The crisis was immediate, aggressive, and exactly what David needed to truly test his new arsenal. Titan Energy, one of the world's foremost battery and power conglomerates—the very company that had ruined Dr. Vivian Zhou—was attempting corporate piracy, using its influence to seize the Phoenix complex.
David stood in the hastily designated "War Room"—a bare, concrete office within the sprawling factory complex—staring at Marcus Cole. The disgraced CFO was a man reborn, a hyper-focused weapon aimed at the heart of the corporate establishment.
"Titan's CEO, Robert Hayes, believes they can muscle us out, Mr. David," Marcus reported, his voice tight with controlled intensity. He was surrounded by six high-end monitors, his fingers flying across multiple keyboards. "They've filed an emergency injunction with the city council, claiming prior right of refusal on the land based on a seventy-year-old zoning ordinance. They are currently leveraging their institutional investors to short-sell our potential competition, preparing for a hostile takeover of the entire local power grid. Their stock is stable, but vulnerable."
David, leaning back in a worn chair, felt the entirety of Titan Energy's complex financial structure snap into clarity in his mind. The Perfect Recall Serum provided more than just memory; it offered foresight derived from instant, total comprehension. He saw the weak links, the over-leveraged hedge funds, the specific time their market liquidity would be at its lowest.
"Titan Energy has two critical vulnerabilities, Marcus," David stated calmly, shocking Marcus into silence. "First, their Q3 earnings report is due in 48 hours, and they are hiding a $\$900$ million liability from their solar division; that will be revealed. Second, they have an exposed position of $\$300$ million in leveraged short-selling contracts tied to a mid-cap automotive supplier—a contract that expires at 3 PM today. If that supplier's stock price rises by just four dollars, Titan's margin calls will trigger a catastrophic spiral."
Marcus stared, slack-jawed. "Mr. David, that liability is classified information. And the automotive supplier—that's obscure; no one knows about that contract."
"You do now," David said, his voice cold. "Forget their $\$150$ million counter-bid for the factory. Their factory is their stock price. We hit them there. First: Liquidate $\$200$ million of my cash reserves. Spend it immediately to aggressively purchase that mid-cap automotive supplier's stock—driving the price up by five dollars. That triggers the margin calls. Second: Instruct our legal team to counter-bid the city council with $200 million cash, upfront, non-refundable—telling them that if they even think about holding negotiations, I will buy the entire city bond portfolio and replace the city manager by Friday."
Marcus grinned—a feral, hungry expression. "A leveraged stock manipulation and a brutal, overwhelming cash offer. It's insane, but entirely legal if we move fast enough. We don't just win the factory, we cripple them. I'll make the calls now, Mr. David."
The Fall of the Titan
The next four hours were a blur of high-stakes financial carnage.
At 2:45 PM, David's $\$200$ million cash injection into the obscure automotive supplier's stock hit the market like a meteor. The stock price immediately surged, violating Titan Energy's carefully calculated risk threshold.
Marcus, monitoring the exchange, slammed his fist on the desk. "The margin calls are triggered! They just lost $300 million in ten minutes. Titan stock is already dropping four percent in after-hours trading. Panic is setting in among their institutional investors."
Simultaneously, the city council received David's unprecedented $\$200$ million offer. The councilmen, paralyzed by the sheer volume of the cash and terrified by the thinly veiled threat to their municipal finances, abandoned Titan Energy's injunction faster than a sinking ship. The Phoenix complex was officially, irrevocably, David's.
"It's done," Marcus announced, his voice hoarse but triumphant. "Titan stock is in freefall. Their short-sellers are going bankrupt. They won't recover from this Q3 liability combined with this massive liquidity hit. They are wounded, Mr. David—mortally wounded."
David finally stood, walking to the large factory windows that overlooked the now-secured grounds. He saw Dr. Zhou and two hired engineers already working in a contained lab, preparing the materials for the battery prototype.
"We don't wound them, Marcus. We vaporize them," David commanded. "Use the remaining funds, leverage every dollar available on margin, and short-sell Titan stock to zero. Tell the market that Aero Corp knows something they don't—that Titan Energy is financially unsound and technologically obsolete. I want their CEO, Robert Hayes, to wake up tomorrow morning to a bankruptcy filing."
Marcus's eyes shone with pure admiration. "Yes, sir. You're not a businessman; you're an executioner."
The Vision and The Next Goal
With Titan Energy in its death throes, David gathered his new lieutenants in the War Room. Marcus was ecstatic, basking in the corporate bloodbath. Dr. Zhou, though still deeply skeptical of the financial chaos, was captivated by the prototype she was building.
"Dr. Zhou," David began, addressing the genius scientist. "How quickly can you scale production for the Quantum-Aero Battery prototype?"
Vivian pushed her glasses up, looking at him with a mixture of professional respect and deep confusion. "Mr. David, the prototype is already showing 1,200 times the energy density of lithium-ion. It's revolutionary. But we need a complete refit of this facility, hundreds of millions in specialized quantum-entanglement reactors, and a team of physicists. It will take two years and cost half a billion dollars minimum."
David smiled, a cold, focused expression that promised success. "Wrong. You have all the specialized equipment you need to order tomorrow. The cost is irrelevant. You will have a fully operational assembly line producing commercial-grade prototypes in three months. And you will have the best physicists, because you will offer them ten times what Titan Energy was paying them. Don't worry about the money or the logistics. That is Marcus's job." He looked at Marcus. "Marcus, liquidate all non-essential assets and prepare for an immediate capital expenditure of $\$500$ million. I want the world to know Aero Corp is serious."
Marcus simply nodded. "I've already started the liquidation process, Mr. David. Your word is gold."
David paused, feeling the thrill of command. This was true power—not just having the money, but having the vision and the perfect tools to execute it instantly.
He checked the System log. The destruction of Titan Energy, the massive stock manipulation, and the subsequent acquisition of high-value assets had incurred extraordinary spending.
[DING! Spending Milestone Reached! Total accumulated spending of over $20,000,000!]
[Level Up! Host is now a Level 4 Corporate Predator.]
[Milestone Reward Unlocked: [Personal Cloaking Device Blueprint]]
David's eyes widened slightly. A cloaking device. Not financial, not strictly industrial. This was something different. This was for personal safety, or perhaps… for espionage.
The System is preparing me for a bigger game than just corporate warfare, David mused. It's preparing me for the shadows.
He dismissed his two lieutenants, leaving them buzzing with orders and unprecedented budgets. As he stood alone in the quiet War Room, overlooking the secured factory, David knew the immediate danger was gone. But the new danger—the global intelligence agencies and the jealous powers that would covet his technology—was just beginning to wake up.
He had just secured his industrial base. Now, he needed to secure himself.
"System," David whispered, looking at the newly revealed reward. "Show me the specifications for the Personal Cloaking Device."