"Alright," Kael said. "I'll grant access permissions to the [Crimson Bloom] members, too." He was about to head to the Land of the Behemoth's teleport nexus to configure it when Elon grabbed his arm, his expression serious.

  "Boss, just hear me out for a second."

  Kael stopped and looked at him.

  "I know you all conquered that Hidden Realm together," Elon began, "but everyone knows you were the one leading the charge. The others were just there to help. You should compensate them for their assistance—ten million, even a hundred million would be reasonable. But giving their entire guild unlimited free access? I strongly advise against it."

  Kael looked at Elon, signaling for him to continue.

  "From your perspective, you're doing them a huge favor," Elon explained. "But they won't see it that way. The more you give them, the more they'll feel entitled to it. In time, if you ever stop giving them special treatment, they'll turn on you.

  Furthermore, to the thousands of other guilds and organizations out there, it will look like blatant favoritism. In the long run, that kind of behavior will damage your credibility and even tarnish Arbazon's reputation."

  Kael listened patiently. He knew Elon was right. Unconditional generosity towards a single group often backfired.

  Finally, he nodded in agreement. "Okay, I won't give Crimson Bloom full access for now. But I still want to work out a revenue split for the Land of the Behemoth. I was thinking: 50% for me, 10% each for Lila, Rena, Hazel, and Orion…"

  Elon sighed. "Boss, do you have any idea how much money you'd be leaving on the table with a deal like that? If I were you, I'd offer them a lump sum of ten, even a hundred million, as a one-time buyout."

  Kael smiled. "The last 10% was for you."

  He expected Elon, a man who lived and breathed profit, to light up. Instead, he just shook his head. "I can't accept that. A structure like that is terrible for Arbazon's growth. If I'm involved, I have to represent the company. Let me revise your plan: you take 50%. Lila, Rena, Hazel, and Orion get 5% each. And [Arbazon] gets a 30% operational stake. What do you think?"

  Kael considered it. It was a solid plan. He nodded. "We'll do it your way. So, what are you thinking for the entry fee?"

  "I'll need to assess the situation on the ground, but for an initial price… I'm thinking one hundred thousand dollars a day."

  "A hundred grand a day? For a grinding spot? We're not selling luxury cars here."

  "No," Elon said, his eyes sharp. "At this stage of the game, exclusive access is a luxury good. And it's worth every penny."

  Seeing Elon's absolute confidence, Kael sighed. When it came to making money, it was best to leave it to the professionals. They spent another hour hashing out the details before Kael logged off to rest.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  The moment Elon received administrative permissions for the teleport nexus, he didn't enter the zone. Instead, he began drafting a contract titled: ["Land of the Behemoth" Joint Development & Operation Agreement].

  Kael climbed out of the gaming pod and touched his bandaged arm. The wound didn't hurt anymore, but it was starting to itch—a sure sign of healing.

  The pod's bioregulation functions were definitely having a positive effect. He thought about the future tech timeline. The first-generation nutrition pods, which would solve the problem of eating, were still a year away. The sleep-enabled gaming pods wouldn't appear for another three.

  After a late dinner, he bypassed his bedroom and went up to the third-floor terrace. He lay back in a wicker lounge chair, watching the stars and contemplating his life outside the game.

  His actions had completely derailed the original timeline concerning Lila. By traveling back ten years, he had inevitably created butterfly effects. He had assumed the Mordant family would be crippled by the failed marriage alliance, but instead, they had made a fortune by shorting the Whitmore family's stock.

  Could he just let them go? Kael was conflicted. In his past life, Caleb had been the one to blind Lila. But in this life, he hadn't done it yet. Punishing him for a crime he had yet to commit seemed wrong.

  Besides, in all of his own clashes with Caleb, Kael had crushed him with overwhelming force. From an outsider's perspective, he was starting to feel like the villain. He decided to put the Mordant family on the back burner for now.

  Then there was the Whitmore family. Edmund had no talent or political connections of his own; his entire rise was propped up by Becky and Paige. With them gone, the Whitmore family was no longer a threat. Paige, however, was a slightly more complicated loose end. Her father was a former state governor. Though retired, he undoubtedly had old subordinates who might stir up trouble out of loyalty.

  On paper, Paige had been killed by police while resisting arrest for endangering public safety. But conspiracy theories were inevitable, and some would eventually point the finger at Lila.

  He needed to flex the Carrington family's muscle a bit, to remind people of his powerful friends.

  Having made up his mind, Kael picked up his phone and placed a video call to Ben. A moment later, Ben's face appeared on the screen. "What's up?"

  The background looked familiar. "Where are you?" Kael asked. "Is that Minute Maid Park behind you?"

  Ben angled the camera slightly. "Yep, that's the one."

  As the camera moved, Kael froze. A figure flashed across the screen for just a second. Why is that person with him? He quickly shook off the thought and forced a smile. "You're in Houston and you didn't call me? What, am I not important enough for you?"

  "Just passing through," Ben said. "Heading back to New York soon. Did you need something?"

  "Our company, Arbazon, has been up and running for a while now, but we've done zero promotion. What do you think about setting a date, throwing some kind of celebration event?"

  Ben scoffed. "A celebration for a virtual company? It's all in-game stuff, we don't need to do any real-world PR. Let's just skip it…"

  Ben trailed off, his eyes suddenly darting to the side. His expression immediately became more serious. He cleared his throat and changed his tune. "Alright, you got it. We'll do it your way. I'll organize the whole thing. Do you have a specific date in mind?"

  "No, just as soon as possible," Kael said.

  Ben glanced off-screen again. "One month… oh, no no, how about one week from now?"

  Kael nodded. They chatted for another minute before hanging up.

  The moment the call ended, Ben turned to the person beside him, looking puzzled. "Sis, is this really that important? Why the big rush?"

  Thea stood before him, looking at her younger brother with an amused smile, but offered no explanation. Instead, she turned to a woman standing silently beside her. "You've been doing excellent work recently. Thank you for your diligence."

  The woman inclined her head slightly.

  If Lila had been there, she would have been utterly shocked. It was the woman who had been by her side for years: Gable.