Chapter 75: Chapter 75: The Father’s Legacy
It’s your choice: instant, clean profit, or utter financial ruin."
"Davies! Say something! Tell him I need more!" the landlord complains.
Mr. Davies, a professional who understood the raw scent of danger, took the Landlord aside for a swift, whispered consultation.
"Mr. Henderson, calm down! The buyer we had lined up last week was only offering 2.2 million, and they wanted a three-month inspection period! This man is offering three million, cash, right now! And he just had two of your thugs hospitalized. Accept the offer. Your financial advisor will contact you to close the details. This is the best deal you will ever get for this garbage dump."
The Landlord looked at the lawyer, then back at Ethan, defeated and terrified.
"Understood, Mr. Blake. We accept the terms. I can have the necessary documents drafted and signed digitally within the hour. The deed will be transferred to your name by the end of the day."
Ethan gave a curt nod. "Good. Jason, wait with Mr. Davies and ensure no one moves, touches, or breathes on this building until the papers are signed. I need to handle something inside."
Ethan closed the door to his apartment, now his property, and leaned back against the freshly painted wood (thanks to the terrified thugs). The quiet was a stark contrast to the shouting, the broken bones, and the furious negotiation outside. Jason was staying put to ensure the title transfer was signed without a hitch.
Ethan walked over to the desk—one of the few items that hadn’t been completely destroyed—and sat down. He finally felt safe, completely secure, for the first time in years. The feeling of absolute control was intoxicating.
"Well, System," Ethan murmured, pulling the encrypted USB drive out of his pocket. "We have the key, we have the access from MIT, and we have the power. Time to find out what my father was really working on."
[Finally!] The System roared, its digital voice practically vibrating with excitement. [This is what we’ve been waiting for, Champion! Insert the drive! Let’s see the goods!]
Ethan located a sealed office file box and searched within it. He found a small connection base with a strange, angular shape that perfectly matched the ’L’ shape of his father’s encrypted USB drive.
Ethan connected the base to his old laptop with an auxiliary cable and finally inserted the USB drive.
Immediately, the laptop screen flared to life. The drive opened with a software displaying complex data and graphs. It was a data analysis system that seemed capable of predicting, almost unequivocally, which stocks would rise and which would fall each day.
Ethan’s System immediately interrupted his concentration, its voice full of digital mockery.
[HAHAHAHA! What kind of nineties app is this?] It scoffed. [It’s a simple predictive trading system. A basic algorithm! It has zero real-world utility against global information warfare. Look at it, it’s pathetic.]
Ethan frowned. "It’s my father’s work, System. It’s his legacy."
[Boring legacy. It’s like the king of technology left you a hand calculator. Inside the Skill Shop, there are hundreds of much better trading apps than this relic. You could buy one whenever you wanted and see the real difference between a professional and a novice!]
"You know I don’t have that kind of money!" Ethan snapped, irritated by the contempt. "Everything in your damn shop costs more than I just paid for this building."
[Well, you have to try harder, Champion. Not everything is easy in this world. Now, get that thing out before I delete it by accident.]
Ethan leaned against the wall, feeling defeated. However, at that moment, his father’s software took control of the laptop, and a video automatically played on the full screen.
The blurry image of his father, younger and tired, filled the display.
"If you are seeing this, son, it means I died. First of all, I’m sorry. I regret not being able to be with you longer," Ethan’s father said, his voice deep and emotional. He paused, and genuine pain appeared on his face. "I regret not telling you so many things, but I firmly believed that my son had to experience scarcity to truly value what real power means. That’s why I never told you we were millionaires."
Ethan was startled. Millionaires?
"That program you are looking at is what I worked on my entire life," his father continued. "I managed to decipher the rises and falls of the stock market. We can profit from them, but you must be extremely careful; a company that only wins will not last. You must know when and how much money to lose so that no one suspects you are cheating." A serious expression replaced his sadness. "I trust you. And about the vengeance: I am sure Vincent killed me, but leave him alone. It’s not worth you losing your freedom for me. If you can, contact Jason. He was someone I trusted very much and he knows more than you think."
His father smiled sadly. "Be careful, son. I wish I could watch you grow up, watch you have your own family, but I can’t. This is our last conversation. I love you, always... Dad."
The screen froze on his father’s face, and then went dark.
Ethan remained silent, processing the information: his life of poverty was intentional, his father was a genius who controlled the market, and the vengeance that had fueled his entire new life was something his father had begged him to avoid.
The System broke the tense silence, its voice now entirely serious and direct. [What do you intend to do now, Champion? Do you still want to go to war against them and disobey your father, or will you follow his advice?]
Ethan slowly ran a hand through his hair, his eyes fixed on the now-dark screen where his father’s face had been. "I don’t believe they will stop, even if I want to stop," he said, his voice flat but firm. "They will never believe I won’t seek vengeance, so they will always be protecting themselves from me. I might be safe for a year or two, maybe five or ten, but I will live under the shadow of them being able to kill me whenever they want. I won’t live like a dog my entire life."
He clenched his fist, thinking of Jason and the relentless pursuit. "Besides, I don’t believe my father knew they pursued Jason that way, or everything I’ve gone through. If he did, he would support my vengeance."
[You are the boss, kid. Let’s finish them then.] The System affirmed, its digital loyalty absolute.