Damien Luo's men froze, staring at their fallen comrades. The auto shop smelled of oil, blood, and fear.
Ethan stood at the center of it all, calm as ever, as if breaking bones was no more troublesome than changing tires.
"Kill him!" Damien roared, his pride cracking into rage. "I don't care who he is!"
The suits surged forward like a pack of wolves.
For a moment, Sophia's breath caught in her throat. She wanted to scream, to beg Ethan to run. But something stopped her. Something in his eyes—cold, sharp, unshakable.
He wasn't afraid. Not even close.
Ethan moved.
His fist cut through the air, and a man twice his size crumpled as if struck by a sledgehammer.He pivoted, heel driving into another's chest with enough force to send him flying across a workbench, tools scattering like rain.
Every strike was efficient. No wasted motion.No mercy.
Within seconds, five men lay groaning on the floor.
Sophia stared, stunned. The Ethan she knew—the quiet mechanic who fixed cars for pocket change—was gone.This was someone else. Someone terrifying.
Damien staggered back, eyes wide. "Y-you… who the hell are you?"
Ethan finally turned to him, wiping a fleck of blood from his knuckle with chilling composure.
"I'm the man who warned you."
Damien's jaw clenched. He wanted to shout, to order more men forward. But behind his anger, fear gnawed at his heart. This wasn't some random mechanic. This was a monster in human skin.
Yet his arrogance refused to die."You think this is over? My family controls half this city. Touch me, and you won't live to see the sunrise!"
The threat hung in the air.
For the first time, Ethan's lips curved—not in fear, but in a ghost of a smile."Then tell your family," he said softly, "the storm has returned."
Far away, in a luxurious high-rise office, another man sipped his wine as he looked over the glittering city.
His phone buzzed.A trembling voice reported, "Boss… Damien failed. One man did this. Just one."
The man set down his glass, his eyes gleaming with intrigue."One man?" he murmured. Then he smiled, cold and hungry. "Interesting. Find out who he is. Anyone who dares to defy the Luo family… is either a fool or a legend."
Back at the auto shop, Sophia finally found her voice."Ethan…" she whispered, her hands trembling. "What… what are you?"
For a long moment, Ethan said nothing. The neon outside painted his face in shadow, his gaze distant, haunted.
Then, with a sigh that seemed to carry years of untold weight, he answered:"I'm just someone who made a promise."