Location: Private District of Neo-Saishin, Asian Country X
Time: 2:17 AM
Location: Hanzo Jǐn Mansion — floors of pure exaggeration, rotten with luxury and surrounded by fake gardens with trees that never saw a root.
The interior of the mansion vibrated with loud music, moans, and the clinking of crystal glasses hitting black marble.
Neon lights ran along the walls like digital snakes.
The girls — young, siliconed, stacked in pairs and trios — laughed, shouted, licked the host's arrogance with glazed eyes on notes and chemical powder.
Hanzo Jǐn was sunk into a circular sofa, with three women on his lap and two more at his feet. Disheveled hair, tattoos, electronic cigarette in one hand and a glass of golden sake in the other.
"Nothing better than fucking while the world wants to kill you," he said, laughing with a mouth full of pleasure and delirium. "Bring it on. I am untouchable. Untouchable, damn it!"
Outside...
The world fell silent.
Like ghosts among the particles of the night, 12 soldiers of the Cryon Unit — Operation "White Shadows" — approached the mansion.
Reflective thermal armors. Silent weapons. No fingerprints. No traces.
Direct command: "Erase Hanzo Jǐn. No gaps. No survivors in the core. No alarms. Clean exit."
Operation leader, Lieutenant Frigard, activated the team's neural network. "Total silence. Standard route Delta. Access by ground floor and heliport. We enter in 30 seconds."
The mansion had the security system deactivated.
Reason?
Hanzo wanted "privacy" for the event... Privacy that was now an invitation to death.
The locked doors opened with master codes collected by cyber espionage.
Three soldiers entered through the ground floor.
Two infiltrated from the top.
The others surrounded the intermediate floors.
No shots.
No screams.
Only executions.
The first to die were the private guards, asleep from boredom and drunk with the false security of their posts.
Clean cuts on the throats.
Bodies hidden in the automated cleaning compartments.
The cameras? All off.
Or rather... never turned on.
Inside the mansion, Hanzo, laughing, was still too busy with a woman riding on his lap when the bulletproof glass of the hall opened like cut silk.
"What the fuck—"
Frigard entered with his team.
The world seemed to freeze.
With a gesture, he activated the inert thermal grenade, which lowered the room temperature to -35°C in seconds.
The prostitutes screamed, shrank, some fainted from the sudden shock.
The drinks froze in the glasses.
Hanzo tried to get up. His eyes wide, heart racing. "You… who the hell—"
A shot.
To the knee.
Hanzo fell screaming.
Frigard approached and spoke with a voice that seemed to come from inside a crypt. "You messed with someone who has a throne..."
Hanzo tried to say something, but only drool came out. Pure terror.
Frigard pressed the pistol barrel between Hanzo's eyes.
Silence.
A click.
Bang.
No pain.
No chance.
The teams collected visible bodies, cleaned the scene with particle drones and activated a holographic simulation that would leave the house looking like still partying for another 6 hours.
Time enough for escape.
Soldiers' identity? Codename. No face shown.
No fingerprints.
No cameras.
No recorded presence.
Hanzo Jǐn's death would be officially treated as sexual overdose and heart collapse.
A dirty scandal?
But too human to raise suspicion of anything else.
At the hotel, an alert arrived on Kael's tablet.
"Operation White Shadows: Successfully completed. Target eliminated. Zero leaks."
Kael smiled sideways. Just a little.
"Let the next ones learn..."
The hotel room was dark, only lit by the blue light of the hologram floating in front of Kael.
On the other side of the call, Victoria, still in pajamas, hair loose like a violet cascade and softly smiling face, blinked with a lazy charm.
"Kael, you call me so often I'm starting to suspect you can't go five hours without my voice."
Kael, lying on the bed only in white silk pajama pants, laughed softly, eyes half-closed. "You lie. I can... as long as I'm unconscious."
"You're a drama, ice prince," she teased, stretching on the screen as if she could touch him.
"And you're a sweet curse that keeps me from breathing without sighing," he retorted, so syrupy even the hotel AI wanted to shut down itself.
Victoria laughed, tossing her hair back. "You should be sleeping."
"I'd rather be awake... with you by my side."
"Hmmm, be careful. Keep that up and I'll show up there with a private jet."
Kael sighed deeply, expression softening. "If I weren't stuck with these diplomatic negotiations... I'd already be back to the Phoenix Empire. It's hell being away from you."
She smiled tenderly. "Distance changes nothing, Kael. You're mine. And when you come back, I want you completely."
He blinked slowly, like sealing a promise without saying a word, then hung up after a few more seconds of shared silence.
After Kael slept.
The world kept turning.
On the American continent.
The sun kissed the clouds with strokes of gold and pink.
The Phoenix Empire reflected the dawn with the arrogance of a civilization that never slept.
At the top of the hotel where she was staying, Victoria sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at the city below.
The warmth of the call with Kael still heated her chest, but the day was calling with its commitments.
A quick shower.
Workout clothes.
And off she went — firm and focused.
At the hotel gym, eyes turned to her.
