The air inside the the villa estate's private medical wing smelled like clean laundry and expensive industrial alcohol. It was quite, except for the beep-beep-beep sound of the heart monitor. Ethan stood behind the large window with his hands behinds his back. Even though he was cold and ruthless to the outside world, but now he had been pacing back and forth like a worried dad.
Elena had been in labor for more than twelve hours. Inside the room, Director Aris moved quickly but stayed calm, her face sharp and focused as she worked.
Suddenly a sharp and piercing cry broke the silence of the of the villa's private medical wing. Just a moment later, a second cry followed-this one a little deeper and stronger than the first.
[DING!]
[Lineage Expansion Confirmed!]
[Offspring 1 & 2: Successful Birth (Male/Female)]
[The Sovereign Clause: Activated!]
Ethan felt as if an electric current is crossing through his spine. An in his mind, a continuous [DING]....[DING]....[DING] sound from the system's interface kept ringing; his initial fund of 30 Million had been hit by a 100x Multiplier
[Total Liquid Capital: $3 Billion]
[Assets Acquired: 40% stake in 'Vanguard Defense Solutions']
[Assets Acquired: 40% stake in 'Sterling & Cross Law']
Ethan was bewildered by all the notifications and just stared blankly into space.
"Ethan...."
The quite whisper pulled him back to the Earth from his system world. Ethan turned towards the bead where Elena lays.She looked exhausted, her face was pale and drained from labor.
Ethan walked over, but his eyes went straight towards the tiny babies wrapped in soft silk. Their skin was clean, like porcelain. As he moved closer, he noticed something strange-their eyes seemed to follow wherever Ethan moved. That was strange, Ethan thought. Newborns usually can't focus like that, yet these two were different. May be it was his blood, or may be the Goblin Fertility skill domain was already at work, sharpening their minds before they could even speak.
For a moment, a genuine relief washed over him.
"You're name will be Thomas." Ethan whispered to his son . "And you will be Athena. You will be the first of many. You will never know the hunger I felt."
"They're perfect," he said, his voice low. He reached down and brushed his finger against the boy's forehead. "They'll never have to struggle for anything. This whole world is going to be theirs."
He didn't linger, through. He couldn't afford to get carried away by the emotion of the moment and forget abut his main task: moving the 3 billion dollar that sat in his account. Every second he spent staring at the kids was a second wasted from reaching his goal.
He went into his study and sat before his desktop. His figures were moving on the keyboard at an incredible speed. To anyone else, it might have looked like a jumble of numbers and codes, but to him, the stock market didn't looks like a gamble anymore-not with his Level 10.0 intelligence and Master Hacking skill.
He didn't just want to make money tonight, he wanted to settle a score.
He decided to target a company called Titan Motors. They were the ones who used to supply parts to Jack Mol's old workshop, and they were the main culprits who had lobbied for the laws to withhold payments and push us mechanics into poverty. It was time to pay them back.
Ethan didn't just sell the shares he'd just bought; he used secret 'ghost' accounts to flood the Internet with bad and negative news about a critical flaw in Titan Motors' new electric cars. These reports weren't mere guesses; they were brutally accurate documents he had stolen from their private servers only minute earlier.
The plan worked perfectly. In only three hours, the company's stock price crashed from $140 all the way down to just $1.40. Watching the panic was like listening to a piece of music for Ethan. When the price hit rock bottom, he hit the buy button. By the time the sun set, Ethan owned Titan Motors for a tiny fraction of it's morning value, having foreseen the entire collapse with his Future Prediction skill.
After a moment, Ethan summoned Marcus Throne called Marcus Throne to his study.
"Throne," Ethan called, his voice cold and devoid of any emotions. He didn't even bother to turn his head from the Computer screen.
Marcus Throne appeared in the doorway, out of breath. He looked more like servant now than a powerful boss. "Yes, Mr. Benjamin?"
"I've acquired the Obsidian Palace in Florida for 400 Million USD". Ethan stated, his tone as casual as if he bought a 40 cent cabbage. "It will serves as our new home.
"It's a palace made of black marble and reinforced glass, "Ethan said. "It has its own private dock, a helipad, and a garage for fifty cars. The security system is strong enough to stop a tank. We move the twins there today".
"And the island?" Throne asked.
"It's no longer just a project," Ethan replied. "I want to build the ultimate high-tech resort. Put in underwater villas with glass floors, holographic parks, and man-made forests with an AI temperature system. It will be our holiday home/ a private version of Disneyland just for my children's. Iron Shield Security will guard it 24/7"
He walked back to the room where the babies were sleeping. For a moment, the coldness of his business deals faded. He looked at their small, quite faces, then looked at the blue transparent system interface that floated only only before his eyes. All his wealth and all his skills-finally, they had a purpose.
1) Bank Account: $3.2 Billion (and getting bigger)
2) System Update: 20% finished
"Only eight more, "Ethan said quietly. His eyes looked sharp and scary again.