It seemed that Yunliu Smart Drive’s waters ran deep. Ethan Shaw directed his team to close their positions, advising them to wait and see how things played out. In doing so, he incurred a loss of 500 million this time, and the faces of the entire investment team were grim.

Lily Ju, who had brought him coffee, placed the cup down and said, “I just heard them betting on when you'll be dismissed. Someone said within a month, because you know nothing about investment and are just messing around. What was the chairman talking to you about earlier? Was he giving you a warning?”

Lily Ju, relying on her good looks and having become familiar enough with Ethan Shaw, now felt comfortable joking with him. Ethan just smiled and said nothing.

Today, Lily Ju wore a cheongsam, her long legs subtly visible, reminding Ethan of that day when Luo Yuxiang showed him those alluring photos. So, when Lily Ju turned to leave, Ethan Shaw called out to her.

She returned to the desk and saw that Ethan was pulling a stack of photos from his drawer. Lily casually picked up one of the photos and immediately saw an image that made her cheeks flush with embarrassment.

It was Ethan's turn to act nonchalant as he said, "Your ex-boyfriend gave these to me. He thought I was pursuing you and tried to use these tricks to scare me off. He even said you would always belong to him. What a jerk."

Lily Ju fidgeted, unsure of how to respond. Her shy and awkward demeanor made Ethan's heart skip a beat. As a cold-blooded, high-level hunter, such emotions were rare for him, but it seemed he was truly falling for her.

Ethan paused, then said, "Let’s make a deal. I'll make sure your ex never bothers you again, but you have to agree to one thing."

Lily Ju raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Ethan smiled and said, "I want to see if you're as beautiful in person as you are in these photos." His intense gaze left no room for misunderstanding, while Lily Ju appeared coy, as if reluctant yet intrigued.

Just as Ethan was starting to think Lily might give in to all his requests, she suddenly became serious and said, "Help me fulfill one wish, and I'll show you the real thing."

Ethan raised an eyebrow, "Seems like you’re asking for a lot. What is it? I’ll give you anything."

Lily Ju smiled brightly and said, “It’s nothing too big. I just want to live in a big villa, one that’s 900 square meters, with lots of rooms, each one different. Some rooms are for calming the soul, some can heal, some spark creativity, and of course, one for sleeping well, and another for focused work and enjoyment. Warren Buffett’s biggest mistake in life was thinking that houses were insignificant. He spent his whole life in a simple, modest house. But a person’s mind and spirit are influenced by their environment. Just think about it—if someone only cared about a landscape that’s always the same, how could they have any survival advantage? People are born to enjoy variety, novelty, and exploration. That villa is my dream."

Her words were cleverly crafted, but she never actually said she wanted a villa as a gift—just that she dreamt of living in one. However, Ethan Shaw, with his expanded worldview, didn’t think much of a villa as a lofty dream and naturally assumed that she was hinting at wanting one as a present.

"Well, you’ll have to wait a bit. I don’t have the money for a villa right now; I just lost 500 million," Ethan said with a hint of regret.

Lily Ju smiled sweetly, "Then you better work hard! And these photos..." She glanced at the photos in her hand, unsure of what to do with them.

Ethan chuckled, "You’d better take them back, or I might end up sneaking a peek, haha."

Once the deal was struck, Lily Ju was no longer shy. She confidently asked, "Do you think my figure is alright?"

Ethan smiled, "It’s definitely more than alright." Lily Ju turned and swayed gracefully, her figure shimmering in the cheongsam as she left, and Ethan’s gaze followed her, feeling as though she had him wrapped around her finger. This was a good thing because he had been feeling rather numb lately and could really use a touch of human warmth to refresh his soul.

After Lily Ju left, Algernon's voice suddenly reminded him, “The eldest nephew of the Zhou family has recently taken control of the special task force. I’ve intercepted communication that the task force is sending people to capture you. They’ll be at the Crescent Wellness headquarters in about half an hour. How do you want to handle this?”

Ethan Shaw, his mind spinning, responded, “What’s the situation? How many people are coming?”

Algernon replied, “All special forces—five vehicles, five people in each, fully armed.”

Ethan sighed, “Any suggestions?”

Algernon: “Of course, it’s best to avoid direct confrontation.”

Ethan grumbled, “If I do that, my carefully cultivated identity will be ruined. I was planning to make enough money to buy Lily Ju that villa.”

Algernon sarcastically responded, “Didn’t think Mr. Shaw was a love-struck fool. My apologies.”

Ethan Shaw’s tone remained calm as he said, “That’s right. I’m not someone who falls in love easily, but when I do, I’m not human anymore. I’ll have to negotiate with the special forces. Let’s find a suitable place for a one-on-one fight. I don’t want to accidentally hurt Miss Lily. Get the eldest nephew to come.”

Algernon: “Seriously? Alright, I’ll call him.”

Ethan’s prediction proved accurate—Zhou Jianxin was bold enough to show up at Ethan Shaw’s office, fully aware that he wasn’t dealing with an ordinary person. Naturally, his bodyguards were waiting outside, thinking that would be enough.

Zhou Jianxin, with a hint of mockery in his eyes, spoke confidently, “Mr. Shaw, you called for me? How rare! What’s your command?”

