Corporate Villainy: Trampling Protagonists as a Business Dad

The ability was even more potent than he'd hoped. Not just numbers, but psychological insights that would make many things a child's play.

"Beautiful," he breathed. "Absolutely beautiful."

Now for the main event. The Tier 2 store materialized before him, and Vincent's excitement ratcheted up another notch.

🔹 [SYSTEM STORE - TIER 2 ACCESS]

Available VP: 1580

Soul Reader's Insight: Active (23 hours, 47 minutes until next use)

[INTELLIGENCE & INFORMATION NETWORK]

[Corporate Prophecy Matrix] - 800 VP

• 90-day market prediction with 87% accuracy

• Automatic insider trading opportunity alerts

• Competitor weakness analysis and exploitation protocols

"The future belongs to those who can see it coming."

[Neural Network Infiltration] - 650 VP

• Hack into any individual's communication devices

• Access private messages, financial records, and personal secrets

• Leave no digital footprint or trace of intrusion

"Privacy is an illusion I can shit on at will."

[INFLUENCE & CONTROL MASTERY]

[Reputation Architect] - 900 VP

• Rewrite someone's public perception within 30 days

• Plant false scandals or heroic narratives with media manipulation

• Crisis management that turns disasters into victories

"I don't just spin stories. I create reality."

[Loyalty Virus] - 1100 VP

• Infect target's social circle with subtle pro-Vincent influence

• Spreads through normal social interaction like emotional contagion

• Converts enemy networks into unwitting ally systems

"Why turn one enemy when you can turn them all?"

[Authority Aura (Upgraded)] - 750 VP

• Supernatural presence that commands respect and obedience

• Boosts negotiation success by 35% in any setting

• Makes lies sound like truth, commands feel like suggestions

"When I speak, reality listens."

[STRATEGIC WARFARE ASSETS]

[Economic Assassin Protocol] - 1400 VP

• Systematically destroy any individual or corporation financially near you

• Untraceable market manipulation and supply chain sabotage

• Legal immunity through regulatory capture

"I don't need bullets when I have bank accounts."

[Blackmail Constellation] - 850 VP

• Automatically discover and catalog compromising information on anyone

• Build extensive leverage networks across all social strata

• Self-updating database of exploitable secrets

"Everyone has skeletons. I just make better closets."

[PROTAGONIST ELIMINATION TOOLKIT]

[Narrative Thread Scanner] - 600 VP

• Detect emerging protagonists within 50-mile radius

• Analyze threat level and plot armor strength

• Provides early warning system for narrative interference

"End their story before the theme music starts."

[Backstory Excavator] - Variable VP (200-800 depending on target)

• Reveals complete protagonist backstory including hidden traumas, motivations

• Exposes family secrets, forgotten enemies, and buried shame

• Creates detailed psychological profile for targeted manipulation

"Behind every great hero is a repressed memory—and now it's mine."

[Intestinal Rebellion Elixir] - 300 VP

• Colorless, odorless powder causing uncontrollable bowel movements

• Target loses all control

• Effects last 2-6 hours 

"A heroic legacy, flushed in real time."

[Protagonist Nerf Protocol] - 1000 VP

• Temporarily suppresses target's plot armor for 72 hours

• Removes lucky coincidences and narrative protection

• Makes them vulnerable to normal consequences

"No more divine timing. Just divine retribution."

[Social Circle Corruption] - 750 VP

• Turn protagonist's closest allies against them through selective information

• Plants seeds of doubt about their methods and motivations

• Gradually isolates target from support network

"Because even heroes need friends. Especially before you take them away."

[Kryptonite Locator] - 900 VP

• Identifies protagonist's specific psychological or physical weaknesses

• Provides detailed exploitation strategies

• Updates automatically as target develops new vulnerabilities

"Everyone has a breaking point. I just find it faster."

ETC...

[PERSONAL ENHANCEMENT]

[Temporal Advantage] - 1500 VP

• Experience time 15% slower during critical negotiations or confrontations

• Enhanced reaction speed and decision-making under pressure

• Appear supernaturally perceptive and always one step ahead

"Because winning is easier when time politely slows down for you."

Essence Vitality Mastery - 600 VP

Enhanced physical stamina and energy recovery

Improved kidney and liver function through qi circulation

Maintains peak physical condition regardless of stress or age

"The body is a temple. Mine happens to be a fortress."

Charm Cultivation Technique - 700 VP

Refines personal magnetism through internal energy work

Enhances natural pheromone production and social presence

Improves voice projection and physical bearing

"Attraction isn't just psychology—it's energy made manifest."

Eternal Prime Elixir - 900 VP

Reverses physical aging by 5-10 years with permanent effect

Perfects facial symmetry and eliminates all physical flaws

Enhanced skin quality, hair thickness, and overall attractiveness

Subtle pheromone enhancement for increased social magnetism

"Age and imperfection are currencies I no longer trade in."

