This delivers the climax of the underground tournament, where Lucas stepping into the ring as a simple bodyguard and dropping the arrogant Crimson Dragon champion with a single strike shocks the entire arena into absolute dead silence.The Crimson Dragon champion stood in the center of the ring, flexing his massive shoulders. He threw a series of rapid punches into the air, making the heavy leather ropes shudder. He spat on the canvas and laughed. The sound echoed across the crowded subterranean stadium."Is this the best River City has to offer?" he shouted, his voice booming over the sound system. "You send me these weaklings and call them masters? Pathetic. This city belongs to the Crimson Dragon now. Hand over your contracts and bow, or we will break every fighter you have left!"The local syndicate bosses sat in the front row, pale and completely silent. Their best fighters lay groaning on stretchers near the medical tents. Nobody dared to move. Nobody dared to speak. The humilia

Lucas meets "Iron Hook" Bao in a dark waterfront warehouse, cuts the building power using Ghost, silently drops thirty armed thugs in total darkness, and leaves Bao groveling on the floor.The smell of rotten fish and diesel oil hit me before I even stepped over the rusted doorway.The waterfront warehouse at Pier 42 was a rotting hull of corrugated iron and broken glass, hidden deep in the foggy marshlands of the provincial coast. Up until yesterday, this dump was the primary distribution hub for the Crimson Dragon Syndicate. "Iron Hook" Bao had run his black-market shipping operation out of this exact building for fifteen years, levying illegal tariffs on every commercial vessel trying to dock in River City.Evelyn wanted the shipping lanes open by tomorrow morning. So, anyway, here I was.The heavy sliding doors groaned shut behind me, the sound echoing through the cavernous space. I didn't turn around. I kept walking toward the center of the concrete floor, my plain dark suit blen

Regional Syndicate bosses try to extort Sterling Enterprises, but Lucas reveals his true authority as the Shadow Sovereign, reducing the supreme boss to his knees and turning Evelyn's treacherous uncles into office janitors.The velvet draperies inside the Grand Regency Hall looked thick enough to muffle a gunshot.I adjusted my black tie in the mirrored glass near the entrance, maintaining my usual low profile while stepping behind Evelyn. She held her head high, though I caught the slight tension in her shoulders. Her dark business suit was sharp, crisp, and tailored to perfection.Inside, the atmosphere was suffocating. Smoke from expensive cigars hung over a massive mahogany conference table. Seated around it were six men who ruled the underground trade routes of the entire province. At the head sat Lord Tyrant Blood, wearing a heavy crimson coat lined with fur. His dark eyes locked onto Evelyn the second we walked in.Next to him sat Evelyn's greedy uncles, Arthur and Richard. Th

Corrupt port inspectors try to impound a hundred-million-dollar Sterling Enterprises cargo shipment with fake contamination claims. The chief inspector demands a massive bribe from Evelyn. Lucas steps forward with audio recordings of the inspector's secret offshore bribery accounts, forcing him to stamp the release papers live on video. Right after, the inspector gets a text showing his entire offshore balance wiped clean.The salt air at Pier 4 smelled like rotting kelp and diesel exhaust. Three massive container ships sat idling along the concrete berth, their crane arms frozen against the gray sky.Evelyn marched down the dock, her heels clicking sharply against the damp pavement. I stayed half a step behind her, keeping my eyes on the perimeter. Two dozen private security guards lined the perimeter fence, but they were out of position. Unprofessional. Easy to bypass if someone really wanted to cause trouble."Inspector Vane," Evelyn said, stopping right in front of a heavy-set man

The coastal mist rolled off the bay, thick and slick with damp salt. It clung to the manicured hedges surrounding Evelyn’s private estate, turning the night air cold enough to freeze grease.I checked my watch. Two in the morning."Is everything quiet on the east gate?" Ghost’s voice crackled through my concealed earpiece, low and steady."Static so far," I said. "Though the leaves are acting up.""You mean the wind?""No," I replied, pacing along the outer perimeter path. "Wind moves branches from the outside. These are moving from the center."I let my hands drop casually into my coat pockets, maintaining a lazy, uneven pace. To any hidden observer, I looked like an underpaid guard fighting off sleep. My boots crunched over wet gravel, deliberate and loud.Above me, the towering oaks lining the estate grounds rustled. It was subtle. Normal security detail wouldn't pay attention to it. But I had spent three years listening to rats scuttle across cold stone inside the Black Iron Fortr