Chase froze mid-crouch, his fingers inches from the scattered bills.
To the guests, he looked paralyzed by shame. A pathetic man struggling with the last shreds of his dignity before inevitably surrendering it. "Look at him hesitate," Adams sneered, taking a sip of her wine. "He's calculating how much dog food ten thousand dollars can buy. Go on, Chase! Bark! Maybe if you wag your tail, Justin will throw in a bone." "Bella, you really married a winner," Justin laughed, leaning back in his chair and looking at Chase’s wife with mock sympathy. "If you divorce this trash today, I’ll pay his mother’s medical bills myself. Consider it charity for a beautiful woman stuck with a parasite." Bella bit her lip so hard it turned white. Her eyes were watery, filled with a mix of humiliation and pity. She took a shaky step forward. "Chase... get up. Please. Just get up and let's go. We’ll figure out another way." "There is no other way!" Chase suddenly spoke. His voice was different. It didn't crack. It didn't tremble. It was low, steady, and vibrated with a cold intensity that seemed to drop the temperature around the table by five degrees. He stood up slowly. He didn't brush off his knees. He didn't look at his wife. He looked straight at the transparent blue screen hovering in the air. "Oh? You have a spine now?" Justin mocked, stepping closer until he was face-to-face with Chase. He poked Chase hard in the chest. "I told you to bark. Are you deaf? Or are you just stupid?" Chase ignored the finger jabbing into his sternum. His mind was locked onto the glowing text of Option 3. Ten billion dollars. Respect. Dominance. For three years, he had swallowed his anger. He had bowed his head. He had let them walk all over him because he had no power. He thought poverty was his destiny. Not anymore. "I choose Option 3," Chase muttered under his breath. "What?" Justin frowned, leaning in. "What did you say? Speak up, trash." [Ding!] [Choice Accepted.] [Reward Issued: Centurion Black Gold Supreme Card. Funds have been deposited.] Chase felt a sudden weight in his back pocket. It wasn't imaginary. It was heavy, cold, solid metal. A surge of adrenaline, sharper and hotter than anything he had ever felt, rushed through his veins. It was the feeling of a man who had been drowning suddenly finding himself standing on dry land, holding a loaded gun. He looked down at the money scattered on the carpet. Ten thousand dollars. A fortune to him five minutes ago. Now? It looked like toilet paper. Chase lifted his foot. He didn't bend down to pick it up. He stomped directly onto the face of Benjamin Franklin. He ground his heel into the bills, twisting his sneaker until the paper tore and smeared against the hotel carpet. "You—!" Justin’s eyes widened in disbelief. "You crazy bastard! Do you know whose money that is?" "Trash money for a trash person," Chase said calmly. "You're dead!" Justin roared, his face turning red. He raised his hand to shove Chase. "I’m going to—" Chase didn't wait. He didn't flinch. All the anger of the last three years—the cold rice, the sleeping on the floor, the insults, the way they looked at his dying mother like she was a burden—channeled into his right arm. He swung. PA! The sound was like a gunshot echoing through the banquet hall. Chase’s hand connected with Justin Han’s cheek with the force of a sledgehammer. The impact was so violent that Justin didn't just stumble; he spun. He pirouetted a full three hundred and sixty degrees, his feet tangling together, before he crashed spectacularly into the table of champagne towers behind him. CRASH! Glass shattered. Hundreds of crystal flutes exploded. Champagne sprayed into the air like a geyser. Justin lay sprawled amidst the wreckage, a shard of glass in his hair, a bloody handprint swelling instantly on his cheek. The music stopped. The chatter died. The entire banquet hall went dead silent. You could hear the fizz of the spilled champagne settling into the carpet. Adams’ jaw dropped, her wine glass slipping from her fingers and shattering on the floor. Bella covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide with shock. Chase stood over the fallen heir, shaking his hand slightly to ease the sting. He looked down at Justin with eyes devoid of fear. "Keep your change," Chase said, his voice cutting through the silence. "You’ll need it for your own medical bills." [Ding! Host has completed the choice.] [Reward: $10 Billion (Confirmed). New Choice available in 3... 2... 1...] "You... you hit me?" Justin screamed. His voice was shrill, hysterical. He struggled to sit up, wine dripping from his expensive white suit, looking like a drowned rat. He touched his face and saw blood on his fingers. "He hit me! He actually hit me!" "Guards!" Justin shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at Chase. "Security! Kill him! Break his legs! I want him dead!" Four burly security guards, wearing the Golden Phoenix uniform, rushed in from the main entrance, batons drawn. They looked massive, like walls of muscle. Bella panicked. The reality of the situation crashed down on her. She ran over and grabbed Chase’s arm, pulling him hard. "Chase, run! You’re crazy! Why did you do that? The Han family will kill us! Run!" "Let them try," Chase said. He didn't move. He stood rooted to the spot like an old