NOVEL NEXT Chapter 100: System Shop: Dark Mask
[Would Host like a backup hardcopy?]
A hard copy too?
Fuck, yes!
As long as it's free...
Madison still held the pink card, now transformed into a matte gunmetal grey that looked like it belonged to some off-the-books government assassin. But the system was saying something else entirely.
Before I could even finish the thought, I felt a faint shhhk in my pocket—like a whisper of wind folding around metal. I reached in.
Another card.
Identical.
Cool. Sleek. Heavy. Real.
'Okay, system, you're not a complete scammer. That was actually... generous.'
[Host is shameless with praise when receiving free items.]
Thank you for the compliment.
The sarcasm was noted, ignored, and archived. I was in too good a mood to care.
The girls had already exploded out of the car vicinity like a glitter bomb detonation, practically leaving behind a perfume trail in their wake. Shopping bags were only a concept now, but judging by the energy radiating off them, we'd be walking out with enough material to clothe a mid-sized kingdom.
While they plotted their fashion conquest, I stayed leaning against the vehicle like the brooding support character everyone underestimates. Internally, though?
I was knee-deep in System Shop: Wearables Division. The real candy store.
Let's see what kind of gear a modern-day shadow genius needs…
The system shop's Wearables section unfolded before me like the weapons locker of a futuristic rogue—sleek, menacing, and dripping with possibility. I scrolled past mundane gadgets and flashy gimmicks, until I landed on something that made my upgraded brain tick harder:
[Quantum Smartwatch: 400 SPReal-time quantum processing core with adaptive interface. Capable of hosting Advanced Artificial Intelligence. Includes encrypted communication channels, live hacking nodes, and micro-command injection protocols. Designed to be the brain's extension—fast, silent, secure.]
My fingers hovered over the listing.
This... this was it.
The perfect cradle for what I was planning.
No one knows it yet, but I'd already started blueprinting something on the side—a custom-built Advanced AI. Not some off-the-shelf assistant with a cute name and weather updates. No. This one would be a companion. A second brain. Conversational, evolving, capable of code-injection, surveillance analysis, even synthetic decision-making. My own digital ghost in the machine.
Problem was, no smartphone could hold it. Too heavy. Too advanced. But this?
This watch was practically designed for it.
I tapped the listing without hesitation.
This wasn't just a watch. It was a sanctuary—for my personal AI I was building.
Not a glorified assistant. Not a Siri or Alexa knockoff.
I was coding something alive. Something that would evolve with me. A strategic ally. A digital shadow with a voice of its own, capable of controlling drones, breaking into security grids, whispering intel mid-mission—all while sounding like a sarcastic bastard if I programmed it right.
Smartphones and laptops were too weak. They'd fry under the AI's weight. But this watch?This was the temple where it would sit.
[Stealth Suit: 800 SP]Nanoweave construction. Grants full-body invisibility for 30 minutes. Integrated climate regulation ensures optimal internal temperature during operations. Wears like silk, deflects like steel.]
A walking ghost. The stuff of spy legends and hacker wet dreams. Expensive, yes—but worth every point if I was going to keep disappearing from both surveillance and suspicion.
[Neural Interface Glasses: 600 SP]Full-spectrum augmented reality. Real-time overlays. Live blueprint schematics. Heat signature tracking. Facial recognition jamming field. Tactical feeds streamed directly into the eye.]
Slick. Functional. And with the right AI linked through the smartwatch, I could have tactical overlays, dynamic scans, and live extraction routes displayed before I even stepped into danger.
[Voice Modulation Tie: 300 SPHigh-thread-count silk, embedded with voice mod tech. Lets you speak in any vocal tone, mimic any voice, or become completely untraceable. Professional. Lethal. Undeniably cool.]
All tools of a ghost who walked in the open, stole from the elite, and disappeared like a shadow on command.
But it was that watch—my AI's future home—that made my heart beat faster.
I wasn't just shopping.
I was preparing for war.
[CognitiveLink Earbuds: 450 SP]Neural-synced microbuds. Designed for silent communication with linked AI systems. Intercepts subvocal signals and thought-commands, allowing real-time exchange without a single spoken word. Encrypted. Undetectable. Integrates seamlessly with Enhanced Smartwatch.]
My breath caught.
These weren't just earbuds.
They were telepathy for the digital age.
No movement. No voice. Just a thought—and my AI would hear me.I could ask for building schematics, trigger a drone strike, or check thermal feeds—all while smiling politely in a boardroom.
The world would think I was listening to music.They'd never hear the war whispering in my mind.
This was it.
The Operator's Loadout.
My shadow arsenal.Not for style. Not for show.But for the empire I was about to build—and the chaos I planned to unleash.
Jesus.
This stuff costs more than some people's cars.
And then—there it was.
Tucked in like a footnote.
Affordable. Understated.
Deadly perfect.
[Dark Mask: 200 SP
Description: Designed for complete anonymity operations. Upon wearing, Host's facial features become invisible and untraceable by CCTV cameras and will not appear in any digital videos or photographs. Additional: Mask can transform from full face coverage hard mask to simple face mask configurations.]
I stared at the description for a second too long. My cognition was already running a hundred simulations per second.
This wasn't just cool.
This was essential.
This was the difference between Peter Carter, suspiciously lucky trader and Dark Lord, digital ghost with a vendetta.
No CCTV footage.
No digital evidence.
No face. No trail. No compromise.
This was exactly what I needed for what was coming.
Exactly what I needed for her.
Because I hadn't come to La Cherie today for retail therapy.
Not really.
I came to meet Charlotte Thompson—and I needed to be able to disappear like I was never there when I'm meeting her.
'System, buy the mask.'
[DING! Purchase Complete. 200 SP Deducted!]
[Dark Mask added to inventory. Would Host like to equip now?]
I felt it—the silent thump of weight in my pocket.
A phantom presence. Cold. Ready. Alive.
It felt like holding a loaded secret.
Like the first time a thief realizes the cameras don't matter anymore.
Not a weapon.
A boundary.
A veil.
And I had just become invisible.
***
A/N: Thank you for riding every high and low, every betrayal and revelation, every silence and scream. You're not just followers. You're the lifeblood that fuels every scene. Take this in—a hundred chapters. That's not luck. That's discipline. That's soul. That's obsession in its most beautiful form. And we're just getting started.
Onward to 200. Let's make legends.