Chapter 577: The Empty Hands

“Alright, chat, we’re in the clear,” Xavier whispered to the camera, his voice low and soothing. “The CEO is getting checked out, and my team is just making sure these ‘witnesses’ stay calm. It’s been a long night, but look at that view.”

[ Viewers: 4.2 Billion… ]

[ StarGazer99: Xav, check their pockets while the cops aren’t looking! ]

[ VoidWalker: Those three look like they’ve seen a ghost. ]

Xavier signaled Reva with a subtle tilt of his head. He stepped away from the drones’ recording radius, allowing them to focus on the scenic skyline while he entered the sound-dampened corner where the mutineers were huddled.

‘Time to claim the biological keys and get to that vault,’ Xavier thought, his expression shifting from the “charming streamer” to the cold strategist.

“The party is over,” Xavier said, his voice dropping to a dangerous chill. “Lorde thinks we’re heroes, but you three know exactly who I am. Hand over the biological key fragments now, and I might forget to tell the enforcers that you were the ones who leaked the penthouse security codes.”

The lead mutineer, a man with a frantic twitch in his cybernetic eye, looked up at Xavier with pure despair. “We… we don’t have them.”

Xavier’s eyes narrowed. Reva stepped forward, her fangs baring slightly in a silent threat.

“Don’t lie to me,” Xavier warned. “You were the ones holding the biometric data for the subterranean vault. Lorde’s own logs confirmed it.”

“Malakor!” the man stammered, nearly falling off the sofa. “He contacted us before the gala. He said if we didn’t hand over the data cylinders to his ‘courier’—the lead assassin—he’d have our families spaced. We gave them up ten minutes before the chandeliers blew! Malakor has the keys! He played all of us!”

Xavier went still. ‘The snake didn’t just want Lorde dead; he wanted the vault for himself. He used us as a distraction to secure the codes.’

Before he could react, the doors to the diagnostic suite hissed open. Lorde walked out, draped in a luxurious silk recovery robe. His face was flushed with a mixture of rage and adrenaline. He ignored his cowering former employees and walked straight to Xavier.

“Captain,” Lorde barked, his cybernetic eye pulsing red. “My intelligence team just intercepted a transmission. Malakor is bragging to the board members. He has the vault keys, and he’s planning to move on the bank assets within the hour under the guise of ‘securing’ them after the attack.”

Lorde gripped Xavier’s arm, his voice shaking with fury. “That bastard tried to kill me and steal my legacy. I want him erased. Not just killed—I want his entire conglomerate dismantled live on your broadcast.”

Xavier felt the system interface pulse in his mind. This was the opening he needed.

“I’m a streamer, Lorde,” Xavier said, playing his part. “A raid on a corporate headquarters is a bit outside my usual content.”

“I don’t care about your content!” Lorde snapped. “I will grant you full legal immunity. I will give you the master override for the subterranean bank vault as a ‘security consultancy fee.’ And I will pay you one hundred million USC the moment Malakor’s head hits the floor.”

[ New Quest: The Corporate Decapitation ]

[ Objective: Raid Malakor’s HQ & Retrieve Vault Keys ]

[ Reward: Subterranean Bank Access & 100M USC ]

Xavier looked at the streaming drones and then back at Lorde. A slow, predatory grin spread across his face.

“Well, Lorde, if you’re offering to sponsor the stream,” Xavier said, his voice regaining its charismatic lilt. He turned to the drones and raised his voice for the billions of viewers. “Chat, you heard the man! We’re not going home yet. We have a corporate headquarters to storm, a traitor to catch, and a whole lot of explosions to document. Vanguard, gear up. We’re going to Malakor’s front door.”

Xalvoria stood up from her chair, smoothing her crimson dress. Her golden eyes glowed with a bored, yet lethal intensity. ‘Finally. A target worth incinerating.’

“Rin, Klatos, Reva,” Xavier commanded, his eyes flashing with Golden Authority. “Lorde is providing us with a heavy combat transport. We’re dropping directly onto Malakor’s executive balcony. Let’s show the galaxy what happens when someone tries to steal from us.”

Xavier adjusted his silver half-mask and gave the hovering drones a bright, completely innocent smile. To the billions of viewers tuning in, he was just a wealthy entertainer caught in a wild corporate war, merely documenting the ‘bounty’ Lorde had legally authorized.

“Alright, chat,” Xavier said, keeping his voice light as the crew rode a maintenance elevator deep beneath the Apex Conglomerate Spire. “CEO Lorde gave us official clearance to execute a corporate warrant on Malakor. I am just here to document the process while my highly professional security team handles the paperwork.”

[ Stream Viewers: 5.1 Billion… ]

[ CreditWhale: ‘Handles the paperwork’ LMAO. They are literally carrying rocket launchers. ]

[ NeonQueen: Wait, look at the background! Did he just hack the city?! ]

Through the glass shaft of the elevator, the sprawling skyline of Vandermis Aventine flashed in the background.

Every massive holographic billboard across the entertainment district suddenly glitched. s for luxury hover-cars and synthetic perfumes vanished, replaced by the audio logs and security footage Lorde’s intelligence team had compiled, exposing Malakor’s assassination attempt.

The entire city descended into immediate, distracted panic, pulling corporate enforcers away from the Spire to manage the riots in the streets.

Of course, Xavier didn’t know how to hack. It was all Reva’s doing and Viola helped a little to pull it off.

What good can a show be if there was no trailer before the launch?

“Oops,” Xavier chuckled into the camera. “Looks like someone leaked the evidence. Now, let’s go serve that warrant.”

The elevator doors chimed and slid open to reveal the spire’s automated defense grid. Dozens of sleek, experimental security mechs locked their targeting lasers onto the crew.

‘These machines look expensive,’ Xavier thought, casually stepping back behind Requiem. ‘Let’s put on a good show.’

“Guys, clear a path to the boardroom,” Xavier ordered, holding his hands up for the camera in mock helplessness. “Keep me safe, guys!”