After completing both teleportation and telekinesis training, Ethan finally stopped around seven in the morning. The night had passed quietly while he practiced with the Super Ability Training Box, and only then did he decide to rest.
He lay down and entered deep sleep almost instantly.
When he opened his eyes again, it was already past nine o'clock.
The official working hours of the FBI started at nine.
Which meant Ethan was late.
He didn't care in the slightest.
Over the past several years at the FBI's New York branch, Ethan had shown up on time fewer than ten times. His reputation for solving cases made most people overlook that detail, and Ethan himself had never bothered pretending otherwise.
By the time he got up, Wanda and Pietro had already gone to school.
Even though his Long Island villa was enormous, Ethan had never hired servants or housekeepers.
Officially, he claimed it was to "train Pietro's abilities."
That explanation wasn't entirely a joke.
Both Pietro and Wanda possessed powers of their own.
A while ago, Ethan had summoned a box of Awakening Potions. There were three bottles in total, and each of them drank one.
The results were immediate.
Pietro awakened incredible super speed.
Wanda awakened mysterious energy manipulation abilities.
In Ethan's understanding, those were the same powers the siblings would have eventually gained through experiments involving the Mind Stone.
As for Ethan himself, nothing happened when he drank the potion.
The Awakening Potion enhanced existing potential but did not grant entirely new abilities. Since Ethan already relied on his summoning system and other powers, the potion produced no visible awakening.
Even so, he didn't feel disappointed.
After all, the progress bar in his mind was already the greatest advantage imaginable.
After finishing a slow breakfast, Ethan finally left the house.
By the time he arrived at the FBI's New York branch office, it was already close to eleven in the morning.
The FBI—the Federal Bureau of Investigation—had been founded in 1908 after Congress approved the creation of the Bureau of Investigation to combat the surge of crime threatening the country's economy and public safety.
Over more than a century of development, it had grown into a massive organization.
The agency now employed roughly thirty-seven thousand people. It maintained field offices across every major American city and operated nearly sixty overseas offices around the world.
Among all its branches, the New York office was the largest.
It had the most personnel, the biggest budget, and the highest number of active cases.
Even the headquarters in Washington, D.C., couldn't match the scale of the New York branch.
The reason was simple.
New York was the largest city on the planet—and also one of the most chaotic.
The elevator doors opened, and Ethan walked casually into his office.
He had barely sat down when the door swung open again.
"Boss, the director is holding a meeting in the conference room," Luke, one of his subordinates, said while leaning into the doorway. "You should hurry over."
"Alright, alright. I'm going now."
Ethan stood up lazily and walked toward the conference room.
Even before he reached the door, an angry voice could already be heard shouting from inside.
Ethan smirked slightly and pushed the door open.
"Morning, everyone."
There weren't many people inside the conference room, but every single one of them was part of the branch's senior leadership.
A middle-aged man in his forties smiled as soon as he saw Ethan.
"It's already past eleven, and you're still saying morning," the man joked. "Impressive, Ethan."
The speaker was Adrian Joe, the agent in charge of the Intelligence Department.
He and Ethan got along well.
Ethan shrugged casually.
"What can I say? My morning doesn't officially start until ten."
He walked over, grabbed a chair, and sat down comfortably before glancing toward the front of the table.
A heavyset white man sat there.
Director Davis.
"So what's the situation, Director?" Ethan asked casually. "It's almost lunchtime. Don't drag this meeting out too long."
The supervisors and agents around the table didn't react at all to Ethan's tone. They were long accustomed to his attitude.
Director Davis, however, looked furious.
He slammed his hand onto the table with a loud smack.
"Where were you last night when I ordered you to go to the Hilton crime scene?" Davis demanded angrily.
Ethan leaned back in his chair.
"I was sleeping at home," he replied calmly. "Is there a problem?"
"A problem?!" Davis's face turned red with anger.
"The problem is enormous! Do you even know who died last night? Aldrick Morgan! The first heir of the Morgan family!"
He pointed accusingly at Ethan.
"I've tolerated your arrogance for a long time, but this time you've crossed the line. This is dereliction of duty. Absolute dereliction of duty!"
Davis took a breath before continuing.
"I'm giving you three days. Catch the murderer and give the Morgan family an explanation. If you fail, I'll remove you from your position as supervising agent."
Ethan stared at him for a moment.
Then he spoke calmly.
"Director Davis, let me clarify something."
"In New York City, any homicide case with fewer than ten victims is handled by the NYPD. Only after they finish their initial investigation does the case get transferred to the FBI."
He folded his arms.
"So technically, this case isn't even ours yet."
"Then go take the case from them!" Davis snapped.
Ethan shook his head slightly.
"Sorry, Director. That would violate protocol."
"Violation?" Davis exploded. "I'm the director of this office! What I say goes!"
He continued shouting angrily.
"You arrogant little—"
Before he could finish the sentence, a thick folder suddenly flew across the room.
Smack.
The folder struck Davis directly in the face.
The room instantly fell silent.
Ethan slowly lowered his hand.
His expression had turned cold.
"Director," he said calmly, "you're free to eat whatever you want."
"But when it comes to talking, you should be careful."
His gaze hardened.
"Otherwise something unpleasant might happen the next day."
After a short pause, Ethan continued.
"And if you want to remove me as supervising agent, feel free to try."
The room remained completely silent.
Davis stared at Ethan, suddenly realizing how far he had pushed things.
His earlier anger faded quickly.
Ethan wasn't just another FBI agent.
He had powerful connections within the military, and rumors inside New York suggested he maintained a close relationship with Wilson Fisk—the Kingpin of the city's underworld.
Removing someone like Ethan was far beyond Davis's authority.
The director's face flushed awkwardly.
He could neither advance nor retreat.
Ethan simply ignored him.
Instead he turned toward Adrian Joe.
"Joe, want to grab lunch later?" he asked casually. "I found a new pizza place that's supposed to be great."
"No problem," Adrian replied with a smile.
Like Ethan, he had never liked Director Davis.
Part of the reason the two men got along so well was that Adrian also came from a powerful background and didn't need to worry about Davis's opinion.
…
After lunch with Adrian and spending a little time wandering around the office, Ethan decided to leave early.
It wasn't even four o'clock yet.
He drove his car toward Manhattan and stopped in front of a luxury high-rise apartment building near Central Park.
Although it was technically just an apartment complex, the property was worth more than two of Ethan's Long Island villas combined.
Only the wealthiest elites in the United States lived here.
What most residents didn't realize was that one of their neighbors was the true emperor of New York's underworld.
Wilson Fisk.
As soon as Ethan entered the apartment, Fisk walked forward and gave him a huge bear hug.
Wilson Fisk was an enormous man with a towering, muscular build. Compared to him, Ethan looked almost thin.
"Haha! Ethan, it's good to see you," Fisk said warmly.
Vanessa Fisk also stepped forward with a welcoming smile.
"Ethan, we're very happy you could come."
"It's good to see both of you too," Ethan replied politely.
At that moment a teenage boy suddenly ran over.
"Godfather!"
Richard Fisk threw himself toward Ethan with excitement.
"You finally came to visit me. I thought you forgot about me."
Ethan laughed and hugged the boy.
"How could I forget little Richard?" he said. "I've just been busy lately."
He ruffled Richard's hair.
"When you're on vacation next time, I'll take you to an amusement park. How does that sound?"