War God: Revenge of Trash Ex-Son-in-Law

CHAPTER 6

Raymond’s footsteps struck the gray Manhattan sidewalk with a steady rhythm, leaving behind the noisy laughter inside the labor agency office. Behind him, Chloe still stood frozen at the doorway, staring at his back with restrained anger. The evening rain began to fall lightly, soaking the striped flannel shirt wrapped around his sturdy body.

Every breath Raymond took felt heavy. Inside his chest, there was a surge of blazing energy demanding to be released. As someone who had once annihilated ranks of demonic armored troops on the Altar Battlefield, being insulted repeatedly by a mortal woman made the veins on his temples throb tensely. His right hand clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned pale, producing faint crack sounds amid the noise of the streets.

One snap of my fingers. I only need one snap to shatter that arrogant woman’s mouth along with that suffocating building, Raymond thought, his eyes glowing with a dense golden light through the curtain of rain that was beginning to pour harder.

At that exact moment, a strange vibration crept along the walls of his consciousness. The golden text from the ancient system lit up once again at the corner of his vision, flickering slowly as though calming the anger of the God of War.

[ Warning: Earth’s Natural Law Restrictions Are Absolute. ]

[ Using instant power to destroy small-scale mortal targets will trigger dimensional rejection. ]

[ Side Effect: Soul Synchronization will decrease drastically, and foundation recovery progress will come to a complete halt. ]

[ System Recommendation: Play beautifully. Bring down their arrogant tower stone by stone through financial destruction, not instant physical violence. ]

Raymond stopped beneath the canopy of an old closed bookstore. He let out a rough breath, allowing a thin mist to escape his mouth as the evening air grew colder.

“Play beautifully, huh?” Raymond muttered, a cynical smile forming at the corner of his lips as he stared at the fading golden text. “Even though I already feel like crushing that family’s arrogance right now.”

He closed his eyes briefly, forcing the swirl of spiritual energy within his veins to calm down and flow steadily once again. Destroying Miller Group overnight through Yudha’s military channels would indeed be easy, but watching Chloe crawl across the asphalt while regret slowly devoured her soul... that would clearly be far more satisfying.

A luxurious black Cadillac One sliced through the puddles by the roadside before stopping directly in front of the old bookstore. The rear window lowered a few inches, revealing Yudha’s stern face staring at him with deep respect.

Raymond immediately opened the rear door and stepped into the warm, soundproof cabin of the car. He dropped his body onto the soft leather seat, leaning back while closing his eyes.

Yudha quickly turned around from the driver’s seat and handed over a large brown envelope made of cowhide leather. “Everything is ready, Raymond. Sorry for making you wait and endure insults from those lowly people at the agency office earlier.”

Raymond opened his eyes and accepted the envelope silently. His long fingers broke the wax seal at the top before pulling out several important documents that still smelled of fresh ink.

“This is your new identity in the mortal world,” Yudha said, his eyes shifting toward a glossy plastic identification card bearing the emblem of the American eagle. “Raymond Vance—ah, sorry, I mean Raymond Smith. Your legal status in New York is now completely clean. Your Social Security Number is active, you have a valid tax history as a freelance logistics worker for the past five years, and an account at Chase Bank with an initial mortal balance.”

Raymond brushed the surface of his new identification card with the tip of his thumb. The photograph displayed there showed his neatly styled hair and deep gaze—there was no longer any trace of the confused, homeless amnesiac.

“How much did you put into this account, Yudha?” Raymond asked flatly, without emotional fluctuation.

Yudha cleared his throat softly and adjusted the collar of his shirt. “Only one hundred thousand dollars, Raymond. Just as you requested, nothing too flashy. I also registered your name as the owner of a small rental property on the outskirts of Queens. It’s quiet enough and far from the surveillance radar of major corporations.”

Raymond nodded in satisfaction and placed all the documents back into the brown envelope. “Good. This kind of ordinary civilian identity is exactly what I need. Miller Group and Julian Vance will never suspect that the storm about to destroy them will come from a man named Raymond Smith living on the outskirts of Queens.”

Yudha started the engine, causing a subtle vibration to spread beneath the cabin floor. “Then what’s our next move, Raymond? The analysts from Altar Logistics have already begun holding several textile raw material containers belonging to Miller Group at the Boston loading port under the pretext of regional quarantine inspections.”

Raymond stared straight ahead, watching the raindrops being swept away by the windshield wipers. His golden eyes glimmered within the darkness of Manhattan’s neon-lit night.

“Let them panic over the supply delays for the next two days, Yudha,” Raymond ordered, his voice heavy with cold authority. “Chloe will definitely seek emergency loans from banks or rush the contract signing with Julian Vance to cover the production losses. At that point, we’ll sever their banking communication channels.”

Yudha smiled faintly, sensing the aura of the God of War now playing chess in the modern world with elegance that was both refined and deadly. “Understood, Raymond. I’ll make sure every financial escape route is sealed shut precisely when they believe they’ve reached the peak of glory.”

