Dawn.
The water pipes in the tenement building always made that hacking sound—like the death rattle of a dying old man.
Ethan Blackwell gripped the yellowed sink, splashing ice-cold water on his face. The chill cut to the bone, but nothing could wash away the blood-red countdown burning in his retina.
**[Exposure Alert Level: 28% (Critical Threshold)]**
**[WARNING: Last night's citywide traffic network mobilization triggered "Rule Fluctuations." You need a massive, legitimate business expenditure to create a financial tsunami that covers your data traces.]**
Spend money as cover?
Ethan looked up. The man in the mirror had stubble and hollow cheeks, but his eyes were bottomless black pools.
This happened to be what he did best.
Behind him came the soft rustle of plastic bags.
Lily was pressed against the windowsill, her small face against the dirty glass, staring down at the street below with vacant eyes.
A yellow school bus had stopped. Several children with cartoon backpacks were being lifted aboard by their parents, half-eaten sandwiches still clutched in their hands.
Lily watched with intense focus.
That was a world she'd never touched.
"Lily." Ethan dried his hands and walked over. "What are you looking at?"
The little girl startled like she'd been caught doing something wrong, quickly pulling her head back and hiding both hands behind her back.
"Nothing... nothing at all."
She lowered her head, scuffing the concrete floor with her toes. "Daddy, red bottle caps went up in price. They're worth five cents now. Blue ones are only three. I counted earlier—we can make three dollars today."
Three dollars.
Just enough for two steamed buns and a packet of pickled vegetables.
This was the entire world in his five-year-old daughter's eyes.
Ethan's throat tightened. He crouched down and forcibly pulled those frostbitten little hands from behind her back, holding them in his palms.
Rough. Covered in tiny cuts.
"No more collecting."
Ethan's voice was hoarse. "Daddy's taking you somewhere. A place with slides, crayons, and lots of other children."
If the system was forcing him to spend money, then he'd buy his daughter a childhood paved with gold.
...
One hour later.
Downtown Seaside City, where every inch of land cost a fortune.
The golden sign for **Royal Galaxy International Kindergarten** blazed in the winter sunlight, so bright it hurt to look at directly.
This place was known as the city's "money pit"—entry required proof of ten million in assets.
It was peak drop-off time.
Rolls-Royces and Bentleys clogged the school gates. The air reeked of expensive perfume.
A smoke-belching taxi awkwardly wedged itself between two Maybachs.
Ethan pushed open the door.
The cold wind hit them, and Lily shrank into her neck. Her oversized secondhand coat looked even more bulky, her pink sneakers faded from washing, with the toe worn through.
The surrounding children in their British-style uniforms and polished leather shoes stared at her like she was an alien.
Lily was scared.
She instinctively hid behind Ethan, gripping his pants leg so tightly her knuckles went white.
"Daddy... the air here smells so nice." Lily's voice trembled. "Did I make this place dirty?"
Ethan crouched down and smoothed his daughter's wind-tousled pigtails.
"This place already belongs to you."
He took her hand and walked straight toward the admissions office, cutting through those contemptuous stares.
At the admissions office entrance, Director Wang was all smiles as she saw off a coal baron. Her Chanel suit was stretched tight, her foundation thick as wall paint.
The moment she turned and saw Ethan and his daughter, that professional fake smile collapsed at light speed.
It transformed into undisguised revulsion.
"Hey! Hey! What are you doing here?"
Wang waved her Mont Blanc pen like she was shooing flies, rushing over to physically block the entrance with her body.
"Delivery goes through the side door! Scrap collectors use the back alley!"
She pinched her nose and took an exaggerated step backward. "This is Royal Kindergarten, not a refugee camp! Don't bring your germs in here!"
Several wealthy wives who'd been touching up their makeup stopped to watch, their expressions amused.
"These days, even beggars think they can climb the social ladder?"
"Look at that child's hands—covered in frostbite. Ugh... disgusting."
The whispers were like needles, making Lily unable to lift her head.
Ethan pulled out a crumpled paper from his jacket—an enrollment application he'd printed at a shop last night for one dollar.
"I'm here to register."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chill.
Wang looked like she'd heard the joke of the century. Her heavily lined eyes widened, mockery practically overflowing.
