"I need guns. A lot of guns," Sunny decided, standing right in the middle of the bare concrete armoury.
But the very second the words left her mouth, her stomach let out a loud, violent growl. The sound echoed off the bare walls, a stark reminder that she was still human.
Right. Stealing from a billionaire required energy.
Before I become Koria’s greatest arms dealer, I need to eat.
She pulled out the sleek smartphone the system had provided and navigated straight to the local Koria food delivery apps. With her fifty grand reward safely resting in her digital bank account, she decided to go wild.
She didn’t hold back. She ordered fifty boxes of extra crispy fried chicken. Thirty bowls of spicy beef noodles. A mountain of steamed pork dumplings, and twenty large pepperoni pizzas with extra cheese.
She hit ’Place Order’, tossed the phone onto a white couch in the living room, and stretched her arms above her head. She barely had time to turn on the vast flat-screen television before the front gate intercom chimed loudly.
Sunny blinked. She checked the clock on the wall. It had been barely five minutes.
She rushed to the front door and peered through the security monitor. Three confused delivery drivers were already unloading stacks of steaming thermal bags onto her pristine driveway, glancing around at the lush estate with wide eyes.
She buzzed them in, tipped them generously with crisp cash, and hauled the mountain of food inside.
"Well, I guess time is different in a book," Sunny muttered, shrugging her shoulders.
Convenient plot armour strikes again. I love this world.
The kitchen island quickly disappeared under towers of cardboard boxes and plastic containers. The rich, mouth-watering smell of garlic, sweet soy sauce, and melted cheese filled the pristine living space. It smelled like heaven.
Sunny picked up a box of fried chicken. The bottom was almost too hot to touch, and steam curled out from the small vents in the cardboard.
She tapped the silver crescent moon resting on her chest.
Store.
The box vanished from her hands in a flash of silver light.
A wicked grin spread across her face. She repeated the process, her hands moving like a blur. Store. Store. Store.
Towers of steaming takeout vanished into the endless, time-locked void of her spatial pendant. She opened her system inventory screen to check the results. The food was suspended in the frozen expanse, perfectly preserving the heat, the crunch, and the flavour.
When the world finally burned, and people were fighting to the death over a stale cracker in the ruins of Koria, Sunny was going to be eating five-star spicy noodles in her pyjamas.
She let out a contented sigh, popping a single leftover pork dumpling into her mouth and chewing happily.
Step one is complete. Now, about those guns.
Miles away, the penthouse office of Fallon Industries felt like a frozen tomb.
Outside, the cold rain lashed against the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, blurring the neon city lights into streaks of colour. Inside, the silence was sharp enough to draw blood.
Elias paced back and forth across the expensive Persian rug, his wet leather shoes squeaking softly. He ran a frustrated hand through his damp hair, ruining his usual perfect styling. He looked exhausted, annoyed, and deeply confused.
"That was disappointing," Elias groaned, throwing his arms up in the air. "Who knew that the place would be robbed, and that lotus you wanted was going to be stolen?"
Donovan sat behind his mahogany desk. He didn’t answer.
He didn’t reach for his acquisition documents. He didn’t pour a glass of expensive whiskey. He just sat still, his cold grey eyes fixed on the blank surface of the wood. His jaw was clenched so tight a muscle ticked in his cheek.
"I mean, think about it," Elias continued, pacing faster now. "First Lily’s underground auction, now the most secure fighting ring in the city. Both times, you walk in to collect a specific prize, and both times, someone beats you to the punch by a matter of minutes."
Elias stopped pacing and pointed a finger at the desk, his brow furrowed. "It’s as if all the treasures you wanted were being taken on purpose. Like someone is reading your mind."
Donovan heard Elias talking, but the words felt like distant background noise. His mind was miles away, trapped in the rain-slicked courtyard of the Viper’s Den.
When they had arrived, the arena was in chaos. The Viper Boss was standing by the iron gates, bleeding a terrifying amount of killing intent. But mixed with that rage was a strange, lingering amusement.
Donovan had demanded the Black Lotus, ready to pay any price or spill any blood necessary to secure the artefact.
The Viper Boss had just laughed.
’A little bird fell from the sky,’ the mafia boss had told them, a dark smirk playing on his pale lips. ’She dropped right into my arms. A brilliant little liar.’
Donovan’s chest tightened at the memory. That familiar, violent ache flared behind his ribs, a sensation he despised.
It was a girl again.
It was the same girl. The Viper Boss had described her perfectly. Fiery red hair. Black clothes. A face beautiful enough to make a ruthless mob boss lower his guard.
She had marched into the pirate auction claiming to be his girlfriend, and then she happened to appear at the same place, and now the Lotus is missing?
It was so obvious.
Why was she doing this? Who was paying her?
More importantly, why did the mere thought of her existence make his blood boil with a feeling he couldn’t even name? He was Donovan Fallon. He controlled global markets. He crushed rival corporations before breakfast. He didn’t chase phantoms in the night.
Yet, this phantom had outsmarted him twice. She was dancing right on the edge of his vision, snatching things that should have belonged to him.
Or could it have been a coincidence?
I will find you, Donovan thought, his eyes narrowing into cold slits. And when I do, you will answer to me.
"Earth to Donovan."
Elias snapped his fingers right in front of Donovan’s face, shattering the thoughts in his head.
Donovan blinked, his piercing grey eyes snapping up to meet his friend’s exasperated gaze.
Elias crossed his arms, leaning a hip against the edge of the mahogany desk. A knowing, almost teasing look spread across his face, cutting through his earlier frustration.
"You aren’t even listening to me," Elias sighed, shaking his head slowly.
Elias realised that his friend wasn’t even listening and snapped him out of his thoughts.
"You are thinking about the girl, right?" Elias asked, a small smirk playing on his lips.
The vast office fell dead silent.
Donovan finally looked at Elias with a frown. The cold, analytical mask slipped back over his features, but the dark storm brewing in his grey eyes gave his true feelings away. He picked up his silver-framed glasses from the desk and slowly slid them onto his face, adjusting the bridge.
"Perhaps it’s tied to her?"