Asura God of War: Awakening of the Ghost

CHAPTER 6: The Ghost's Recovery

"General," Lieutenant Saphira's firm voice sounded directly in his brainwaves. "Your biometric data shows red. Your body temperature has reached 41 degrees Celsius. Are you under attack?"

"I am neutralizing the remaining poison in my body, Lieutenant," Ares answered through internal transmission without moving his lips. "What is Elias's status?"

"He has secured the port area," Saphira reported, accompanied by the sound of rapid typing on the other end. "Titan Corp is officially destroyed. The tax evasion evidence we sent to the prosecutor's office has already landed their CEO in jail. Meanwhile, Silas Valerius just held an emergency family meeting. Julian is now hiding in terror at the main estate."

Ares smirked cynically. "Tell Elias to destroy their logistics routes. Block all Valerius Group cargo trucks from leaving the city today. Let them watch their company go bankrupt without knowing who attacked."

"Yes, General! Also, my drone detected the movement of unknown troops entering the northern district," Saphira reported again. "They are using armored SUVs without city license plates."

"Silas must have spent the rest of his money to hire assassins," Ares said coldly, his brain instantly calculating the threat probability. "Former military police mercenaries. They think because my legs are paralyzed, I can't fight back. Just let them come closer."

"What about Madam Clara, General? Our records show she sold her private apartment to pay off your debts. If you show yourself today, her suffering will instantly end."

"If I show up right now, the target of attack will double," Ares replied with mature tactical calculation. "The world thinks The Ghost died on the battlefield. If they know I'm still alive before my troops are fully gathered, all enemy snipers at the border will target this city. Let the enemy think Clara is only protecting a crippled husband. For now, the best shield for her is my weakness."

"Understood, General. I will continue to monitor their movements. Watch your heart rate."

The signal cut off. Ares stared at his left foot. His toes now began to twitch strongly inside his shoe. His blood flow had breached the dead nerves. His recovery was proceeding according to his combat calculations.

Towards noon, the bedroom door opened. Clara came out in a neat gray work suit. Her eyes were still puffy, but her expression returned to being firm and professional like a reliable CEO. Ares secretly admired his wife's mental resilience.

"Are you hungry, Ares?" she asked while walking to the kitchen. "We still have a little rice. I can buy eggs with the rest of the money in the jar."

"Rice... good," Ares said, putting back his flat expression for his disguise. "Clara is pretty today."

Clara smiled faintly. "Don't flatter me. My head hurts so much. Especially since the people from the office have been calling me non-stop since this morning."

"Office... what do they want?" Ares probed.

"They want the blueprints for Project Phoenix," Clara sighed heavily. "Grandpa gave me that project when the company was in crisis. I built all its systems from scratch. Now, after their accounts are blocked, they need my signature to sell the project's patent rights to Global Starlight so they won't go bankrupt."

Ares narrowed his eyes. They want to sell that project to Global Starlight? To my own company? How stupid.

"It belongs to the family," Clara continued resignedly. "According to the contract, all the projects I create are assets of the Valerius Group. If I refuse to hand it over, Grandpa threatened to sue me for embezzlement of assets and throw me in jail."

"There is no jail," Ares cut in firmly. His voice suddenly turned sharp and full of emphasis, breaching the limits of his disguise for a moment. "I will break its iron bars."

Clara laughed softly, although it sounded hollow. "If only you could speak that firmly in front of them, Ares. You looked so powerful when you stopped Julian last night. For a moment, I felt like the husband I used to know—the great military General—had returned."

Ares looked deeply into his wife's eyes. "That General... will return soon."

Suddenly, the tranquility of the apartment was shattered.

BANG!!!

The front door was forcefully smashed from the outside with a tremendous impact. The collision was so powerful that it made the decorative plates on the wall fall and shatter into pieces on the floor.

CRASH!!!

"Clara Valerius!" Julian yelled from outside the apartment door. His voice sounded harsh, cracked, and filled with overwhelming panic. "Open this door! We know you're inside! Open it before I have the police break it down!"

Clara gasped in shock, her face instantly turning pale. "That's Julian... but why is he shouting in panic?"

"Let him shout," Ares answered flatly. His facial expression instantly went blank again, activating his disguise mask perfectly. But under the thin blanket, his fingers clenched tightly, fighting the urge to crush the man's throat. "His voice is disgusting."

