Rebirth of the Sovereign: God-Level Wealth System

Chapter 2: The Executive Floor

Ten minutes. For Dr. Han, those ten minutes felt like waiting for a blade to drop.

He was sweating right through his white lab coat, his thick fingers slipping over his phone screen as he frantically dialed the hospital’s internal directory. Next to him, the head receptionist looked like she was about to throw up. Her eyes kept darting from the printed, fifty-thousand-dollar receipt back to Ethan Vance.

Ethan hadn't moved. He just leaned against the cold corridor wall, arms crossed, his face an unreadable mask.

"He... he actually had the money?" Chloe’s voice cracked. The arrogance was completely gone, replaced by a panicked, messy confusion. She took a tentative step toward Ethan, her fingers clutching her new Chanel bag so tight the leather groaned. "Ethan... answer me. Where did you get fifty grand? Did you take out a predatory loan? Did you steal it?"

Ethan didn’t give her the satisfaction of a glance. To the Sovereign, she was just background noise. A minor insect from a past life.

Before Chloe could beg again, Leo Brooks stepped in front of her, his face flushed an ugly, mottled red. He was breathing heavily, humiliated to his core. A broke scholarship student had just flashed enough cash to clear a massive medical debt in a single, careless swipe right in front of his hired muscle.

"Don't flatter yourself, Chloe. It's a fluke," Leo hissed, his glare burning into Ethan. "A system glitch. This dump uses outdated software." He took a step closer to Ethan, dropping his voice into a vicious whisper. "Listen to me, Vance. In this city, paper money means nothing without a spine of connections. My family controls the entire medical distribution network for this district. One word from me, and your mother won't get a single drop of saline in this state."

Right then, the heavy double doors at the end of the hall violently burst open.

The sharp, aggressive click of high heels cut through the tense silence. A small army of hospital administrators marched down the corridor, led by a tall, striking woman in an immaculate charcoal business suit.

Director Margaret Vance. The absolute authority of San Jose Memorial. Behind her, three of the most prestigious neurosurgeons in the city were practically jogging to keep up.

"Where is the premium account holder?" Margaret demanded. Her sharp eyes swept the hallway, ignoring Leo entirely, and locked onto Dr. Han, who was already bowing so low his nose almost touched his knees.

"Director Margaret!" Han stammered, pointing a trembling finger. "It's... it's this kid. He used a highly fraudulent card to bypass our system. I was just about to have security lock him down for financial identity theft—"

Crack!

The slap was so loud it sounded like a pistol shot in the narrow hallway.

Director Margaret’s palm connected squarely with Han’s jaw, the sheer force sending the heavy-set doctor stumbling backward, crashing hard into the reception counter.

"You blind, arrogant fool!" Margaret spat, her voice shaking with absolute rage. "Fraud? The global offshore banking syndicate just triggered an emergency protocol at our corporate headquarters! An elite, black-tier premium holder just processed a manual transaction at your desk. The system flagged it because his personal account tier is worth more than our entire hospital's real estate!"

Chloe gasped, taking a sharp step back. Leo’s jaw went slack, his smug expression freezing into a mask of pure terror.

Director Margaret turned to face Ethan. In an instant, her fierce authority dissolved into a deep, ninety-degree bow of absolute submission. "Mr. Vance, I offer you my deepest, most sincere apologies for the grotesque incompetence of our staff. Your mother’s transfer to the Penthouse VIP Suite has been personally authorized by me. The entire specialist board is at your complete disposal."

Ethan straightened up slowly, his eyes boring into the shaking doctor on the floor. "Good. But before we move her, Dr. Han here was actively ordering a nurse to pull her oxygen. He told me poverty was a disease."

Margaret’s expression turned utterly lethal. She didn't look at Han; she looked at the security guards standing by the wall. "Han is stripped of his medical license, effective immediately. Lock his office. The board will file formal charges for criminal negligence by dusk. Drag him out."

"No! Director Margaret, please! Young Master Brooks told me to do it!" Han wailed, his voice echoing pitifully as two massive guards hoisted him up by his armpits, dragging his squeaking shoes down the linoleum floor.

Leo swallowed hard, trying to patch his crumbling pride together. "Director Margaret... you're making a mistake. Do you know who my family is? My uncle sits on—"

"Your uncle was voted off the board ten minutes ago, Mr. Brooks," Margaret cut him off, her voice dropping into a freezing register. "The Brooks Corporation’s supply contracts are currently under legal review for extortion. Leave my hospital before I have security throw you into the street for trespassing."

Chloe looked at Leo’s pale, trembling face, then turned back to Ethan. Her mind was entirely shattered. The man she had discarded like trash five minutes ago was being treated like royalty by the city's highest elite, while the billionaire heir she had clung to was being kicked out like a stray dog.

Ethan didn't give them another second of his time. He turned his back on them, walking alongside Director Margaret toward the ICU doors. As the glass slid open, a familiar, cold chime echoed deep within his mind.

[Ding! First 'Face-Slapping' event concluded successfully.]

[Target ruined: Dr. Han. Targets humiliated: Leo Brooks & Chloe.]

[Reward: Unlocking Phase One of the 'Asura Body Refining Technique'.]

[System Note: Commencing permanent physical cell reconstruction. Enhancing strength, reflexes, and bone density.]

A sudden, burning heat surged through Ethan's veins. The chronic ache in his chest—the product of years of malnutrition and stress—snapped and vanished, replaced by a dense, terrifyingly coiled power.

The Sovereign was finally getting his teeth back.