Chapter 116: The Mysterious Man

Chapter 116: The Mysterious Man

Ethan appeared beside Lyle in an instant, then grabbed Wayne and hurled him backward into the wall. The others froze immediately, watching the young man in front of them with sharp eyes.

"Ethan?" Wayne stepped out of the wall, shook the dust off himself. "A nobody like you, and you actually had the nerve to show up."

But Ethan didn't bother with Wayne at all. He didn't even glance at them. He just waved his hand, signaling Lyle to step aside.

"Go to hell, you arrogant punk!" Seeing that Ethan wasn't taking any of them seriously, Wayne let out a furious roar and charged at him again.

But the moment Wayne was about to reach Ethan, Ethan vanished.

"Where did he go?" one of the men shouted in panic. He'd been moving too fast and nearly crashed into one of his own guys.

Before any of them could react—

Wayne, who had been screaming threats just seconds ago, was now pinned hard against the wall.

Ethan's fist had punched clean through Wayne's chest plate and ribs, coming out the other side.

"First rat." Ethan said coldly, then yanked his arm back.

The remaining men felt their skin crawl. That kind of speed and strength was completely beyond anything they could wrap their heads around.

"Get him! Kill him!"

Two of them locked eyes, then roared and came at Ethan from both sides.

But in the next instant, they felt a sharp, searing pain in their necks.

Two large bodies crumpled to the floor, their necks twisted at a sickening angle.

Only then did the last three survivors fully snap back to reality.

This thing wasn't human.

"Damn it! That idiot Wayne gave us bad intel!" one of them screamed, his voice pure terror.

"Run! Just run!"

They weren't thinking about power or dignity anymore. They spun around and bolted for the conference room door.

But Ethan had no intention of letting them go.

"You came all this way. Don't leave now." Ethan's figure flashed again.

Every time he moved, a dull thud followed.

In under five seconds, three bodies were scattered at different points along the hallway. The sight was brutal.

Ethan turned and looked at Lyle, who was standing there in shock.

"Lyle." Ethan said.

Lyle flinched and quickly lowered his head, his voice as humble as it could get. "Boss... I'm here."

"Starting now, you're in charge of all six branches."

"Pick your own people to handle the day-to-day. I only have one requirement — they have to be trustworthy. If something like this happens again, I'll clean you out along with them."

"Understood! I swear to you, this will never happen again!" Lyle wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and spoke up loudly.

Ethan turned and started to leave the blood-soaked room.

But as his eyes swept past the spot where Wayne had gone down, his pupils shrank.

Wayne, who should have been lying in a pool of blood, was gone.

All that was left was a trail of smeared blood leading to the emergency stairwell on the side of the conference room.

Ethan frowned. With his current level of perception, it was nearly impossible for anyone to slip away without him noticing — especially Wayne, who had just taken a fist through the chest.

"Interesting." Ethan let out a cold snort and followed the blood trail.

Down below the stairwell, in a storage room.

Wayne was gasping hard. The gaping hole in his chest was crawling with countless thread-like strands of flesh, writhing and twisting rapidly.

In just a matter of seconds, the wound that had gone clean through him miraculously sealed itself shut and closed over.

Wayne's face was drenched in sweat, his eyes still wide with lingering fear.

He was glad he'd secretly taken that vial from the lab a few days ago — the one that hadn't gone through clinical trials yet.

The compound was highly unstable, but it came with a terrifying regenerative ability. As long as the brain wasn't destroyed instantly, it could pull you back from the edge of death.

The problem was, the healing had drained almost everything he had. His body was so weak now he could barely stand.

Wayne's hands trembled as he pulled out his phone and dialed a hidden number.

"Come get me... hurry! The mission is a total failure. That guy is a monster!" Wayne hissed into the phone.

"Location." A cold male voice came from the other end.

"West side of the main building, underground parking entrance. Move fast..."

The storage room door was kicked open with brutal force.

Before Wayne could react, a powerful kick slammed into his chest and sent him flying into a shelf.

Ethan stepped into the room and snatched the phone off the floor. The screen showed an active call, and the contact name was clearly visible:

【Miguel Winston】

The cold voice on the other end spoke again. "Wayne? Say something. What did you just call that guy?"

Ethan narrowed his eyes, raised the phone to his ear, and let a dangerous smile cross his face.

"He said I'm a monster."

Silence on the other end.

Then Miguel's low, dark voice came through slowly.

"Ethan. Looks like we all underestimated you. But now that you've seen my name, you should know — your countdown has already started."

"Is that right?" Ethan gave a cold laugh. "I'd suggest you start writing your will, Miguel. Because I'll be ripping that head of yours off very soon."

"You're going to regret ever hearing that name today."

The call went dead.