[The Moon - The Central Vault]
The chamber was vast. The ceiling was lost in darkness. In the center of the room, suspended above a bottomless pit, floated a massive, jagged crystal. It pulsed with the same golden light as Alex's System Interface.
"This is it," Valerius whispered, his voice echoing. " The Heart of the Cradle."
Alex approached the edge of the platform. "Dawn," Alex ordered. "Interface with it."
"Connecting..." "Warning: Data density exceeds Earth's storage capacity. Filtering for critical files."
A beam of light shot out from the crystal, hitting Alex directly in the chest. He didn't flinch. The light formed a hologram. It wasn't a monster. It was a humanoid figure, tall and elegant, wearing robes made of starlight. It was a Precursor.
[The Message]
"Greetings, User 009," The Precursor spoke. The voice wasn't audio; it vibrated in their bones. "If you are seeing this, then the Council failed to contain you. Or perhaps you bought them."
"User 009?" Alex frowned. "There were eight before me?"
"Correct," The hologram nodded. " The System is a tool. A test. We created it a million years ago to solve the 'Scarcity Problem.' We thought if we had infinite resources, we would have peace."
The hologram walked through the air, images of burning planets flashing around it. "We were wrong. Infinite wealth does not bring peace. It brings... The Hunger."
[The Truth]
The images changed. They showed massive, shadow-like entities devouring stars. "The more you spend, the brighter your soul shines in the Void. The System is a beacon. It calls Them."
"The Cosmic Predators," Alex realized. "The ones the Elder warned me about."
"Yes," The Precursor confirmed. "User 001 bought a galaxy. The Predators ate it. User 004 tried to buy peace. They enslaved him. We built this Moon to hide the System. To suppress the signal. But you... you have awakened it fully."
[The Warning]
The Precursor leaned in, its starry eyes locking onto Alex. "You are spending too fast, 009. Every purchase is a dinner bell. You have two choices:
Stop spending. Hide in the mud. Survive.
Spend faster. Buy the universe before They can eat it."
Alex smiled. It was a cold, sharp smile. "I don't hide in the mud."
"Then take this," The hologram gestured. A beam of data shot from the crystal into Alex's watch.
[System Update] [Map Data: Galactic Trade Routes (Sector 1-9).] [Key Item: The Star-Chart of the 9 Users.] [Reward: +50,000 Galactic Credits.]
"The Star-Chart marks the locations where the previous Users fell," The Precursor explained. "Their fortunes... their weapons... their empires... are still there. Waiting for a successor rich enough to claim them."
[The Collapse]
"Warning," Dawn shouted. "The facility is destabilizing! The message was a 'One-Time Play' protocol. The core is self-destructing!"
The crystal began to crack. The room shook violently. "Valerius!" Alex yelled. "Get us out of here!"
"Run!" Valerius didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed Luna and sprinted for the elevator.
[The Escape]
They dove into the cage just as the platform collapsed into the abyss. The plasma drill reversed, rocketing them up the shaft as explosions chased them.
BOOM. BOOM.
They burst out onto the lunar surface, gasping for air (or rather, their suits recycling it frantically). Behind them, a massive plume of dust erupted from the crater. The "Cradle" was buried forever.
Alex stood on the gray dust, looking at Earth hanging in the sky. He looked at the new map on his holographic display. Eight red dots. Eight dead Tycoons. Eight lost fortunes.
"We aren't just selling coffee anymore," Alex whispered. "We are going treasure hunting."
"System Alert," Dawn chimed. [New Main Quest: The Legacy of the 9.] [Objective: Locate and Acquire the lost assets of User 001.] [Reward: ?????]