Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation

Chapter 194 – Not a Hobby Creep

The suite lights glowed on. Soft ambient gold, warm wood, tall windows overlooking the skyline.

He walked straight to the minibar, poured himself a glass of infused water, and collapsed onto the velvet couch like a man who’d just survived a tax audit with his soul intact.

The cold citrus-rose liquid hit his tongue with a bite, sharp and clean. Just enough to remind him he wasn’t dead yet. Just tired. Irritated. Mentally flipping off the world with one hand while the other tried to file reports in alphabetical order.

Lux closed his eyes, exhaled through his nose, and muttered, ”I hate people.”

[Including beautiful heiresses?]

”Except them. But I don’t like that fox girl.”

[Would you like Corvus to handle Miss Ninevyn? He could forge a scandal. Or a traffic violation. Or a sudden visa rejection if you’re feeling petty.]

Lux opened one eye, deadpan. ”No. That’s just an inconvenience. She’s not worth the RAM.”

He sat up, leaned forward, and rolled his glass between his palms.

”I want Corvus focused. I want names. I want locations. And I want to know where I can slice the creatures who put bounties on my head.”

The system paused for a heartbeat—rare. That meant an update was dropping.

[Bounty increased to 89 billion soul credits.]

The glass in his hand stopped moving. The tension in his shoulders didn’t spike—it locked. Like a safe door slamming shut.

”...source?”

[Celestial realm.]

Lux leaned back into the couch slowly. Blinked once. Twice.

Then exhaled.

Long. Controlled. Furious.

A silent fire curled in his stomach.

Lux stared at the glass. The light hit it just right—refractions slicing across his skin like golden blades.

”How to detect them more efficiently...” he murmured.

He thought.

Hard.

Celestial agents didn’t leave scent trails.

No mana leaks. They didn’t bribe. They didn’t gloat. They just watched. Waited. Judged.

But they reacted.

Slowly, Lux stood.

A smirk broke over his face like dawn behind storm clouds.

”Oh wait... I know...”

He lifted his hand, fingers curling into a smooth gesture as his palm lit with soft infernal glow.

”Summon.”

The shadows responded instantly, rippling across the floor like ink bleeding through silk.

Then—

A form rose.

Exactly his height. Exactly his build. Down to the crooked smile and the barely-hidden arrogance behind his eyes.

[Doppelganger successfully summoned.]

Lux’s eyes narrowed. ”Status?”

[Doppelganger – Fully Functional. Obedient. Soul-linked. Duration: Indefinite unless destroyed.]

”Good.”

The doppelganger gave a small, perfectly-mirrored bow. ”Awaiting orders, sir.”

Lux folded his arms and nodded toward the cityscape beyond the windows. ”Create fake pings. Scatter them across the city. Make it random. Messy. But real enough to pull something out of hiding.”

”Understood.”

”If they attack you,” Lux added, ”run. Don’t die. Come back. And give me the report.”

The clone smirked. ”I won’t die from trash mobs.”

Then with a snap of its fingers, the shadows rippled again.

Four more rose beside it.

Five Luxes now stood in his suite, like a council of smug bastards each ready to play bait.

They all nodded once, synchronized.

And then—

They vanished. One by one. Into smoke and glimmers.

Gone.

Lux exhaled, walking toward the balcony.

”Now,” he muttered, ”the traps have been laid...”

His feet touched the cool tile of the outdoor terrace.

”Now, I’m bored,” he huffed.

The sky stretched wide above—blue smeared with warm gold, clouds bleeding. The wind carried the high, crisp scent of moneyed civilization: heated marble, distant perfume, passing cars below like insects in a snow globe.

”Maybe I should start with—”

A flicker.

He stopped.

Above him, just past the edge of the glass railing, something hovered.

A small orb. No larger than a melon. Humming faintly. Dark matte casing, reinforced ridges. Smooth, near-silent rotor discs and a lens the size of a fingernail blinking red.

A drone.

Not an amateur one either.

Military-grade. Stealthed. Shielded. Probably enough onboard memory to blackmail a minor noble house into bankruptcy.

Lux tilted his head.

And smirked.

”You,” he said softly. ”You’re not just some hobby creep, are you?”

[Scanning... crest detected. Marking identified... Cross-referencing insignia database... Match found.]

[Source: Xianlong Family. Designation: Eastern Dragon Tech Division.]

Of course.

”Miss Mira Xianlong,” Lux said aloud, lips curling. ”If you wanted to ask me out, you should’ve just texted.”

The drone didn’t flinch. Didn’t pull back.

Most people, when caught, would flee. Cut the signal. Drop the feed. Burn the bridge and delete the footage.

But Mira?

Mira responded.

The speaker crackled once.

Then came her voice. Confident. Cold. Honey laced with war.

”How do you know it’s mine?”

Lux didn’t even blink. ”The crest. Your family owns the tech. Your family’s got patents that make military defense contractors weep in their sleep. And this drone’s too clean to be black-market. You sent it.”

A pause.

Then—

”Correct.”

There was no attempt to deny it. No false modesty. She said it like ’of course it’s mine. What else would you expect?’

Lux took a sip of his water, looking directly into the red lens now.

”You know,” he said casually, ”most girls prefer perfume or flowers.”

”I prefer reconnaissance.”

A slow grin curved across his face.

He hated how much he respected that.

”You trying to spy on me?” he asked, stepping closer to the drone. ”Or just marking territory?”

”Both.”

Honesty.

Brutal, beautiful honesty.

”I can sue you for this, you know.”

”Then sue me.”

Lux exhaled a laugh. ”You’re lucky I like dragons.”

”You’re lucky I like devils in suits. Though I know it’s just bullshit. ”

Now that made him raise a brow.

”Flirting through espionage. Very on-brand for you.”

The drone dipped in place. A silent nod of amusement.

”I needed to confirm something.”

”What? That I’m real? Or that I’m dangerous?”

”Both,” she said again. ”And now that I have... I think we should talk.”

Lux leaned on the railing, smirk deepening.

”Talk, date, threat, or deal?”

”Let’s just say I have a proposal.”

He stared at the blinking lens, weighing the tension in the air.

His traps were out. His name was on celestial bounty boards. His pheromones had melted one girl’s spine today. And now a dragon princess was sending him drones like flowers.

Vacation, huh?

He laughed under his breath.

Yeah, he started to like this kind of vacation.

”Fine. Send your terms.”

”Already did. Check your phone.”

The drone turned. Drifted upward, disappearing into the skyline.

Gone.