Chapter 45: An Unexpected Request
Liam checked the system before he had even finished locking up the café the previous night. The notification was still waiting exactly where he’d left it
[Mission Complete]
Reward: $50,000
Victoria Trust +15
Olivia Favorability +1
By the following morning, the money had already arrived. He stared at the balance for a few quiet seconds.
A younger version of himself would’ve been overwhelmed by the number. This version wasn’t. Money sitting in a bank account was only a number. Money in motion was leverage. Without another thought, he closed the app and unlocked Rage Quit.
The café had finally settled into the comfortable rhythm every successful business eventually found. Customers came and went.
The machines stayed full. The register kept ringing. Behind the counter, Ethan was arguing with a table of regulars over the results of last night’s tournament, the entire group laughing louder with every insult thrown across the room.
Sunlight poured through the front windows, painting long golden streaks across the polished floor.
In the small office at the back, Liam sat before his computer, making minor adjustments to the loyalty algorithm inside the café’s management software.
Nothing groundbreaking. Just tiny refinements one percentage here, a slightly different reward threshold there. The sort of invisible work customers would never notice, yet quietly kept everything running better than before. It was strangely satisfying.
Just another ordinary Tuesday in a business that no longer needed him to solve a crisis every morning. He found himself enjoying that more than he expected.
The peace lasted less than ten minutes.
The bell above the entrance rang sharply. Almost immediately, hurried footsteps echoed across the floor.
"Liam!"
Monica hadn’t even reached the counter before she spoke. Her heels clicked rapidly against the tiles as she crossed the café, still clutching her phone tightly in one hand.
A few loose strands of hair had escaped her usual neat hairstyle, making it obvious she’d come straight here without stopping anywhere else.
"Liam, thank goodness you’re here."
He looked up from his laptop, one eyebrow rising slightly. "What happened?"
"My cousin. Luke." She paused only long enough to catch her breath. Ethan immediately reached for a bottle of water, and Monica accepted it with a grateful nod before taking a quick sip.
"He owns Harper Linguistics. They handle translation and localization work for manufacturing companies."
Liam listened quietly.
"He’s been negotiating with a French delegation for almost a year. They finally agreed to fly here yesterday, and today’s meeting is supposed to decide everything." She rubbed her forehead.
"But the interpreter he hired backed out this morning. Family emergency. No replacement. Nothing."
Liam nodded slowly. "And postponing isn’t an option."
"It isn’t." Monica let out a frustrated sigh. "They came all the way from Lyon. The conference room is booked.
Their schedule is packed. If Luke asks them to reschedule now..." She shook her head
.he’ll lose the deal before the meeting even starts."
For the first time since entering, she looked Liam directly in the eyes. "I didn’t know who else to call. I know your French is good. I’ve heard you use it before. I trust you. I know you can walk into that room without embarrassing him."
Liam remained calm. Months ago, the Ultimate Rebate System had quietly rewarded him with complete fluency in French. At the time, he’d simply accepted it alongside programming knowledge, business management, and software development.
He hadn’t expected that he will have to use it again Nor had he imagined an entire company’s future might depend on it.
"I can help."
The tension visibly left Monica’s shoulders. For the first time since arriving, she smiled. "Thank you. Seriously. You’ve just saved my cousin."
Liam shut his laptop and stood. "Let’s make sure the meeting succeeds first."
As they headed toward the entrance, a familiar blue screen shimmered into existence.
[New Mission Available]
Target: Harper Linguistics — French Delegation
Objective: Secure the partnership agreement.
Reward: $40,000
Bonus: Monica Trust +10
Liam’s eyes moved down the screen. Then they stopped. A second line slowly appeared beneath the mission fainter, almost transparent.
The system rarely displayed hidden information unless it was critically important.
[Hidden Condition Detected]
Harper Linguistics has less than three months before insolvency.
Company survival is dependent on securing this partnership or an equivalent alternative.
Liam’s footsteps never slowed. But his thoughts did.
Monica clearly didn’t know. Her concern had been entirely focused on the cancelled interpreter a missed opportunity, nothing more.
She hadn’t spoken like someone whose cousin’s company was only months away from collapsing.
Which meant only two possibilities existed: Luke didn’t know how bad things had become, or he knew perfectly well and had deliberately kept his family in the dark.
Either way, the French delegation wasn’t the real problem. It was only the most visible symptom.
Within the hour, they were already on the road. Monica drove.
Liam sat quietly in the passenger seat, watching the city drift past beyond the window. The late-morning sunlight reflected off rows of glass buildings, turning the skyline into flashes of silver and gold. Neither of them spoke for several minutes.
Eventually, Monica broke the silence. "The leader of the delegation..." She tightened her grip on the steering wheel. has a reputation. He doesn’t reject deals because they’re bad. He rejects them because they’re not good enough."
She let out a small, helpless laugh. "I’ve heard companies spend months preparing for him, only to walk out empty-handed after twenty minutes."
She stopped at a red light and finally looked at Liam, one eyebrow lifting slightly. "So... are you nervous?"
Liam kept his gaze on the passing traffic outside. The hidden condition still lingered at the edge of his vision.
The mission had already changed. This was no longer about translating words. It was about saving a company.
"No." His answer was calm. Steady. Unhurried.
Monica studied him for another second, as though trying to decide whether his confidence was genuine, or simply impossible to shake.
Then the light turned green. She faced the road again. This time, she couldn’t quite hide the faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
The car turned toward Harper Linguistics. And somewhere behind Liam’s calm expression, two separate missions now waited the one Monica knew about, and the one she didn’t.
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