CHAPTER 14: PLANS IN MOTION

Greg was lying on the lush grass of the valley, the words of Xerd still echoing in his head, but he was soon brought out of his deep thoughts by Drakonix's nagging. "To think that old thing was that strong. Negative time? Just what sort of ability is that?" Drakonix mumbled under his breath, clearly displeased. Drakonix, Leviathan, Greg, and Annabelle were the only ones there, Xerd having left long ago after his conversation with Greg.

"It's not an ability; it's the aftereffects of his powers," Greg felt the need to explain. "Let's say Xerd and the present time are a man and a bus, going in the same direction. But Xerd was so fast that he got to the final destination before the current time could get there, moving ahead of it. To us, that's like staying within the bus—we get to that destination and see Xerd there, thinking we arrived together. But to Xerd, he's been there all along, waiting for the 'us' that should be there. So to us, we're just seeing Xerd. But to him, we fought already. That's honestly the simplest way I can explain. It's not an ability of Xerd, it's the result of him using his ability," Greg corrected.

"Anyways, we have more pressing things to discuss. Annabelle, it's time to put our plans in action. Leviathan, I need gold and treasures as much as possible. I'm about to do something very drastic to grow stronger," Greg said.

"Alright, patron, I'll give you the current treasures I have kept," Leviathan said, prompting the four to embark on another journey. Greg got the coin and shared half with Annabelle, their level increasing thanks to the ex-rank wealth abilities. Then Greg exchanged for 500 billion dollars, a super crazy amount, of course, but one needed for his crazy plans.

Of course, it was doubled to a trillion dollars. What was he planning to do with the money? Well, no idea. And it wasn't just him—Annabelle did the same and got a trillion dollars too.

Why did Greg do it? Sure, he had the wealth—wealth from two supreme beings. He had the funds to spend a billion dollars every day, and it wouldn't be exhausted until his death. But he didn't do it without a purpose.

There was a hidden reward for one who exchanged a trillion dollars from the game to the real world. It was discovered by Gold Goblin, a merchant player who made so much wealth within the game and exchanged for a trillion dollars for the sake of bragging. But then he discovered the reward, which, of course, he didn't tell anyone until the descent. Afterward, he made friends with Greg and the others, and they both shared secrets of hidden tasks and rewards they discovered, partly for bragging and partly to keep the companionship.

Greg felt fortunate to at least be in their midst because now he knew a lot of secret tasks that he could use to his benefit. What's the hidden reward? Well, once you exchanged for a trillion dollars, your banking and financial information became classified, and no one or organization could gain access to it no matter how hard they tried. It was a too-good-to-be-true result but with a very steep task.

Gaining such wealth in the game? Dream on. Only the Golden Goblin, a player known for his superb ability, was able to fulfill it—and it was a very long time after the game was made official. The stars just, well, aligned in the case of Greg.

After the exchange, both siblings logged out and began the plan.

Aaron, a petty thief, walked into his house, bruises on his body. He had barely escaped a trap set up by his gang against him. He was played—used as bait in their last operation against a very wealthy and security-tight businessman. He had succeeded in stealing a very expensive painting, but his friends betrayed him, attacked him, and took the painting from him before abandoning him. He barely escaped with his life.

Opening the door, he was stunned by the sight in front of him. Sitting there was a young man and a girl. The man was probably a university student, while the girl? A high schooler.

"Who are you?" Aaron asked, on guard.

"Don't worry, we're not here to hurt you. Rather, it's to give you an opportunity to rise above others and have the world under your feet along with us," the young man said.

Aaron stared at him like he was a madman, but he couldn't help but be shaken. The confident voice and the look of the young man, combined with the hidden feeling in his heart that screamed at him to grab the opportunity, were things he couldn't shake off.

"Alright, what do you need from me?" he asked the young man sitting across from him.

"Well, we need two more people—well, one actually," the man said before the door opened. A middle-aged man with a good build entered, not caring about etiquette.

