The moment Lin Chen stepped into his newly upgraded penthouse, the system chimed with an unusual sense of urgency.
[Ding! New Elite Instance Unlocked: "Hunt the Hollow Giant"]Mission Type: Financial Dungeon (Level: Hard)Objective: Expose and neutralize a shell corporation listed for illegal IPO.Time Limit: 72 hoursSuccess Reward: 50,000 Gold + Special Asset Card x1 + Reputation BoostFailure Penalty: -10,000 Luck Points, Reputation Drop, Identity Exposure Risk
Lin Chen's brows furrowed as he read through the lines. This wasn't just a high-stakes mission; it was a direct challenge to his growing influence in the financial world. And it came with massive risks. The system had never handed out a penalty this severe before.
"Show me the target," he commanded.
A holographic projection materialized in front of him, revealing a series of reports, investment trails, and confidential documents about a company called Qinghua Biotech Ltd. It had recently made waves in the media as a cutting-edge pharmaceutical startup. Their IPO was being hailed as the next big thing in the Asian biotech market. But Lin Chen's eyes, sharpened by system-enhanced perception and economic modeling, immediately caught the red flags.
Fake R&D expenditure. Ghost partners. Circular investments. Inflated media coverage.
"Classic shell," he murmured. "But too clean for a rookie scam."
[System Tip: Target company backed by an unidentified offshore syndicate. Proceed with caution. Suggest assuming alternate identity for operation.]
He nodded, quickly opening the system's Identity Vault.
[Available Identities: Financial Independent Advisor (Activated), Anonymous Market Operative (Available - 1000 Gold/hour)]
Without hesitation, he activated the Anonymous Market Operative. Instantly, his voice, online footprint, even digital presence shifted. He became a shadow, untraceable and lethal in the financial underworld.
For the next twelve hours, Lin Chen operated from the shadows. Using his Data Infiltration Toolkit and enhanced system analytics, he tore through Qinghua Biotech's digital infrastructure. Not a single trace was left behind. What he found was worse than he had anticipated.
Multiple shell investors linked to tax havens.
A fake research team in Switzerland.
Doctored FDA approval documents.
Yet what startled him the most wasn't the fraud itself—it was the presence of Erebus-linked IP addresses. The same shadowy group that once tried to hack into his system during a previous mission. Now it seemed they were moving from digital warfare into capital manipulation.
[System Alert: Mini-boss Level Detected — Erebus-Linked Operator "Specter_03" Active in Network.]
"Specter, huh?" Lin Chen smirked. "Let's dance."
For hours, a silent war erupted between Lin Chen and the elusive Specter_03. It was a clash of digital blades—firewalls collapsing, backdoors installed, tracebacks rerouted. Every move Specter made, Lin Chen anticipated with microsecond accuracy.
He baited him into a honeypot—an AI-generated subdomain filled with fake files—and when Specter took the bait, Lin Chen triggered a trace.
[Location: Sibu Island, Malaysia. Masked Node. Proxy Bounce Count: 16.]
"Not bad," Lin muttered, "but not good enough."
With the IP traced and Specter temporarily neutralized, Lin Chen uploaded all incriminating evidence onto a hidden server and prepared for the next phase.
The final nail had to be driven in public. A quiet takedown wouldn't do. He needed Qinghua Biotech to crash publicly—to shake the market, expose Erebus' tactics, and establish dominance.
So he launched a carefully calculated market attack.
Step one: Leak a 'concerned whistleblower' letter anonymously to key financial journalists.
Step two: Short Qinghua's stock through an offshore account right before pre-IPO freeze.
Step three: Activate media botnets to amplify the scandal.
And then—he made the kill move.
Lin Chen, under the identity of "The Owl," appeared on a livestream hosted by an anonymous investor YouTube channel. With a voice modulator, real-time mask overlay, and deep analytics, he broke down the entire fraudulent operation in a 15-minute exposé that went viral.
The impact was immediate.
Qinghua Biotech's stock plummeted 63% in less than an hour.
The IPO was halted indefinitely.
Government regulators swooped in for investigation.
Erebus' links, though still under wraps, became a subject of rumor in underground financial circles.
Lin Chen leaned back in his chair, watching it unfold like a maestro who had just conducted a perfect symphony of destruction.
[Ding! Instance Complete.]Gold Earned: 50,000Special Reward: Asset Card – "Phantom Broker" (Unlocks Stealth Trade Ability)]Reputation Increase: +15000 (Global Financial Network)]
In the days that followed, whispers spread across the financial underworld. The "Owl" had resurfaced—a mythical hacker-trader hybrid rumored to topple corporations with a few keystrokes.
Lin Chen, of course, remained silent. He couldn't afford attention—not now.
But he couldn't deny the thrill that rushed through his veins. It wasn't just about money anymore. It was about power, precision, control. The battlefield had changed. No longer the underdog, he was becoming something much more.
Something the world would soon fear.