While Kaiden was hard at work terraforming the dungeon, reshaping abyssal stone into the foundation of his new domain, a very different scene was unfolding on the surface.

In a quiet, heavily secured neighborhood just outside Washington D.C., Maximilian Vice was losing his composure.

The once-proud mogul, former CEO of ChronosX, renowned Mana R&D entrepreneur who used to be praised in high circles for the advancements his company was achieving in the mana camera industry, and then also being called a true innovator when he began the golden age of the awakened porn industry, and the political donor who supported the careers of many politicians, was now the centerpiece of a national scandal.

His empire, once polished and seemingly untouchable, was crumbling under the combined weight of public outrage and federal scrutiny.

He stood before the wide glass window of his estate with his jaw tight and his silk robe hanging open. To finish the not-so flattering image, he had dark eyes, unkept hair, and a bottle of scotch in his hand. Outside, the sight that greeted him made his stomach twist with fury.

Across the street, three matte-black vans sat parked with their engines idling, their windows tinted to the point of opacity.

FBI. DOJ. Homeland. He didn't even know which branch anymore.

"They're not even trying to hide now…" Maximilian grumbled before taking another sip of his alcohol.

Ever since that girl, Alexandra, the woman Maximilian blackmailed into becoming his private property, had uploaded her confession video, his life had spiraled out of control.

Her video had been devastating.

Raw and emotional, full of tears. Exactly what the public loved to lap up like the tastiest of deserts.

The fact that it was a gorgeous woman's big tears and red eyes further added to the impact. Maximilian didn't know if she did it on purpose or not, but she managed to appear incredibly vulnerable in the video, even more so than when she was in his presence.

She detailed everything, from coercion and psychological manipulation to human trafficking and imprisonment through contracts she was forced to sign.

Within just a few minutes, it had millions of views. Not long after, even the President himself publicly stated that Maximilian Vice would be investigated.

The man did not lie.

And that was where Kaiden Grey came in.

The man who had broken Maximilian's control over Alexandra. The man who had helped her find her voice again. The man who had somehow made her video so big and far-reaching instantly that it could not be smothered.

It was no coincidence… Kaiden was under immense scrutiny himself, thanks to Maximilian's public conference, where he accused the man of being a horrible alien who was manipulating humans to do his bidding. But after Alexandra's video, the haters found a new target.

Maximilian.

And Valhalla's Sinners, Kaiden's group, reached new heights of fame. These days, they weren't even hustling content that hard. They used to create a lot of content, be it porn, combat, or just slice of life fun. But now, they just upload a few videos a week.

Yet the public lapped it up. Any single snippet they could use to get to know more about the enigma and his quirky lovers, the public watched with full attention.

If they uploaded combat, the viewers would watch with a rapidly beating heart.

If they did porn, the female viewers would have the best emotional roller coasters they could ever sign up for.

If they did something as mundane as sit and chat for a slice of life video, the viewers would listen with open ears and a big smile on their faces.

Of course, that wasn't to say they were immune to criticism, no. They had their haters.

They just didn't care much. They fought when they wanted to level up, and the public loved it. They had sex when they were horny, and the female public cheered. They just had a fun time as a family, and the public watched with a singing heart.

Anything they did seemed to succeed.

And it infuriated Maximilian to no end.

Especially because when the news broke, his company, ChronosX, paused uploads for a bit after seeing the immense hate they were getting. They feared the awakened algorithm might abandon them if they got downvoted to oblivion.

But despite having a much, much bigger library of content than Valhalla's Sinners, ChronosX views dropped almost instantly as soon as they stopped churning out their multiple porn videos a day.

Unlike Valhalla's Sinners, who sometimes had multiple days of zero content uploads yet still saw growth during such phases, ChronosX was crumbling apart. It was as if the awakened algorithm was ready to toss them under the bus, even without having their new videos get bombarded with dislikes.

"Kaiden Grey…" Maximilian's teeth ground audibly. His knuckles whitened around the glass. "You're the one who did this to me. I know it was you… You used the pink slut to turn her against me. You… I'll kill you even if it's the last thing I do."

He had tried to bury Kaiden once, in more ways than one. He even laughed at the name and called him a dumb amateur who was way over his head. But now, the name itself made his gut churn with something that felt like fear.

Still, he wasn't finished yet.

For all the chaos surrounding him, Maximilian Vice had one thing Kaiden lacked: connections.

Powerful, entrenched, and every bit as corrupt as he was. Senators, executives, and bureaucrats who had benefited from his "donations," hush-money pipelines, and even sexual services from the girls and boys he and his accomplices forced into slavery.

And these high-ranking officials were now helping him.

However, they weren't protecting him out of loyalty.

They were protecting him out of survival.

Because if Maximilian fell, their entire web of criminal symbiosis would unravel with him.

Thus, while the FBI, IRS, and several joint task forces combed through his assets under warrants citing racketeering, human trafficking, wire fraud, tax evasion, obstruction of justice, and more, those very same allies were stalling and even obstructing everything they could from the inside.

Delays. Misdirection. Leaked evidence that mysteriously disappeared.

Enough to buy Maximilian Vice time to move his own pieces, quietly, carefully.

He turned from the window and downed the rest of his scotch in a single swallow.

If Kaiden Grey thought this was over, he was wrong.

Maximilian Vice was not the kind of man who waited to be destroyed.

He closed the curtains with a deliberate motion. The heavy velvet sealed out the accusing glare of the black vans. Maximilian knew that the government was very careful right now to play by the rules. They couldn't afford to mess up and let him walk due to technicalities.

As such, he knew he was not being watched by some hidden high-level assassin right now.

Without being served a search warrant for his home, the agents would only watch. But they were eagerly awaiting the arrival of a judge's permission to enter and mess his home up in search of evidence.

He made his way to the bathroom, then reached for the faucet and twisted the knobs in an oddly rhythmic sequence.

Left. Right. Up. Down. Up. Down. Right. Left. Left. Right. Up. Down. Left. Right.

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