Chapter 309: New Mission
The buzzing sound of the artifact car was little more than barely audible background noise as its enchanted engine carried them smoothly through unconventional paths no normal car could follow.
Kaiden leaned back into the plush leather, both arms relaxed on his knees. At least, that was the case until Aria claimed the hand closer to her.
The girl had practically made his hand hers, plopping it onto her lap with zero reservations. She toyed with his fingers, tangling and untangling them while humming a cheery tune under her breath. Her cheeks still glowed faintly red from all the running, sparring, and laughter she had shared with her old colleagues earlier.
If joy could be bottled, Ariaâs smile would have been it. She was radiant, bouncing slightly in her seat like a child who couldnât sit still, though the tight yoga pants she wore and the soft swell of her toned thighs reminded Kaiden that she was anything but a child. He smirked at her antics for a few moments, merely electing to enjoy her wonderful company. But soon, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
His eyes fell shut, mind turning toward the quiet glow of his system. Numbers and milestones drifted across his vision:
[Views: 380 million]
[Income: 36,000]
[Fangirls: 5,000]
That had been their standing before the undead dungeon. They hadnât uploaded a single new video since then. Their lives were consumed by training and preparing for the storm that was coming. Then, while Aria and Nyx were recuperating in the hospital, which took about a week, Valhallaâs Sinners remained silent, which meant, save for the undead dungeon stream, they hadnât uploaded anything in nearly two weeks.
Still, the numbers ticked forward anyway.
âPassive income, baby,â Kaiden chuckled inwardly.
[Views: 380 million â 520 million]
[Income: 36,000 â 42,000]
[Fangirls: 5,000 â 7,100]
Not bad for a long break of silence. The real surprise was the fangirl count. It had outright exploded, gaining a large number of new members. He didnât need a genius explanation for that; the undead dungeon stream had stirred drama across the viewerbase, and apparently, more than a few women had swooned at his antics inside.
Kaiden slipped his hand free from Ariaâs grip. Her lips instantly puckered into the beginnings of a pout, right as a mighty strong protest was getting ready to spill out. That was until he moved again. He slid the freed arm around her back, pulling her close against his side, while his other hand settled into her lap. Now she could keep fiddling with his fingers all she wanted, and he got to hold her against him at the same time.
The effect was instant. Instead of whining, Aria let out a pleased little purr, nuzzling into him like a satisfied cat. Her storm of protests dissolved before it could even begin, just as a new line flickered into Kaidenâs vision.
[Name: Kaiden Grey]
[Rank: 3 â Star]
Rank 3. He shouldâve been proud. Hell, he was proud. But the road ahead⊠that was another story entirely.
He remembered how steep the requirements had been for Rank 2 to 3. Back then, the system had slapped him with this:
[System Rank-Up Requirements â Tier 2 â Tier 3]
[Views: 100 million]
[Fangirls: 5,000]
[Income: 10,000]
It had looked impossible. And yet theyâd smashed it in short order. Together, each working toward the same goal.
But now, the system whispered a new demand.
[System Rank-Up Requirements â Tier 3 â Tier 4]
[Views: 7,695,048,107]
[Fangirls: 10 million]
[Income: 50 million]
Kaidenâs mouth went dry at the sheer wall of numbers. Ten million. Fifty million. The scale of it was absurd, as if the system was daring him to reach for something only global titans could touch. No, it was not âas if.â That was the case, evidenced by the required views. Seven billion, six hundred ninety-five million, forty-eight thousand, one hundred and seven. The exact same number of people were alive on Earth. At least, it was close to the estimated amount. But Kaiden didnât doubt that the Demonic Pornstar System had somehow measured the exact number.
However, this did not mean that every single human alive had to view Kaidenâs videos for him to rank up. Every new video he uploaded could be viewed by people who had already seen one of his previous ones, and theyâd count as new views.
Thus, instead of being asked to do the impossible, Kaiden believed it to be the system saying he better be prepared to become a real phenom if he wanted a new sin stance.
This was further evidenced by the next lines of text.
[Ding!]
A loud sound resounded in Kaidenâs mind. It was the sound that always spelled trouble. His gut sank even before the text manifested.
Side missions were flavor, optional distractions, but when the system spat out a main mission, there was no walking away. He could hit every metricâviews, fangirls, incomeâbut if he failed the main task, the system would shut his journey down, no more ranking up.
And this one was no exception.
[Main Mission Unlocked!]
[Space Valkyrieâs Tormentor: Defeat Maximilian!]
Objective: Neutralize and utterly dismantle the influence of Maximilian Vice, CEO of ChronosX Corporation.
Background: Subject has engaged in exploitative practices that have directly impacted the contracted entity âNyx Cosmos, the Space Valkyrie.â At age eighteen, due to systemic manipulation and debt acquisition orchestrated by Maximilianâs subsidiaries, she was abandoned by parental guardians, burdened with multimillion-dollar credit obligations, and subsequently targeted by Maximilian Vice for coercive ownership.
Mission Directive:
-Dismantle ChronosXâs corporate infrastructure.
-Destroy Maximilian Viceâs financial and political leverage.
-Render subject Maximilian incapable of exerting further harm.
Failure Condition: Any outcome in which Maximilian Vice retains the capacity to recover his influence.
Completion Requirement: Maximilian Vice must experience absolute collapse. His empire stripped. His pride obliterated. His soul left screaming in helpless ruin.
Reward is to be calculated later.
Kaiden kept staring at the message, stunned. His breath caught in his throat, and for a heartbeat, he was overcome with shock. This was the first time the system had slipped, lost its professional, clinical cadence, and spat venom as if it were a living thing instead of a machine. No monotone detachment. No sterile instruction. This was disgust. Pure, seething, personal disgust.
But Kaiden didnât have time to dwell on that revelation.
Because he began grinning.
The manâs expression twisted into something manic, something ominous. Eyes glittering, teeth flashing in a way that carried both promise and threat.
âBring it onâŠâ Kaiden whispered, low and dark.
âKaiden?!â Aria yelped as the sudden change jerked her out of her happy little hand molestation session. She blinked at him wide-eyed. âIs⊠is everything good?â
Kaiden chuckled. Not his usual easy, playful laugh. This one was sharp, dark, threaded with something dangerous. He leaned back, and as he patted his silver-haired loverâs head, his mindâs eyes never left the mission text.
âEverything is perfect.â
Aria gave him a long, deadpan stare, lips pursed as if she was testing if he was messing with her. Then, deciding it wasnât worth the worry, she sighed, rolled her eyes, and leaned in to plant a soft peck on his cheek.
Kaiden mightâve seemed to be a pretty well-balanced guy mentally at first glance, but she wasnât blind. The girl spent long hours studying, analyzing the man she decided to give all of herself to. She knew him very well, and understood that he had immense fires inside him, hidden beneath that calm facade. Sometimes, those feelings just burst through the ice.
And this was clearly one of those moments.
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