"It's alright, I'll do it," Lena said with a moan, and a moment later, Ethan heard the unmistakable sound of running water over the phone.

Ethan burst out laughing. "Is that to try and provoke me?" he asked.

"No," Lena replied, panting. "But your voice excites me so much that I take advantage of it to touch myself and get rid of the frustration that fills me from not having your cock for so long."

"But we only saw each other a few days ago," Ethan said, amused.

"Yes, but every day is like a hundred years without you, so my pussy has been itching too much," Lena said with a soft, seductive voice. "When are you going to come and see me?"

"I'll come see you soon to have some fun," Ethan promised. Then, his tone of voice changed abruptly, becoming serious. "From now on, you must not go out alone. Find security personnel with Jason. You will be one of the priority targets in the battle against Olympus, so I hope you take very good care of yourself. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'll be fine," Lena said, her voice now more submissive. "I'll be very careful from now on, and for being such a good girl, you should give me a prize," she finished her sentence, and her voice dropped to a delicious tone. "Haven't I been a good girl, daddy?"

Ethan played along, feeling how the sweetness of Lena's submission momentarily neutralized his anger. "Yes, absolutely. I will reward you when I see you soon."

Just as he hung up, Ethan slammed on the brakes, barely maintaining control of the BMW. Two enormous, military-style Jeep trucks cut him off. Both were matte black and looked completely armored. Ethan managed to stop inches from the first Jeep. Immediately, the two trucks began to move, flanking him and closing off his escape route.

Ethan felt that something was very, very wrong, so he accelerated at full speed, trying to turn and flee.

[Hahahaha! It looks like your little friend Jenkins got butt-hurt and sent you a welcoming committee, Champion. I love it. The circus has begun!] the System mocked.

"Shut up!" Ethan growled, concentrating on the road. "This isn't funny."

Ethan immediately called Jason. "Jason, I'm being chased. Two trucks, military Jeeps, armored. I'm ten minutes from you. I'm trying to turn back," Ethan said quickly.

"Don't hang up," Jason yelled over the line. "We're on our way. Where..."

"I'm going to..." Ethan started to say, but the call was abruptly cut off. Ethan looked at his cell phone: no signal. Something was seriously wrong.

The BMW, attempting to weave through traffic and cars on the road, was a too-visible target. Ethan swerved sharply, taking a side street, hoping to lose the pursuers. The chase turned into an inferno of roaring engines and screeching tires. The two Jeeps followed him without hesitation, ramming any civilian cars that got in their way.

Just when Ethan thought he had created some distance, two other Jeeps, identical to the first, emerged from an alley and impacted him head-on without braking.

The BMW, despite being a solid vehicle, could not withstand the pincer attack. The impact was massive, flipping the sports car in the narrow alley, while the wreckage of surrounding cars smoked.

Ethan, disoriented, crawled out of the overturned car, his forehead bleeding profusely from a gash above his eye. He looked around. There were four Jeeps in total: two in front and two behind. Eight figures, dressed in full black tactical uniforms, descended from the vehicles with weapons in hand. Only the man who appeared to be the leader was dressed in an impeccable dark suit, maintaining a professional distance from the chaos.

"Why?" Ethan asked the System, barely audible. "Why didn't my 'Harder Than Steel' ability work? I feel broken!"

[Of course, it worked, Ethan. You are naive,] the System said with a cold scoff. [If it weren't for that, you wouldn't be alive right now. The impact was so strong that, even with your steel-hard body, the pure kinetic energy of two armored vehicles colliding at full speed managed to break you.]

Ethan staggered to his knees, the reality of the physical pain slicing through the adrenaline haze, as the eight armed people surrounded him with lethal arrogance.

The man in the dark suit stepped forward, surveying the wreckage and the bleeding young man with a chilling professional calm.

"A pleasure, Mr. Blake," the man in the suit said, his voice smooth and utterly devoid of remorse for the destruction he had caused. "I have wanted to speak with you for some time. Unfortunately, you have been somewhat busy, and we haven't been able to meet properly. I hope you don't mind that my men were slightly rough, hehe."

Despite what he had just said, the leader was profoundly shocked. Given the powerful impact of the trucks and the current state of the BMW, the fact that Ethan had survived so well was perplexing. Ethan had barely sustained a scratch on his forehead, and by the way he was walking, it was clear that he didn't have many broken bones. This caused the leader, despite his many years of experience dealing with all kinds of people, to be unable to fully understand the young man standing before him.

Ethan gasped, struggling to catch his breath, feeling a crushing pressure in his chest. "System, tell me... do I have anything broken?"

[Displaying body status now,] the System's voice confirmed.

A transparent diagram of his body flashed across Ethan's vision. His entire body was shaded yellow, indicating minor tissue damage, but his chest, abdomen, head, and right leg were flashing between orange and red. Floating technical messages identified the damage levels in these critical zones.

THORACIC CAVITY: Level 3 Damage. Multiple non-displaced rib fractures (costae V-VII dex). Severe contusion of pectoralis major muscle group. High probability of Grade II pulmonary contusion.

ABDOMINAL WALL: Level 2 Damage. Extensive rectus abdominis and oblique muscle fiber micro-tears. Grade I internal hematoma (minor).

CRANIAL/CERVICAL: Level 1 Damage. Deep laceration, frontal region. Acute subdural hemorrhage probability: Low.

RIGHT FEMUR/PELVIS: Level 3 Damage. Significant blunt force trauma. Suspected hairline fracture of the right acetabulum. Muscular trauma of the quadriceps femoris.

Ethan scanned the report. The internal damage was severe enough to be debilitating, even with his superhuman constitution.

"Well, Mr. Blake," the man in the suit said, smiling coldly as he waited. "Are we going to talk, or do we need to make things even more uncomfortable?"

Ethan spat blood onto the asphalt. Despite the excruciating internal pain, he forced himself to stand up straight. He was hurt, but he was far from defeated.

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