Team Zero arrived at the TRB headquarters through a private entrance that bypassed the main lobby entirely. A TRB escort led them down a secure hallway and into a meeting room on the third floor.

There were no medical checks or delays because their physical injuries had cleared after leaving the Tower through the System’s automatic healing, though the exhaustion was still there mentally.

Finn stayed quiet. Aria looked irritated that they’d been dragged here before getting proper rest while Elliot kept checking his phone because clips from the stream were everywhere and the notifications wouldn’t stop.

Kael carried the circlet box carefully with both hands. James stayed calm but knew the meeting was about money, the circlet, and the world-first clear.

Director O’Shea was already waiting inside the conference room with Niamh and two other TRB officials James didn’t recognize.

O’Shea stood when they entered. "Sit. We’ll keep this brief."

Team Zero sat down around the conference table while O’Shea remained standing.

"Congratulations," O’Shea said. "You’ve changed Ireland’s position in the global Tower race. The world is watching us now instead of the other way around."

Niamh pulled up a report on the large screen at the front of the room. This wasn’t a Tower System notification but a normal TRB streaming platform report showing financial data in clean columns.

TRB STREAM PLATFORM REPORT

EVENT: FLOOR 9 RAID ATTEMPT

CHANNEL: TEAM ZERO

STATUS: STREAM ENDED

PEAK LIVE VIEWERS: 1,783,226

CURRENT REPLAY VIEWS: 4,920,000 AND RISING

PUBLIC DONATIONS: €3,840,000

PAID LIVE ACCESS: €1,260,000

EARLY REPLAY PURCHASES: €740,000

SPONSORSHIP BOOSTS: €1,500,000

TOTAL REAL-CURRENCY STREAM REVENUE SO FAR: €7,340,000

CHALLENGER DONATIONS: 18,500 TC

CONTRACT SPLIT:

TEAM ZERO: 90%

TRB: 10%

Niamh let the numbers sit on the screen for a moment before speaking. "This is only the current figure because replay purchases are still rising. The final total will be higher, but we need to show you where things stand now."

She tapped the screen and brought up the split calculation.

CURRENT STREAM REVENUE SPLIT

TEAM ZERO SHARE: €6,606,000

TRB SHARE: €734,000

ESTIMATED INDIVIDUAL SHARE IF SPLIT EQUALLY:

€1,321,200 EACH

Niamh turned to face them directly. "The TRB platform will send six million, six hundred and six thousand euros to Team Zero after the first audit clears. Since there are five members, each member is estimated to receive one million, three hundred twenty-one thousand, two hundred euros if you keep the equal split."

The room went completely quiet.

Aria stopped joking for the first time since they’d arrived.

Elliot stared at the screen while forgetting how to breathe.

Kael’s hands tightened slightly on the circlet box.

Finn spoke first. "Is that amount final?"

Niamh shook her head. "No. The figure will likely increase because replay purchases and delayed donations are still coming in. The first payout will be processed after the audit completes, then future replay earnings will be sent in later batches."

James looked at the number but didn’t fully react outwardly. He understood it was a significant amount of money, but the speed of everything made it feel unreal.

O’Shea explained the next part while Niamh kept the report visible. "The TRB will handle all stream revenue processing because that was part of the contract you signed. Team Zero does not need to manually split anything. Unless you submit a different written agreement, the Team Zero share will be divided equally among the five members."

Finn asked, "Can the TRB change the percentage later?"

O’Shea’s expression didn’t shift. "No. The contract is already signed at ninety percent for Team Zero and ten percent for the TRB, and the Bureau will honor it because the whole country watched the stream happen. We can’t adjust signed terms after the fact."

Aria looked at the others. "Equal split is fine with me."

Elliot nodded quickly because he wasn’t about to argue over over a million euros.

Kael agreed without hesitation. "Equal split works."

Finn looked at James, and James nodded once. "Agreed."

