Later that evening, right before he was about to go to sleep, Liam received a call from Daniel. He was lying across his bed, enjoying the night breeze drifting through the half-open windows of his bedroom.
The day had been long for him and it felt like he used more than twenty four hours, which he actually did.
"Sir, the Family Office has been activated. Everything is ready, live and operational," Daniel’s voice came through the line, calm but carrying that undertone of suppressed excitement.
Liam smiled in satisfaction when he heard this. It was the news he has been anticipating the whole day.
"Good. That’s perfect. Come to the mansion tomorrow, there’s something else we need to discuss," he said.
"Yes, sir. I’ll be there," Daniel replied with a clear tone, though Liam could almost hear the curiosity behind it.
"Get some sleep tonight," Liam added, softer. "You’ll need it."
"Yes, sir," Daniel said again before the call ended.
Liam set his phone aside and let his head sink back into the pillow and his gaze traced the patterns on the ceiling.
His thoughts couldn’t help but drift to the consequences of his action in the cultivation world. He knew that the entire Blackstone region would become a storm of suspicion, rage, and pursuit. He wasn’t naïve.
"I’ve made too much noise," he whispered to himself. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel✶fire.net
The City Lord’s son dead. The Xuan family heirs dead. A city’s worth of guards annihilated. Even if he had reason, even if it was survival, the cultivation world wouldn’t see it that way. He would be hunted relentlessly.
It didn’t scare him. What bothered him was the distraction. Blackstone was too small a city to be worth his time. The real centers of power, wealth, and cultivation resources lay elsewhere. Why waste days or weeks dancing with petty revenge when he had bigger things to prepare for?
He considered the options: minor and major sect cities, where influence was concentrated but not overwhelming. Perhaps safer ground to blend into while expanding his foothold.
Or... the Imperial City itself which is the heart of the empire. A tempting thought, though dangerously ambitious. The Imperial City was a nest of dragons. One wrong move, and he’d be ripped apart before he could even draw breath.
"No," he muttered, shaking his head against the pillow. "Not yet. Too much too soon."
With a sigh, he dismissed the thoughts. Whether it was a sect city or another frontier, he would decide later. Earth demanded his focus now. Starting tomorrow, things would accelerate.
Exhaling softly, Liam closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.
The next morning, sunlight streamed across the polished floors of Bellemere Mansion. Liam had already finished breakfast, already anticipating Daniel’s arrival.
Right on cue, the sound of tires reached his ears. Moments later, Evelyn appeared at the doorway, her voice polite but carrying a hint of awareness. "Sir, Mr. Conley has arrived."
"Good," Liam said, standing. He nodded his thanks to the girls, then left the dining hall.
Daniel was already waiting in the study by the time Liam entered. The man rose to greet him, his posture straight, expression composed as always — though Liam’s trained eyes caught the faintest tension in the way he carried himself. Daniel was a professional, but he was also human. And Liam had a sense Daniel was beginning to realize just how unusual his employer truly was.
They took their seats, the morning light spilling across the wide desk between them.
"The Family Office is live. All that remains is for you to decide the degree of external visibility. We can remain a ghost in the system, or—"," Daniel began with a small smile.
"Later," Liam interrupted gently. His tone wasn’t dismissive, but his eyes held Daniel’s firmly. "There’s something else you need to see first."
Daniel paused, surprised. He leaned back slightly. "Sir?"
"The company’s product," Liam said, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "It’s ready."
Daniel blinked, his composure almost breaking for the first time.
Ready? But the Nevada base was completed only yesterday. Even with extreme efficiency, even with rapid prototyping, it’s impossible to have a physical product already prepared, he thought to himself.
He hesitated, then his mind leapt to another conclusion. Perhaps it wasn’t hardware. Perhaps it was software. A platform, a program, something intangible. That would explain the timing.
But Liam’s calm smile gave nothing away. He reached down, pulled open the drawer, and placed a black box onto the desk, and he slid it across to Daniel.
"Open it," Liam said.
Daniel’s eyes flicked between the box and Liam’s expression. "Are you sure?"
"Go ahead," Liam said simply.
Daniel exhaled once, then picked up the box. It was lighter than he expected. His fingers traced the faint silver emblem at the center — a radiant quasar, sharp and luminous even under the soft study light.
He turned it, reading the single word printed along the side.
The name alone prickled at his curiosity. What sort of product bore such a name?
Carefully, he lifted the cover.
Inside rested an object that, at first glance, seemed deceptively ordinary. A slim, elegant pair of glasses.
Daniel blinked. For a long moment, he said nothing. Then he looked up, searching Liam’s face for answers. But Liam only smiled, silent, letting the weight of revelation build.
"Take it out," Liam said at last. "Put it on."
Daniel hesitated — not out of fear, but out of disbelief. This... this was it? A pair of glasses? But something deep in his gut told him appearances were lying.
With careful fingers, he lifted the device from its cradle. It felt impossibly light, almost too light.
He slid the LUCID over his ears and it instantly, it came alive.
A ripple of light burst across his vision, bright yet smooth, an opening animation unlike anything he had ever seen. It began as a radiant quasar, pulsing with energy, expanding outward. Then the image zoomed, pulling him through galaxies, stars stretching into streaks, worlds unfolding and vanishing as he was carried across the cosmos itself.
Daniel found his breath caught, as he watched the animation in extreme shock.
The animation faded, replaced by a calm voice.
"Welcome. Please grant permission for neural and retinal scan."
Daniel froze and his pulse hammered in his throat. Neural scan? Retinal scan?
He tore the device off in one swift motion, his chest heaving, his eyes wide as he stared at it.
For several seconds, he said nothing, his mind a storm of shock, disbelief, and a thousand questions clawing at once. He looked from the glasses to Liam, then back again, struggling for words.
Finally, his voice cracked out, hoarse with wonder and fear.
His question hung heavy in the air, a single syllable that carried all the weight of his disbelief. How could this exist? How could this man, his client, produce something so far beyond anything the world had yet conceived?
Liam leaned back in his chair, his smile faint but edged with quiet power.
"Now," Liam said softly, "let’s talk about Lucid."