That night, after spending hours training, practicing, and getting accustomed to his body, he finally allowed himself to rest.
Time was precious, but so was recovery. Pushing himself endlessly without giving his body a chance to recuperate would only hinder his progress.
By morning, he was well rested.
Before noon, there were a few things he needed to take care of. He woke, prepared himself, and left. As he stepped outside, a single name echoed through his mind.
’Cloud Crest.’
The most prestigious restaurant in the city.
And the place where he intended to secure the first piece of capital he desperately needed before the apocalypse.
’Absorbing the soul essence of Earth’s magnificent beasts and inheriting their unique traits... is cool and all. But I can’t afford to neglect the financial aspect. I’ll need plenty of money once the apocalypse begins.’
As for the countless other beasts whose traits he couldn’t collect, once the game world merged with reality, those creatures would undoubtedly mutate as well.
Whatever forms they evolved into would likely be far more powerful, and far more troublesome to hunt, than their ordinary counterparts.
Still... If he ever became strong enough that hunting them was nothing more than a leisurely excursion, perhaps he could return to the idea.
The beasts brought forth by the apocalypse had a much higher chance of granting him valuable stats than Earth’s native creatures. He instinctively felt that way, mainly because the souls of those apocalyptic beasts were all affected by the Eclipse Online Gods to some extent...
His heart stiffened slightly at the thought of those Gods, but his mood quickly brightened when another name surfaced in his mind.
’Sloan Wade.’
His lips curled into a faint grin. He still remembered a few things about Sloan Wade and the Wade family from his early days as a Dragon Sovereign Guard, long before he had reached the pinnacle of power, and even longer before his regression.
Back then, he’d heard certain rumors about the Wade family.
Events that, if his memories served him correctly, had all taken place before Eclipse Online merged with reality.
At the time, they had been nothing more than obscure pieces of information buried beneath countless other events. He had never paid them much attention.
But now, those forgotten memories suddenly seemed rather valuable.
If those rumors about Sloan Wade and the Wade family were true...
Then that man might prove to be a far more convenient substitute than any of Earth’s magnificent beasts.
’A single target with countless possibilities.’
’Well, Sloan Wade...’ His grin widened. ’You’ll be my humble replacement for all those creatures I couldn’t get with the limited time in my hands... Don’t blame me if I take as much as I can from you.’
’He should be in Cloud Crest right now.’
Aiden’s gaze settled on the towering building before him.
Cloud Crest occupied the summit of the city’s tallest skyscraper, its exclusive premises perched high above the sprawling metropolis.
Guests could reach it only through a private, high-speed observation elevator.
As the elevator ascended, the city gradually unfolded beneath him. Streets became thin, winding lines. Cars shrank into moving specks. One by one, the surrounding buildings sank below his field of view until the entire city seemed to transform into an endless sea of steel and glass.
Ding!
The doors slid open and Aiden stepped out into a world of quiet luxury.
Soft classical music drifted through the air, almost imperceptible beneath the hushed atmosphere. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, scattering warm light across immaculate marble floors. Everything, from the elegant furnishings to the understated decorations, exuded an effortless sense of wealth and exclusivity.
This was Cloud Crest, a place where simply having money was not enough to earn an invitation.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the entire metropolis, while the rich aroma of exquisitely prepared cuisine blended with the subtle scent of expensive perfumes.
Elegantly dressed guests conversed in low voices over crystal glasses.
Attentive servers moved gracefully between tables, their footsteps almost inaudible.
No one here realized they were savoring one of civilization’s final peaceful mornings.
Dressed in nothing more than a plain black jacket and jeans, Aiden Cross looked completely out of place amid the refined elegance of Cloud Crest.
The moment he stepped inside, a waiter approached with a practiced smile.
"Good morning, sir. Do you have a reservation?"
Aiden didn’t answer immediately. His gaze swept across the dining hall before settling on a table by the floor-to-ceiling windows.
