Chapter 153: Did I slaughter your family in a past life?

Chapter 153: 153: Did I slaughter your family in a past life?

The midday sun beat down mercilessly against the glass facade of the Doon Private Café, casting long, sharp shadows across the street. Inside, the establishment offered a stark, tranquil contrast to the chaotic energy of the outside world. Soft jazz murmured from hidden speakers, and the air carried the rich, aromatic notes of freshly brewed roasted coffee beans.

?Nova stepped through the threshold, her piercing blue eyes sweeping over the quiet interior with an air of calculated detachment. The absence of crowds pleased her. It was an ideal setting for what was about to unfold.

?A moment later, her gaze locked onto a corner table near the floor-to-ceiling windows. Adam was already seated there, anxiously tapping his fingers against the polished wood. The second he caught sight of her, his tense posture instantly vanished. He stood up, offering a polite, hesitant wave, a gentle smile gracing his features.

?"Right here," he called out softly, his voice cutting through the ambient hum of the café.

?Nova walked toward him with unhurried, graceful strides. Before Adam could display his manners and pull out the chair for her, she smoothly withdrew it herself and sank into the seat. She tossed her school bag onto the center of the table with a soft thud, then neatly intertwined her fingers, resting her forearms on the surface. Her posture was relaxed yet guarded.

?"Okay, I am here. What is this about?" Nova questioned, her tone lacking any warmth, her gaze fixed entirely on him with an expressionless, chilling focus.

?Adam smiled faintly, taking a seat opposite her so they were face-to-face. He swallowed hard, adjusting his collar before speaking. "Freeman," he murmured.

?The moment the name left his lips, the air in the immediate vicinity dropped several degrees. The temperature shift was unnatural, accompanied by a faint, static hum that prickled the skin.

?Right beside Adam, the ambient light violently distorted. A towering, shifting silhouette materialized out of thin air—a shadowy, semi-transparent entity devoid of distinct facial features, radiating a low, pulsing vibration.

?Nova stared at the manifestation, her face remaining entirely unreadable. Inside her consciousness, however, Anah flickered to life, materializing beside her with a sharp, incredulous frown.

?"Hell no," she muttered, her eyes narrowing as she locked onto the entity.

?Nova spared Anah a brief, sideways glance before shifting her attention back to Adam, still refusing to utter a word.

?Adam leaned forward, his eyes wide with a mix of desperation and hope. "Can... can you see him?"

?Before Nova could respond, the shadowy figure spoke, its voice sounding like grinding static and hollow echoes. "She can see me."

?Adam let out a ragged, long-overdue sigh of relief. "What I need your help with is... I need you to help me upgrade him. He has been trapped at this exact threshold for years. His core abilities have severely degraded simply because he lacks the data and pathways to evolve." His innocent, boyish expression peeled away entirely, replaced by a raw, naked desperation as he stared across the table at Nova.

?Nova slowly turned her attention back to the shadowy entity, her eyes analytical and cold. "I cannot scan him," she thought inwardly.

?"Of course you cannot; this thing is an anomalous system bug," Anah replied, floating closer to the entity and narrowing her eyes as she inspected its chaotic data streams. "Which rogue developer or lost timeline spawned this abomination? And more importantly, it is completely untethered from a primary host life-cycle."

?"A system bug," Nova murmured .

?"Mhm?" The shadowy figure shifted, its form rippling as if turning to study her directly. "You diagnosed that rather quickly, female demon," it remarked, its tone dripping with dry amusement.

?A cold smirk touched Nova’s lips. She looked back at Adam. "You brought me here to ask me to patch and update a rogue system bug?" she asked, her voice carrying a dangerous, razor-sharp edge. "Do you have any comprehension of how catastrophically dangerous this thing is? Had it managed to evolve independently over these past few years, it would have torn the delicate balance of this world apart. And you... you have been feeding it data, nurturing it until it birthed its own autonomous consciousness."

?Adam bit his lower lip, wringing his hands beneath the table. "He is not dangerous! I swear it. Everything I have achieved, every ounce of survival I secured after my family discarded me—it is all thanks to him. He has never harmed me; he has only ever protected me."

?Nova let out a cold, humorless laugh. "To you, perhaps, he is a protector. But to the rest of the world, he is an extinction-level threat. If I initiate an upgrade right now, let me make one thing crystal clear: not only will it be hunted down, but you and your entire digital and physical existence will become the primary target of every major security firewall on the grid. Within a week, your career, your life, and this thing will be utterly obliterated." She leaned in, her eyes flashing with malice. "That is, assuming I do not decide to erase it right this second. You are playing a catastrophically high-stakes game just by showing it to me."