"Register?"
She snatched the application form. Didn't even glance at the name.
*Rip!*
The paper tore in half, crumpled into a ball, and sailed in a perfect arc into the nearby recycling bin.
"You think you're qualified?"
Wang looked down at him, her finger nearly touching Ethan's nose. "Open your dog eyes and look around! The donation fee alone is $200,000! Plus we check three generations of assets!"
"Do you have that? Two-fifty?"
"I bet you can't even scrape together two-fifty! Get lost before I call security to throw you out!"
Ethan didn't move.
But under his sleeves, his arm muscles had tensioned.
Those eyes were rapidly cooling.
Just then—
*ROAR—*
Engine thunder.
A red Porsche 911 skidded to a stop, spraying slush that nearly splashed Wang's outfit.
The door opened.
Black stockings, business suit.
Roxanne Sterling removed her sunglasses. She'd come to handle her nephew's school transfer, but immediately spotted that man in the $9.99 t-shirt.
Him again?
Though she considered him a deadbeat, seeing Lily looking like a frightened quail stirred her sense of justice.
Roxanne stepped forward, fishing the crumpled paper from the trash and smoothing it out.
"Director Wang."
Roxanne adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses. "The Education Act guarantees all children the right to education. Even if he's going through bankruptcy proceedings, as long as he can pay tuition, you have no right to refuse admission."
Wang's expression shifted.
This woman was Seaside City's famous "Iron Lady" lawyer—not someone to mess with.
But this was her territory.
"Lawyer Sterling, I understand the law."
Wang straightened her collar, revealing a smile even more nauseating than before. "But we're a private school. The board has regulations refusing admission to 'low net worth families' to prevent lowering our social standards."
She leaned closer, lowering her voice just enough for everyone nearby to hear:
"This isn't just about money. Mr. Blackwell, even if you sold your kidney to scrape together tuition, the poverty stench in your bones still wouldn't qualify you for this circle. This is about class. Understand?"
A perfect trap.
Killing with rules.
Roxanne opened her mouth but found no counterargument.
In this arena of fame and fortune, "social circle rules" were indeed more powerful than law.
She looked at Ethan with complex emotions.
What could this man do now, stubbornly clinging to his pride?
Ethan said nothing.
He was fighting to control himself.
Fighting the urge to shove this woman's head into the snow.
Suddenly, he felt something cool against his cheek.
Lily had somehow stood on her tiptoes.
She cupped Ethan's stubbled face and planted a firm kiss on his cheek.
"Daddy, don't be angry..."
The little girl forced back tears, managing a smile so bright it broke hearts. "Lily doesn't like it here. That lady talks like a duck—so ugly. Let's go home. Lily will cook noodles for Daddy."
She'd understood the word "broke."
She was using her innocent way to protect her father's last shred of dignity.
*BOOM!*
That kiss landed like a nuclear bomb in Ethan's mind.
Data streams in his retina erupted like a volcano, frantically scrolling!
**[S-Class Pure Love detected: Daughter's Protection!]**
**[Love Value: OFF THE CHARTS!]**
**[Fund locks... COMPLETELY DISSOLVED!]**
**[Assets Unlocked: Offshore Trust Fund—$10 Billion (USD)!]**
**[Special Mission Triggered: SPEND! Spend immediately! Use financial floods to wash away rule alerts!]**
The world changed in Ethan's eyes.
Those arrogant luxury cars, that golden school—now they were just cheap merchandise with price tags.
He touched the moisture on his cheek.
The ice in his eyes shattered, becoming a tsunami that would devour everything.
"Lily's right."
Ethan straightened up, his previously hunched spine snapping straight as a spear.
The oppressive aura of someone who'd spent years at the top of the food chain released without restraint.
He looked at Wang like she was an ant.
"Social circles are indeed important."
Ethan pulled out his phone, his finger hovering over a black app. "Since I don't like this circle, I'll just... replace it."
"Replace it?"
Wang laughed so hard her foundation cracked. "How? By becoming a janitor cleaning toilets? Hahaha..."
Ethan ignored the grating laughter.
He entered commands.
Confirmed.
Looking at Wang, his voice was as calm as ordering groceries:
"Tell your chairman this school is mine now."
