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  Return to Reality: A World Both Familiar and Strange

  The icy wind howled through the neon-lit streets, the hum of traffic filling the air with restless energy.

  Aaron stood before a towering skyscraper, its glass facade reflecting the city lights. A familiar sense of oppression crept over him.

  He was back.

  The real world—the battlefield he once loathed yet could never truly escape.

  His fingers curled into fists, knuckles turning white. He remembered the days before he left, when he was just another cog in the machine, crushed under the weight of capital and its merciless rules.

  But now, he was no longer a nameless worker struggling to survive.

  Now, he was a ruler of the blockchain world, a master of smart contracts and decentralized systems.

  And this time, he would break through the invisible barriers—not with protest, but with the one weapon the real world understood best: capital.

  Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the building.

  "Mr. Aaron, welcome."

  A woman in a sharp black suit greeted him with a polite smile, though her eyes held a glint of scrutiny. Behind her, a grand financial hall bustled with investors in pristine suits, the air thick with the scent of coffee and power.

  Aaron smirked slightly. "These people think they control the world."

  Following the assistant into an elevator, he caught his reflection in the glass walls. He knew exactly who sat atop this skyscraper—the masterminds behind the Dark Alliance in the real world. The five financial titans pulling the strings, orchestrating a plan to consume the blockchain ecosystem into their centralized empire.

  And he was here to disrupt their game.

  The elevator doors slid open, revealing a lavish conference room drenched in gold and luxury.

  "We’ve been expecting you, Mr. Aaron."

  At the head of a ten-meter-long mahogany table sat five men in tailored suits, exuding an air of absolute control.

  Aaron sized them up.

  These were not ordinary businessmen. They were predators.

  The man in the center swirled a glass of red wine, his deep-set eyes carrying a calculated amusement. Wolfman. CEO of MorganSys, the world's largest investment firm, commanding trillions in assets.

  "I hear you’ve been making waves in the blockchain world," Wolfman said smoothly, swirling his wine.

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  Aaron leaned back, offering a composed smile. "Just some decentralized experiments."

  A scoff came from another titan, Snyder, as he tapped his fingers against the table. "Decentralization?" He smirked. "Such a childish illusion."

  His eyes gleamed with mockery. "You’re a smart man, Aaron. You must know by now—the world is never decentralized. Wealth always flows to the few. That is the law of capital."

  Aaron’s lips curled slightly.

  So, they’d finally dropped the facade.

  These men didn’t care about blockchain's technological potential. They only saw it as another tool for control, a system they could corrupt and manipulate until every transaction, every coin, fell back into their hands.

  But he wasn’t going to let that happen.

  Aaron tapped a slow rhythm on the table. His voice was calm, but his words were sharp. "So… what exactly do you want from me?"

  Wolfman placed his wine glass down, watching Aaron with an almost fatherly smile.

  "Want from you?" He chuckled. "No, Aaron. We want to invite you in."

  Aaron’s pulse quickened.

  They… want to recruit me?

  "You have talent," Wolfman continued, his tone smooth as silk. "Brilliant smart contract architecture, influence over the blockchain space… Why fight us, when you could stand among us?"

  Aaron said nothing.

  "You must understand, decentralization is an illusion," Wolfman pressed on. "Without the real world’s financial systems, your so-called blockchain is just data floating in the void. You can’t escape our rules."

  "But if you work with us—"

  He leaned forward, his voice dropping into a seductive whisper.

  "We will give you everything."

  "Wealth. Power. Women."

  "You won’t have to fight us. You’ll become one of us."

  Aaron’s fingers clenched beneath the table, his nails digging into his palm.

  They think I can be bought.

  He thought of the miners in the blockchain world, the people who had suffered under financial tyranny, yet still believed in decentralization.

  He had seen them fight, not for wealth, but for freedom.

  Lifting his gaze, he met Wolfman’s eyes with an icy stare.

  "Do you think everyone bows to capital?"

  Wolfman shrugged, unbothered. "Not everyone. But those who wish to survive, do."

  "The dreamers? The idealists?" He smiled faintly. "They’ll disappear. The market will crush them."

  Silence stretched between them.

  Aaron’s heart pounded.

  They weren’t just offering him a choice.

  They were warning him.

  No matter what he decided—they wouldn’t let him walk away.

  He exhaled slowly, then smiled.

  "Well," he said, his voice low and sharp. "It’s unfortunate that I’m not one of those who bow."

  The room tensed.

  Then—

  A silver blade shot toward Aaron’s throat.

  CLANG!

  Aaron ducked just in time, flipping his chair back as the blade sliced through the table!

  "Shit!" He rolled to the side as another strike shattered the mahogany surface. Splinters flew.

  They weren’t just negotiating.

  They had planned to kill him all along!

  "You should’ve taken the offer," Wolfman’s voice echoed coldly.

  Aaron gritted his teeth. So, this is how they play.

  Ducking another attack, he reached into his jacket, activating his portable blockchain terminal.

  "Deploy emergency smart contract—recall all staked assets!"

  Lines of data flashed across the holographic screen. Billions in crypto were instantly withdrawn.

  Snyder cursed. "You think you can run?!" He tapped his earpiece. "Shut down all blockchain transactions in this building!"

  Aaron didn’t stop moving. They thought they had him cornered.

  But he wasn’t just playing defense.

  His contract had already been executed.

  And then—

  ALARM BLARING!

  Emergency sirens erupted through the building. Security systems crashed. The entire financial network inside the skyscraper collapsed in real-time!

  Aaron grinned.

  "No…" he corrected. "I think it’s you who just lost."

  Next Chapter: Aaron’s Counterattack—The Capitalist Hunt Begins!