"Pull his IV line right now. This man doesn't have a single cent of insurance coverage to pay for his room."The shrill voice of a middle-aged woman pierced the darkness enveloping Caleb's consciousness. He opened his eyes very slowly. The incredibly pungent smell of carbolic acid and the constant beeping of an ECG machine instantly assaulted his sense of smell and hearing. The glaringly bright fluorescent hospital lights blinded his vision, forcing him to squint.Caleb found himself lying stiffly on a narrow medical bed. His body was wrapped in thick bandages around his chest and stomach. A sharp, throbbing pain instantly welcomed him."Where am I," Caleb thought, trying to move his fingers.His head suddenly throbbed violently. Fragments of foreign memories flooded his brain like a broken cassette tape forced to play. Arthur Pendelton. That was the name of the foolish man who had bequeathed this flesh vessel to him. Arthur was the CEO of an inve

"You look like a filthy rat just dragged out of a sewer, Arthur."Richard's cold voice echoed bouncing off the marble walls of his luxurious law firm lobby. The senior lawyer who had always bowed respectfully and offered Cuban cigars every time Arthur Pendelton visited, now stood with his arms crossed, his gaze incredibly disgusted.Caleb Thorne stood with wet, rattling breath. His thin hospital gown was soaking wet from rainwater and brown mud due to Elena's guard's kick a few hours ago. The pain from his three broken ribs kept piercing his internal organs every time he took in oxygen. However, he forced this fragile body to stand tall."I didn't come to discuss my appearance, Richard," answered Caleb flatly. "Open your law firm's safe. Take out the emergency protocol documents I entrusted to you last month. Marcus forged the signature for the transfer of the company's main assets. We will freeze all his banking access today."Richard laughed softly. A very crisp and dismissive laugh

"I will make them beg for death."The words slipped from Caleb's lips smeared with fresh blood, blown away by the fierce and freezing night wind. Heavy rain continued to fall, turning the narrow alley into a river of dirty mud. The bite wound on his arm throbbed painfully, but the pain succeeded in driving away the remnants of the shameful crying from within him.However, defeating emotional hysteria did not make his physical body immune. The air temperature plummeted sharply approaching the freezing point. The thin, soaking wet hospital clothes clung to Arthur Pendelton's pale skin. The fever that had been lurking earlier now exploded violently, burning his body's internal temperature while his outer skin shivered from the cold."If I keep sitting here, this body will die of hypothermia before morning," calculated Caleb incredibly coldly. His military brain refused to surrender to natural conditions.Caleb forced himself to stand, holding onto th

"I cannot win a war against a giant corporation with a ruined physique like this," Caleb thought coldly. His eyes stared at his hands trembling from muscle weakness.An absolute and painful tactical realization enveloped the general's mind. He could no longer rely on pure strength to destroy his enemies. This mortal body had to be retrained from absolute zero. And until this body was ready to become a killing weapon again, he had to use weapons that were far more deadly and invisible.He had to use Arthur Pendelton's genius brain and the intrigue of world espionage to take revenge in the most elegant human way.The next morning, the air inside the underground social shelter facility felt much stuffier and smelled more of urine than before. The dim morning sunlight pierced through a small vent near the ceiling, only enough to cast a little shadow over the rusted iron beds.Caleb Thorne sat on one of the long plastic chairs in the communal room fill