It was 9 a.m.
Yun City had just woken up from the night.
Street vendors were steaming with hot breakfast.
The smell of fried dough mixed with soy milk filled the air.
Office workers rushed past.
Bus stops were crowded.
Everything seemed completely ordinary.
But beneath this calm—
A video was spreading like wildfire.
On a short video platform.
An account that had almost no followers suddenly exploded.
The title was simple:
"Hospital Corridor: Poor Guy Claps Back at Rich Man"
No thumbnail.
No editing.
Even the video quality was shaky.
But anyone who clicked—
Stayed.
The footage was clearly taken secretly.
The setting was a hospital corridor.
Harsh white lights.
A man stood in the middle.
His clothes were plain.
Still slightly wet.
But his posture—
Unshakable.
Across from him stood a man in a suit.
Beside him—a woman.
The tension between them was obvious.
The voice was clear.
"How much did you borrow?"
"Did you bet your life on it?"
The suited man sounded relaxed.
But full of mockery.
The next second—
Ethan Cole looked up.
His eyes were calm.
Too calm for someone at rock bottom.
Then—
He said one sentence.
"Somewhere you can't reach."
The video ended abruptly.
No explanation.
No ending.
Just over ten seconds.
But the comments—
Exploded instantly.
"What kind of aura is this??"
"This guy is way too calm"
"The girl's reaction says everything"
"Feels like a real-life revenge scene"
"That line!!! Absolute killer!!!"
"WE NEED PART 2!!!"
Likes skyrocketed.
Shares kept climbing.
Comments refreshed nonstop.
Within thirty minutes—
It hit the #1 trending spot in the city.
And it kept spreading.
At the same time—
Inside an office.
Chloe Carter sat at her desk.
Her phone lay in front of her.
She was just casually scrolling.
Until—
That video appeared.
Her finger froze.
Her whole body stiffened.
The man in the video—
She knew him too well.
Ethan.
She tapped it.
Watched it without blinking.
When that line—
"Somewhere you can't reach."
Played—
Her heart tightened.
As if something grabbed it.
The comments kept flooding in.
"This guy definitely turned things around"
"Plot twist incoming"
"The girl must regret it now"
Her face turned pale.
Because—
She knew better than anyone.
This wasn't acting.
This was real.
And she—
Was the one standing on the other side.
At that moment—
She realized something.
She might have…
Made a mistake.
And not just any mistake—
One she could never fix.
She opened her contacts.
Her finger stopped at Ethan's name.
But—
It was gone.
She had already deleted him.
Her breathing became uneven.
Meanwhile—
In another office.
Zhou Cheng sat behind his desk.
The air conditioning was low.
But the atmosphere felt heavy.
His phone buzzed.
A message from his assistant.
"Mr. Zhou, this video is spreading."
A link followed.
He tapped it.
Watched.
The moment his face appeared on screen—
His expression turned cold.
Especially at that final line.
"Somewhere you can't reach."
It felt like a slap.
He closed the video.
Stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then let out a cold laugh.
"Trying to act tough."
He picked up his phone.
Made a call.
"Take this video down."
"Delete it if you can."
"If not—limit its reach."
He paused.
His tone turned colder.
"And—"
"Find out who filmed it."
"And this Ethan—"
"I want everything about him."
The call ended.
The office fell into silence.
At the same time—
Skyview Residence.
A high-floor apartment.
By the floor-to-ceiling window.
Ethan sat on the sofa.
Fresh out of the shower.
His hair still damp.
His phone kept lighting up.
Unknown calls.
Unknown messages.
Friend requests flooding in.
He frowned slightly.
Opened the video app.
Found the video instantly.
He tapped it.
Watched.
When his own voice played—
He raised an eyebrow slightly.
After it ended—
He closed it.
No emotion.
"Spreading pretty fast," he said lightly.
For others—
This would be trouble.
But for him—
Maybe not.
He leaned back on the sofa.
His gaze deepened.
"If it's here…"
"Then let's make it bigger."
At that moment—
His phone vibrated.
A familiar voice echoed in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Exposure level significantly increased]
Ethan's eyes sharpened.
A new interface appeared.
[Influence System Activated]
The air seemed to pause.
Ethan slowly sat up.
"Influence?"
The system continued.
[Exposure = Influence]
[Influence can be converted into wealth, resources, and power]
At that moment—
Ethan's pupils shrank slightly.
He suddenly understood.
This system—
Was far more terrifying than he thought.
Money was only the first layer.
The real core was—
Control.
He stood up.
Walked to the window.
The entire Yun City lay beneath him.
Traffic flowed like streams.
Lights spread like a sea.
He spoke softly.
"So…"
"This is just the beginning."
Meanwhile—
The video kept spreading online.
People were searching for him.
Guessing about him.
And some—
Had already started watching him.
A storm had begun to form.
Quietly.
And no one knew—
How terrifying the center of that storm would become.