I leaned back, a grim smile touching my lips. Maya. You want to play with the big boys? Let's see if you can handle the heat. The world was about to witness a war not just for money or control, but for the very soul of the internet. And I, Leonard Blake, was ready to draw the first blood in this new, terrifying arena.
My words, cold and absolute, hung in the chilled air of Aegis Prime. Elaine, her face a mask of concern, stared at the blurred image of Maya on the screen, then back at me. The Karismatik Digital node still pulsed within me, allowing me to perceive the swirling currents of her apprehension, her intellectual curiosity warring with a primal fear of the unknown.
"Leonard, we’re still mid-mission for The Global Web," she began, her voice tight. "Fifty billion for fibre-optic in
