<Enjoy The Fallout/>

Back in our apartment, I sat in my room, leaning back in my chair.

The timer on my wrist ticked down—thirty minutes until the security team would arrive to kick us out.

The pressure was building, but I wasn't about to let it swallow me whole. This landlord had pushed us too far, and I had no intention of letting them get away with it.

I opened the landlord's home security system on my screen. It was built like a fortress, but that just made it more fun to crack.

A few keystrokes, and within seconds, I had full control. The cameras blinked and stuttered before going offline one by one, while I wiped the landlord's biometric data from the system entirely.

Their face? Now unrecognizable.

Their voice commands? Locked out.

Every access point—from the front door to the automated lights—was now completely useless to them. I smirked, moving on to the next part of the plan.

Next, the building's main security system.

Breaking in was easy.

Once inside, I ran a quick scan for any active alerts. Sure enough, I found the ones set to trigger when the security team arrived to "escort" us out.

Instead of leaving us out in the cold, I tweaked the system. I initiated a new alert.

One that would change everything.

System Alert: "Warning: Unauthorized owner detected. Eviction initiated. Security, please remove intruder immediately."

The landlord would never see it coming.

The guards would be notified to remove the "intruder" without question.

The best part? They wouldn't even realize that the "intruder" they were removing was their own damn self.

Next, I dove into the GAIA property registry, bypassing its seemingly impenetrable security with ease. It was a simple matter to revoke the landlord's ownership of the building and reroute it to someone who would actually appreciate it—an orphanage. The system didn't even bat an eye as I shifted ownership from the greedy landlord to those who needed it.

I let out a quiet chuckle at the thought of their confused face when they tried to assert their rights to a property they no longer owned.

But I wasn't done yet.

I cracked open the landlord's financial accounts and, like a digital thief in the night, drained every last bit of their wealth.

I funneled it all into charitable donations—hospitals, food banks, disaster relief funds, animal shelters—anything and everything that could use a little extra help.

The landlord's luxurious lifestyle would come to a screeching halt.

No more expensive dinners, no more private jets, no more outrageous shopping sprees. All of it would be gone.

Once I confirmed everything was in motion, I leaned back in my chair, watching the minutes tick down.

I could almost hear the landlord, clueless about what I was doing, thinking they were in complete control. Their precious little empire would crumble before they even realized what happened.

With the countdown at zero, I knew the security team would be right outside their door.

But instead of ushering us out, they'd be kicking the landlord out of their own building. The guards would probably try to force the landlord into the street, confused and enraged as they realized their ownership was no more.

It was a beautiful sight to imagine.

My family was safe.

We weren't going anywhere.

The building now belonged to an orphanage.

My revenge was complete.

I pulled up the final screen to confirm everything was in place. The landlord wouldn't know what hit them.

And as they stood outside, trying to make sense of the situation, I couldn't help but feel a small, satisfied smile curl on my lips.

They'd be the ones out in the cold. Not us.

"Enjoy the fallout," I muttered, settling deeper into my chair.

For the first time in a long while, I felt like I had the power to change the game. No more living under someone's thumb. No more feeling helpless. I wasn't just surviving anymore—I was thriving.

I gazed outside from my bedroom window. The landlord stood outside, seething in the rain, in nothing but his silk robe pajamas, drenched through and utterly confused.

I couldn't help but smile.

They were getting exactly what they deserved.

"Serves you right," I whispered under my breath, settling back into my chair.

It felt good to be the one in control for once.

I walked into the living room to find Brixley packing her things while Damian sat on the sofa with a small suitcase beside him. They both looked up when I entered and stood immediately, ready to move. Brixley hurried to help Damian, still on crutches, her face full of concern.

"Let's stay at my friend's place," Damian said, his voice steady but laced with uncertainty. "I already called him, and he's cool with us crashing there for the night."

But when he scanned me, his expression shifted to confusion.

"Noah... why aren't you packed?" he asked. "It's fine to leave the furniture. We can't bring it anyway."

Even Brixley looked at me, brows furrowed in confusion.

I gave them a small smile—quiet, but triumphant.

"We don't have to leave," I said, my voice calm but carrying the weight of what I'd just done. "I filed a complaint. The landlord doesn't actually own this place."

Both of them blinked, processing my words.

I motioned for them to follow me to the balcony. When they stepped outside, their eyes widened in disbelief.

There, just outside the building, the landlord was being dragged away by security. He was kicking and screaming, too caught up in his own rage to notice how ridiculous he looked. The guards, however, were unimpressed, hauling him off the property without so much as a second glance.

Brixley gasped. "What... what's happening?"

I simply watched as the landlord's empire crumbled in real-time. "Security's kicking him out. He doesn't own anything anymore."

Damian stood there for a moment, too stunned to say anything. Then his expression shifted to a mix of awe and amusement. "You did this?"

"Yeah," I said with a grin. "We're not going anywhere."

Brixley let out a surprised tone. "Noah. I didn't know you had it in you."

"I'm full of surprises," I replied, stepping back inside, the tension in my chest easing. "Let's just stay put for now. We've got all we need right here."

I said my goodbyes to my family before heading back to the GEAS base. One problem solved, but now my focus shifted to the bigger challenge ahead—the secret Tower mission.

I couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation.

Soon, I'd be snatching that Tower crystal right out from under GAIA's watchful eyes.

And when I did, it would be a moment to savor.