are trying to contain it, and fire service is already on its way".

"You don’t have to worry about your privacy too. I have connections with the police, and I already made arrangements with them. They won’t be coming down here, just stay put in your rooms and you’ll be fine".

"I’m sorry for any inconvenience and emotional distress that this may cause, but I promise you all that this will not affect you in any manner".

"Please enjoy your night".

He finally ended the broadcast.

A few minutes later, the fire service and the police arrived as from their large truck, tons of foaming water were sprayed at the 3rd floor of the hotel building where the fire started and was spreading.

Most customers were already outside as the hotel staff tried to appease them and calm them down.

The fire spread fast, devouring 3 rooms before the fire service arrived but there were no casualties due to the early alert of one of the two electricians.

Talking of the electricians, where was the other one?

No one knew, but it didn’t matter now.

With the police around, the hotel staff were finally able to calm the hotel customers who were scared and traumatized.

Tons of reporters already gathered as they recorded the scene.

And just as it felt like Boudillon Hotel finally had the situation under control, the loud sound of a helicopter reverberated from the horizon.

Tutututututututu...!

Everyone looked up, the police headlights focused up on the helicopter and on its massive frame was written- [Big Joe Electronics].

...

From inside his office where he watched what was going on outside through the CCTV cameras, CEO Hwang Luo felt his heart skip a beat.

’Big Joe Enterprises?’

’What are they here for???’

...

[Special Appreciation to ImperialJadeDragon, r03n, Katcan20, Tsuyoi16, and Yametekudastop for the Golden Tickets! Thanks for the support guys.]