Hearing Ethan Smith's words, Gary Brown froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Babe, did you hear what this idiot just said? He said he'd give me a chance, hahaha!" Gary Brown laughed so hard he nearly bent over in pain.
Sylvia Johnson couldn't help but sneer, "Ethan Smith, just one day of not seeing you and it seems you've gone crazy. Did you forget how badly you got beaten yesterday?"
Ethan didn't bother to explain. He stared coldly at Gary Brown and repeated, "Gary Brown, I'm only giving you this one chance."
Gary scratched his ear and said, "What did you say?"
"I said, kneel down and apologize to me. I—"
"Fuck your mother!" Gary Brown cut Ethan off mid-sentence and swung a heavy fist toward Ethan!
However, before Gary's fist could even touch Ethan, Ethan slapped him away, sending his body flying violently into the wall!
Sylvia Johnson swallowed nervously, seemingly unable to believe what was happening!
*Ethan Smith, a man unable to even truss up a chicken, how could he suddenly possess such immense strength?*
"You son of a bitch... you're dead!" Gary Brown struggled to stand up from the ground and charged at Ethan again.
Ethan's face remained cold as he delivered a powerful kick to Gary's stomach.
The kick knocked Gary down entirely, leaving him unable to get back up.
He spit out a mouthful of blood, and the severe pain in his abdomen contorted his face in agony.
*Ethan looked down at his own hands, feeling a surge of excitement!*
*"So it looks like... this is all real." Ethan's exhilaration was overwhelming!*
Gary lay on the ground, attempting several times to get up but failing every time.
Ethan didn't want to waste any more time with scum like this, so he shot a cold glare at Gary and said, "Don't mess with me again."
After throwing down those words, Ethan turned and walked away.
It wasn't until Ethan was far gone that Sylvia snapped out of it.
She rushed over to help Gary up and said anxiously, "Honey, are you okay?"
Gary's face was twisted in fury. He clenched his teeth tightly and said with venom, "I'm going to destroy him! I swear I'm going to destroy him!"
...
Ethan Smith held onto a little more than a hundred bucks and searched across every pharmacy in River City, but with so little money, most of the herbs he could buy were dried-out and ineffective.
"I guess I'll just have to take it one step at a time," Ethan muttered as he gazed down at the wilted herbs in his hands, sighing softly.
At that moment, Ethan's phone began to ring.
He glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Sylvia Johnson.
An expression of disgust flashed across Ethan's face. He picked up the phone and said coldly, "What do you want?"
On the other end of the line, Sylvia sneered, "Ethan Smith, huh? You've really grown some guts, haven't you? Daring to hit Gary Brown! Let me warn you, you better go apologize to Gary immediately, or else..."
Ethan didn't want to hear her nonsense, so he directly hung up the phone.
Sylvia was momentarily stunned. Her face turned red as she raged, "That useless little shit actually dared to hang up on me!"
She gritted her teeth and dialed his number again.
"What the hell do you want to say?" Ethan said impatiently.
Sylvia spat through clenched teeth, "Gary Brown already called Ray Walters. You just wait; Ray Walters is definitely going to ruin you!"
With that, Sylvia hung up first.
Ethan's expression turned dark.
Ray Walters was infamous in River City. Over the years, he'd conspired with real estate developers to amass a fortune through shady dealings.
Nowadays, he even maintained a team of enforcers under his command.
It was no exaggeration to say that nobody in River City wanted to mess with Ray Walters!
*Ethan sighed softly and murmured under his breath,* "My power still isn't strong enough yet. Otherwise, there'd be no need to fear someone like Ray Walters."*
Despite his bravado, Ethan knew he had no other choice but to take things one step at a time for now.
Elsewhere—
Emily Taylor was sitting in her manor, sipping tea.
"Miss, our banquet will be held three days from now. Here's a guest list I've drafted for your review," her secretary said, handing her the list.
Emily took the list.
The names included not only River City's prominent businesspeople but also big shots from Chuzzle.
"Add one more person," Emily suddenly said.
The secretary hesitated and tentatively asked, "Miss, who should I add?"
"Ethan Smith," Emily said with a faint smile.
Hearing this name, the secretary's expression turned somewhat sour.
"Miss, Ethan Smith isn't a businessman at all," the secretary said cautiously.
Emily didn't care in the slightest.
She said coolly, "If I say he is, then he is."
"Not only will I make Ethan Smith attend, but I'll make sure everyone in River City knows him."
"I want everyone in River City to know that Ethan Smith belongs to me, Emily Taylor!"