Ethan stared at the bulky man as he drowned in his own pool of blood. He clutched the meaty heart in his hand and crushed it instantly. In the world of power, once you awaken, you must accept goriness with ease.
If you dull to the gore, you will only get yourself killed. Ethan had seen many people throw up on their first dungeon raid, and they were killed because they didn't have sharp minds. To be an awakened means to be merciless. If you show mercy, only death awaits.
Ethan performed [Shadow Smoke] as he disappeared from the scene.
Thirty minutes later, the Peace Guards arrived. The Peace Guards were like a local police corporation, their headquarters located on Planet Earth. Their mission was to ensure low-level threats like theft, robbery, assassination, and smuggling were handled properly so there wouldn't be anarchy.
They deployed multiple divisions to low-level planets. The bigger planets had higher-level security, so no one messed up there.
"Gosh, Captain, come take a look at this." A detective stared at the head in the hot bowl of soup.
"Isn't that Nathan, the number 12th Ascended? How did he end up in such a horrible state?" A middle-aged man with a big belly walked in.
"Someone stronger than an early Ascended… that's unheard of. Besides, we know where the rest of the Ascended are." The detective frowned.
Immediately, a young lad—probably a new recruit—rushed in. "Detective, come take a look at the back door!" the teenager yelped.
---
Ethan arrived at his apartment and immediately called Gloria.
"Bad news, girl. Your payment just increased to one million Ace Coins. I just took care of two assassins who wanted your head. But I'm a nice guy—I'll do this one for free," Ethan teased.
"Ah, damn it, Ethan. I'm tired of this shit. Too many people want my head. Who would have thought they'd hire an Ascended to do the job?" Her tone was low.
"I guess whoever wants you dead thinks you're a huge threat. We better enter an academy fast before things escalate," Ethan said.
"Yeah, I know. So, did you get any information from them?" Gloria asked.
"Nope. I ripped the last guy's heart out. How do you expect him to talk without a heart?" Ethan chuckled.
"Shit. I really needed that info. Well… nice job. You did well protecting me," Gloria admitted.
"Hey, don't act nice—it's what you paid for," Ethan said as he prepared a hot coffee.
"Yeah, yeah, right, Agent Bond. Well, you've got till next week to prepare. Once we leave, we only have seven months before coming back," Gloria said.
"Sure. Um… well, I need a little favor. Can you give me my one million Ace Coins now?" Ethan asked.
"I thought you said you were doing this one for free?" Gloria asked, annoyed.
"Did I? Well, I don't remember. Anyway, it's kind of urgent," Ethan said.
"Fine. I'll send you the money." Gloria cut the call.
"Eh, rich spoiled girl." Ethan chuckled. Come to think of it, Gloria wasn't as spoiled as he thought—she was ambitious.
Later, Ethan prepared a meal, changed into his nightgown, and jumped into bed, dozing off.
---
The next morning, Ethan was woken by his blaring alarm. He quickly jumped into the bathroom and took a bath.
Next, he walked into the state-of-the-art kitchen, smelling the aroma of breakfast in the air.
"Ah, good breakfast. Today's is really tasty," Ethan said as he rubbed his palms.
He saw Little Finger munching her cereal, not minding him.
"Hey, spoiled brat, have you seen your brother this morning?" Ethan asked.
"Sorry, brother. I was too hungry to notice you," she smiled at Ethan.
"Very well then. How about after school we go to a car retailer and get Mom a new car?" Ethan asked.
"Honey, isn't that too early? We shouldn't be wasting money on unnecessary stuff," his mom said.
"Well, a personal vehicle for convenient transport isn't unnecessary," Ethan said, picking up some toast bread.
"Don't try to act wise in front of me," his mom cautioned.
"Fine then. But at least let's get one so Little Finger doesn't have to board public transport to school," Ethan said.
"Yes, Mommy, we need one! I also need to boast to my friends too," Little Finger added.
Ethan's mom thought for a while and then said, "Fine then. Have it your way."
Little Finger was overjoyed as she gave Ethan a thumbs up.
"And besides, where are you going that you won't be dropping Little Finger off anymore?" Cynthia asked.
"Well, Mom, I'm planning on joining the military. I need to get stronger," Ethan said.
"No way! Big bro wants to become the strongest person in the world!" Little Finger cheered.
Ethan's mom stayed quiet for a moment as she looked at Ethan. "You have no idea how proud I am of your success. I don't know whether to cry or laugh. But what I will say is—I am proud of you, my son." She hugged him.
Ethan's eyes grew watery as he felt her warmth. In his past life, Ethan's mother had died five years before he did, before he reincarnated. He hadn't felt this much love in years.
After a while, Ethan transferred 30 million Ace Coins to his mother. "I guess this should do before I come back," Ethan said.
"And also… I want you to keep things low. Don't draw too much attention to yourself," Ethan advised.
"Of course, I know," Cynthia said, surprised by the amount Ethan had sent.
After breakfast, Ethan continued with his preparations. He bought his mom a brand-new first-class car. He paid for Little Finger's tuition fees for a whole year, which cost about three million Ace Coins. Then Ethan paid off all the bills.
---
The following week, Ethan went to the spacecraft station, wearing his usuals. He had sold off all his beast cores, which amounted to 100 million Ace Coins. He sent his mother 50 million again and kept the rest. He wanted to make sure life was comfortable for his family before his departure.
"Look who's here," Freddy said, spotting Ethan.
"Yeah, man. I see you're practicing the Ghost Phantom technique I sent you," Ethan said.
"Fuck, how did you know?" Freddy grinned. Ethan had sent Freddy the tutorial the night he returned from the incident.
"Damn, that technique is badass," Freddy admitted.
"Yeah, true. Practice it well," Ethan replied.
"Hey guys, welcome. Wanna take a look at our ride?" Gloria walked in on them.
Planet Helios was billions of miles away from Planet New Eden, so teleportation devices wouldn't work—especially the ones on New Eden. They were only built to travel a thousand miles.
"Seems we have to go to a great teleport station on the nearest mid-tier planet," Ethan said as he admired the magnificent spacecraft Gloria bought.