From Trash to Tycoon: The Shenhao Rise

Location: NovaVerse Global Headquarters – Singapore

A week had passed since the Dubai Ghost Market incident.

The Ares Protocol was now fully integrated into Bai Chen's empire. With it, NovaVerse could secure its network, block attacks, and even launch stealth counter-offensives on Black Nine's assets. But victory came at a cost: the enemy had gone quiet—and silence from people like them was never a good thing.

In a sleek black suit and silver tie, Bai Chen stood on the 98th floor of NovaVerse Tower, watching the city buzz far below. The war had shifted. No more sniper shots or physical confrontations.

Now, it was a battle of minds.

System Prompt: New Threat Detected

⚠️ Passive Scan: High-Grade Interference Detected in Asia-Pacific Node

Suspicious Activity: Unauthorized deep-link attempt traced to Beijing Financial Net

Status: Encrypted Attack Attempt

Origin: Unknown

Potential Culprit: Liu Yuxi

🧠 Suggested Action: Deploy "Queen's Gambit" counterplay

Requires: Ye Qingyue

Scene Shift: Royal City Hotel – Ye Qingyue's Private Office

Bai Chen hadn't seen Ye Qingyue in days. The last time they spoke, she'd walked out of a business gala after seeing photos of him and Lin Yuwei in Dubai.

Despite being cold and calculating, she wasn't immune to jealousy—especially when feelings she'd buried began to surface.

When Bai Chen entered her office, she barely looked up from her laptop.

"You finally remembered me?" she asked.

He sat without asking.

"I need your help."

She raised a brow, folding her arms. "Oh? You didn't ask Lin Yuwei or Nadia? Aren't they your go-to harem assistants now?"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "You're not just part of the team. You're the queen of data warfare."

A beat of silence passed.

Then, she sighed. "What do you want?"

The Mission Plan

Bai Chen tapped a button on his smart ring. A 3D holo-projection lit up the room—Black Nine's infiltration patterns, hidden data nodes, and the location of a mirrored server buried under Beijing's finance grid.

Qingyue leaned in, studying it.

"You think Liu Yuxi is behind this?"

"I don't think. I know."

She stared at him. "What makes you so sure she'd go this far?"

"She's always wanted power more than love. But now… she wants revenge too."

Ye Qingyue's lips thinned.

"Fine," she said. "But if we do this, I lead the mission."

Bai Chen smiled. "Then lead like a queen."

System Update: Queen's Gambit Activated

💠 Mission: "Queen's Gambit"

Objective: Ye Qingyue will lead a remote-data warfare op to expose the hidden Black Nine node and burn Liu Yuxi's connection.

Team Role: Bai Chen – Front-end distraction via financial press; Qingyue – Deep net combat

Reward: Black Nine's China server disabled + full public redemption of Qingyue

💘 Romantic Flag Triggered: "Alone Against the World" Scene

Day of the Operation

As scheduled, Bai Chen gave a controversial interview on a major news channel, declaring:

"NovaVerse will not bow to shadow investors. Those who play in the dark… will be dragged into the light."

While the media exploded, Ye Qingyue launched the operation.

She sat in a dark room, fingers flying over a holographic keyboard, tracing digital pulses, disrupting proxies, and cracking firewalls.

Sweat beaded on her temple. The Black Nine node fought back, launching fake data swarms and AI illusions.

But she wasn't just smart. She was ruthless.

With a single keystroke, she triggered a worm program—one that shattered the mirror node into data dust.

✅ Black Nine Node Destroyed

📉 Liu Yuxi's East-Asia influence -65%

🧠 NovaVerse Network Reinforced

💘 Ye Qingyue Relationship: 66% → 81%

Later That Night – Rooftop Balcony

The stars above Singapore twinkled softly as Bai Chen and Qingyue stood alone on the rooftop of NovaVerse Tower.

He handed her a glass of chilled champagne.

"To the queen of the battlefield," he said.

She took it, smirking faintly.

"Don't flatter me. I didn't do it for you."

"No?" he asked. "Why then?"

She looked at the city.

"For myself. For all the times I stayed quiet. For all the times I let others control the narrative."

Then she looked at him.

"And maybe... for the only man who ever dared to challenge me."

They stood quietly for a moment.

Then she leaned against his shoulder.

"Just promise me something," she said softly.

"Anything."

"When we finally crush Black Nine… I want to be there. Beside you. Not behind you."

He touched her hand gently.

"You already are."

System Update: Romantic Scene Unlocked

💘 Special Bond Deepened: Ye Qingyue – "The Ice Strategist"

🧠 Trait Unlocked: "Power Couple" – +15% efficiency when planning business or digital warfare missions together

💎 Relationship Status: [On the Edge] – Physical intimacy available starting next arc

Final Scene: Incoming Threat

Suddenly, the system chimed with a red pulse.

🚨 URGENT MISSION ALERT

New Global Threat Detected – Classified as "The Black Veil Project"

Origin: Unknown Black Nine lab

Location: Monaco

Objective: Prevent launch of digital virus that can erase digital wealth worldwide.

Bai Chen stared at the screen.

"Looks like our war is just beginning."