The air inside the conference room felt unusually thin.
Lin Chen sat at the end of the polished mahogany table, flanked by executives wearing expensive suits and impatient expressions. His freshly printed employee ID card hung from his collar like a token of temporary acceptance. Though he looked calm, beneath his expressionless face was a cocktail of adrenaline and anticipation.
This was his first major assignment after joining Polaris Capital.
Across from him, Vice President Zhou flipped through the company dossier, frowning as he skimmed the first few pages. "A-hem. Lin Chen," Zhou said without looking up, "since you're the newest addition to the team—and the most 'unexpected'—why don't you introduce the case to everyone?"
There were murmurs around the room. Everyone knew Lin Chen had leapfrogged into the company through connections no one could trace. Some suspected blackmail. Others whispered about a hidden backer.
No one believed he earned it.
Lin Chen didn't respond immediately. Instead, he raised his eyes and stared directly into Vice President Zhou's, calm and calculating.
System Notification:🟢 Mission Triggered: "Corporate Gauntlet" - Stage I📌 Objective: Present the feasibility report of the failing tech company "NeuroSpark" to the board of Polaris Capital.💰 Reward: +300 Gold Coins⚠️ Penalty: If rejected by the board—no further missions for 7 days.
Lin Chen stood, adjusting the cuff of his shirt with meticulous precision. Then, he tapped the console, projecting his first slide.
The holographic image of NeuroSpark Technologies hovered in the air: a startup that had once been hailed as the future of neural-computing interfaces, now on the verge of bankruptcy.
"In the last 24 months, NeuroSpark's stock price plummeted by 84%. Their burn rate exceeds incoming revenue by a factor of four. At a glance, they're done," Lin Chen began, his voice measured but magnetic.
Zhou smirked. "And yet, you're wasting our time on this?"
Lin Chen continued unfazed. "But you're missing what they're sitting on."
With a flick of his fingers, he zoomed in on a segment of the report.
"A dormant patent. A neural relay architecture designed not for military or medical use—but commercial. The kind of consumer neural interface that could connect your brain directly to smart devices. Think: mind-controlled homes, hands-free surgeries, full-immersion gaming."
The room stirred.
System Ping:🧠 Active Skill Used: [Persuasion Module LV1 - Business Presentation Boost]🎯 Result: 73% chance of generating interest among board members.
"Problem is," Lin Chen said, "they don't have the capital or marketing power to commercialize it. But we do."
He paused, letting the tension simmer.
"If Polaris acquires them, rebrands the product, and launches within the next 18 months, our projected market share in the neural-tech sector would rise from zero to at least 11%. That's a minimum ROI of 300% based on conservative modeling."
Zhou narrowed his eyes. "That's assuming their tech actually works."
"Already tested in two clinical trials. Passed both." Lin Chen flipped to the next slide. "But their third trial got halted because their lead engineer died in a car crash. Suspicious, if you ask me. They lost funding right after."
There was a murmur at that.
"Somebody doesn't want them to succeed," Lin Chen said softly.
System Notification:📍Hidden Thread Unlocked: [Erebus Interest in NeuroSpark - Flagged]🔍 Investigate further to unlock subplot chain.
Zhou leaned back, arms crossed. "And you want us to gamble tens of millions on a sinking ship?"
Lin Chen smiled for the first time. Cold. Sharp.
"I don't gamble. I calculate risk."
System Alert:🎯 Board Interest Level: 65%📈 Current Approval Probability: 54%
But it wasn't enough.
He needed a push.
Then, a whisper in his mind—the system's voice—offered something new.
System Offer:🔓 Unlock Skill: [Data Scry LV1 - Short-term predictive modeling]💰 Cost: 100 Gold Coins🧠 Effect: Simulate best response to current situation based on conversational data and emotional cues.
"Do it," Lin Chen thought.
The system activated.
A flood of data washed over him—facial microexpressions, respiration rates, neural stress patterns (measured via subtle pupil dilation). All interpreted in milliseconds.
Vice President Zhou, despite his stern tone, was unsure. He was worried about investor backlash. CFO Liu was interested, but hesitant on cost projections. The others? Fence-sitters.
Lin Chen took a deep breath. Then dropped the nuke.
"NeuroSpark's chief engineer? He used to work at Erebus Technologies before he disappeared," he said.
The room went dead silent.
Everyone knew Erebus. The mysterious multinational conglomerate with ties to biotech, military contracts, and more than a few legal "gray areas." If they wanted NeuroSpark silenced, it meant the tech was worth something far beyond what was on paper.
System Ping:🔥 Board Shock Factor: +40%🎯 Approval Probability: 92%
The CFO spoke first. "We'll need due diligence, but... this could be big."
Zhou looked irritated, but finally nodded. "Prepare the acquisition proposal. We'll run it up the chain."
System Notification:✅ Mission Complete: "Corporate Gauntlet - Stage I"💰 Reward: +300 Gold Coins🎁 Bonus: +1 System Growth Point🔓 Unlock: "Business Dungeon - NeuroSpark"
System Update:🧭 New Sub-Mission Activated📌 Title: "Business Dungeon: NeuroSpark Takeover"💡 Objective: Secure buyout, rebuild team, launch product within 6 weeks💣 Difficulty: B-Rank🎁 Rewards: Unknown
—
Later that night, Lin Chen stood at the edge of the rooftop, gazing at the city lights. His mind was buzzing.
The NeuroSpark deal wasn't just his first project. It was the beginning of a war—one fought not with guns, but with numbers, deals, and secrets. Erebus's involvement wasn't a coincidence. It was a warning.
A door had opened, and beyond it—power.
"Salvator," he murmured, "bring up the dungeon parameters."
The system complied.
📊 DUNGEON REPORT - "NEUROSPARK TAKEOVER"Difficulty: B-RankTime Limit: 42 DaysObjectives:
Complete Acquisition
Identify Internal Saboteur
Restore Neural Interface Tech
Launch Beta Test
Protect Team From External Threats
Failure to complete all objectives = Dungeon Collapse + Loss of All Related Rewards
Lin Chen's eyes narrowed. The stakes were clear.
But failure?
Not an option.
This was no longer just about revenge or money.
It was war.
And Lin Chen—backed by the Salvator System—had just claimed his first battlefield.