"Miss Sterling, welcome to the Panorama Hotel. The return party awaits you on the 35th floor."
Elizabeth walked into the lobby of the Panorama Hotel, one of the luxury hotels in the Acropolis District. The entire place had been booked out for the night.
The hot spring spa, the swimming pool, the business center—areas usually bustling with distinguished guests—were completely deserted.
Now, the hotel was swarming with security personnel from the New World Bank and the Seth Group. They all wore crisply ironed formal suits, and even their body modifications were strictly uniform within their respective factions.
As soon as they saw her, the old nanny, and her team of assistants, the guards bowed deeply and greeted her: "Miss Elizabeth."
Hotel staff and Bank personnel called her Miss Sterling, while those inside Seth called her Miss Elizabeth.
But the tone was always the same. They didn't treat her as a person, but as a beautiful, expensive object.
She belonged to Seth. She belonged to the New World Bank. She was merely an extension of their limbs, a walking asset in human form.
"Mm. Good work," Elizabeth murmured simply from time to time.
Click, clack. The lobby was otherwise dead silent, her footsteps ringing sharp and clear across the thick marble floor.
The mirror-polished marble reflected her figure.
Tonight, she wore an off-the-shoulder cream evening gown. Her navy blue hair was styled impeccably, paired with light makeup. A pair of Red High Heels accentuated her tall, firm posture. She looked every bit the party animal.
"Welcome, Miss Sterling."
When Elizabeth stepped into the resplendent, vintage Brass Elevator, the attendant greeted her. His handsome face was filled with a dull, tiresome reverence.
Once the old nanny and the others filed in, the attendant pressed the button.
Elizabeth stayed silent, and so did everyone else. The elevator slowly ascended, floor by floor.
She caught the stifling scent lingering in the air—a mix of perfume, pomade, cigars, hallucinogenic smoke, and banknotes. It made her want to gag. She hadn't smelled this stench in nearly a year, and she was already beginning to miss the simple, clean air of the Jianggu District.
Ding. They arrived at the 35th floor, and the doors slowly slid open.
Elizabeth stepped out. The attendants and security guards lined the corridor like guideposts. She could have practically closed her eyes and followed their chorus of welcomes straight to the party venue.
"Elizabeth, welcome back!"
"It's been so long! You look amazing, wow."
Before she even crossed the threshold, she could hear the shouts and laughter ringing from inside.
Inside the spacious, luxurious hall, distinguished young guests mingled, drank, and chatted. They were the lifeblood of the New World Bank—scions of Santou, Seth, Gasboyne, Metia Petroleum, Longteng, Leikuo...
Even the guest performers hired to liven up the party, the idol group Lightspeed Girls, were there wearing bright, radiant smiles.
More and more people noticed that the star of tonight's party had arrived. Smiling faces turned her way, and wine glasses were raised in a toast.
Elizabeth gazed out over the glitz and glamour, her eyes drifting to the very back of the hall. Through the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows, she could look down at the beautiful, rainy night of the Central District. Only the hazy mist of the rain managed to ease the stifling feeling in her chest.
Alright. Pull yourself together. Time to handle this so-called grand feast.
Putting on a faint, fake smile, she walked toward the crowd whose eyes were already on her.
She greeted this person, then that one. After making the rounds, she ended up surrounded by a few young masters eager to strike up a conversation.
"Elizabeth, what major are you planning to take at Liuguang University?" asked James Amick of Gasboyne. His blond hair was slicked back with a shiny coat of hair gel.
"What would you like to drink? I'll grab you a glass," offered Fang Mu of the Longteng Group, sporting a handlebar mustache.
"Elizabeth-chan, may I have this dance?" Qian Xingle asked with an ingratiating smile. He wore trendy purplish-red eye makeup and belonged to Santou, though he wasn't from its three major families—Yuantou, Baotou, or Arafuji.
Elizabeth didn't really want to engage with them. Looking at their smug, greasy faces only filled her with annoyance.
You're all so happy, aren't you? The long tables draped in white cloth were piled high with fine wine and gourmet food—expensive delicacies she actually found palatable. But she knew full well that once the party was over, at least eighty percent of this food would be thrown away.
Even though there were so many starving street kids hustling outside—even though there were so many attendants and security guards right here in the room—it would still be thrown away. This was the rule. It was a demarcation of status.
This food would only rot in garbage bags before being hauled off to the Sludge Pond District and casually dumped.
And there, whatever half-rotted scraps hadn't completely spoiled might end up in the stomachs of some refugees or scavengers...
"Elizabeth..." Her former best friend, Sophia Amick, interrupted her thoughts. "What are you thinking about?"
Elizabeth snapped back to reality. "I was thinking about how to better dispose of the leftover food tonight."
Sophia wore a low-cut, light green evening gown tonight. A sparkling jeweled necklace highlighted her flowing blond hair, making her look all the more noble.
"Gentlemen, Elizabeth and I need a little private chat," Sophia said, pulling Elizabeth off to a corner. She sighed in resignation. "Elizabeth, if you really want to return, you can't act like this. Read the room."
