Urban Plundering: I Corrupted The System!-Chapter 172: Oblivious Locked Target 2

The house was quiet. Everyone had gone to bed, and the air had settled into that deep, heavy stillness that only came in the dead of night. The kind that made even the softest sounds—like the distant hum of the fridge or the faint creak of settling wood—feel amplified.

But in the garage, under the cool glow of overhead lights, Parker stood beside his Lamborghini, hands in his pockets, his face unreadable. The sleek car reflected the dim light, its polished surface smooth and unblemished, a perfect contrast to the storm of thoughts turning over in his head.

Ere was perched on the workbench, tail flicking lazily, glowing eyes locked onto him like she was already preparing for the stupidity she knew was coming.

"I’ve got him locked," she said, voice smooth, unbothered. "Shadow and Dimension Trail did their thing. I know exactly where he is."

Parker gave a slow nod. That had been the other silent order he’d given her—trace the guy’s shadow—with her Trail— keep tabs, and make sure they could track him down without a single loose end. Now, they had a destination. A target.

He reached for the car door.

Ere’s tail froze mid-swing.

She blinked. Then, like she couldn’t believe the sheer level of dumbassery unfolding in front of her, she jumped onto the hood, blocking his path.

"And what the hell do you think you’re doing?"

Parker arched a brow. "What?"

She deadpanned. "What."

"I’m getting in the car," he said slowly, like she was the one being difficult. "How the fuck else are we supposed to get to the guy? Walk?"

Ere’s expression remained unchanged. Just one long, exhausted stare. Then she rolled her eyes so hard he swore she saw another dimension.

"…Through Dimensional Travel, genius."

Parker paused. Stared back at her.

"A portal?" He scoffed. "You’re kidding."

Her tail twitched. "Yeah. That’s what I do now. Tell jokes."

"No, but—" He dragged a hand down his face, already regretting this conversation. "Are you crazy? That’s—" He stopped mid-sentence. A slow, creeping chill ran up his spine.

Because now that he was actually thinking about it… he had never traveled through a magical portal before.

Not properly, at least.

Sure, there had been that one time. But he’d been, uh… out of commission for that. Technically unconscious. Technically didn’t count.

Ere must’ve caught on because she just shook her head. "Oh, don’t start acting like this is your first time."

"But technically it is my first time," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Since, you know… the last time I was kinda—"

"Unconscious?" she finished flatly.

"Yeah."

"Still doesn’t change anything," she said, flicking a paw. "And seriously, were you really planning to drive? You wanna leave a whole-ass trail of your presence behind when we’re done?"

"I can erase my presence," he said, because yeah, he was that good.

She side-eyed him. "Then why not save yourself the trouble and just portal there instead of dragging your fancy-ass supercar into this?"

Parker opened his mouth. Closed it. Blinked.

Then he chuckled, shaking his head. "…Okay, yeah, why the fuck was I even debating this?"

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Ere smirked. "See? There’s the brain cell."

"Alright, fine," he exhaled, stepping back.

She stretched, leaping off the hood. "Let’s go, my boy."

"Your master, you mean."

"Same thing."

She didn’t argue. Just lifted a paw—

—and the floor collapsed beneath them.

Parker barely had time to register what was happening before the ground was gone, replaced by weightless, empty space. Dimension wind rushed past his ears, his stomach plummeting like he’d been thrown off a building. A very undignified yell nearly tore from his throat—nearly—but he clenched his jaw shut at the last second, muscles tensing as his body flipped.

Ere? Ere just freefell like this was a casual Tuesday.

Yeah. Fucking fantastic.

*****

Inside a dimly lit room, three figures hunched over glowing monitors, their faces illuminated in eerie blues and greens. Fingers tapped keyboards with rhythmic precision, the soft hum of hardware filling the silence. The air smelled of burnt coffee, energy drinks, and the faint metallic tang of overheating tech.

"Alright," Cam muttered, cracking his knuckles. "We’re calling it—we ain’t touching the kid who owns the place." His voice was firm, final.

"Yeah," Lex agreed, leaning back in her chair, arms crossed. "We dig too deep into him, and it might spell big fucking trouble for us later. Let’s keep things simple. Just the girl!"

"Simple is good," Ethan added, nodding. "We hand over what we got. Done."

Their eyes flicked to the message thread, where their client—whoever the hell he was—had been waiting for an update. Lex exhaled, then typed:

Lex: Job’s done. You got what you asked for.

Seconds later, the reply came in.

Client: Good. Now proceed with phase two.

After a second another text came.

Client: Dig into the target’s past. Everything. Family, history, connections. I want full visibility.

Client: And install the spyware. I want full access.

Lex raised an eyebrow, glancing at the others. "Well, that’s easy."

"Easy money," Cam grinned, already pulling up new search windows. "Let’s get to work."

Their target—wasn’t anything unusual. If anything, she was too clean. No dirt, no buried secrets, no shady family history. Just a straight-laced background, decent grades, a life so boringly normal it almost made Lex suspicious.

"Nothing’s popping," Ethan muttered. "Like, nada. This chick’s practically a saint."

"That’s not normal," Lex frowned. "Nobody’s this clean."

Then—

"Wait, hold up," Cam cut in, squinting at his screen. "She’s got some recent activity at school. Sending it now."

A few clicks later, and their client was informed.

Client: Got it but I already know this. Now, what’s the progress with the spyware?

Lex smirked, fingers flying over the keyboard. "Give us an hour, we’ll make it flawless—give him everything without leaving a trace."

Lex: One hour. No trails. You’ll get everything.

Client: Good. Let me know when it’s done.

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Lex leaned back, stretching. "Spyware’s in. Target is locked. We’re fucking golden."

Cam held up his hand. Ethan smacked his palm against it. Lex followed.

High-fives all around.

Five million dollars was so close, they could smell it.

****

The night sky over Beverly Hills was clear, stars scattered like diamond dust over the sprawling city. The hum of life never stopped here—cars rolling through wide streets, neon lights reflecting off glass skyscrapers, the distant thump of bass from rooftop parties.

Above it all, a man floated.

Not like some rigid superhero, arm stretched out like an old-school comic book cliché. Nah. He had style. One knee slightly bent, arms relaxed at his sides, the air bending subtly around him as he hovered, his gaze sweeping across the city below.

Why do they even bend their knee, though? Parker would’ve wondered.

Every rooftop, every alley, every shadowed street—it was all in his sight.

Then—

Fluctuation.

His head snapped to the right. The shift in space was subtle, like a ripple in the air, but he felt it.

His eyes locked onto a certain apartment.

A portal split open.

And two figures jumped out.

A man. A woman.

His lips curled into a smirk. "Well, well, well."