World Domination Begins With Getting a System in a Modern World-Chapter 167: System Store To Be Unlocked Soon

The door to the conference room slammed shut behind Edward McCullen as he strode out, his stride long and urgent, the thunder of his polished shoes echoing through the marble-floored corridor.

His jaw was tight. His hands trembled at his sides, barely concealed by the controlled rigidity of his movement.

The security liaison walking beside him didn’t say a word, simply guided him down the hall toward his office with urgency.

When they reached the glass double doors, Edward didn’t pause. He shoved them open.

Inside, five men stood waiting. His elite investigative team were all standing like soldiers around his desk, eyes grim, postures stiff.

The team leader — a tall, wiry man with pale eyes and a military-cut haircut — turned toward him with a smile that didn’t quite reach his face.

Edward’s gut tightened.

A smile wasn’t always good news.

"Sit," the man said politely, gesturing toward Edward’s own chair like he was a guest in his own office.

Edward said nothing. He sat.

The team leader placed a thin black laptop on the desk, opened it with a practiced flip, and rotated it to face Edward.

"Let me walk you through what we’ve found."

Edward leaned forward, his eyes locking on the screen. It displayed a map — a web of nodes, names, file paths, and digital trails. All of them branching from multiple angles and converging toward a single name.

The name blinked at the center of the screen, pulsing softly.

ALINA VALE.

Edward frowned.

"Who is that?"

The man tapped the keyboard, and a dossier opened. Sparse, but informative.

Alina Vale.

Age: 22

University of California, Los Angeles — Senior, Majoring in Mass Communication.

Affiliation: None publicly listed

Current Location: Westwood, Los Angeles

Background: No criminal record. No official ties to activism or political causes. Moderate online footprint.

She looked ordinary.

Almost too ordinary for someone responsible for causing Cullen Corp such turmoil.

The photo attached showed a young woman — sharp jawline, hazel eyes, long black hair pulled into a bun, and glasses perched slightly off-balance on her nose. She had the look of someone perpetually unimpressed with the world.

Edward stared at the image for a moment longer than necessary, then looked up.

"You’re telling me... all this—" he waved at the chaos of their past 72 hours, "—came from a college girl?"

The team leader shrugged.

"That’s the thing and I don’t know how she did it."

Edward felt a chill worm its way through his spine. He couldn’t believe it. A nobody caused him this much trouble.

He sat back, hands steepled in front of his mouth.

"Do we know why she’s doing this?"

The investigator shook his head. "Not yet. No manifestos, no demands, no digital paper trail suggesting ideology or politics. Which leads me to believe it’s personal. Or... she’s working for someone else."

That gave Edward pause.

Working for someone else? Who could she possibly be working with?

He was aware that he has a lot of enemies but the problem is that he doesn’t understand which of them it is.

"So, we don’t know who she’s working for?" Edward asked.

"We’re digging into that now. Class overlaps, mutual acquaintances, encrypted communications. We’ve found nothing direct yet, but I’d bet my pension she’s not working alone."

Edward didn’t respond immediately. He was staring down at the screen again.

Alina Vale. A student. A girl...

And yet, she had destabilized a billion-dollar company like it was a school project.

He looked up, his expression grave.

"Get me everything. Family, finances, class schedule. Social media. I want to know what shampoo she uses and how many sugars she puts in her coffee."

The team leader gave a crisp nod. "We’ll have a full portfolio before nightfall."

"Good," Edward said, leaning back into the chair. "Because if this girl is the match, I want to drown her before the fire spreads further."

The investigative team nodded and began filing out one by one, boots silent on the thick carpet.

As the last one exited and shut the door behind him, Edward let out a long breath and loosened his tie.

He was about to open his drawer for a bottle of scotch when his phone vibrated.

One glance at the screen turned his blood cold.

Caller ID: DARK

His hand hesitated for a second. Then, reluctantly, he picked it up.

"Edward," came the voice on the other end — low, gravely, like gravel being ground under boot.

"I assume you have something for me."

Edward swallowed.

"Yes. We’ve found her. A hacker. Just a girl. A student."

There was a pause. Then, dark laughter.

"You sound surprised. You think it takes monsters to bring down monsters? Sometimes it just takes someone with nothing to lose."

Edward stayed quiet.

"I hope you’re not expecting praise," Dark continued. "Because the clock hasn’t stopped ticking."

Edward sat up straighter.

"We’re compiling everything. I’ll have a complete report tonight. Once I confirm who she’s working with, I’ll take action."

"You’ll take action?"

There was mockery in the tone now. Contempt, even.

Edward’s fist clenched when he heard the contemptuous laughter.

Dark’s voice dropped lower, sharper.

"The ultimatum still stands. Twenty-four hours. Either you silence this girl and plug the leaks, or I come in — as instructed by the boss — and take care of it myself."

"You don’t want that, do you?"

"No," Edward agreed. "I don’t want that."

Then, the line went dead.

Edward sat there for a moment, phone still pressed to his ear, even after the call ended. His hand trembled slightly.

This was no longer a corporate crisis. This was something deeper. Darker.

He looked once more at the image on the laptop screen.

Alina Vale.

He didn’t know who she was working for yet, or how deep her network went.

But he knew one thing for certain.

She had just made the most powerful enemies of her life.

And Edward McCullen had less than twenty-four hours to either eliminate her — or become the next example The Boss made for the world to see.

***

James was on his way from a gathering at the country club. It was the formal dinner and wine pairing, but it was just as boring as always.

He, Elliot and the other new money faction chatted but they didn’t talk about anything important.

But that wasn’t what was on James’ mind. Ralph sent him a message that they are now almost halfway to their target.

They are now bagging $406 million.

"Seems like I will be unlocking the system store soon."