Ghost Billionaire

A single overhead lamp buzzed, its pale cone of light cutting through the gloom of the windowless briefing room. Viper lounged at the head of a steel table, booted heel tapping a slow beat against the floor. When the door creaked open, his gaze lifted.

The visitor slipped inside.

Viper didn't rise, he only crooked a finger. "So—were you able to find something?" he asked, voice low, almost conversational, yet edged like broken glass.

"He is called Ghost," the masked man began, stepping into the light. "A new member. Newly awakened."

Viper's knuckles drummed once on the tabletop. "That's not what I want to know."

"If you're asking whether he comes from a well-known family—no." The man's reply quavered despite its clarity. "This was his first visit to the exchange. Only the Tian Family has vouched for his identity. To be specific, it was only Rick Tian. Not even their current patriarch said something."

Viper's head tilted, shadows sliding over the angular lines of his face. "Is he from the Tian Family?"

"No, sir. He isn't. However…" The informant swallowed. "He appears to be trying to curry favor with them. He first drew their notice at an auction weeks ago."

"So he is courting their attention." The corner of Viper's mouth curled into a predatory smile. "A lone Nexian would want protection. For a Reader, the Tians are the safest shield."

He stopped behind the masked man, voice a silk thread at the ear. "His identity?"

"We're already working on it," the man rasped.

"The Blood Moon approaches," Viper murmured. "I need a Core, a Reader's Core, to be precise."

At that, the informant kotowed, mask nearly touching the floor tiles. "I will secure it before tomorrow."

"As you should," Viper said, stepping back into the dim light. "My patience is measured in heartbeats."

The kneeling man dared a question, head bowed. "Then… what about Galactica?"

"What about him? A pup who hasn't even awakened? Without his Core, he's nothing."

"I understand," the man answered. "Then what about the Tian Family? If Rick Tian—if they knew that—"

"The Tian Family might be well known because of their abilities, but they aren't that powerful. What can they do to me?" he snorted.

The Tian clan—ha, Viper scoffed inwardly. All that prestige for a lineage of walking card catalogues. Yes, their so-called Archivist Reader gift sounded impressive in council briefs: Codex Resonance, eidetic recall of every SE pattern they touched. Useful—on paper. But in a real fight? Never.

They sniff spirit patterns in dusty scrolls, file them away like dutiful clerks, maybe mute a runic trap here and there. No firestorms, no spatial rifts, no tendon-snapping punches, just passive hums and library hush. That was why the High Council cherished them like they were living vaults—neutral, predictable. And that was exactly why Viper felt no tremor of caution.

Let them catalogue the universe, he thought, lips curling. What will their passive ability do to him? Numb his conscience?

That made him laugh.

"Besides… I don't think the Tian Family is willing to help out a guy they just met," he mumbled. The Tian Family are not just well known for being useful on paper. They are well known for being low key. They haven't had any enemies and liked to live peacefully. They directly serve the council. They do their job, and then they die.

What could people like that do to him?

Compared to them… that Ghost guy is different.

Viper smiled.

Someone that could sense Spiritual Energy. A lone Reader.

He liked the idea of that.

"You have until tonight…" he reminded the man. "I don't keep useless people by my side."

"Yes, sir."

…

Meanwhile, Matthew frowned as he looked at his bed where the ghost girl was lying. "What are you doing?" he asked. How could a ghost lie down like that? "You are in my bed," he said as he closed the door behind him.

"I am trying to—eh?" The ghost girl floated towards him, eyes wide. "You—you are alive?"

Matthew opened his mouth to answer, but the girl suddenly added,

"And you have gotten stronger! A lot stronger. Eh? Where are you going? Hey, I am talking to you!"

"I am taking a bath," he said.

The girl paused. Then she harrumphed and vanished before him. Matthew closed his eyes and let out a loud sigh.

After a quick bath, he grabbed sweatpants and a shirt and dropped to the floorboards and sat cross-legged, spine straight, palms resting on his knees. One slow breath in, one out. Soon enough, the hum of the city beyond the walls slipped away.

Tonight the Core felt… heavier. Denser. He probed gently, and the energy inside reacted—eddying, then settling around an inner orbit. Each pulse was colder than the last, as though he were dragging fingertips through ice water. But beneath the chill was a subtle thrum, almost musical, as if distant strings were being plucked.

Stronger, he realized. The ghost girl hadn't been exaggerating. In fact, it seems that he had gotten stronger again in just a few hours. The marble's surface now showed fine lattices he'd never noticed before—intricate, geometric, like microscopic runes etched in glass.

"Just what was that thing?" he recalled the thing that Dr. Muni forced him to take. That hateful old man actually did that to him! Just the thought of it made him tremble in anger.

After calming himself down, he pushed a thin stream of SE outward, mapping every corner of the estate. The floor plan snapped into his mind like a crisp blueprint: the main hall stretching thirty-odd meters end to end, guest suites stacked above the east corridor, kitchens tucked behind the dining wing.

He could sense two maids moving between the pantry and laundry room on the ground floor, another dusted portraits along the west staircase, and a fourth lingered outside the formal parlor, polishing silver. Cristoff's signature pulsed steady in the security office just off the north atrium—eyes on the monitors, unaware he'd just been pinpointed.

The range of this ability wasn't that different from the one he previously had just a few days ago. However, this one is clearer. Gritting his teeth, Matthew opened his eyes only to freeze when he saw the face of the ghost girl directly in front of him.

"What the hell are you doing!?" he asked.