Elizabeth wanted to turn around and walk right out. If it weren't for the Master instructing her to come back and lie low...
"Look at the guests who showed up. How many from the Heirs Club are here?" Sophia continued. "I'm the only one from Gasboyne, aren't I? No one else wanted to come."
Bloodline inheritance was a strange thing. No matter how much the New World Bank researched it, not every descendant was guaranteed to possess transcendent talent. The vast majority of the people in the hall right now were ordinary people below the Third Speed Tier.
The so-called Heirs Club was established by the new generation of the core families within the New World Bank.
It was composed entirely of highly talented transcendents—the ones considered to have a real shot at taking over the New World Bank in the future.
Elizabeth used to be a member of the Club, but naturally, she wasn't anymore.
She and Sophia used to be extremely close, but they had pretty much parted ways about a year ago.
"You betrayed the Club, and you haven't been accepted back yet."
Sophia sounded rather dissatisfied with her. "They asked me to check on your condition, to see if you were still that same willful brat... Sigh, I really don't get you. How can you still not understand?
"Elizabeth, we grew up together. You know how I treat you. Think about it. How many people are there in the Sterling family? How many siblings can your father give you at a moment's notice? And how many cousins do you have?
"The Sterling family may be the rulers of Seth, but there are other families on the board of directors.
"And the Seth Group itself is just one member of the New World Bank.
"The New World Bank is a living organism in its own right. Santou is too, and so are Seth and Gasboyne. Their existence no longer relies on any single person or family, but on their overarching structure and internal operations.
"If you act like a virus that offers no benefit to its survival, it will purge you."
Elizabeth listened silently to Sophia's lecture. She had heard the exact same speech from plenty of other people before.
"The only reason you were favored is because you're the sole Overdrive talent in the Sterling family's new generation. That's a rare gift even in the Club,"
Sophia continued to advise her bluntly. "But look at what your tantrums have led to. I heard from the nanny that you're still only an Advanced One-Programmer. That's way too slow. I only have a Sixth Speed Tier talent, and we became transcendents at the same time, yet I'm already a Special Grade Two-Programmer."
"I'm sorry you chose the Blood Drinker Profession System," Elizabeth muttered under her breath.
"Ugh!" Sophia shook her head. "You really are a stubborn mule. If you keep this up, you won't just be left in the dust by everyone else—you'll be grounded until the day you die. Since you've already hit a dead end and decided to come back, stop acting so reluctant."
Sophia paused and emphasized, "It's going to take time for the Club to accept you again. They need to see how you behave."
As if I care! Elizabeth took a deep breath. Lie low. I came back to lie low. I can't be impulsive...
"So what should I do?" she asked.
"As long as you're willing, you can still be that shining princess of Seth," Sophia replied, feigning a sour tone.
"Alright." Elizabeth forced out a fake smile and walked back to the lively crowd.
The same young masters from earlier immediately swarmed her again. She turned to Fang Mu of the Longteng Group. "Go grab me a cocktail, would you?" Then she looked at Qian Xingle. "Tonight isn't a ball. Save the dance for an actual ball."
Fang Mu hurried off as if he had just received an imperial decree. "Give me one second."
Qian Xingle was pleasantly surprised. "Then it's a promise! By the way, Elizabeth-chan, there's a new production of The Great River showing at the Garden Grand Theater in a couple of days. Are you interested in going?"
He didn't mind in the slightest that she had previously participated in an antitrust lawsuit against the Santou Corporation; in fact, he thought it just showed she had character.
"Gasboyne just released a new sports car. Let me take you for a spin in a few days?" James Amick chimed in with his own invitation.
"Heh." Elizabeth gave a light, perfunctory laugh. "We'll see how things go. I'm currently grounded, after all."
The crowd, however, was instantly encouraged. They continued to orbit around her, clamoring and competing over who would plead her case to Mr. Sterling.
Elizabeth was starting to zone out again when, suddenly, a strange current surged through her mind, accompanied by the flicker of a magnificent light.
Without any warning, a mysterious prompt box popped up:
[Console calling. Forced connection will begin after countdown: 59 seconds]
She froze, then instantly realized what it was, her heart swelling with wild joy.
The Master! It's the Master! It's here! The call is here, and the reward is here!
She glanced at the young masters, Sophia, and the others around her, then looked at the old nanny in the distance. None of them had noticed a thing.
Sure enough, this wasn't some simple neural network. Incredible! Truly worthy of the Master!
"Excuse me for a moment, everyone."
Seeing that only 50 seconds remained, Elizabeth knew she absolutely couldn't take the call here. She looked around, and ignoring her high heels, hiked up the hem of her evening gown and sprinted out of the hall.
"Elizabeth!" Sophia called out angrily, while the old nanny stood expressionless in the distance.
James Amick, Qian Xingle, and the others exchanged bewildered looks. Fang Mu, who had just returned with a cocktail, stood there dumbfounded, swallowing his words.
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