Ethan did not react much. He simply adjusted his coat and watched Jas like a man observing a laboratory result.
"Of course it is real," Ethan replied. "I would not waste ti otherwise."
Jas paced around the room, running a hand through his hair. His mind was racing. He had tried countless products before. Enhancers. Boosters. Secret formulas smuggled from distant regions. Most were scams. A few were decent. None had ever felt like this.
This was not a slight improvent.
This was a leap.
He stopped in front of Ethan and stared at him with burning eyes.
"If I show this to my family," Jas said slowly, "they will lose their minds."
Ethan tilted his head slightly. "Will they buy?"
Jas blinked.
The question cut straight through the excitent.
"Will your family invest?" Ethan repeated calmly.
Jas clenched his jaw. His family had always seen him as reckless. The youngest son who chased flashy ventures instead of traditional influence. This was supposed to be his chance to prove himself, and he had failed too many tis before.
But this ti was different.
"They will buy," Jas said firmly. "They have to."
Ethan’s gaze remained steady. "Call them."
Jas did not hesitate. He pulled out his phone imdiately and stepped aside, though he was still within Ethan’s hearing range. He dialed a number that was not saved under any na. The line rang once. Twice.
Then it connected.
The voice on the other end was calm. Too calm.
"Jas."
Jas swallowed. "Brother."
There was a brief silence before the voice spoke again, asured and cool.
"You know this is your last chance to prove your worth to the family. Do you really want to call right now? Do you think you are prepared to surprise us?"
Jas felt the weight of those words pressing on his chest. He glanced at Ethan, who was watching him with mild interest, as if the outco did not concern him at all.
"Yes, brother," Jas said, forcing steadiness into his voice. "Please co. I am ready."
"Very well then," the voice replied. "I will be there in two days."
The line went dead.
Jas let out a long breath he had not realized he was holding. He lowered the phone slowly, then turned back to Ethan with renewed intensity.
"He is coming," Jas said. "In two days."
Ethan nodded once.
"How many types of pills can you make?" Jas asked quickly, unable to contain himself.
Ethan leaned back against the desk, folding his arms. "Let us see the attitude of your family first. Then we will discuss more."
Jas opened his mouth as if to argue, then closed it. He understood the aning. Ethan was not desperate. The pills were not a product being pushed onto unwilling buyers. If the family showed arrogance or greed without respect, Ethan could simply walk away.
That realization made Jas even more anxious.
He needed this to succeed.
...
At evening.
Drek entered Ethan’s room with an expression that was difficult to read. It was not panic. It was not anger. It was sothing closer to unease.
"Sir," Drek said, lowering his head slightly, "three of our mbers were found dead last night."
Ethan did not look surprised. He simply gestured for him to continue.
"Do you know what happened?" Ethan asked calmly.
"No, sir," Drek replied. His voice carried a subtle tremor. "But the most unsettling thing is their bodies were maid completely. As if a wild animal tried to rip them apart before eating their flesh."
Jas, who was still present, frowned. "An animal? In Laren City?"
Drek shook his head. "That is the strange part. The alley they were in was out of CCTV cara reach, so we could not find any footage. And this is not the first ti. We have reports that similar deaths have occurred throughout the city for the last year."
Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"Is that so?" he said.
"Yes, sir."
"Have you investigated?"
"We tried, but there is nothing concrete. Every month, soone ends up dead like this. The news never reaches common people. It gets suppressed."
Ethan’s interest sharpened.
"Collect the data of all the murders and give it to ."
Drek nodded quickly. "I have already done that. Here is the list."
He handed over a thick file.
Ethan sat down and began flipping through the pages. The room fell silent except for the faint sound of paper turning. Dates. Locations. Photographs. Reports from internal sources. Each case showed the sa pattern. Brutal maiming. No witnesses. No clear entry or exit path.
"A mystery, huh?" Ethan muttered softly. A faint smile appeared on his lips. "I would love to solve it."
Jas looked at him with mild disbelief. "You are smiling?"
Ethan closed the file. "If sothing unusual repeats with such precision, it ans there is a system behind it. Systems can be broken."
That very night, he decided to see the city for himself.
...
anwhile, elsewhere in a distant estate, a young man stood in a large study room. The walls were lined with dark wood shelves filled with ancient books and modern docunts alike. The air carried a faint scent of incense.
"Father," the young man said respectfully, "Jas called . He said he has found a breakthrough and asked to go there. What should I do?"
Behind the desk sat a middle aged man with sharp features and calm, calculating eyes. He did not look up imdiately. He continued reviewing a docunt before finally speaking in a deep, steady voice.
"You have important matters to attend to," he said. "Send your sister there. You will attend the auction in two days."
The young man bowed his head. "Yes, father."
He left the room quietly.
The middle aged man leaned back in his chair. His fingers tapped the desk once. Jas was reckless, but not entirely foolish. If he dared to call again after repeated failures, perhaps there was sothing worth examining.
Or perhaps it was simply desperation.
...
Ethan stepped into the streets of Laren City after midnight.
The atmosphere was strange.
There were no bright lights. No neon signs flashing. Most residential windows were dark. The usual chatter and distant traffic noise were absent. The streets felt hollow, as if sound itself had been absorbed.
Only a few small shops remained open, their lights dim and cautious.
Jas walked beside Ethan, hands in his pockets. "It feels like a ghost town."
Ethan observed quietly. His footsteps echoed faintly against the pavent.
They approached a small convenience store with its shutters half open. A middle aged shopkeeper stood inside, organizing goods with slow movents.
Ethan stepped closer.
"Why is no one outside?" he asked casually. "What happened to the city?"
The shopkeeper glanced up, studied them briefly, then sighed.
"You do not know?" he asked.
"No."
"This is the rule of the mayor. No one goes out at night. No noise. No excessive lighting."
Jas frowned. "Since when?"
"For over a year now," the shopkeeper replied. "He says it is to reduce cri and maintain order. We are only allowed to keep shops open in case of ergencies."
Ethan’s gaze sharpened slightly. "And people accepted this?"
The shopkeeper shrugged helplessly. "Yes. He has made the city better afterall."
Jas exchanged a look with Ethan.
"The mayor again," Jas muttered.
Ethan stepped away from the shop, hands were behind his back.
"That man sounds interesting," he said quietly. "Let us pay him a visit."
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