"The Obsidian Palace was very quiet at night". Ethan walked down the hall holding Thomas in his arms. The boy was quiet, his eyes occasionally opening to track the moment of the shadows. For a long time, Ethan only had to worry about himself, but now he felt a new kind of love in his chest. He realized he wasn't just for himself anymore; he had to protect. These kids and the people he truly cares about.
His helper, Marcus, walked behind him holding baby Athena. Marcus wasn't just an employee anymore; he was a partner who cared about his family's future.
Ethan nodded. He knew that being safe wasn't just about big walls. It was about knowing things that other people didn't.
Ethan gave the baby to the nanny and went into his study. He stood in front of a giant bookshelf. His special skill, Eye of Discernment, had been blinking nonstop ever since he entered the Obsidian Palace. This palace belonged to an old oil tycoon who was very rich. Sadly, a mysterious gunman had killed him in this very office.
Ethan felt that the tycoon built this place to hide something important. While looking at the books, he saw one that looked stuck. He felt a small breeze coming from the gaps around it. This was very suspicious. Ethan pulled the book, and a hidden door opened in the floor.
He and Throne Marcus walked down some uneven stairs. They reached a heavy metal door with a puzzle lock made of cubes. Because Ethan has a Level 10 Intelligence, he solved the puzzle in just a few seconds.
Inside, they found a chest full of old gold coins. The gold sparkled under the light of Marcus's torch. However, Ethan didn't care about the money. He was looking for something else.
Ethan found old leather notebooks on a table. As he flipped through the pages, he discovered they were filled with the darkest secrets of Florida's most powerful people. These books were proof of their stolen land, bribed officials, and even planned murders. In the corner of the chest, he found a rolled piece of yellow parchment that described the five men who truly ran the state from the shadows.
They are collectively known as The Cipher Council. He looked at the names of these five dynasties:
1) Robert Ken: Founder and head of the Ken Consortium Holdings, an investment firm worth 1.5 trillion dollars.
2) Ron Hunter: The Governor's nephew. He controls the laws and political power of Florida.
3) Jeff Bonanza: A tycoon worth 1.2 trillion dollars. He owns many businesses, from real estate, steel, food, bank and finance even semiconductors.
4) Franklin Lendon: Owner of the Franklin Automation, a 600 billion-dollar tech and phone empire.
5) Bravo Yolonda: A mystery man from Mexico. No one knows his face or his net worth, but even the rest of the Council fears him. Because he is secretly linked to the "Black Forest Family" in New York—a group so powerful they practically own the country.
Ethan realized he had already made them angry by destroying Titan Motors, one of their pawns. As he read further, his blood turned cold and sweats began to appeared in his fore head. He read about two men, Jack Fid-Ray and Michael Phosphate, who tried to stand up to the Council.
When Michael and Fid-Rays join venture invented a new sodium ion battery, the Council tried to buy it for 10 million while it took the join-venture company called Phosphate-Ray batteries at-least 130 million USD. When Michael said no, the Council didn't just take his money—they took everything. They destroyed his business, burned his property, and threw innocent people in jail.
Then came the "Cruelty." To make an example out of them, the Council's assassins murdered Michael and Jack's entire families. The Council didn't just end their lives; they erased their entire lineage in a single night of unspeakable horrors.
Ethan sat in the dark vault, his heart heavy. "I thought I was a King because of my System," he whispered. "But in these deep waters, I am just a child throwing a tantrum. The only reason I am alive is that they don't think I am a threat yet."
He looked at his hands. He could fight because of his System's training, but his family was vulnerable. He knew the pain of being alone, and he refused to let that happen to his children.
Ethan realized that money wasn't enough to win a war. He needed friends. He needed influence. To survive, he had to upgrade his System to Version 2.0 and build an empire that even the Cipher Council couldn't touch.
Suddenly, the ground shook. The vibration was terrifying. Dust and other particles fell on the heads of Ethan and Marcus Throne. Ethan's phone buzzed- it was Vance, his head of security.
"Sir, we have a breach," Vance reported, his voice tight. "It's Sterling. The owner of Titan Motors is here, and he didn't come alone. He brought a tank."
Ethan didn't shout. He didn't panic. He calmly walked back upstairs to the command center, where rows of glowing TV monitors showed the outside of his home. Sterling was there, fueled by rage because Ethan had bankrupted his company. This wasn't a business move; it was a desperate act of revenge.
On the screen, the massive tank crushed the perimeter fence like it was made of rotten woods. The tank's long gun turned and aimed directly at the front door.
BOOM!
A massive shell hit the Palace. The sound was deafening, enough to make a normal man scream. But the house didn't even crack. Ethan had reinforced the walls with special "Liquid-Armor" technology from the system version 1 mall. The surface of the building rippled like water, absorbing the explosion like a giant sponge.
"My turn," Ethan said.
He didn't want a messy war while his children were sleeping nearby. He reached out and pressed a single red switch on the panel. Deep under the green grass of the lawn, hidden two "Javelin Turrets" rose up.
Thump. Thump.
Two precise shots rang out. The first blew the heavy metal caterpillar tracks off the tank, and the second shattered the big gun. The tank was now just a useless piece of scrap metal. Before the smoke could even clear, Ethan's elite security team swarmed the vehicle, dragging Sterling and his men out onto the grass.
Ethan watched the monitor as Sterling was pinned to the ground. He didn't feel happy or angry; he just felt a cold realization. He understood now that success is a target. As long as he was winning, people would try to destroy him.