The blinking red light inside the ventilation grate stared back at them.
Marcus felt his stomach tighten.
"That's… definitely a camera."
Ethan didn't move.
He simply stared at it.
The tiny lens reflected the glow of the monitors behind them.
Marcus whispered,
"So he's been watching us this whole time."
Ethan nodded slowly.
"Probably longer than we think."
Marcus ran both hands through his hair.
"This is insane."
Ethan finally stepped closer to the wall and looked up at the vent.
The camera was small.
Almost invisible.
Whoever placed it there knew exactly what they were doing.
Marcus spoke quietly.
"Do we destroy it?"
Ethan paused.
Then shook his head.
"No."
Marcus blinked.
"Why not?!"
Ethan turned back toward the monitors.
"Because the moment we destroy it…"
"…Liang knows we found it," Marcus finished.
Ethan nodded.
"And then he changes strategies."
Marcus frowned.
"So what do we do?"
Ethan sat back down at the desk.
"We let him watch."
Marcus stared at him.
"That's your plan?"
Ethan nodded once.
"Yes."
Marcus looked at the camera again.
Then back at Ethan.
"You're going to let a billionaire spy on us?"
Ethan gave a faint smile.
"Not spy."
Marcus frowned.
"Then what?"
Ethan said quietly,
"Observe."
The trading system executed another series of trades.
Helios stock surged again.
The market was becoming chaotic.
More traders were entering the rally.
Speculators.
Funds.
Algorithms.
Everyone chasing the momentum.
Profit updated again.
$589,000.
Marcus pointed at the screen.
"Your AI is winning the market."
Ethan shook his head.
"No."
Marcus looked confused.
"What do you mean no?"
Ethan pointed at the order flow.
"Liang is feeding it."
Marcus blinked.
"You think he's still pushing the price?"
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus crossed his arms.
"Then why help us make money?"
Ethan leaned back slightly.
"Because the bigger the bubble…"
Marcus finished the sentence.
"…the bigger the crash."
Ethan nodded.
Marcus looked back at the blinking camera.
"So he's sitting somewhere watching us…"
"…waiting for the moment we fall into his trap."
Ethan opened the simulation engine again.
The Victor Liang model was still running.
Marcus leaned closer.
"Can the AI predict his next move?"
Ethan pointed at the screen.
"It's trying."
The prediction map expanded.
Hundreds of possible strategies appeared.
Marcus squinted.
"That's a lot of scenarios."
Ethan nodded.
"Liang is unpredictable."
Marcus frowned.
"That's comforting."
The AI ran another simulation.
Then another.
Finally, a probability result appeared.
Marcus read it aloud.
"Most likely event: market crash within 4 hours."
Marcus whistled softly.
"That's soon."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus looked at the camera again.
"So he's waiting."
Ethan nodded again.
"Yes."
Marcus sighed.
"Great."
Another log message appeared.
External observation active.
Marcus laughed dryly.
"The robot spy confirms the billionaire spy."
Ethan didn't respond.
Instead, he typed something into the terminal.
Marcus leaned closer.
"What are you doing?"
Ethan answered quietly.
"Changing the rules."
Marcus blinked.
"What rules?"
Ethan pointed at the trading engine.
"Our AI is predictable."
Marcus frowned.
"It wins every trade."
Ethan nodded.
"Exactly."
Marcus slowly understood.
"Oh."
Ethan continued.
"If Liang's system is studying it…"
Marcus finished.
"…then it's learning a perfect pattern."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus crossed his arms.
"So?"
Ethan smiled faintly.
"We break the pattern."
Marcus blinked.
"How?"
Ethan typed a new command.
The AI paused briefly.
Then a new module appeared.
Strategic randomness enabled.
Marcus stared at the screen.
"Randomness?"
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus frowned.
"You're making your super AI act… unpredictable?"
Ethan leaned back.
"Exactly."
Marcus looked skeptical.
"That sounds dangerous."
Ethan shrugged.
"So is playing chess against someone who already knows every move."
Marcus slowly nodded.
"Fair point."
The AI executed its next trade.
Marcus watched closely.
Something felt different.
The timing was unusual.
The position size smaller.
Marcus frowned.
"That wasn't the optimal move."
Ethan nodded.
"It wasn't supposed to be."
Marcus looked confused.
"But we made less profit."
Ethan glanced at the camera.
"Exactly."
Marcus's eyes widened.
"Oh."
Ethan continued quietly.
"If Liang's AI is learning from us…"
"…we feed it the wrong lessons," Marcus finished.
Ethan smiled slightly.
"Now you're thinking like a strategist."
Marcus leaned back.
"That's actually genius."
Profit updated again.
$592,000.
Marcus laughed.
"You sabotaged the trade… and we still made money."
Ethan shrugged.
"The market momentum is strong."
Marcus pointed at the Helios chart.
"It's going crazy."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus frowned.
"And that crash prediction…"
"…is still coming," Ethan said quietly.
Marcus glanced at the clock.
Three hours left.
The tension in the room grew heavier.
The phone vibrated again.
Another message from the future.
Ethan froze.
Marcus noticed immediately.
"What does it say?"
Ethan opened the message slowly.
His expression changed.
Marcus leaned closer.
"Well?"
Ethan handed him the phone.
Marcus read the message.
Then read it again.
His face slowly turned pale.
The message said:
"Randomness won't stop him."
Marcus looked up.
"What?"
Ethan pointed to the next line.
Marcus read it aloud.
"Victor Liang already predicted you would do that."
Marcus's stomach dropped.
He looked back at the camera.
Then at the monitors.
Then at Ethan.
"You're telling me…"
Ethan nodded slowly.
"…he's two steps ahead."
Marcus whispered,
"That guy is terrifying."
The trading system suddenly beeped loudly.
A massive alert appeared on the screen.
Institutional sell orders detected.
Marcus's eyes widened.
"Is that—"
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus looked at the Helios chart.
The price froze for a moment.
Then…
It dropped.
Fast.
Five percent.
Ten percent.
Fifteen percent.
Marcus whispered,
"The crash started."
Ethan's eyes locked onto the market feed.
Huge sell orders flooded the exchange.
Millions of shares dumping into the market.
Marcus stared in shock.
"That's Liang."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus swallowed.
"He pulled the trigger."
The AI reacted instantly.
Emergency trading protocols activated.
Marcus watched the screen explode with activity.
"Whoa!"
The system began executing dozens of trades per second.
Buying dips.
Selling rebounds.
Hedging risk.
Marcus looked amazed.
"It's fighting the crash."
Ethan didn't celebrate.
Because another message appeared on the screen.
Not from the future phone.
From the mysterious observing terminal.
Text slowly appeared.
Strategic confrontation confirmed.
Marcus stared at the line.
"That sounds like war."
Ethan nodded quietly.
"In a way…"
Marcus watched the trades fly across the screen.
The profit counter fluctuated wildly.
$592,000.
$571,000.
$548,000.
Marcus winced.
"We're losing money."
Ethan whispered,
"That's not the real problem."
Marcus looked at him.
"Then what is?"
Ethan pointed at the network monitor.
Marcus followed his finger.
A new connection had appeared.
Marcus read the label.
And felt his chest tighten.
Liang Capital: Direct Market Interface Activated.
Marcus looked up slowly.
"What does that mean?"
Ethan answered quietly.
"It means Victor Liang isn't just watching anymore."
Marcus swallowed.
"What's he doing?"
Ethan looked back at the screens filled with chaos.
Then he said the words Marcus feared most.
"He just entered the game."