Year 2, Month 5 — Solara Industrial Zone (Sector 9)
A forgotten warehouse.
Steel doors bolted.
Interior wired with silent sensors, armed drones, and one custom chair.
Damon sat in the dark — mask on, shirt off.
Scars gone.
Muscles sharper than steel.
His blood now ran in patterns — a mix of ancient dragon, vampire warline, and lycan alpha.
"Time to build. No attachments. No traces."
"Only power… and profit."
Check-In – Base Command Node, Night Pulse Active
Check-In Complete
– Reward: $12,500
– Bonus Passive: "Hustler's Drive"
→ Money now stacks passively from all hidden contracts, black crypto funnels, and AI-driven laundering
Current Balance: $459,000
Monthly Passive Income: $93,000
Crew Formation Activated
Rico "Stitch" Alvarez — Courier, Tech Recon
New Recruit: Vix N'gala — Ex-assassin, merc turned smuggler
– Specialty: Weapons, routes, no loyalty to anyone but cash
– Loyalty Level: 45%
– Flagged: "Unstable but valuable"
Team Name: Phantom String Tier 0
Narration – Damon's Strategy
He didn't recruit friends.
Didn't look for family.
He built with loyal fear, bought silence, and fed desperation.
In three months:
7 smuggling routes reopened
3 rival gangs absorbed
1 black-market clinic began laundering under his crypto front
2 assassination contracts executed, flawlessly
Each time?
No camera.
No name.
No face.
Only a Dragon-emblazoned bullet left behind.
Meanwhile – Nova's Private Hunt Begins
In her St. Monarch dorm, Nova traced a heat signature ping connected to a Vatican ghost op.
"Only one man moves like this," she muttered.
But every trace? Gone.
Every step closer?
Another layer vanished.
It was like chasing fog that burned when touched.
She looked at her ring — the one Damon gave her before his "death."
"You're alive. I know it.
But you don't want to be found…"
Her voice broke.
"So I'll wait.
But I won't wait forever."
Final Scene – Test Run
Damon and Rico sat across from Vix at an illegal trade auction.
Tense air. Everyone armed.
Vix placed a crate of prototype weapons on the table.
"My loyalty costs more than talk," she said.
Damon leaned in.
Whispered just once.
"I don't pay for loyalty.
I build empires.
Join, or be swallowed."
Vix stared.
Then nodded.
And in that moment?
Phantom String became real.