"Thirty percent premium, transaction complete in three minutes. If he won't sell, I'll short his parent company in one minute and have him cleaning toilets here."
The air went quiet for one second.
Then erupted in even louder laughter.
"Bought it? Do you know what this school is worth? Ten billion! US dollars!"
Wang laughed until tears came, pointing at Ethan and shouting to Roxanne: "Lawyer Sterling, listen to this! Has this man gone insane? Driven crazy by bankruptcy?"
Parents around them shook their heads, looking at him like he was mentally ill.
Roxanne frowned, about to intervene.
*Screech—*
Hundreds of high-fidelity speakers throughout the campus suddenly crackled with harsh static.
Then, an aged, trembling voice filled with extreme terror echoed across the entire school:
"Emergency... emergency announcement! All attention!"
"Thirty seconds ago! Royal Galaxy Education Group completed full acquisition! Ownership transfer documents... effective!"
Wang's smile froze on her face, mouth gaping wide enough to fit a lightbulb.
She knew that voice too well.
The chairman! The usually high-and-mighty chairman!
"Current board chairman changed to... Mr. Ethan Blackwell!"
"Repeat! The new owner is Mr. Ethan Blackwell! All faculty and staff report to the main gate immediately for reception! Anyone who shows disrespect will be blacklisted industry-wide!"
Dead silence.
Absolute dead silence.
The wind stopped.
The wealthy wives who'd been mocking moments before dropped their Hermès bags into the snow.
The coal baron's cigar burned through his cashmere sweater unnoticed.
Wang looked like her spine had been removed, legs shaking violently as she stared at this man in a $9.99 t-shirt with empty eyes.
He was... the boss?
He was the owner of this ten-billion-dollar school?
Roxanne's glasses slipped down her nose, pupils dilated in shock.
Her mind went blank.
One sentence bought a ten-billion-dollar enterprise?
This was his idea of "bankruptcy"?
This was the waste of space whose daughter had to scrape together two-fifty?
On his retina, the crimson progress bar plummeted rapidly.
**[Transaction Complete.]**
**[Massive compliant capital flow generates financial shield.]**
**[Exposure Alert Level: 15% (Safe).]**
Ethan bent down and scooped up the still-dazed Lily with one arm.
"Come on, my little princess."
He stepped forward, walking straight toward the terrified Wang.
With each step, Wang trembled more.
When he reached her—
*Thud.*
Wang's knees gave out, dropping her into the cold slush.
"Mr... Mr. Chairman... I..."
Teeth chattering, words incomplete.
Ethan looked down at her, his tone gentle as a spring breeze.
"Earlier you mentioned a trash can. Where was that?"
Wang's whole body shook, cold sweat soaking her back. "It's... it's..."
"Since you love sorting so much, all waste management for this school is now your responsibility."
Ethan smiled slightly. "Remember to sort as carefully as you tore that paper. Miss one bottle cap, and I'll make you eat it."
With that, he carried Lily through the school gates.
*Whoosh—*
Countless teachers and security guards poured from the buildings, forming two lines in the snow, bowing ninety degrees in unison to the shabbily dressed father and daughter.
Their voices shook the sky:
"Welcome home, Young Miss!!"
...
Late night.
The tenement building, dim yellow light.
Ethan sat beside the bed, organizing Lily's new school bag as she slept.
It was a custom school-issued design, stuffed with expensive supplies.
His fingers brushed the inner pocket, touching something hard.
Not a school notice.
Ethan pulled it out.
A sheet of A4 paper.
Just one drawing in red crayon, the style twisted and eerie.
It showed a faceless little girl lying on a giant dinner plate.
Where the girl's eyes should be weren't crayon marks.
They were two dots of long-dried dark red blood.
Beside the plate was a fork, its handle faintly etched with a closed eye.
Ethan's fingers tightened slightly on the paper.
The Abyss Watchers.
Had they infiltrated even kindergartens?
He glanced at Lily sleeping peacefully, then placed the drawing in his palm and gently rubbed.
Blue flames rose, instantly consuming the paper.
"Looks like just throwing money around..."
Ethan watched the ash fall from his palm, a killing intent darker than night flashing in his eyes.
"Still can't wash all the filth from this city clean."