“Now take me to that new residence,” Raymond said as he turned to look out the window. “I need a quiet place to accelerate this soul synchronization. The remaining ninety-two percent won’t awaken if I stay trapped in the noise of Manhattan.”

The black Cadillac moved through the night, slowly leaving behind the glittering lights of Manhattan and heading toward the Queensboro Bridge, carrying a new piece of destiny ready to overturn the power structure of New York’s billionaires within the next few days.

The black Cadillac driven by Yudha had just passed the Long Island City border when the traffic light at the intersection turned red. The night rain grew heavier, blurring the view of the deserted sidewalk illuminated only by dim flickering mercury lamps.

Suddenly, Raymond’s golden eyes caught an unusual movement in the side mirror. A woman wearing a cream-colored wool coat was running breathlessly through the curtain of rain. Her long hair was completely soaked, and her face was filled with overwhelming fear. Behind her, three burly men in black leather jackets chased after her, rapidly closing the distance with loud footsteps splashing across the wet asphalt.

“Yudha, unlock the doors. Drop me off here,” Raymond ordered, his voice suddenly turning cold. His hand had already gripped the car door handle.

Yudha glanced at the rearview mirror, his brows furrowing as he observed the situation outside. “Raymond, let me have my men deal with those pieces of trash. You don’t need to—”

“I said let me out now,” Raymond interrupted, staring at Yudha with an unquestionable gaze. “I don’t want to be seen as a rich man stepping out of a luxury car like this in public. From now on, I’m just an ordinary civilian.”

Yudha swallowed hard before quickly pressing the unlock button. “Understood, Raymond. I’ll circle the block and watch from a safe distance.”

Raymond stepped out of the cabin with calm movements, allowing the door to shut firmly behind him. He deliberately walked around toward the dark alley so as not to attract attention.

Meanwhile, the woman in the cream coat—Natalie Sterling—forced her legs to keep running even though her chest felt tight and burning. Her steps grew heavier because one of her high heels had broken. Her escape route led into a dead end, toward an old, deserted shopping area swallowed by darkness.

“Stop right there, Miss Sterling! There’s nowhere left to run!” shouted one of the burly men behind her with a rough grin.

Natalie looked back in panic, tears mixing with the rain streaming down her cheeks. Just as she thought her life would end that night at the hands of her pursuers, a large and sturdy hand suddenly reached out from the darkness of the alley, gently yet firmly grabbing her shoulder before pulling her slender body backward.

Swish!

Natalie let out a soft gasp as her body collided against a broad chest that felt as solid as a concrete wall. A cold masculine scent instantly filled her senses, strangely giving her an immediate feeling of safety amid the storm of fear.

“Stay behind me,” a deep and calm voice whispered near her ear.

Raymond stepped forward, positioning himself as a shield in front of Natalie. The three burly men chasing her immediately stopped in their tracks, staring at Raymond with mocking expressions.

“Hey, Kid! Don’t try playing hero in New York if you still want to live! Hand over the woman!” barked the man standing in front as he pulled a folding knife from his jacket pocket.

Raymond did not answer. He merely formed a faint smile, hiding the golden glow beginning to shine within his pupils beneath the darkness of the night.

The first burly man charged forward roughly, swinging his knife toward Raymond’s chest. However, in the eyes of a God of War, the movement felt unbearably slow. Raymond merely shifted his body an inch to the side, dodging the blade with perfect precision. His left hand moved like lightning, grabbing the man’s wrist before twisting it in the opposite direction until a horrifying crack echoed through the alley.

“Arghhh!” the man screamed hysterically as his knife clattered onto the asphalt.

Before the scream could even fade, Raymond’s tightly clenched right fist shot forward, smashing brutally into the man’s jaw with a devastating straight punch. Bang! The burly body was instantly thrown two meters backward before collapsing unconscious into a puddle, blood flowing from his mouth.

The other two burly men froze when they saw their companion collapse within a single second. Their shock quickly transformed into blind fury. “Bastard! Kill him!”

The two men attacked simultaneously, attempting to surround Raymond from both sides. The man on the left threw a crude punch toward Raymond’s temple while the one on the right lunged for his waist.

Raymond remained calm in his position. He lowered his body slightly, allowing the left man’s punch to sweep over his hair. Using the momentum, Raymond drove his right elbow hard into the man’s solar plexus. Thud! The man instantly doubled over, vomiting stomach acid before collapsing to his knees while clutching his stomach, which felt as though it had been struck by a sledgehammer.

The last man attempting to charge forward froze immediately, his courage collapsing after witnessing his two companions being utterly destroyed by an ordinary-looking young man.

Raymond slowly turned his body, staring at the last man with eyes as cold as ice. “Your turn.”

Seeing Raymond’s gaze radiating a terrifying killing intent, the last man abandoned his pride. He staggered back two trembling steps before turning around and sprinting away from the alley as fast as he could, leaving behind his two helpless companions sprawled across the rain-soaked asphalt.

Raymond let out a short breath before shaking the rainwater from his right hand. He turned around, looking at Natalie, who still stood frozen in the corner of the alley with widened eyes and slightly parted lips, unable to believe what she had just witnessed.