"I have to open it, Ares. If they bring the authorities, they could accuse us of embezzling company assets," Clara whispered anxiously. She walked quickly to the door, took a deep breath, and unlocked it.

BANG!

The door swung open roughly. Julian Valerius immediately barged in ferociously. His hair was messy and his wrist was still wrapped in bandages with dried blood from Ares's strike last night. Behind him stood two burly men in gray suits with earpieces.

Ares's sharp gaze immediately swept over this new threat. They were no longer just amateur street thugs, but professional mercenaries. The pair of guards instantly scanned every corner of the room vigilantly—a standard military VIP security tactic.

"Where are the documents?!" Julian snapped while trying to grab Clara's shoulder. Clara moved backward to dodge until she bumped into the coat rack. "The project blueprints! The source code! Hand it over right now!"

"Don't touch me, Julian!" Clara snapped while pointing towards the exit. "This is my apartment! You have no rights here! My dismissal is only official after the board meeting on Monday!"

"Monday? This company will be bankrupt before Monday!" Julian screamed hysterically with red, inflamed eyes. His face looked extremely desperate. "Do you know what happened this morning?! The central accounts were blocked by national security! My credit cards are dead! Grandpa's house was raided by seven tax police agents! This must be your doing! You ordered your people, didn't you?!"

The domino effect has begun, Ares thought, as cold as ice.

"Ordered who?" Clara looked at him in confusion. "Julian, I don't have that kind of power. The central accounts were blocked because you tried to steal the company funds at eight o'clock this morning! That's your own fault!"

"Don't play dumb!" Julian growled, stepping forward fiercely. "You intentionally hired mercenaries! You sent them here and threatened to kill me last night! They gave me a black coin with a skull on it! My driver said that's the symbol of the highest armed militia group! You're working with terrorists to extort the Valerius Family!"

Ares sat in his wheelchair a meter away from them, keeping a blank expression like a mentally disabled person. However, his right hand's fingers rested right on top of the iron brake lever of his wheelchair. One strong jerk from his internal energy could release the three-inch carbon steel bar and turn it into a deadly dagger to pierce the enemy's skull.

"The... black coin... is for Julian to buy coffee," Ares muttered with a soft laugh, intentionally acting stupid to lower the enemy's guard.

"Shut up, cripple!" Julian snapped, turning around to glare at Ares sharply. "Want me to kick you out of that chair? Don't think your damn bank security can help you anymore. These two men behind me are elite troops from Steel Tiger Security. They aren't afraid of bank guards!"

"Steel Tiger..." Ares repeated with a blank stare toward the biggest guard. "Cat... cute." A small-fry organization, Ares sneered inwardly.

However, the guard on the right did not find it funny. His trained instincts caught the discrepancy. The mercenary's keen eyes spotted a tactical silver needle hidden between Ares's fingers. To an ordinary person, it might look like normal toy wire. But his military instincts immediately set off crazy alarm bells. The man took a step back, resting his hand on his pistol holster.

Ares silently praised the man's reaction speed. One second faster than a civilian, but still too slow to defeat me.

"Mr. Julian," the guard whispered with cold sweat starting to drip. "Just take the documents quickly and let's go. There's something wrong with that crippled man."

"I know what's wrong! It's their arrogant attitude!" Julian retorted stubbornly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sheet of paperwork. "Grandpa just signed this. This is the power of attorney for the handover of Project Phoenix. Sign it now. Or my men will forcefully break open your safe."

"A forced signature is invalid in the eyes of the law, Julian!" Clara firmly refused.

"In this city, the law is dictated by the people who pay the judges' salaries!" Julian growled while crushing the document. "I'm sick of seeing you act all high and mighty as CEO! You're just a nurse for this crippled husband of yours! Sign it now! Or I'll bring those thugs back to pour bleach into your husband's eyes!"

Julian stepped forward ferociously. His hand rose high into the air, ready to slap Clara's face hard.

Ares's patience finally reached its absolute limit.

"I SAID SIGN IT!" Julian yelled, swinging his hand swiftly towards Clara's face.

At that exact second, the light bulb in the center of the room hissed loudly.

SZZZZZT!