Chapter Two

"Honey, wait a minute, I'm going to the restroom, I'll send it to you right away."

I smiled at her and turned to walk to the end of the corridor.

Emilia called out sweetly from behind, "Hurry up, darling, don't keep young master Julian waiting."

I didn't turn around.

Close the door and lock it.

Leaning against the sink, I looked down at my hands. They were still trembling—not entirely from hatred, but from the exhaustion after the adrenaline receded. The way I'd smiled at Emilia just now—the muscles at the corners of my mouth had practically been forced open.

The person in the mirror was pale, with bloodshot eyes.

But the look in my eyes is wrong. In my previous life, my eyes had that gentle, honest quality typical of a kind person. Now, these eyes are like knives that have been tempered by fire.

I took out my phone.

In the Abyss Era backstage, the bio-binding program costs $10,000. The $200,000 "preparatory funds" Julian gave me are still lying in the account. He thought this money was bait to lure me in, but little did he know, I'd be pulling the fishing rod away too.

Top up your account. Fingerprint confirmation.

The camera flashed red, and a cold, electronic voice sounded:

[Iris scan complete. Fingerprint registration complete. Live DNA sampling complete. Your account has been physiologically bound at the highest level; any forced login from any device will be permanently blocked.]

I looked at the line of green text and let out a long breath.

After washing my hands, I pushed open the door and went out.

Emilia remained standing there, holding her phone to her chest like a cat waiting to be fed.

"I've sent it to you," I said casually, typing out a string of gibberish and sending it over.

She glanced down, a wide grin immediately spreading across her face, her fingers flying across the screen. Her fingernails tapped softly against the glass.

"You're so wonderful, my love!"

I'm so good.

I turned around so she wouldn't see the expression on my face.

——

I went into the inner room and called Leo over.

He pushed the door open and came in, holding a half-full cup of Americano, with a brown stain running down the side of the cup.

"Boss, you were looking for me?"

I took a USB drive out of my pocket and pushed it in front of him.

"This is a walkthrough for the [Absolute Defense] dungeon. The skill timings for each boss are accurate to the second."

Leo's pupils contracted slightly, and his fingers tightened on the cup.

How did you know?

I didn't answer.

“You lead the team to fight.” I said in a low voice, “After killing the BOSS, the ‘Absolute Defense’ ring that drops must not be given to Julian. Seal it away and transfer it to my private encrypted vault.”

Leo's hand paused for a moment. The coffee sloshed and splashed onto the back of his hand.

"But what about young master Julian..."

"I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong. Do as I say. Understand?"

His Adam's apple bobbed as he gripped the USB drive tightly in his hand.

"Understood, boss."

——

In the evening, I returned to my apartment.

As I pushed open the door, a pungent perfume scent wafted out. Emilia was sitting on the sofa, fiddling with her nails. Seeing me, she immediately sprang to her feet and scurried over in her slippers.

"Aidan~ you're finally back!"

She reached out to take my arm. I stepped aside and took off my coat, hanging it on the hanger.

"What's wrong?" Her expression froze for a moment, then quickly returned to its coquettish tone. "Honey, the game is about to update. I've got my eye on the 'Star Goddess' outfit and a set of top-tier jewelry. Can you transfer me ten thousand US dollars? I've already talked to my best friend about it."

She showed a screenshot on her phone—the Julian Guild's watermark was still hanging in the corner.

Looking at that screenshot, I suddenly found it laughable.

In my past life, I gave her my salary card. I never asked her what she bought.

Looking back now, she probably just saw this place as a hotel where she could eat and stay for free and also act as an undercover agent for Julian.

"I have no money."

"What?" Her voice rose a half octave. "Julian just gave you 100,000 in preparation funds two days ago! You won't even give me 10,000?"

"Think what you want." I walked past her. "There's an important dungeon tonight, don't bother me."

"Aidan! You stop right there!"

She stomped her foot behind her, the slippers hitting the floor with a dull thud.

"Where are you going? The master bedroom is just ahead!"

"Starting today, we will sleep in separate rooms."

Bang.

I closed the guest room door.

There was a two-second silence outside the door, followed by the sound of her slamming a sofa cushion. Then came the sound of her phone keying—probably "reporting" to Julian.

I'm too lazy to listen.

Plug in the power and put on the gaming headset.

Vision was plunged into darkness.

——Abyss Era Login Screen——

[Iris recognition successful.]

Welcome back, Blade of Dawn!

of entering the [Absolute Defense] instance , I opened the hidden area on the map that had never been explored in my previous life.

SSS-rank hidden dungeon: [Destroy Everything]