Ethan Shaw’s reply was cold, “You don’t want Crescent Wellness to lose another 200 people, do you? Neither do I. So here’s what we’ll do: you contact the task force, set up a meeting location, and I’ll personally deal with the special forces they send. If we don’t meet, I’ll take matters into my own hands and go on a killing spree. I’ll also tank the value of Crescent Wellness’s stock. You consider yourself the true heir of Crescent Wellness, right? This is your chance to show your mettle. If not, I’ll make sure the whole company suffers.”

Zhou Jianxin paused for a moment, “You want to confront the special forces head-on?”

Ethan Shaw replied with a cold smile, “Do you really think I’m not capable of that? I’ll give you one chance—either you destroy me, or you’ll stay out of trouble until you come of age. After that, I’ll deal with you. I believe not killing minors is the right thing to do—they’re the future of humanity, after all.”

Zhou Jianxin seemed to grasp Ethan’s true nature. He made the call to the task force head, Yue Bei, with Ethan Shaw’s message.

Zhou Jianxin: “Uncle Yue, I’m with Ethan Shaw. He has something to tell you. I’ll put it on speaker.”

Ethan Shaw spoke directly, “Officer Yue, this is Ethan Shaw. I hear you’re looking for the true culprit behind the Crescent Wellness terrorist attack? Funny, I know the inside story. Let’s talk. I’ll send you an address. We can meet there. Bring your special forces, the more the better.”

Zhou Jianxin, who had been listening, finally understood. The man before him, Ethan Shaw, was far more unpredictable and dangerous than he had anticipated. Staring at Ethan’s face, he could almost sense a childlike innocence hidden behind the man’s cold demeanor.

Yue Bei, on the other end, paused for a moment before responding, “Alright.” A second later, Ethan received a message with a location, and he couldn’t help but feel that the speed with which the message arrived was enough to show Yue Bei that he was dealing with someone not to be underestimated.

Once the location was set, Ethan Shaw went to the garage and entered his armored, purely mechanical car. The location had been carefully calculated by Algernon, and it was the perfect place to deploy Gray’s Kiss. Anyone passing through a certain point would meet their end with a Gray Kiss.

After this, he was likely to become a public enemy in Wu City, and even Wu Country. His previous massacre at Alison Hospital, targeting the powerful elites, was nothing compared to what was about to happen. The special forces were the symbol of the state apparatus; if he dared to oppose such an organization, there was nothing he wouldn’t be willing to do. In a world without rules, he wanted to be the first high-level hunter to act like this. Excluding the mastermind behind the Yulong Road explosion case, he would likely be the first to take such a bold step. Other high-level hunters tended to avoid drawing attention.

The meeting spot he had arranged was at an unfinished building of Heng Chuang Company, which had gone bankrupt. The building was 34 stories high and almost at its final stage, but Heng Chuang’s bankruptcy had left it unfinished, which was a sad sight.

Downstairs, a few homeless people had gathered, but because there was no elevator, no one had ventured to the higher floors of the building. Ethan Shaw climbed up to the rooftop via the fire escape. From here, the view was open in all directions, offering a refreshing feeling.

The wind on the rooftop was strong, and there was a “hissing” noise that seemed to come from the air. At first, he didn’t pay much attention to it, but the sound grew louder and clearer. Finally, he turned his head to see where the noise was coming from. Outside the rooftop, over 100 meters of empty sky, he saw a smooth, bald head rising up. Even with his courage, Ethan Shaw was taken aback by such a bizarre scene, his pupils instinctively widening in surprise.

The bald head’s owner seemed somewhat familiar. Ethan Shaw blurted out, “Bai Ya?!”

He had thought that Bai Ya, having lost his funding and given up on treatment, had died long ago in the ICU.

Bai Ya was not only bald but had no eyebrows either. This was a sign of poisoning after taking Red Mushroom Poison, and her reaction had been much stronger than Ethan Shaw’s.

Bai Ya floated up through the air. Ethan Shaw carefully examined her legs but couldn’t find anything unusual. However, when Bai Ya gently landed in front of him, the strange noise ceased, and the small stones on the rooftop were lifted by the wind. This confirmed that Bai Ya’s legs were capable of generating strong gusts of wind, which was the key to her ability to fly. The noise was so subtle, clearly coming from an ultrasonic jet engine. He had never heard of any high-tech company with such a device. It seemed Bai Ya had also joined the ranks of high-level hunters; otherwise, her body would not have recovered.

Flying through the air! This skill was truly romantic.

Bai Ya’s entire demeanor had changed. She appeared incredibly cold and aloof, to the point where Ethan Shaw didn’t even dare mention how he had once saved her life.

“How did you end up here?” Ethan Shaw asked.

Bai Ya replied, “I came to kill you. Isn’t it customary to prove your loyalty when you join the Dark Forest system? Ordinary hunters can kill anyone at random, but high-level hunters have higher requirements. I passed the ‘Imitator’ test, and I was tasked with killing a high-level hunter who betrayed the organization. Unfortunately, you are the only traitor recently, so I was assigned this task. I didn’t expect that killing your entire family wouldn’t bring you out, but luckily I thought of checking with the special task force investigating the Crescent Wellness case to track down your whereabouts.”