"Was it you? The one who sent me the address?" the man, Jackson, asked.

"Guess we're complete. You can step out of your hiding now, Kate. I was the one that placed the bid for an assassination on Aaron's life, although it was merely to get you to be here with us," the young man spoke.

From the shadows, a feminine figure, covered in black, stepped out before sitting down as well.

"I had a feeling this was orchestrated the moment you said one more person was needed. Now tell us all—what's the deal with you?" Kate asked.

"Brother, I got the trillion dollars. What now? What's your plan? And why do we need so much money? Do you plan to enter a financial war with that family?" Annabelle asked, her brother's plan something she was curious to know.

"No, silly girl, it's rather stressful, a long process, and not efficient. I don't just want revenge; I want to dominate this world in the process. Just having money will not be enough to achieve that. What we need is power and connection, and the money is just a tool to grant me that opportunity," Greg said, a knowing smile on his face.

Before then, we need to meet a group of people. We'll be booking a flight. Of course, we need to get rid of the spies lurking in our vicinity. How to do that? Well, it's simple. We fake our death and get rid of the eyes completely.

"Annabelle, it's time we forget our names and become Nemesis and Scarlett completely. It's your decision to make, so what's it going to be?" Greg asked, hoping his sister would choose to let go of it and completely enter into the shadows—a critical part needed if his plan were to succeed.

"It's alright, brother. I'll accept whatever you decide. We're wanted dead anyway. Dying now won't change anything."

To this, Greg smiled. "Thanks, sister, for trusting me," he said while patting her head, which Annabelle, of course, swatted away.

"How are you going to fake our death anyway, brother?"

"Oh, that. I've already contacted some greedy Gold Goblin who's going to help us out," he said, grinning.

Jessica was at the garden of her home after reaching her gaming limit of the day and logging out. She felt extremely tired, the recent incidents taking a toll on her. She had joined Kyle in formulating plans on how to take Nemesis, the unknown player, down. The plan was close to completion, save for a few details that needed polishing and finalizing.

While trying to get her head wrapped around everything, a man in a suit walked towards her before bowing his head.

"Miss, there's something I have to report," the man said to Jessica.

Jessica frowned after hearing the man. "What's the problem?" she asked. The man was someone she employed to keep tabs on Greg and Annabelle to ensure they were safe.

"Well, the young man Greg and his sister are dead. They were killed by an unknown hitman, and their bodies burnt along with it. DNA tests were carried out on the two bodies found after the fire was extinguished, and the results matched the data in the database. I'm sorry, Miss. It was a quick and well-planned move in the dead of night. There was no way to react," the man in the suit said, bowing his head in an apologetic manner.

Jessica, though, wasn't paying attention to the man's words any longer. She felt her brain spinning. She couldn't stop her chest from tightening or the headache she felt. Greg was dead? Who was it that killed him?

She felt despair. Her world was ending and falling apart. Without paying attention to her surroundings, she went home abruptly, ran to her vehicle, and drove straight to Kyle.

Kyle was doing light exercise after the game to ease his stiff body when his phone rang. It was Jessica. Curious about what she wanted, he picked up.

"You killed him! After the deal we had, you went ahead to kill him! How dare you, Kyle?" Jessica screamed. Anger and sadness could be felt in her voice.

"Who are you talking about, Jessica?" Kyle asked, confused. Recently logging out, he had not been briefed about the incident.

"Who? You dare ask me who? Of course, I'm talking about Greg!" she yelled.

Kyle frowned after hearing Greg's name. "You've got the wrong soul, Jessica. I'm not the man you're looking for. And don't bother driving to my place—you won't be allowed to enter and cause a scene," Kyle said before ending the call.

His face deepened into a frown. The death of Greg was something he couldn't believe and found annoying, as it would cause more harm than good to him. It was obvious Jessica would never believe him, and he'd now have an enemy at his back.