Nobody argued because everyone knew they’d survived as a team, and splitting it any other way would create problems later.

Kael placed the circlet box on the conference table and opened it carefully while the Apostle’s Radiant Circlet sat inside with its pale gold band catching the overhead lights.

"The circlet worked," Kael said. "But because of my partial compatibility, it wasn’t at full strength. Even so, it weakened the dark mana pressure and kept the team alive during the second and third waves."

James spoke up. "The circlet is being returned to TRB custody under the existing agreement. It still belongs to me, but the TRB keeps it in secure storage and manages official rentals."

O’Shea nodded while one of the officials took the box and closed it. "The circlet’s value has increased again. It was already valuable after the previous high-floor breakthrough, but now the world watched it help clear Floor 9. Other countries will want access. European guilds will want access. Asian guilds will want access."

He looked at James directly. "The TRB will control the handling, but your ownership and revenue share remain protected under the existing contract."

James said, "Understood."

O’Shea moved to the main reason they’d called Team Zero in so quickly. "Ireland is the first country in the world to clear Floor 9, which means every country still stuck on Floor 9 will want the official data."

He nodded at Niamh, and she brought up another document on the screen.

"The TRB is preparing to sell a Floor 9 strategy package internationally," O’Shea said.

FLOOR 9 STRATEGY PACKAGE

- Edited stream footage

- Wave pattern breakdown

- Warning about the second-wave dark aura

- Hidden corruption source warning

- Recommended anti-corruption protection

- Circlet performance summary

- Enemy behavior analysis

- Final-wave survival notes

O’Shea gestured at the list. "We’re not selling Team Zero’s private secrets. We’re selling what can be verified through the stream and what is useful for future clears. The goal is to help other teams survive Floor 9 while establishing Ireland as the primary data source."

James listened carefully while thinking about the egg. He didn’t mention it because the egg hadn’t been explained publicly during the stream, which meant it would stay out of the report entirely.

Finn asked, "How detailed will the corruption source warning be?"

O’Shea said, "We’ll explain that there’s a hidden statue in the forest that empowers the waves. We’ll recommend teams send someone to find and destroy it. We won’t explain how James found it or what happened to the statue afterward beyond ’destroyed.’"

James appreciated that because it meant the egg remained private.

Finn asked the next logical question. "Does Team Zero get anything from the strategy package sales since it’s our clear being sold?"

O’Shea smiled slightly because he’d been waiting for that. "Yes. The stream contract covers the raid broadcast, but the Floor 9 strategy package is a separate product. Since Team Zero’s run is the source of the data, you’ll receive a licensing share."

Niamh brought up another contract summary on the screen.

FLOOR 9 CLEAR DATA LICENSING TERMS

DATA SOURCE: TEAM ZERO OFFICIAL STREAM

SELLER: TOWER RESOURCE BUREAU

PRODUCT: FLOOR 9 STRATEGY PACKAGE

TEAM ZERO LICENSING SHARE: 25%

TRB OPERATIONAL SHARE: 75%

RESTRICTED DATA:

- Private inventory details

- Undisclosed class mechanics

- Personal contract information

James paid attention to the restricted data section because that protected the egg, his Reanimate skill details, and anything else not publicly shown on stream.

Finn studied the terms and nodded. "Twenty-five percent of international sales. That’s fair." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Aria leaned back in her chair. "Twenty-five percent of selling Floor 9 data to the entire world sounds better than dying for free."

Elliot still looked like he was trying to process how much money this could become when combined with the stream revenue.

Niamh didn’t ask for a full debriefing because the TRB had watched the entire stream. She only needed quick confirmations for the official report they planned to sell.

"Wave 1 had no visible dark aura," Niamh said. "Correct?"

James confirmed. "Correct."

"Wave 2 was when the corruption pressure started," Niamh continued.

Kael confirmed. "Yes. The circlet countered it."