?Adam flinched.

"?I told you," the shadowy entity chimed in, its static voice laced with disdain. "This female demon will not extend a helping hand out of the goodness of her heart. She is completely, utterly heartless. I genuinely fail to understand how she managed to ensnare those powerful men without attaching strings."

?Nova blinked, her expression blank. "Are you insulting me, or attempting to pay me a compliment?" she asked, staring flatly at the apparition.

?"Neither. And stop referring to me as an ’it.’ I am male; I possess a designated gender," the entity retorted stiffly.

?Nova let out an amused chortle."A rogue system bug claiming gender identity? This world is truly spinning off its axis," she thought, shaking her head lightly. Aloud, she said, "I do not have a fundamental problem upgrading him... but my services are never free. I have conditions."

?Adam’s eyes instantly lit up, a brilliant surge of hope overriding his previous terror. "Whatever you want! Name it, and I will give it to you—money, resources, absolute loyalty. Just name it!"

?"Nova, think this through very carefully," Anah warned urgently, materializing closer. "If you forcefully upgrade a rogue bug of this magnitude, it could trigger cascading anomalies across the network."

?"Hn? What kind of serious anomalies?" Nova asked mentally, her face remain blank.

?"Honestly? I cannot say for certain," Anah admitted honestly, casting a wary glare at Freeman. "But upgrading an unindexed system bug is unprecedented territory."

?Nova remained silent for a beat, weighing the variables. "Will it jeopardize my men?" she queried sharply.

?"Absolutely not," Anah replied with unwavering confidence. "You have my absolute guarantee on that front."

?"Very well," Nova hummed internally. She shifted her gaze back to the desperate Adam across from her. "Your family... I am given to understand they are a prominent Mafia dynasty. I intend to dismantle and conquer them. You do not harbor any objections to that, do you?"

?Adam’s hopeful smile faltered, freezing on his face. "If you conquer them... what will happen to my relatives?"

?"They will be reduced to absolute submission beneath my banner. I have no intention of sparing those who stand in my way," Nova replied smoothly, her dark, chilling smile widening.

?"You... you know my family is a powerful syndicate, which means you already dug into my background," Adam stammered, realization dawning on him. "You want to leverage my lineage and my power base as well?"

?"That is entirely unacceptable!" the shadowy entity snapped fiercely, flaring up in a protective stance over Adam. "Female demon, you are pushing your demands far past reasonable limits! Adam was legally and socially severed from that family years ago; he holds no power over them anymore!"

?Nova glared at the apparition. "You keep hurling that title at me—’female demon.’ Did I slaughter your family in a past life?" she asked, genuinely perplexed by the hostility.

?"You did not," the entity answered flatly.

?"Then why persist with the childish title?"

?"Tsk. You radiate a suffocating, violent aura—the densest scent of fresh blood I have ever encountered," Freeman stated coldly. "For anyone to carry that much residual crimson signature, they must have massacred thousands. I strongly suspect—never mind. The point stands: you reek of violence."

?Nova narrowed her eyes. "You..." She let out a dry breath. "...possess an entirely obnoxious bloodhound’s nose."

?The shadowy figure turned slightly away, folding its semi-solid arms. "If you insist on stripping Adam of his only remaining leverage, then our negotiations conclude here. We will take our leave."

?Nova chuckled softly, unbothered.

?"Freeman, be quiet!" Adam scolded sharply, his voice cracking with anxiety. He turned back to Nova, his expression resolute. "I do not care about that wretched family. If you want my power too, take them all. I accept your condition."

?"Adam!" the entity protested in a surge of static.

?Adam ignored his companion entirely, leaning across the table. "You mentioned that he—will be hunted if he undergoes the upgrade without protection. Can you ensure his safety as well?"

?"It is not just him... you too; your entire public profile and career will be flagged, which was my initial point," Nova clarified coolly. "And I have zero interest in your petty power alone; my appetite is infinitely larger than that. As for providing cryptographic cloaking so his upgrade goes entirely undetected by higher-tier firewalls... that requires a completely separate, much heavier toll."

?Adam fell silent. His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists together, wrestling with the terrifying gravity of the bargain.

?"What are you plotting now?" Anah muttered telepathically, watching Nova with narrowed eyes.

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