Chapter 4 004
Three weeks had passed since Jared Knox walked out of that hospital with nothing but a system, a suit, and a burning promise to himself.
His penthouse on the 42nd floor had transformed from a bare shell into something that felt deliberately his.
Every morning followed the same rhythm.
Five in the morning
Cold shower.
Status check.
\[Name: Jared Knox\]
\[Level: 2 (78/100)\]
\[Skills: Medical Expertise (Intermediate), Charisma Boost (Beginner), Property Management (Intermediate)\]
\[Balance: $3,100,000\]
\[Emblem Coins: 42\]
\[Active Mission: Publicly Humiliate Damien Rothwell — Day 21 of 30 remaining\]
\[Side Missions Completed This Week: 3\]
The side missions had been quiet but profitable. Help a struggling small business owner negotiate a predatory lease. Intervene in a tense situation at a downtown parking garage before it turned violent. Identify a financial discrepancy in a document left behind by a distracted man at a coffee shop and return it anonymously. None of them were dramatic. All of them moved the needle.
The system rewarded consistency just as much as spectacle. Jared had learned that quickly.
He stood by the window with his coffee and looked out at the city. Somewhere in those glittering lights, Damien Rothwell was sleeping soundly, completely unaware that the man he had thrown into the rain three weeks ago was quietly circling him.
Nine days left on the main mission.
Jared had not made a single visible move against Damien yet. That was deliberate. He had spent the three weeks studying the man instead. The system's intelligence report had been thorough.
Damien Rothwell. Forty-one years old. Net worth approximately $340 million. Built his empire through aggressive real estate acquisitions, several of which involved pushing out smaller developers using legal pressure, bribery, and manufactured financial crises. He had powerful friends and a carefully managed public image as a philanthropist. He donated to charities, attended galas, and smiled for cameras.
But beneath that image were cracks. Three former business partners had quietly settled out of court. Two city officials had received significant campaign contributions right before zoning decisions went in Damien's favor. One mid-sized development firm had been driven into bankruptcy after Damien's team flooded the market in their area at a deliberate loss.
The man was not just arrogant. He was dirty.
Jared had been patient. Now patience was about to end.
He was finishing his coffee when the system chimed.
\[RING! New Side Mission Issued\]
\[Mission: Attend the Harrington Foundation Charity Breakfast — 9 AM, Montage Hotel, Beverly Hills\]
\[Objective: Make a meaningful connection with Victor Harrington\]
\[Reward: New Skill Slot, $200,000, Emblem Coins plus 20, Reputation plus 150\]
\[Time Limit: 3 hours\]
Jared set his cup down slowly.
Victor Harrington. The elderly man he had pulled back from cardiac arrest in that restaurant three weeks ago. He had not seen or heard from him since the paramedics took over. Apparently the system had other ideas about how that story ended.
He dressed in the sharp charcoal suit from his inventory, pocketed the matte black card, and took the elevator down.
The Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills operated at a frequency most people never got to experience. Everything moved quietly and precisely, like the staff had been trained to anticipate needs before guests expressed them. The charity breakfast was held in a private dining room overlooking a manicured garden. About thirty people filled the space, all of them carrying the relaxed confidence of serious money.
Jared spotted Victor Harrington immediately.
The old man was seated near the window, looking considerably healthier than the last time Jared had seen him on a restaurant floor. He was in his mid-seventies, with sharp grey eyes and the upright posture of someone who had never quite allowed himself to go soft. His wife, Eleanor, sat beside him.
Eleanor saw Jared first.
She stood up so quickly that her chair scraped back, drawing a few glances from nearby tables. She crossed the room and took both of his hands in hers before he could say a word.
"Jared Knox," she said, her voice tight with emotion. "I told Victor I would find you if it was the last thing I did."
Victor rose more slowly, but when he extended his hand there was nothing frail about the grip.
"Young man," the old man said, studying Jared's face carefully. "You saved my life. I don't take that lightly. Sit down. Please."
Jared sat.
Over the next hour, conversation moved naturally. Victor had spent forty years building Harrington Capital from a regional investment firm into one of the most respected private equity groups on the West Coast. He asked Jared careful questions without making them feel like an interrogation. Where did he come from. What he was building. What he wanted.
Jared answered honestly, leaving out the system entirely but telling the truth about everything else. The humiliation. The year lost. The decision to start over with nothing and build something real.
Victor listened without interrupting. When Jared finished, the old man was quiet for a long moment.
"I have met a thousand men in this city who want revenge," Victor said finally. "Maybe two of them knew the difference between revenge and leverage." He picked up his coffee cup. "You sound like one of the two."
\[System Notification: Connection established with Victor Harrington. Relationship Status: Cautious Ally. Further development will unlock new mission chains.\]
\[Side Mission Complete!\]
\[Rewards: New Skill Slot Unlocked, plus $200,000, plus 20 Emblem Coins, Reputation plus 150\]
Jared felt the familiar warm surge of a reward landing. But what stayed with him longer than any notification was the way Victor was still watching him across the table, unhurried, measuring.
"Nine days," Jared said quietly, more to himself than anyone else.
Victor raised an eyebrow. "Nine days for what?"
Jared looked up and allowed himself a small, controlled smile.
"To remind someone in this city that actions have consequences."
Victor said nothing. But the corner of his mouth moved.
That was enough.