Ethan was about to stand up when a sharp, cold vibration resonated in the back of his mind. A high-priority notification from Crul flashed across his neural interface.

[Master, we have company. Multiple squads are closing in on your position. I recognize Scavenger signatures, but there are several other units—high-tier operators—with no digital footprint. I cannot access their data,] said Crul.

Ethan's hand moved smoothly to his phone, dialing Falcon 20. "Falcon, we're compromised. Bring the SUV around and call for reinforcements. We have hostiles inbound," said Ethan.

"Copy that, sir, but my perimeter is clear. I'm not seeing—" Falcon 20 started, but he was cut off by the frantic squawk of his own intercom.

In the background of the call, Ethan heard a voice shouting: "Code Red! Code Red! Multiple bogies deploying on our position! All units, converge on the Principal! They're everywhere!"

"Sir, we're being besieged. There are too many of them!" said Falcon 20, his voice tight with the realization that they had been lured into a blind spot.

Ethan stood up abruptly, the chair scraping against the marble floor. Sarah looked up, her confusion instantly turning into alarm as she felt the shift in the air.

"Sarah, we have to go. Now," said Ethan.

But as he reached for her hand, the atmosphere in the restaurant shifted. The soft clinking of silverware stopped. The low murmur of conversation died. Every waiter in the room, from the ones at the bar to the one who had just served their dessert, stopped in their tracks. Simultaneously, they turned their heads to stare directly at Ethan.

"It seems we're a bit late," said Ethan, his eyes scanning the room for the nearest exit.

Crul, what is this? How did they own a place like this without me knowing? thought Ethan.

[Analyzing... This restaurant, The Gilded Lily, is not registered under any Scavenger shell company. In fact, it has no legal owner on record. It's a phantom establishment. Analyzing further... it belongs to no one,] said Crul.

Ethan's jaw tightened. There was only one entity capable of maintaining such a high-profile ghost property in the heart of the city. Parthenon. If that mysterious organization was as powerful as Old Falcon claimed, an ambush of this scale was child's play for them.

"Parthenon," Ethan whispered to himself.

The "waiters" began to reach into their jackets, their movements synchronized and lethal. Sarah froze, her face pale as she realized the man she was trying to seduce was currently the center of a literal war zone.

"Ethan, what's happening?" asked Sarah Miller.

"The price of the dinner just went up, Sarah. Stay behind me," said Ethan.

The "waiters" and "patrons" drew silenced submachine guns and tactical blades from beneath their uniforms and coats. The civilian diners who weren't part of the play screamed, diving under tables as the first suppressed rounds shattered the crystal chandeliers overhead.

Ethan stood his ground, looking around the room with a cold, predatory disdain.

"You brought too few men for a job like this. But since you're so eager to be destroyed, I'll oblige," said Ethan.

Sarah gasped, her hands flying to her mouth as she collapsed back into her chair. Before her eyes, Ethan's pupils ignited with a fierce, electric blue light. Arcs of sapphire lightning began to dance between his fingertips, crackling with a sound like tearing silk.

"Ethan... your eyes... what are you?" asked Sarah Miller, but her voice was drowned out by the roar of the first assailant.

One of the waiters lunged forward, grabbing a terrified socialite from a nearby table and using her as a human shield as he fired a burst at Ethan's chest.

Ethan didn't flinch. He activated [Harder than Steel], his skin taking on a faint, metallic silver sheen that was quickly masked by the blinding strobe of his electrical aura. The bullets flattened against his chest like pebbles hitting a mountain, falling harmlessly to the rug.

With a blur of motion, Ethan closed the distance. Using [Celestial Qi Resonance Scan], the entire room slowed down in his mind. He could feel the vibration of every footstep, the heat of every gun barrel, and the panicked heartbeat of every enemy. He predicted the waiter's next move before the man even thought of it.

Ethan lunged. The waiter tried to pull the woman tighter, but Ethan's hand was faster. He delivered a strike using the [Dao Martial of the Fist], his knuckles glowing with concentrated lightning. The punch bypassed the woman entirely, the kinetic energy and electrical discharge surging through her and slamming directly into the waiter's skull. The man died instantly, his brain fried by the voltage, and he collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.

"Look at all these people dying because of you, Ethan Blake!" shouted one of the mercenaries from the bar, firing wildly into the crowd to create chaos. "Surrender now, and the bloodshed stops. Their blood is on your hands!"

They were trying to use psychological leverage, hoping the guilt of "innocent" casualties would break his resolve. It was a classic Parthenon tactic—destroy the man's soul before you take his life.

Ethan let out a dark, booming laugh that echoed above the screams. His mind, reinforced by his massive stat increases, was a fortress of iron. Guilt was a luxury he had long since discarded.

"You think I care about these ants? You think their lives weigh more than my goals?" asked Ethan. He raised his hand, and a massive arc of lightning jumped to the ceiling, causing the entire electrical grid of the restaurant to explode in a shower of sparks. "They are dead because you brought a fight to my table. And now, you will join them."

In the flickering darkness, Ethan moved like a storm. Each strike of his [Dao Martial of the Fist] sent a shockwave of thunder through the room. He didn't just punch; he erased. With [Basic Elemental Control], he wove the lightning into lashes of pure energy, bisecting the mercenaries who tried to flank him.

One mercenary charged with a combat knife, but Ethan's [Celestial Qi Resonance Scan] saw the arc of the blade seconds in advance. Ethan caught the man's wrist, the sound of bone snapping like dry kindling filling the air. He didn't even look at the man as he sent a surge of 50,000 volts directly through his arm, turning the attacker into a charred husk in seconds.

"Is this the best Parthenon has to offer? I'm disappointed," said Ethan, standing amidst the burning wreckage of the balcony, his silver-blue glow making him look like an ancient god of wrath.

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