Chapter 5 005
Jared spent the afternoon after the breakfast sitting at his desk with three monitors he had purchased the previous week. Property records, financial filings, news archives. The system had given him the raw intelligence on Damien Rothwell. Jared had spent three weeks turning that raw intelligence into a actual strategy.
He was not going to attack Damien publicly with words or confrontation. That was the old Jared's instinct. Emotional. Reactive. Easily dismissed.
The new Jared was going to let Damien destroy himself. He just needed to arrange the conditions.
His phone buzzed. A message from an unsaved number.
"Mr. Knox. Victor Harrington gave me your contact. My name is Raymond Chu. I handle acquisitions for Harrington Capital. Mr. Harrington asked me to send you the details of a small development opportunity he thought might interest you. No obligation. Just a conversation."
Jared read the message twice.
Victor had moved faster than he expected.
He typed back a simple reply confirming he was available the following morning, then returned to his screens. The system chimed softly.
\[System Notification: New background process active — Damien Rothwell Financial Monitoring. Any significant movement in Rothwell Properties assets will be flagged in real time.\]
\[Feature Unlocked: Market Intelligence (Passive). Host will receive early warnings on relevant business developments within monitored sectors.\]
Jared leaned back in his chair.
The system was evolving alongside him. Early on it had handed him money and skills like a beginner's tutorial. Now it was starting to behave like a genuine strategic partner. The notifications felt less like rewards dropped from the sky and more like tools shaped specifically for what he was building.
He pulled up the file on Rothwell Properties current portfolio.
Damien had seventeen active developments across Los Angeles and Orange County. Fourteen were performing solidly. Two were delayed due to permit complications. One, a large mixed-use tower in Koreatown called the Meridian Project, was bleeding quietly. Construction costs had overrun by nearly thirty percent. Two anchor tenants had pulled out. Damien had not made any public statement about it, which meant he was managing the story carefully.
That was the crack.
Jared circled the Meridian Project file and sat with it for a long time.
His phone buzzed again. This time it was a number he recognized immediately. Isabella.
He let it ring out.
She called again thirty seconds later. He answered on the fourth ring and said nothing.
"Jared." Her voice carried a tension she was trying to disguise as casual. "I just wanted to check in. I heard you bought a place downtown. People are talking."
"People talk," he said.
A pause. "Damien is angry. Like really angry. He doesn't like loose ends."
"Tell him I said hello."
"Jared, I'm being serious. You don't know what he's capable of when someone gets under his skin."
Jared looked out at the city lights spreading across the darkness below his window. "Isabella. You called to warn me or to gather information for him?"
Silence.
"That's what I thought," he said, and ended the call.
\[System Notification: Interaction logged. Isabella Voss loyalty analysis updated. Assessment: Acting under Damien Rothwell's instruction. Threat level to host — Low. Monitoring continues.\]
Jared set the phone face down and returned to his work.
The following morning he met Raymond Chu at a quiet members club in Century City. Raymond was precise and efficient, a man in his early forties who clearly valued his time and expected others to value it equally. He slid a folder across the table within the first five minutes.
"Victor doesn't explain his instincts," Raymond said. "He just acts on them. He asked me to show you this."
Jared opened the folder. It was a prospectus for a modest commercial property in Culver City. Three stories, mixed retail and office space, currently undervalued due to a motivated seller facing liquidity problems. Harrington Capital was considering a partial stake but preferred a lead buyer to anchor the deal.
The asking price was $4,200,000.
Jared did the math quickly. His current balance after penthouse costs and living expenses sat at just over three million. Not enough alone. But the system had been building his Emblem Coins steadily.
"System," he said internally. "Can Emblem Coins be converted to capital?"
\[Affirmative. Emblem Coin Exchange now unlocked at Level 2. Current rate: 1 Emblem Coin equals $10,000 in system-backed credit. Host holds 62 Emblem Coins.\]
That was another $620,000 available if needed.
He looked up at Raymond. "What stake is Harrington Capital prepared to take?"
"Forty percent. Victor would want you leading at sixty."
Jared closed the folder calmly. The Charisma Boost skill hummed quietly at the edges of his presence, smoothing the room without announcing itself.
"I'll lead at sixty," Jared said. "I'll need ten days to structure my end cleanly."
Raymond studied him for a moment, then nodded once. "Victor said you would say yes without flinching. He enjoys being right."
After Raymond left, Jared ordered another coffee and opened his status panel.
\[Name: Jared Knox\]
\[Level: 2 (91/100)\]
\[Balance: $3,100,000\]
\[Emblem Coins: 62\]
\[Active Mission: Publicly Humiliate Damien Rothwell — 7 days remaining\]
\[New Connection: Raymond Chu — Harrington Capital Acquisitions\]
Seven days.
The Meridian Project file was still open in his mind. Damien was bleeding from one wound already. Jared just needed to make sure the right people were watching when it got worse.
He finished his coffee and stood.
The slow burn was almost ready to catch.