oak tree. He looked at his wife. For the first time in three years, he wasn't looking at her with apology or subservience. He was looking at her with protection. With power. "Nobody will bully you again," Chase said softly. "I promise." "Security!" Adams screeched, jumping to her feet. "Arrest this lunatic! He is not part of the Song family! We disown him! He has nothing to do with us!" The guards charged. They were five meters away. Three meters. [Ding! Danger Detected.] [Option 1: Hide behind your wife. Reward: Durability +1 (Cowardice).] [Option 2: Kneel and beg for mercy. Reward: Hospital Bill paid by charity.] [Option 3: Purchase the Golden Phoenix Hotel instantly and fire everyone who opposes you. Reward: Ownership of the Hotel + Aura of the King.] Chase smirked. The corner of his lip curled up in a way Bella had never seen before. "Manager!" Chase shouted. His voice boomed, authoritative and commanding. The hotel manager, a fat, sweating man named Mr. Pang, came running out from the kitchen area, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief. "What is going on here? Who is causing trouble at the Song Banquet?" "Mr. Pang!" Justin shouted from the floor, spitting out blood. "This trash hit me. I want him dead. If you don't break his legs right now, the Han Corporation will withdraw all investments from this hotel! I will bankrupt you!" Mr. Pang’s face turned pale. He knew the power of the Han family. He turned to Chase, his eyes narrowing into slits. "You dared to hit Young Master Han in my establishment? Security! Break his—" "How much?" Chase interrupted. Mr. Pang paused, confused. "What?" "This hotel," Chase said. He reached into his back pocket. The movement was slow, deliberate. He pulled out the sleek, matte-black metal card. It shimmered under the chandelier lights, absorbing the brightness rather than reflecting it. The surface was etched with a singular, intricate geometric pattern. "How much to buy it? Right now." Mr. Pang froze. His eyes locked onto the card. He had worked in high-end hospitality for twenty years. He had seen Platinum cards. Diamond cards. Palladium cards. But this... He knew the urban legends. The Centurion Black Gold Supreme. The card that didn't just have a limit; it had a direct line to the global banking reserve. "Sir... are you joking?" Mr. Pang’s voice wavered. "Ten seconds," Chase said coldly. "Give me a price, or I buy the hotel across the street and run you out of business by tomorrow morning." "Is he crazy?" "He picks up trash for a living, where did he get a black card?" "It must be a fake. A prop from A****n." "Justin, look at this clown. He’s pretending to be a tycoon to save face." Justin wiped the blood from his mouth and sneered, struggling to his feet. "Mr. Pang, swipe it. Let the machine expose him. When it declines, I’ll break his other hand for fraud." Mr. Pang hesitated. The card looked too real. The weight of Chase’s gaze was too heavy. He signaled a waiter to bring the mobile POS machine. His hands were shaking visibly. He took the black card from Chase. It felt cold to the touch. Beep. Mr. Pang looked at Chase. "Sir... the hotel is valued at..." "Just name the price," Chase cut him off. "Three... Three hundred million dollars," Mr. Pang stammered. He threw out a ridiculous number, fifty million higher than the market value, assuming Chase would back down. "Swipe it," Chase said. The room held its breath. Mr. Pang entered the amount: $300,000,000. Everyone leaned in. Adams crossed her arms, a cruel smile playing on her lips, ready to laugh when the 'DECLINED' message beeped. Bella looked down at her shoes, terrified of the police sirens she imagined were already on the way. Chase stood motionless, looking indifferent, as if he were buying a pack of gum. Processing... Connecting to Global Bank... Verifying... The machine whirred. [TRANSACTION APPROVED] Whirrrr-chk. The machine printed out a long, white receipt. Mr. Pang’s eyes bulged out of his head. He looked at the receipt. Then at the machine. Then at Chase. His knees gave way, and he nearly collapsed. "Succ... Success?" Mr. Pang whispered. "Three hundred million... cleared?" "What?" Justin shouted. "Impossible! The machine is broken! That card is fake!" "It went through," Mr. Pang’s voice cracked, high and hysterical. He suddenly turned to Chase and bowed at a ninety-degree angle, his forehead almost touching the floor. "Mr. Lu! I apologize for my blindness! I didn't know Mount Tai was standing before me! This hotel... is yours!"Latest Chapter
The Suspended Overseer
Bam! Bam!! Bam!!!Heavy fists pounded against the solid oak door of the private estate on Elm Street. Facilitator Ye did not rush to answer the aggressive summons. He adjusted the collar of his thick wool sweater and walked down the quiet hallway of his home. He knew the Capital Syndicate would not allow him to sit in peaceful suspension. They needed to neutralize his remaining political influence before he could rally his provincial allies.He opened the door and faced the cold night air.Deputy Corey stood on the brick porch. Four men wearing the sharp gray suits of Capital prosecutors flanked the ambitious traitor. Two armed tactical officers waited near a black armored transport parked in the driveway. The flashing red lights of the vehicle cast long violent shadows across the manicured lawn."Good evening Ye," Corey greeted his former mentor. The young politician wore a smug victorious smile. He held a thick stack of legal documents bound in a heavy leather folio."You brought an