Even sweating, even out of breath, she carried the beauty of a princess and the presence of a CEO.
One hour later…
Back at the presidential suite, the water from the second shower ran like silk over her tanned skin.
Light perfume.
Impeccable female suit, dark blue with silver details.
Low heels, neutral makeup.
Ready.
Victoria arrived at the company, humming.
Outside, the view was simply monumental.
Five monumental towers formed a colossal star when seen from above.
Victoria stopped for a moment, eyes absorbing it all. "When… in the name of all the corporate gods in the universe… did Luna buy THIS?"
She sighed. The answer was clear: When no one was looking…
As always.
Passing through the main entrance, suited guards with concealed arms greeted her with a slight nod.
"Good morning, Lady Victoria."
"Good morning. No trouble today, I hope?"
"For now, only yawns and strong coffee."
She chuckled softly, entering the lobby.
The moment she passed the biometric scan of the entrance arch, a female hologram materialized in front of her.
"Good morning, Lady Victoria. Recognized as Co-founder of the Diamond Tycoon Group. Your reports are ready. Would you like to access them now or during breakfast at the rooftop?"
Victoria raised an eyebrow. "Send them to my desk..."
"Understood. Data transmitted to your personal interface. Have a productive morning. And elegant, as always."
"You're getting poetic, huh, ÆVA?"
"I learned from you."
Victoria laughed, waving to the hologram before proceeding through the lobby.
Today, for the first time in weeks…
She wouldn't need to give interviews.
The golden doors of the presidential elevator opened with a soft sigh, releasing a subtle aroma of citrus flowers — a Lumine aesthetic detail, of course.
Victoria entered with elegance.
Around her, employees walked with digital folders, tablets, coffees, and deadlines from yesterday.
For every 20 women, there was maybe… one man.
And even then, the poor guy walked as if asking permission from the air to exist.
Victoria smiled inwardly. "A new world was created. And this time… with stiletto heels."
She waved here and there, with enough friendliness to seem approachable and enough respect to be feared.
"Good morning, Lady Victoria."
"Wonderful day, CEO ma'am!"
"You're shining, boss!"
"Oh, you're angels! Keep shining — with positive KPIs, of course."
Reaching the top floor of the Tower, the doors opened to a reception decorated with living panels that changed according to the mood of the climate.
A glass corridor led to the Marketing Director's office.
Upon entering, Victoria sighed deeply. "And here I thought today would be easy…"
Her presidential office, with glass walls showing the city below and a digital waterfall on the opposite wall, awaited her with a generous lot of holographic paperwork floating over her desk.
She didn't need to ask what it was. She already knew.
Proposals.
Reports.
Campaigns.
And more crazy ideas from the Innovation Management.
With a gesture, she touched the intercom embedded in the corner of the desk. "Coffee. Strong. And send me two croissants. One of them chocolate, please."
"Immediately, Lady Victoria," replied the assistant's voice kindly.
She then settled into the luxurious chair, pulling the holograms closer.
The first folder was titled: "Products in development – Marketing Needed – Innovation Level: Critical"
She began reviewing:
The first was about a product called LuminWear™ – Smart Clothing with Micro-adjustment of Temperature and Color.
Proposal from the integrated clothing and technology team. Clothes that change color according to the environment and adjust body temperature via embedded AI.
Victoria raised an eyebrow. "Almost a marriage between fashion and thermodynamics. Interesting."
The second was a product called V-Lips Gloss™, said to be a lipstick with hydration and pH monitoring.
A beauty product that adapts the tone to the user's mood and skin health.
"This here… can explode on social media with sensory marketing. An 'emotional gloss'? I want that in the campaign with famous influencers." She was already starting to type mental notes and instructions for the viral media team.
The third was an AuréaPad™, a physical notebook with neural synchronization.
It's a physical notebook that records thoughts on touch, transmitting directly to the company cloud. Perfect for brainstorms.
"This will make geeks cry with emotion… and poets too. Launch campaign: 'Thoughts that write themselves'."
The next was a bit strange: PureMesh™, a portable air filter in the shape of a luxury accessory.
A product that purifies the air around the user and comes embedded in necklaces, bracelets, or earrings.
"Environmental marketing, minimalist aesthetics… this can sell like crazy on that continent of nobles. Note."
There was even a product called G-Lux Watch™, a watch that measures the body's energy charge.
"A watch that measures levels of energy, cortisol, serotonin and indicates which products to use during the day." Victoria paused. "This here is pure wellness tyranny. And I love it."
She let out a deep sigh, sliding her fingers across the screen. "Lumine did a good job organizing everything. Only what really matters remained…"
Soon after, the coffee arrived accompanied by warm croissants.
She took the chocolate one, took a bite, and already began dictating orders via voice command to ÆVA.
"Send to the Media team: Prioritize campaigns for LuminWear™, V-Lips Gloss™, and G-Lux Watch™. Create three campaign sketches for each. Include advertising plan for the 10 continents. Simulate audience response. Send for approval by tomorrow."
"Order received. Execution started."