Sarah stood up, her hands trembling with humiliation and rage. Three massive security guards pushed through the glass doors of the HR office, cracking their knuckles and glaring at her faded navy suit."Don't touch me," Sarah said, her voice shaking but her chin high. She grabbed her cheap purse. "I know the way out.""Wait," Sterling chuckled cruelly, leaning back in his leather chair. "Arthur Vance is paying a fifty-thousand-dollar bounty to anyone who reports your location. I'm keeping you right here until his men arrive to collect you. Guards, lock the door."Sarah's eyes widened in panic. The Vance family wasn't just blacklisting her — they were hunting her. If she didn't get out now, she'd be dragged to the Vance Estate and tortured.One of the security guards reached out to grab her arm.Outside the glass-walled office, standing casually by the elevators, a man in a faded military trench coat was watching.Luke's eyes narrowed. He had followed Sarah to keep her safe, intending

"One Hundred Million."The cold voice echoed through the massive auction house. It didn't sound like a bid. It sounded like an execution order.For five seconds, there was absolute silence.Every billionaire, crime lord, and socialite slowly turned their heads, staring up at the pitch-black glass of the highest VIP Skybox.Arthur Vance froze. The triumphant smirk vanished from his face, replaced by pure rage. He gripped the chair in front of him so hard the wood splintered."Who said that?!" Arthur roared, pointing at the darkened balcony. "I am Arthur Vance! I just told this room this Blood Ginseng is for my crippled son! Whoever is up there, you are courting death!"The crowd held their breath. Threatening a VIP in the highest Skybox was a massive taboo. But the Vance Patriarch was losing his mind with grief.A soft, mocking chuckle crackled through the speakers."Two Hundred Million," Luke's voice echoed calmly.The auction hall erupted. A crime lord set his paddle down. A CEO grab

"Kill him!" the mercenary commander roared, panic suddenly cracking his voice. "Open fire!"Twelve suppressed assault rifles erupted at once.Dozens of armor-piercing rounds tore through the rain, converging on the spot where Luke stood. The asphalt ripped open. The sedan's steel door turned into shredded Swiss cheese.But there was no blood. No body.A split second before the first trigger pull, Luke had vanished from their sights.He didn't use magic. He used the lethal tactical awareness forged in the Empire's bloodiest border wars. He read the micro-movements of their shoulders, anticipated their firing arcs, and stepped into the closest mercenary's blind spot."Where is he?!" a mercenary yelled, frantically sweeping his laser through the rain.Crack.The mercenary didn't have time to scream.Luke materialized beside him. The mercenaries wore Class-IV plates that stopped rifle rounds, so Luke didn't waste energy on their armor. He targeted the exposed joints of the human body.Wit

While Arthur Vance's estate descended into chaos, the rest of Zenith City woke to a perfectly ordinary morning.Sunlight reflected brilliantly off the towering glass skyscrapers of downtown Zenith City.Inside the top-floor executive suite of Zenith Beauty, the atmosphere hummed with hyper-efficient corporate energy. Sarah Quinn sat behind a massive polished obsidian desk, her eyes scanning three different financial monitors at once.She wasn't wearing her faded navy suit anymore. The Frost Group's regional president had immediately provided a premium executive wardrobe allowance. Today, Sarah wore a sharp, custom-tailored white blazer that radiated sheer authority. Her hair was pulled back into a sleek, flawless bun.She looked exactly like the corporate queen she was always meant to be."Madam CEO," her executive assistant, a young woman named Chloe, said nervously, handing over a thick stack of manila folders. "Here are the revised quarterly budget reports you requested. But... are

The reinforced iron gates of the Vance Estate stood thirty feet tall, forged from solid steel, designed to withstand a direct hit from a military truck.Tonight, they didn't stand a chance.BOOM!The deafening explosion of buckling metal drowned out the thunder. The massive gates tore from their concrete hinges and flew backward through the rain, crashing into the gravel driveway and crushing a stone guard tower."Fire! Fire at the gates!" the security captain shrieked, his voice cracking with terror.Three hundred private contractors pulled their triggers. The night sky lit up with blinding flashes of automatic rifles. A torrent of lead tore into the smoke and dust billowing from the ruined entrance.They fired until their magazines clicked empty. Thousands of bullet casings rained onto the wet asphalt.The smoke slowly cleared in the heavy rain.On the rooftop, four snipers had Luke in their crosshairs. They fired simultaneously. Their rounds hit nothing but rain and shadow.The gua