This Was My First Step Toward the Pinnacle of Life

Jonas sat in the back of a pitch-black maglev sports car, with his [Attendant], Eiffel, at the wheel.

Twenty-five special operatives equipped with Wetting second-generation tactical armor-a force that size was enough to take on peacekeeping troops at security level two.

It sounded impressive, but suppressing a riot across an entire district would still be a stretch.

The incident had erupted so suddenly that Jonas had no way to muster a force large enough to steamroll the Alt District on such short notice.

Of course, the fact that Jonas had yet to fully secure his place on the Wetting Conglomerate's board of directors also played a part.

These twenty-five special operatives were the largest force he could assemble in the time available.

Jonas's eyes flickered as he studied the gang-occupied areas on his tablet.

From the driver's seat, Eiffel glanced at Jonas through the rearview mirror, then quickly looked away.

She remained perfectly calm. Even knowing that this trip was likely to end badly, she had never let any emotion show.

In her eyes, Jonas's judgment was utterly foolish...

Trying to suppress a riot with just twenty-five people was nothing short of a pipe dream.

Choosing to enter the riot zone himself with such slim odds of victory was undoubtedly handing the enemy a bargaining chip.

Had Eiffel not been confident that she could get Jonas out after the special operatives were defeated, she would never have agreed to such a reckless decision.

Jonas had no idea what his [Attendant], Eiffel, was thinking.

Just as he was lost in thought, the car suddenly stopped.

He frowned and looked up.

The sight before him left him stunned for a long moment.

Thick black smoke rose from the district, and everything around them was engulfed in flames.

The smell of gunpowder hung in the air, and soot stained the walls of the buildings.

The fires of the riot had spread throughout the district.

Everything before him pointed to one fact: this place was completely out of control.

The situation was probably even worse than he had imagined...

"Those rabid dogs..."

Jonas couldn't help cursing under his breath.

He was now completely certain who had orchestrated the Alt District riot.

The gangs and the game's original protagonist could never have achieved this on their own.

Another consortium was definitely pulling strings behind the scenes.

And the one most interested in the Alt District...

"Eiffel."

"Yes."

"Tell the special operatives to prepare for combat."

Eiffel froze for a moment at his words.

Then she saw a side of Young Master Jonas that she had never witnessed before.

For an instant, Jonas's figure seemed to overlap with that of the person who had once held absolute control over the Wetting Conglomerate.

Eiffel fell silent for a long moment before finally speaking.

"As you command."

Putting down this riot was not actually difficult, but the longer it dragged on, the greater the damage would be.

The gang members in the Alt District understood this perfectly well, too...

They had never intended to truly stand against a conglomerate. They merely wanted to use this incident to tear a chunk of flesh from the Wetting Conglomerate.

More precisely, they wanted to tear a chunk of flesh from Young Master Jonas.

That meant they had no need to consider how to expand after launching the riot.

All they had to do was hold the areas they had already taken. Nothing else concerned them.

The longer they held out, the more leverage they would have at the negotiating table.

The Alt District is easy to defend and hard to attack. We have the advantage!

That, however, was how a normal person would think.

As the leader of the Alt District's gangs, Ston had never considered stopping there.

Sitting atop a pile of rubble, he grinned as he watched the Wetting Conglomerate's security personnel retreating steadily not far away.

He had never savored such a glorious victory.

The feeling made him want to spread his arms and bask in cheers and applause.

Of course, it was clearly still too early to pop the champagne.

According to the mysterious figure's instructions, he could capture the Alt branch building by mustering his forces in thirty minutes.

Even the major consortiums would covet the resources inside.

If he succeeded this time, he might truly break through the class barrier and join the upper ranks, going toe-to-toe with people he had previously only heard about on the news.

In the past, he would never even have dared dream of such a thing...

But now, not only were all his men equipped with the Tayne Consortium's second-generation tactical suits, he also held an overwhelming strategic advantage.

He had no idea who was sending him instructions through an anonymous email address, but every order had indeed given him an advantage.

He had been skeptical at first. Only after the sender had detailed every subsequent deployment of the Wetting Conglomerate's security forces had he become completely convinced.

With help from both sides, the once timid and cautious Ston had begun to grow cocky.

In the past, his first instinct after capturing these areas would have been to hold them. Now, however, he clearly wanted a bigger prize.

The Wetting Conglomerate's Alt branch building...

Ston could feel his ambition swelling without limit.

-Beep, beep!

His communicator sounded again.

Ston's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly opened his inbox.

The mysterious figure had sent another message.

[K: Here are the attack routes and troop deployment map. Do as I say, and you'll be able to capture the Alt branch building.]

[K: Image]

[K: Remember, no one else can see these messages. Destroy them immediately after capturing the Alt branch building.]

As Ston read the information sent by the mysterious figure named K, his body began to tremble involuntarily.

With this information... he could definitely seize complete control of the Alt District and demand even greater concessions from the Wetting Conglomerate.

Then he could simply throw his lot in with the Tayne Consortium and continue expanding his power.

And this would be his-Ston Latka's-first step toward the pinnacle of life.

"What weapons were those gang members using in the combat footage?"

Jonas asked from inside the car, his eyes never leaving the tablet in front of him.

"Tactical suits from the Tayne Consortium."

Eiffel answered from the driver's seat. She looked at Jonas in the back through the rearview mirror, wondering what decision the young master would make.

Given the current situation, retaking the lost areas by force was unlikely, at least in the short term.

Nor could they rule out the possibility that the enemy would bring everything down with them. A head-on clash was clearly unwise.

But negotiating with them might also cost them both their money and their man.

These gang members were no pushovers, after all. If Jonas went to negotiate alone, they would only tie him up and use him as leverage to extract even more concessions.

They were caught between a rock and a hard place.

"Order the Alt branch building to fortify its defenses. Also, have those twenty special operatives set up an ambush along the route."

Jonas's words left Eiffel completely stunned. She hesitated for a long while before speaking.

"Are you sure?"

This was undoubtedly a gamble, one that left the decision in the gang leader's hands.

And according to the intelligence, the Alt District's gang leader was timid and cautious. Getting him to attack first was virtually impossible.

"I'm not sure..."

Jonas met Eiffel's eyes in the rearview mirror.

"But I can afford to gamble, can't I?"