[CULTIVATION ENHANCEMENT SUITE]

[Spirit Root Awakening Elixir] - 1200 VP

• Artificially awaken dormant cultivation potential to mid-grade talent level

• Enables progression from Basic to Core stage cultivation

• One-time use, permanent effect on spiritual foundation

"Why be born lucky when you can buy talent?"

[Mind Cultivation Accelerator] - 900 VP

• 3x faster progression speed for Mind Cultivation techniques

• Enhanced memory palace construction and mental resilience training

• Includes basic Mind Cultivation manual (Basic to Refined stages)

"A sharp mind cuts deeper than any blade."

[Corporate Qi Mastery] - 800 VP

• Specialized Mind Cultivation technique designed for business warfare

• Enhances negotiation presence through refined aura manipulation

• Allows spirit energy infusion into contracts for binding psychological effects

• Progression: Basic → Refined → Core stages included

"Let them feel the weight of my presence in every handshake."

[Spirit Energy Cultivation Chamber] - 1100 VP

• Personal cultivation space with 5x concentrated spirit energy density

• Reduces cultivation time requirements by 60%

• Includes automated spirit fruit garden for resource generation

"Power flows to those who create the right conditions."

[Body Refinement Protocol (Executive Edition)] - 750 VP

• Gentle Body Cultivation method suitable for corporate lifestyle

• Enhanced physical durability and presence without obvious muscle bulk

• Maintains professional appearance while gaining cultivator benefits

• Progression: Basic → Refined stages (Core requires additional resources)

"Strength that doesn't show is strength that surprises."

[Cultivation Resource Network] - 650 VP

• Access to rare spirit fruits, cultivation pills, and enhancement materials

• Monthly delivery of Core-stage appropriate resources

• Includes cultivation technique library and expert consultation

"The best gardens are tended by others."

Vincent studied the options, his mind already calculating combinations and strategies. Each item represented power beyond anything he'd imagined in Tier 1. Each option also came with a humorous remark too. This was really a Corporate Villain System. Using this kind of sales strategy to have him buy these overpriced items and skills.

His eyes lingered on the cultivation section with particular interest. He'd always known spirit energy was the foundation of true power in this world, but cultivation had always seemed beyond his reach. Spirit energy pervaded everything, but it could only be used if personally refined through internal cultivation. No amount of technology could artificially infuse someone with power—it was a purely personal, spiritual journey.

There were two main cultivation paths: Mind Cultivation enhanced memory, perception, and mental resilience, perfect for leaders and manipulators. Body Cultivation focused on physical enhancement, more suited for fighters and enforcers.

The progression was clear:

➤ Basic → Refined → Core → Peak → Ascendant → Saint

Each level was further divided into:

➤ Low → Middle → High → Peak

 Most people never progressed past Basic without serious resources and talent.

Vincent had witnessed Olivia's Refined-stage Mind Cultivation firsthand—the way people unconsciously deferred to her presence during meetings, how her enhanced memory made her devastating when organizing complex schedules, her ability to manipulate subtle "logic fields" during negotiations when she accompanied him.

But here was the cruel reality: cultivation required both innate talent and external resources. Without talent, even the best spirit fruits and cultivation pills could only take someone to Core stage if they were incredibly lucky. Without resources, even a genius might struggle to reach Peak level.

This balance reinforced corporate control. Only the wealthy could afford proper cultivation infrastructure, rare natural treasures, concentrated spirit energy environments. The poor remained weak, the rich grew stronger.

"Corporate Qi Mastery," he read aloud, intrigued. The idea of infusing his personal spirit energy into contracts, making his very presence a weapon in business dealings...

His attention then shifted to the various warfare options, and Vincent's smile turned predatory. Each item was designed for the specific art of destroying some protagonist's life in wonderfully creative ways.

"The question isn't what I want," he said softly. "It's what I need first."

He was no longer just a corporate player. In a world where spirit energy separated rulers from servants, only fools ignored cultivation. Vincent's body had low grade spiritual roots and that was still better than 90% of the population in this world who had no roots but nowhere near enough for his future ambition. So he was very tempted to take [Spirit Root Awakening Elixir.]

But he also needed immediate tactical advantages—tools to handle any new protagonists who might emerge, ways to cement his control over key relationships and also to deal with the corporate entities waiting for him to falter.

He doesn't need anything from [Intelligence & Information Network] for now. He has many people who can hack into even some mid-level corporations. [Authority Aura] in [INFLUENCE & CONTROL MASTERY] was a bit tempting. 

Corporate Qi Mastery gives me supernatural business abilities, he reasoned, but the Eternal Prime Elixir gives me decades more time to use them. And in a society where beauty equals influence...

"Choices have consequences," he murmured, echoing something his father used to say. "The trick is making sure they're consequences for other people."

He smiled, though it was a bit bitter. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he liked everything he could see in the system store. Even though he was a billionaire outside, after today he could still call himself poor.

The system had given him the tools. Now it was time to use them.

[Purchase Selection Pending...] [Available VP: 1580]

[Soul Reader's Insight: Ready for use in 23 hours, 31 minutes]

"Let's just go with this," Vincent said softly

P.S.- Took a lot of brain power to form all the options and prices.