Three days had passed since the confrontation at the college. For most of the country, those three days had been filled with panic. News channels continued replaying the footage of the Monster floating above the Pune High Court. Governments held emergency meetings. Military units were deployed across several states. Aarav Vardan’s face had become one of the most recognizable images in the nation.

  But far away from the noise of the mainland, on a remote island hidden deep in the Indian Ocean, the Monster remained silent.

  Aarav sat alone in a dimly lit room, staring at the faint glow of a laptop screen. The waves outside crashed softly against the rocky shore.

  Three days. Three days since his life had collapsed in front of everyone he cared about. Anish. Ritesh Nisha.

  Their shocked faces still appeared in his mind. He could contact them if he wanted. With his hacking abilities it would be effortless to access their phones, their laptops, even the university network itself. He could speak to them without revealing where he was.

  But every time the thought crossed his mind, he stopped himself.

  That part of his life was already over. Aarav leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment. He had responsibilities now. If the world had chosen to call him a monster, then the world would witness exactly what that meant. His eyes opened again. On the screen in front of him was a file filled with names, documents, and financial records. One name sat at the very top.

  Urvashi Malhotra, Minister of Environment.

  To the public she was a symbol of environmental reform. Her speeches about protecting forests and reducing industrial pollution had made her extremely popular. But the truth hidden behind those speeches was far darker.

  Mining corporations had been illegally clearing thousands of acres of protected forest land under her approval. Entire tribal communities had been displaced. Rivers had been poisoned by chemical dumping while official reports declared the water “safe.” Millions of dollars had quietly flowed into offshore accounts.

  Aarav studied the data carefully. “Corruption disguised as protection,” he murmured.

  Behind him the door opened. Uncle K stepped into the room.

  “You’ve been staring at that screen for six hours,” he said. “Planning something?”

  Aarav didn’t look away from the laptop. “Yes.”

  Uncle K walked closer and glanced at the screen. “The environment minister?” he said.

  Aarav nodded. “She’s next.”

  Uncle K folded his arms. “You know this will bring even more heat on you.”

  “That’s the point,” Aarav replied calmly. He finally turned toward him.

  “I need your help.”

  Uncle K raised an eyebrow. “What kind of help?”

  “I need access to your network,” Aarav said. “Your men, your satellites, your offshore infrastructure. And I need a device powerful enough to break through any digital firewall on the planet.”

  Uncle K studied him carefully. "You’re planning cyber attack?"

  Aarav gave a faint smile “Not an attack,” he said. “A demonstration.”

  Several hours later, the underground control room beneath the island was alive with activity. Screens filled the walls displaying satellite feeds, financial networks, and communication grids. Dozens of Uncle K’s operatives moved quietly through the room.

  At the center of it all sat Aarav. In front of him was a compact black device connected directly to the global network infrastructure.

  “This is a military-grade quantum intrusion unit,” one of the technicians explained. “It can break through almost any encrypted system.”

  “Almost?” Aarav asked.

  The technician hesitated but Aarav smiled slightly. “That’s enough.”

  He placed his hands on the keyboard. “Let’s begin.”

  The first system he entered was the Ministry of Environment’s internal servers. Firewalls collapsed within seconds. Then he moved deeper Corporate databases. Offshore banking records. Private emails between government officials and mining executives. Every secret conversation. Every illegal approval. Every bribe.

  Aarav’s fingers moved across the keyboard with terrifying speed.

  “Broadcast channel ready,” one of the operatives announced.

  “Good,” Aarav said.

  He uploaded everything. Not to a single server. But to thousands. Every major news network in the country. Every social media platform. Every government database mirror. At exactly the same moment.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Across India, television screens suddenly flickered. News channels were interrupted. Phones buzzed with emergency alerts.

  A single message appeared everywhere.

  BEHOLD THE MONSTER’S JUSTICE

  Then the files began appearing. Video recordings of private meetings. Bank transfer records worth billions. Satellite images showing illegal deforestation. Signed government approvals authorizing environmental destruction. And finally… A live video feed.

  Urvashi Malhotra sat inside her private office in Delhi, completely unaware that every screen in the country was now showing her face. The camera angle shifted slightly. She looked up in confusion.

  “Who is this?” she demanded.

  The lights in her office suddenly flickered. A calm voice echoed through the room.

  “My name doesn’t matter,” Aarav said through the hacked system. “But your crimes do.”

