The steady beeping of the heart monitor filled the silence of the hospital ward. Raymond lay flat on his back, staring blankly at the white ceiling. At the corner of his eyes, the golden glow of translucent text still flickered faintly.[ Synchronization of the God of War Soul Core: 7% ][ Warning: Mortal body suffering from chronic malnutrition. Recovery process slowed. ]Raymond let out a long breath. The ancient memories awakened last night had only surfaced by a fraction, yet the pain caused by betrayal in this mortal world felt far more real than the thousands of years of his past history. Just as he lowered both feet from the edge of the bed, the ward door slid open without a knock.Chloe Miller walked in. A neatly tailored maroon blazer wrapped around her body. Her expression looked exhausted, but her eyes immediately sharpened the moment she saw Raymond already sitting upright.“Incredible. The doctor said you were hit by a sports car, yet not a single bone in your body was br

The roar of the black Cadillac’s engine slowly faded as Yudha parked the vehicle in a hidden area just a few blocks away from Manhattan’s business district. Raymond continued staring out the window, observing the bustling city that moved on without caring about the fate of the people inside it.“Raymond,” Yudha called, quickly adjusting to a modern way of speaking according to the God of War’s orders. “There’s one important thing you need to know about what happened that night. Altar Logistics intelligence has just hacked the entire encrypted communication network belonging to the Miller family and Julian Vance.”Raymond did not immediately turn around. He merely gave a signal by tapping his finger against his knee, indicating for Yudha to continue.Yudha turned around from the driver’s seat and handed over a military-grade digital tablet displaying chat transcripts and voice recordings. “Those cheating photos at the motel in Queens... they were completely fabricated digital manipulat

Raymond’s footsteps struck the gray Manhattan sidewalk with a steady rhythm, leaving behind the noisy laughter inside the labor agency office. Behind him, Chloe still stood frozen at the doorway, staring at his back with restrained anger. The evening rain began to fall lightly, soaking the striped flannel shirt wrapped around his sturdy body.Every breath Raymond took felt heavy. Inside his chest, there was a surge of blazing energy demanding to be released. As someone who had once annihilated ranks of demonic armored troops on the Altar Battlefield, being insulted repeatedly by a mortal woman made the veins on his temples throb tensely. His right hand clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned pale, producing faint crack sounds amid the noise of the streets.One snap of my fingers. I only need one snap to shatter that arrogant woman’s mouth along with that suffocating building, Raymond thought, his eyes glowing with a dense golden light through the curtain of rain that was beginnin

The crystal chandelier inside Julian Vance’s private office on the top floor of the Vance Corporation tower shimmered luxuriously, reflecting the shadows of two people caught in tension. Chloe Miller paced back and forth across the gray velvet carpet, her fingers adorned with diamond rings gripping her phone so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Her face, usually filled with arrogance, now looked pale, with her makeup slightly smudged from the anxiety that had plagued her all day.“Julian, how could this happen?!” Chloe’s voice rose, a hysterical tone she could no longer hide. “Two of our main textile raw material containers from the Port of Boston were detained by federal quarantine authorities without any clear reason! Three Wall Street banks also suddenly made it difficult to extend Miller Group’s short-term debt tenor this morning! If those supplies don’t reach the factory within forty-eight hours, our production will collapse, and our family’s stocks will plummet before tomo

The official dark blue marriage certificate slid across the leather dashboard of the Lincoln Navigator. Natalie Sterling stared at the black ink signature of the name “Raymond Smith” beside her own with an unreadable expression. There was a cold sense of relief in her eyes, but there was no warmth of marriage there. This was purely a business transaction to secure Sterling Group.“This marriage certificate will remain in my possession,” Natalie said without turning toward Raymond, who was sitting in the passenger seat. Her voice was flat, cutting through the silence of the soundproof cabin. “Tonight, Elena will pick you up in Queens. We have to attend an important business banquet at the Grand Istana Manhattan Hotel to announce your new status to the public, while simultaneously shutting down my uncle’s and cousin’s moves.”Raymond merely rested his head against the seat, staring out the fogged-up window. “A business banquet?”“A major partnership between Miller Group and Vance Corpor