Chapter 384: Returning the Favour [2] The next day, Noah woke up early in the morning to the familiar system notifications that had become part of his daily routine. [Daily Income Stream!] [$2,001,500 has been rewarded!] [Amulet of Protection has been rewarded!] — Host: Noah Carter Age: 28 Shop Level: 2 Daily Revenue: $2,153,000 (or equivalent) Current Assets: $27,063,040 Shop Points: 32,890 Attributes: Strength: 90, Vitality: 420, Intelligence: 270, Agility: 90 Skills: [Level 15:] Mana Control, Aura, Wind Manipulation, Body Tempering [Level 13:] Swordsmanship [Level 5:] Photographic Memory, Fire Manipulation [Level 4:] Programming, Cooking [Level 3:] Surviving on Ramen, Finance, Gaming [Level 2:] — There were only a few hours left before he could finally return to his shop and see how Lola was doing. Was she alive? Was she dead? The uncertainty gnawed at him constantly. He feared for her safety, worried about what she must be experiencing, believing he was gone. Noah washed up quickly, using the cold water to shock away the intrusive thoughts and get himself focused on the task at hand. He couldn’t help Lola yet, but he could deal with the scammers who had targeted his family. He hopped into his GTR and drove toward the gated residential complex where the siblings lived, his laptop sitting on the passenger seat beside him. Arriving near the complex’s perimeter, he parked in a discreet location with a clear line of sight to the security systems. Noah took out his laptop and got to work. Within minutes—laughably easy minutes given his Level 4 programming capabilities—he had hacked into the complex’s security system and gained complete administrative access. He altered the camera feeds with sophisticated techniques that would fool even experienced security professionals. To the security officer monitoring the feeds from his comfortable station, everything would appear completely normal. Noah had replaced the live feeds with older recordings from previous days where nothing of interest occurred, creating a seamless loop that wouldn’t raise any suspicions. The timestamps would continue updating normally, and the video quality would match perfectly. With that crucial preparation done, Noah closed his laptop and exited his vehicle. He walked casually toward the back of the estate where the walls were highest but also least monitored by foot patrols. Despite the imposing wall—easily twelve feet tall and topped with decorative but functional security features—Noah simply gathered his enhanced strength and jumped. His 90 points in both Strength and Agility made the feat trivial. He cleared the wall easily and landed silently on the other side in a crouch that absorbed all impact. There was nobody nearby walking through the grounds. The early morning hour meant most residents were still asleep or just beginning their day indoors. Noah moved through the complex with confident purpose, heading directly toward the building where the siblings’ apartment was located. He reached the main entrance and entered the security code—7-4-2-9—which he had extracted from their hacked messages the previous night. The lock disengaged with a soft click, and Noah entered the building’s lobby. He took the stairs rather than the elevator to avoid security cameras in the confined space, climbing three flights to reach their floor. Their apartment door had its own keypad lock, another layer of security that wealthy criminals typically installed. Noah entered the code he’d found in Michelle’s notes: 9-5-6-0. Click! The door to their apartment opened smoothly, and Noah stepped inside, closing it quietly behind him. The interior was exactly as ostentatious as their social media suggested—expensive furniture, designer decorations, original artwork on the walls. Everything screamed nouveau riche criminals with more money than taste. Noah began his search methodically, starting with the obvious locations and moving toward more creative hiding spots. He didn’t find much in the living areas or kitchen—these were just for show. But when he entered Michelle’s bedroom and started looking under the bed and in places where people traditionally hid cash they didn’t want in banks, his efforts paid off dramatically. Large bags filled with hundred-dollar bills greeted his vision, stuffed haphazardly under the bed frame and in the back of her closet. The same black suitcase he had given them yesterday sat prominently among the cash, still containing the full hundred thousand dollars he’d paid. Noah stored all of it in his interdimensional storage ring, the magical space swallowing bills and bags without limit. Conveniently, his system counted physical currency stored this way as part of his total assets, making tracking his haul simple. His assets before entering Michelle’s room: $27,063,040 After completely raiding Michelle’s bedroom: $27,766,540 She had been hoarding $703,500 in cash in her room alone—likely her personal cut from months or years of successful scams. Noah moved to Marcus’s room next and performed the same thorough search. Marcus had been less creative with his hiding spots, keeping most of his cash in a false-bottom drawer and a lockbox in his closet that Noah’s enhanced strength simply ripped open. After raiding Marcus’s room: $28,523,290 Marcus had contributed $756,750 to Noah’s growing collection. Finally, Noah entered Troy’s room. Troy had the least sophisticated security, apparently trusting his siblings and the apartment’s locks more than his own precautions. His cash was simply stuffed in gym bags in his closet. After completing the raid of all three rooms: $29,250,475 Noah had made a total of $2,187,435 by liberating the siblings’ cash reserves. Every dollar they’d stolen through insurance fraud over what was probably years of criminal activity was now sitting in his interdimensional storage. He took one final look around the apartment, ensuring he’d left no trace of his presence. Then Noah calmly walked out, locked the door behind him, and made his way back through the complex the same way he’d entered. The scammers would return home later today, expecting to celebrate another successful fraud against their second victim. Instead, they would find every dollar they owned had vanished without a trace, and they would have absolutely no way to explain to the police how they’d accumulated that much cash through legitimate means. Noah smiled coldly as he cleared the wall and returned to his GTR. The financial punishment was just the beginning of what he had planned for them.