A young man sat at a table by the floor-to-ceiling windows, one leg crossed over the other. He wore a flamboyant rose-pink tailored suit, and a limited-edition watch gleamed around his wrist as he chatted with a striking young woman whose flawless makeup and practiced smile suggested she was a popular online influencer.
He was flirting with her, every gesture radiating wealth and vanity. Everything about him seemed designed to announce his status to everyone in the room.
This was Wade Sloan, one of Ashford City’s most notorious young heirs.
In his previous life, Wade had ridden the first wave of the apocalypse on the strength of his family’s wealth and resources, gathering players and building a respectable stronghold.
Not bad for a spoiled heir. He had even survived longer than most.
Unfortunately, he never learned to keep his mouth shut. His arrogance eventually provoked someone he should never have crossed.
His stronghold fell overnight. Wade himself didn’t survive to see the third year of the apocalypse.
As for today... He was simply Aiden’s first source of funding.
"I’m here for him." Aiden pointed toward the window seat.
The waiter hesitated. "Sir, Mr. Sloan is currently..."
Before he could finish, Aiden walked past him.
Wade was leaning toward his companion, whispering something that made her burst into laughter.
Then a chair scraped across the floor and Aiden sat down opposite him without invitation.
The smile on Wade’s face vanished. His brows drew together. "Who are you?"
His eyes swept over Aiden’s inexpensive clothes before filling with unconcealed disdain. "This table isn’t yours. Get lost."
The woman opposite him blinked in surprise, glancing between the two men with obvious curiosity.
Aiden paid neither of them any attention. He leaned forward slightly, his gaze never leaving Wade’s face.
"Wade Sloan." His voice was calm, almost conversational. "I know about an incident from last November."
Wade’s expression didn’t change. Not at first.
"I know about the settlement, the money, the precautions you took afterward, and where evidence that was supposed to disappear can still be found."
Silence descended as color slowly drained from Wade’s face, and his confident smile stiffened. For the first time, uncertainty flickered across his eyes.
"You..." He forced out a laugh. "I have no idea what you’re talking about."
"Really?" Aiden’s tone remained perfectly even.
"I can walk away..." He paused. "Or I can start making phone calls. We’ll see which version of the story attracts more attention."
The woman beside Wade frowned. "Wade... what is he talking about?"
"I said he’s talking nonsense!" Wade snapped a little too quickly.
His voice had risen just enough to draw curious glances from nearby tables.
Realizing his mistake, he lowered his voice again. His breathing had become noticeably heavier. A bead of sweat rolled slowly down his temple.
His eyes locked onto Aiden’s, searching for the telltale signs of a blackmailer.
Greed? Excitement? Nervousness? He found none.
The young man sitting across from him looked unnervingly composed, as though he already knew exactly how this conversation would end.
That calmness frightened Wade far more than any threat could.
"You bastard..." Wade gritted his teeth. "How much money do you want?"
By now, he was convinced the man before him had come to blackmail him.
Aiden merely smiled, a faint expression that somehow made him even more unsettling.
"Money?" He shook his head slightly. "Of course I want money." He paused deliberately, letting the silence tighten around Wade like a noose. "But not over something as insignificant as that."
Wade’s heart skipped a beat. Aiden leaned forward just enough for only Wade to hear him.
"Your father, Chairman John Sloan, is secretly negotiating an equity transfer with Skyhaven Technology."
Wade’s pupils contracted.
Aiden’s expression remained unchanged.
"He’s using overseas shell companies to move core assets at a heavily discounted valuation."
"The transaction involves massive profit transfers and tax evasion."
Aiden’s eyes never left Wade’s.
"If the complete transaction records and the flow of funds were to find their way to the Securities Regulatory Commission, or perhaps to Highmore Group..."
He smiled. "What do you think would happen?"
The words struck Wade like a bolt of lightning.
The smile vanished from his face. Only a handful of people even knew that deal existed. Wade himself had learned of it only through fragments he’d accidentally overheard during a conversation between his father and the family’s legal adviser.
How could this stranger know?
And this wasn’t some embarrassing personal scandal that could be buried with money.
This was something far dangerous.
Something that could bring the entire Sloan family crashing down.