Urban Plundering: I Corrupted The System!
Chapter 493 - 493: THE PRINCESS

"You're what now, Maya?" Tessa asked, her voice cracking with disbelief that cut through the ballroom like a blade through silk.

Fuck.

Parker let go of Tessa and sighed, the weight of cosmic politics crashing down on him like a freight train made of pure dread. This wasn't any of his exes like he'd expected. That meant he didn't know jack shit about her weaknesses, her motivations, her endgame—nothing.

Unknown enemies were infinitely more dangerous than known psychopaths. At least with his exes, he knew what brand of crazy he was dealing with.

And she knew who Maya was. That was worse than if she'd just threatened to destroy all of reality and call it a Tuesday.

Maya's identity was the kind of secret that could start wars between forces that made gods look like angry toddlers.

"Worry not, Oh Prince of Existence," the entity said with the kind of casual confidence that made Parker's teeth almost ache. "I won't expose anything about your woman—who she is, where she is—to anyone. As long as you play my game."

The words hit him like ice water in his veins. She had leverage. Real, universe-ending leverage.

She could destroy everything he cared about without laying a finger on anyone he loved. The rule only stopped her from directly harming his people—it didn't stop her from revealing secrets that would make everyone else want to harm them.

"So, all this bullshit," Parker said, gesturing at the opulent ballroom full of terrified billionaires, "was to lead me here."

She nodded with the satisfaction of someone who'd just pulled off the perfect con.

"You pretended to threaten Tessa, held her hostage just to get me here. Which I did. And then I stepped right into the game you'd planned."

He was dancing on strings he couldn't even see.

Parker looked at Maya and Zhang Ruoyun. Their expressions told him everything—they'd seen this coming in one of the infinite possibilities they'd calculated. The game hadn't even started until he'd arrived here. Even creating that illusion of killing Tessa in everyone's minds had been part of her setup.

She'd set up a domain, and when they'd entered, they'd all been affected by whatever reality she wanted them to see.

"Only one person could've detected the illusion domain from the start, but..." the entity continued with growing amusement.

Maya chuckled, though there was no humor in the sound. "But you'd seen it coming and prepared. That's how you led our daughter away with whatever game you'd planned for her before she could detect your domain."

Nyxavere.

The pieces clicked together in Parker's mind like bullets loading into a cosmic gun. Everyone remembered it now—Nyxavere had detected something she'd called 'interesting' and disappeared. It had all been this entity's plan to lead her away, affecting everyone else in her domain to see what she wanted them to see.

That's how he'd come rushing to save Tessa. That's how she'd moved her first piece in whatever sick game she was playing.

And when he'd arrived, she'd moved another piece. Maya's arrival had been another move. This bitch was two moves ahead of him in a game he didn't even understand the rules to, and she held the nuclear option of Maya's identity.

She was playing chess while he was playing checkers, and she'd already captured half his pieces.

"Oh~ don't be disappointed. I can see the future and I'm smart remember. At least if he's not directly involved or you or Zhang..."

"You're smart, I'll give you that," Parker said, his voice carrying the kind of cold fury that made reality itself nervous. "But don't you think you're pushing too far using my woman as leverage again?"

"Oh no, Oh Prince of Existence," she replied with mock innocence that made Parker's skin crawl. "As long as I don't break The ONLY Rule, everything's perfectly fine. But unlike me, who can't harm her..." Her smile turned predatory. "How do you think THEY will react when they discover who their lost Princess is?"

Maya shivered instantly, and Parker felt something in his chest turn to ice.

THEY. The cosmic parasites... If they found out Maya was their missing Princess...

Hell would break loose.

The Existence wasn't ready for an all-out war between rival forces that could unmake reality as a warm-up exercise.

She wasn't just threatening Maya. She was threatening Existential war.

"Well," Parker said through gritted teeth, "you have a point. You win, and I'll play with you. But first you tell me what this game is about, and you keep your promise about my Empress's identity."

"Parker!" Tessa said instantly, her voice carrying the kind of possessive determination that made him fall in love with her all over again. "I'm your empress!"

His stubborn, beautiful, absolutely perfect woman. Even in the middle of cosmic blackmail, she was still fighting for her place at his side.

"Of course you are, lovebug," Parker said, pulling her close and kissing her with enough passion to make the entity's expression narrow with something that looked like irritation.

Maya chuckled while the entity's presence grew darker.

"The rules are simple," she said with the kind of casual tone that meant nothing about this would be simple. "Just play. And the game's on!"

Here we fucking go...

"I wonder how our little princess is doing right now?" the entity added with malicious glee. "Reunion with Aunt?"

The words hit Parker like a physical blow. He, Zhang Ruoyun, Maya, and Helena all tensed up simultaneously, recognizing the implications.

Nyxavere.

She'd led his daughter somewhere. Somewhere dangerous. Not for her but all of them...

"Don't. You. Dare!" Parker's voice cracked reality around the edges, making the ballroom's foundations groan under the weight of his fury.

"Oh, Prince of Existence," the entity laughed with the kind of manic glee that made cosmic horror seem quaint. "The rule is to not directly harm yours. But I can use your own to do my job!"

She was going to use Nyxavere against someone. Against everyone.

"Bwahahahahaha! She's gonna kill every last one of you lots!"

The woman disappeared, leaving behind only the echo of laughter that made reality itself recoil in terror.

"Nyxavere..." Parker called out, reaching across dimensions with senses that could find anything, anywhere, anytime.

Nothing.

He couldn't feel his daughter anywhere in the mortal realm. He couldn't feel her anywhere.

Panic shot through him like liquid terror, the kind of fear that came from realizing his omniscient daughter had gone somewhere even he couldn't reach her.

"Helena!"

"Your Highness!" She appeared instantly, her corporate efficiency barely masking cosmic-level concern.

"Tell Noctavine to activate the dome now!"

Nyxavere had gone berserk. His omniscient daughter, who could see every possibility, every outcome, every thread of fate—she was out there somewhere, and someone had convinced her to unleash herself.

Hopefully not. But that hope felt as fragile as tissue paper in a hurricane.

How do you fight an omniscient being? How do you stop someone who can see every move you're going to make before you even think of making it? Your own daughter!