The transition from kinetic warfare to economic strangulation was not a subtle one. When Nathaniel Kain and the Syndicate realized that sending heavily armed Vanguard squads into the dark against the Ghost Hand only resulted in the complete erasure of their assets, they abandoned the blade and reached for the ledger.
Three days had passed since the blood-soaked concrete of parking level B5 was scrubbed clean by the Phantom Sweep Team. Three days since the Vance dynasty had unified under the absolute, terrifying mandate of the Empress and her Principal Advisor.
The physical perimeter of the VanceTech tower was now impenetrable. Elias had fortified the building to the standards of a military citadel, backed by the shadow resources I had unlocked using Edward’s obsidian signet ring. We had