"Destroying the hidden statue weakened the enemy coordination," Niamh said.

James confirmed again. "Yes."

"Brute force alone would have failed," Niamh stated.

Finn said, "Yes. Without finding the source, the waves would have overwhelmed any team eventually."

That was all because the TRB already had the footage and only needed confirmation for the parts that mattered to the strategy package.

While the meeting wrapped up, one of the screens on the side wall cycled through trending news feeds. James’s name was everywhere now because his face and name had been public from the stream.

A headline caught his attention.

THE NECROMANCER OF TEAM ZERO: WHO IS JAMES GANNER?

Sources link the Floor 9 MVP to the Ganner family, known for weapons-grade manufacturing, armor components, swords, shields, and Challenger equipment supply.

James noticed the headline but didn’t react visibly while Finn glanced at him when he saw the Ganner name connection, though neither of them said anything.

O’Shea stood and signaled the meeting was ending. "The first stream payout report will be sent after the audit completes. The licensing papers will follow once we finalize the strategy package for international sale."

He looked at Team Zero one more time. "You’re free to go. Expect attention. Manage it carefully."

Team Zero stood and left the TRB conference room.

At Ganner Corp headquarters, James’s uncle sat in his office reading the same article about James on his computer screen.

The article showed James from the stream footage standing near the reanimated ogre with the headline calling him the Necromancer of Team Zero in bold letters.

His uncle smiled slowly while leaning back in his leather chair. "My brother’s child is really doing well."

His secretary stood nearby with a tablet in her hands. "Sir, since the stream ended, Ganner Corp sales have surged. Armor parts, swords, shields, repair kits, and Challenger-grade equipment are being purchased heavily. Several investors have reached out asking about the company’s connection to James Ganner."

The uncle laughed out loud, and the sound didn’t carry any warmth. He sounded pleased by opportunity rather than pride.

"Maybe it’s time James joined us," he said while still looking at the screen.

The secretary tapped her tablet. "Public association with James could increase the company’s market position significantly. His name is trending across every major Challenger network."

The uncle’s smile widened while he thought about how to use James’s sudden fame. "Draft a formal invitation. Make it professional. We’ll bring him into the fold properly."

The office door opened without warning, and the uncle’s first son entered looking tense.

"Father," he said. "It’s been two weeks since anyone heard from Derek. Why aren’t you worried?"

James’s uncle waved the concern away without looking up from the article. "Everyone knows what Derek is like. He’s useless, spoiled, and probably somewhere spending money foolishly. It’s my own fault he became that way, but that doesn’t mean I’ll panic every time he disappears for a while."

The first son pushed back. "This feels different."

The uncle’s expression hardened while irritation crept into his voice. "Is that why you rushed into my office? To waste my time worrying about Derek?" He gestured toward the door. "Get out."

The first son was about to leave when the second son entered behind him.

"Derek hasn’t spent money in a while," the second son said quietly. "That’s why we came."

The uncle stopped smiling.

The second son continued. "Derek’s cards, his accounts, his usual spending patterns—they’ve all gone quiet. No transactions. No withdrawals. Nothing."

That caught the uncle’s full attention.

The room’s atmosphere changed completely while the uncle sat forward in his chair and stared at his second son.

"Call Derek’s phone," he said.

The first son replied, "We already tried. His phone isn’t going through."

The uncle sat back slowly while thinking. Then he looked at his second son with a direct command.

"Go to his apartment. Find out what he’s doing."

The second son nodded once. "Yes, sir."

The uncle turned to his secretary. "Pull his latest transactions. Quietly. I want to see when his spending stopped and where he was before that."

The secretary lowered her head. "Yes, sir."

The uncle looked back at the article on his screen where James’s face was still visible beside the words World’s First Floor 9 Clear.

For the first time since reading the article, the smile on his face faded completely.

He looked at his sons again. "Go. And don’t come back without knowing where Derek is."