The Poisoned Well
North CityThe wooden gavel struck the sounding block with a sharp resonant crack. The sound barely pierced the chaotic murmurs filling the central magistrate court of North City. The Capital observers and aggressive journalists whispered frantically about the sudden dismissal of the initial asset seizure charge. Ivar Sydney stood at the defense table and buttoned his tailored suit jacket. He had just humiliated the federal prosecution but the corporate defense attorney did not smile. He knew the minor victory was merely a preliminary skirmish before the actual legal war commenced.Investigator Hayes refused to retreat. The lead prosecutor glared at the defense table with cold vindictive fury. He gestured sharply to his legal aides standing near the doors.Four men wearing dark suits pushed two heavy metal carts into the center of the pristine courtroom. The carts groaned loudly under the massive weight of hundreds of thick black binders. The sheer volume of the physical paper silenc
Crimson Initiation
The blinding golden aura radiating from the sovereign finally stabilized and receded into his flesh. Victoria stood in the doorway of the safehouse and watched the violent ascension conclude. Chase Lu had shattered his cultivation ceiling and forged a Stage Two core in a matter of seconds. Victoria looked down at her own calloused hands. She possessed elite military training and a ruthless corporate intellect. She could dismantle a hostile boardroom or execute a close quarters assassination with flawless precision. Yet mortal skills were entirely useless against the monsters waiting at the Crimson Lotus Pavilion.She refused to watch the impending war from the spectator bleachers. She refused to become a liability that the King of the North had to protect.Victoria turned away from the damp courtyard and walked back into the dim yellow light of the safehouse. Grandmaster Qin sat at the table. The veteran commander was carefully inspecting the ancient leather binding of the ancestral
Fast Track
"We resume the physical training in ten minutes," Chase announced. He stood up from the cot and cracked his neck. "I want you to break my defense without using the Dancing Qin footwork. I need to understand how to parry a direct elemental strike."Qin smiled a sharp grim smile. The veteran admired the unyielding resolve of the young billionaire. They walked out of the safehouse together to resume the grueling crucible on the dark lawn.The physical conditioning was brutal and unrelenting. Qin forced the sovereign to endure hundreds of consecutive impacts. The veteran commander stripped away the reliance of the system skills and forced Chase to learn the raw biological mechanics of combat. He taught the billionaire how to absorb blunt force trauma by shifting his skeletal alignment.Between the punishing rounds of physical combat Qin administered various alchemical herbs and medicinal pastes. The bitter roots burned the throat of the sovereign but the raw organic fuel accelerated his m
The First Reversal
The wooden gavel struck the sounding block with the finality of a gunshot. The sharp noise echoed across the vast expanse of the Central Magistrate Court. The courtroom on State Street was packed beyond its maximum capacity. Dozens of aggressive journalists and elite Capital observers crowded the polished oak benches. They clutched their digital recorders and waited for the execution of the Titanium empire.Bella Song sat at the defense table. The immense pressure of the federal indictment weighed heavily on her shoulders but she refused to display a single ounce of fear to the hostile gallery.Lu Sheng sat directly behind the prosecution table in the front row of the public gallery. The Capital heir wore a bespoke navy suit and a smug arrogant smile. He crossed his legs and adjusted his expensive silk tie. He looked like an emperor attending a gladiatorial match where the outcome was already purchased and guaranteed. He intended to watch the King of the North lose his queen to the br
The Legal Vanguard
The bitter taste of Blood flooded the mouth of the sovereign. Chase opened his eyes and stared at the exposed wooden beams of the safehouse ceiling. He lay flat on the narrow cot in the dim room. The excruciating pain in his skull had faded into a dull rhythmic ache. He took a slow breath and felt his physical vitality stabilizing. The drain initiated by his own weapon had nearly stopped his heart but his ascended cellular structure managed to survive the violent extraction.Victoria sat on the edge of the mattress. She held a damp cloth in her hand. She had wiped the dark blood from his face while he was unconscious. She let out a ragged sigh of relief when he finally blinked.Grandmaster Qin paced the short length of the wooden floorboards. The veteran commander looked deeply unsettled. He kept his hands clasped tightly behind his back. He had spent decades commanding massive armies yet he looked terrified of the man lying on the cot."I miscalculated the toll of the wave," Qin apol
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