Gwen's departure—and George Stacy's hostility—didn't bother Ryan in the slightest.
To be honest, Ryan didn't harbor any deep feelings for Gwen. At most, it was just a spark beyond simple attraction.
After all, for someone destined to achieve immortality, what was wrong with being a little bit of a playboy?
Since the Cent Family had now made their move, Gwen's transformation wasn't far off.
The Cent Family was one of the major undertaker syndicates operating in New York's criminal underworld.
Decades ago, they were subordinates of the Sullivan Family—the very organization Ryan had inherited. There was… history between them.
But when Ryan's so-called grandfather took control of the Sullivans, the Cent Family chose independence. Over time, the two groups clashed repeatedly.
And in America, being Chinese meant being on the losing side of every negotiation.
More than ten years ago, the Cent Family had received backing from a powerful, shadowy force.
They seized control of most funeral and body-handling contracts in Chinatown and Hell's Kitchen, gradually growing into a formidable player.
On the surface, they even owned a small share in Oscorp Industries.
Originally, Ryan had planned to wipe them out tonight after his date with Gwen.
But the sudden encounter with Frank Castle changed that.
The Cent Family had a reputation drenched in blood—murder, narcotics, trafficking, and every dark business imaginable.
If Frank wanted to keep his family safe, he'd eventually come looking for help.
So, instead of going home, Ryan headed for Presbyterian Hospital, a private medical facility on Manhattan's coast.
New York Presbyterian Hospital had a global reputation.
When Ryan first transmigrated, the hospital was still under the control of a brilliant surgeon named Dr. James Taylor.
But later, Ryan learned an interesting detail—James Taylor was the same man who'd played the murderer in Detective Chinatown 2.
Even more intriguing, the man was dying of cancer. Desperate, he'd been searching for a way to uncover the so-called ancestral legacy of the Sullivan Family.
So, when Ryan gained influence in the Sullivans, he made the first move.
After all, what was a dying genius doctor compared to an Earth Immortal in the making?
Within half a month, James developed sudden complications and passed away quietly—meeting God without leaving a will.
In the aftermath, Ryan—posing as the Chinese "brother" of James's widow—legally inherited Presbyterian Hospital.
A tragic end for James, perhaps… but a turning point for Ryan.
The hospital became a cornerstone of Ryan's empire.
Not only did it provide immense wealth and legitimacy, but it also came with something far more valuable: a massive underground complex that James had secretly constructed beneath the hospital grounds.
What James didn't realize was that he had built exactly what Ryan needed—an Immortal Cave, perfect for cultivation.
After arriving at the top-floor chairman's office, Ryan instructed his secretary—a blonde woman named Catherine—to notify him the moment Frank Castle arrived.
Then he stepped into a hidden elevator, descending into the earth.
When the doors opened, a breathtaking underground palace stretched before him.
James had truly been a remarkable man.
Using blueprints supposedly inherited from his Chinese wife, he had followed the ancient Five Elements geomantic design—creating a perfect environment for Qi cultivation.
At the center stood a small artificial Bagua Mountain, surrounded by a deep, circular abyss.
At its peak, a massive Taiji diagram glowed faintly, and within it sat a towering bronze pill furnace, its surface engraved with mysterious runes of unknown age.
After taking over, Ryan had inscribed Heavenly Talisman Cloud Seals across the Bagua Mountain's surface. Then, with modern ingenuity, he installed sixty-four energy receivers in the hospital above.
Each receiver gathered ambient stellar radiation, channeling it into the seals.
Through this hybrid of science and cultivation, the mountain converted cosmic energy into Heavenly Qi, feeding it into the pill furnace below.
The furnace burned with an eternal flame, transforming the essence of the stars into pure Spiritual Energy.
After two years of refinement, the entire underground palace had become saturated with rich, dense Qi—almost like a miniature blessed land.
It was this endless flow of energy that allowed Ryan to practice the Heaven River True Method—one of the most powerful cultivation techniques from the Immortal World.
Without it, achieving Qi Refinement Perfection in just two years, in a world where every mystical energy already had a master, would've been impossible.
But tonight, Ryan wasn't here to cultivate.
After reaching Perfection in Qi Refinement, his existing resources—his undertaker operations and the hospital's revenue—were no longer enough to sustain his growth.
If he wanted to continue advancing, he needed expansion. Power. People.
He needed talents like Frank Castle.
Frank, driven by rage and desperation, would no doubt seek vengeance on the Cent Family tonight.
But reality was crueler than comic books.
This wasn't a movie where the Punisher could tank bullets forever. He was still human—and humans could die.
Ryan wouldn't allow that.
If Frank was destined to become the Punisher, Ryan would make sure the man lived long enough to fulfill that destiny… and join him when the time came.