  Across the nation, millions watched the broadcast in stunned silence. Every piece of evidence appeared on screen one after another. Illegal contracts. Poisoned rivers. Destroyed forests. Displaced villages.

  The minister’s confident expression slowly dissolved into fear. “You can’t do this,” she said.

  Aarav’s voice remained calm. “The system you trusted to protect you… no longer exists.”

  Police sirens began echoing outside her building.

  Journalists were already rushing toward the ministry. Aarav leaned back in his chair.

  The broadcast ended with a final message. THE MONSTER DOES NOT HIDE FROM JUSTICE. HE DELIVERS IT.

  Inside the control room, Uncle K watched the screens quietly.

  “You didn’t kill her,” he said.

  Aarav shook his head. “No, Not now.”

  “Then what is your plan?” Uncle K asked.

  Aarav leaned back in his chair.

  “This time,” Aarav continued, “ I'll strike without using my powers.”

  Uncle K frowned. “How?”

  For a moment Aarav said nothing. He simply stared at the satellite map displayed across the massive screen in the control room. Dozens of red dots marked illegal mining sites deep inside protected forests. Each one approved by the same person.

  Urvashi Malhotra.

  Aarav smiled faintly. “Tit for tat.”

  Uncle K crossed his arms. “Explain.”

  Aarav tapped the keyboard. Instantly the screens filled with financial data. Corporate ownership charts. Satellite images of mining sites. Shipping routes. Offshore accounts.

  “These mines have destroyed forests, poisoned rivers, and displaced thousands of people,” Aarav said calmly.

  Uncle K nodded. “I know.”

  “But the real reason they exist is money,” Aarav continued.

  He pointed toward a glowing network diagram. “Every ton of ore extracted here moves through a financial chain. Mining companies, shell corporations, government contractors, offshore banks.”

  He looked at Uncle K. “Break that chain… and the entire empire collapses.”

  Uncle K watched him carefully. “So what exactly are you planning?”

  Aarav’s fingers began moving across the keyboard. “First,” he said, “we take control of their mining operations.”

  Several operators in the control room activated the drone systems. On the satellite screen, a swarm of autonomous drones lifted off from hidden locations around the island.

  “They will reach the mining zones in two hours,” one technician reported.

  Aarav nodded.

  “Second,” he continued, “we access the corporations’ financial pipelines.”

  Encrypted banking systems began appearing on the screens. Within seconds the firewalls shattered. Billions of rupees flowed through the digital channels.

  Uncle K stared at the numbers. “You’re robbing them.”

  “No,” Aarav said calmly. “I’m redistributing.”

  He typed a final command. Across the country, thousands of bank accounts belonging to displaced villagers, tribal communities, and environmental victims suddenly received massive transfers. Compensation. Money stolen from the mines returned to the people.

  Uncle K exhaled slowly. “You’re going to start a financial war.”

  Aarav didn’t respond. After two hours, on another screen the drones finally reached the mining zone. The illegal excavation site was massive. Bulldozers tore into the forest floor while trucks loaded raw ore under floodlights. Then the machines suddenly stopped. The power grid collapsed. Security alarms began screaming.

  And seconds later the drones dropped small charges onto the excavation equipment. Precision explosives. The charges detonated in a chain reaction. Mining machines erupted in fire. Excavators collapsed into burning wreckage. Ore trucks exploded one after another. Within minutes the entire illegal mining operation was nothing but flames.

  Back in the control room, Aarav watched silently.

  “Mining network destroyed,” one operator announced.

  “Financial transfer completed,” another said.

  “And the broadcast?” Uncle K asked.

  Aarav pressed one final key. Across India every major news channel was interrupted again. The screen displayed live footage of the burning mine.

  A message appeared across the broadcast.

  THIS FOREST WAS SOLD. TODAY IT WAS RETURNED.

  Then another line appeared beneath it.

  THE MONEY YOU STOLE… NOW BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE YOU DESTROYED.

  Inside the control room, Uncle K stared at Aarav. “You’ve destroyed a billion-dollar operation.”

  Aarav closed the laptop. “No,” he said quietly.

  “I simply returned what they stole.”

  Outside, the waves continued crashing against the island cliffs. And somewhere in Delhi, Urvashi Malhotra was staring at the news in horror as her empire burned in front of the entire world.

  The Monster had struck again. And this time… He didn’t just punish corruption. He bankrupted it.