[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati":3,"chapter-harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-chapter-159":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1410570,1864,"Chapter 159: BOUNTY","harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-chapter-159",159,"\u003Cp>Chapter 159 – BOUNTY\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Devorare spun once, twice—then struck the final blinking lens with a crack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Glass fractured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Electric sparks sizzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the moment the camera shattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[WARNING: Dimensional anchor destabilizing.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Collapse of dark spatial fold imminent. Estimated time: 00:00:09.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Please hold your breath.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All around him, the spa began to ripple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tiles bent. The air pulsed. Shadows turned to smoke turned to static. Like the dream was ending, and reality was waking up with a hangover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux took a step back when something caught his eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just past the edge of the fractured jacuzzi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something... mundane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A phone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Small. Flat. Black case wrapped in infernal etching. It looked like obsidian that got bored and became a touchscreen. There was no logo. No brand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Demonic tech.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not mortal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Definitely Underworld-made.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux narrowed his eyes. It had been hidden—wedged between towels like an afterthought. Sloppy. And demons didn’t do sloppy unless they were rushing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could’ve been hers. Or his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux crouched and picked it up, turning it in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was ice cold to the touch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The screen was blank. Not dead. Just off. Refusing him. Smart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lux smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he had a cheat code.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"TechnoGreed,\" he murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A soft pulse of mana spilled from his palm—thin threads of golden code, like vines spun from encryption. They wrapped around the device. Crawled over its screen. Then pierced it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The phone jolted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its screen flared to life—violent red, demonic glyphs flickering like glitching blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then an image loaded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Poster-style.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No music. No sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>NAME: Lux Vaelthorn\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>OCCUPATION: Chief Finance Overlord of Hell, The Greed Heir\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>STATUS: ACTIVE\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>DEAD or SOUL ONLY\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOUNTY: 88,800,000,000 SOUL CREDITS\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>NOTES: Extremely dangerous. Do not approach alone. Suspected of relic absorption.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>LAST SEEN: Mortal Realm\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux stared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...What the f*ck.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t even blink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The number wasn’t just high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was stupid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eight-eight billion soul credits? That was almost the GDP of lower Hell. Entire provinces didn’t move that much currency in a century. You couldn’t even launder that much without creating a new sub-economy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder they sent assassins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They weren’t just hunting him. They were chasing a myth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A walking payday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux exhaled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long. Slow. Tight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The screen kept flickering—showing variants. His face from different angles. Sketches. One grainy photo of him flipping someone off in what looked like a board meeting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"System.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Did you enjoy your surprise fame?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Confirm bounty network origin.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Running trace...]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Source: Deep-Layered Market Grid. Infernal Darknet: \"The Scorch Bazaar.\"]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Public listing. Multi-syndicate approved.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux hissed through his teeth. \"So it’s real.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corvus, from above, finally said something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You okay, boss?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux turned slightly. Still staring at the demonic phone in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then casually tossed it behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Catch.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corvus squawked, flapping wildly. \"HEY—!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He dove, barely catching the device in his talons before it shattered on tile. His body blurred as he hit the ground—feathers rippling, bones reshaping, mass reconfiguring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t stop at a bird.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Into humanoid form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The feathers folded down into a hooded black jacket with blood-red threads stitched like circuit lines. His legs formed into combat joggers, his boots half-melted into cyberpunk soles. Black fingerless gloves blinked with rune-keys on the knuckles. He looked like a caffeine-addicted hacker had crawled out of a surveillance nightmare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Messy dark hair. Sharp yellow eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And a pissed-off energy that practically screamed. ’Don’t hand me cursed tech when I haven’t finished debugging the last cursed tech, you jackass boss.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corvus huffed. \"Stop throwing demonware around like gum wrappers!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux didn’t even blink. \"Just sterilize it. And don’t bring it back until it stops trying to track my soul signature.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corvus scowled and turned the phone over in his hand, muttering. \"Ugh. You always get the sexy cursed tech. I got the malware.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux raised a brow. \"That a complaint?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Observation,\" Corvus muttered. \"Tsk. Okay, boss. I’ll trace the metadata, rip out the trackers, see if I can reverse-engineer who posted the bounty or just scream into a firewall. Either way, this thing’s dirtier than a Lust’s browser history.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t want its location services bleeding through,\" Lux said. \"Some of these high-level merc syndicates eat data pings.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know, I know,\" Corvus said, tapping the side of the phone. \"Trust me. I’ve been ghosting the damn market for years. I’ll scrub it like it owes me rent.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux looked at him. \"And Corvus.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No ransom schemes. I’m not selling myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corvus pouted. \"Awww. Not even, like, a fake auction to bait rival bidders?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sterilize it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fine, fine,\" he muttered, already pulling out a hex-screened terminal from literal shadow. \"You’re no fun.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both of them shimmered, teleported.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The space cracked again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Spatial Collapse: 3... 2... 1...]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Light twisted inward like someone closing a curtain too fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then— Lux was standing beside his bike and he had returned to his Human form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dome was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like it had never been there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air smelled real again—smoke, cheap perfume, city heat. The concrete was solid. Cars were honking four blocks away. A homeless guy was yelling something about taxes and pigeons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The real world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He breathed in once. Sharp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The streetlight above him flickered. The same one that had dimmed when the shadow dome dropped. It was back to its usual buzz. Harmless. Mortal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux reached up and adjusted his gloves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His fingers twitched slightly, residual heat still pulsing from his suit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And somewhere, far off in the infernal echo chamber of Hell’s black-market economy— He was famous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That bounty poster would spread. They always did. Someone would take a screenshot. Someone else would leak it to a collector. Forums would buzz.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CFO of Hell. The man who bankrupts kings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now open season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lux rolled his neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"System.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Yes, boss? Feeling glamorous?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Add bounty notification to passive alerts. Flag any increase.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Logged.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He put on his helmet and revved the engine once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The streets ahead lit with citylight. Neon, smeared by humidity. Perfect for riding through like a vengeful myth in designer boots.\u003C\u002Fp>",1003,"2026-06-05T23:57:11.778Z",1,"novelbin.me","cfd511d68a75033e9801f4971a33ea7382b0eb95194c6885324879742d68b631","harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-chapter-160","harem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-chapter-158",878,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fharem-startup-the-demon-billionaire-is-on-vacati-cover.jpg"]