Ultimate Tycoon: Building the Richest Empire with System and Heroines
Chapter 34: The Woman in the Mask

Chapter 34: The Woman in the Mask

Ethan was in a bus, sat in the middle row, slumped against the window, eyes lost in the darkness outside.

He’d just ended the call with Nate and Sasha. Their parents agreed—they’d move in four days.

But his heart wasn’t light.

"Serena..." he muttered. "How should I find her?"

The bus was quiet. Peaceful.

Five men had boarded halfway into the trip,stone-faced, buzzcuts, wearing dark suits.

At the front, a lone woman sat still. Her face was hidden behind a smooth, matte-black mask, silver lines carved into a triangle with a skull at its heart. She wore a skintight suit, armored subtly under the fabric. Utility straps, silent boots.

"What the hell?" Ethan blinked. "On a bus?"

He scoffed inwardly. "What is this? Assassin cosplay night?"

Still, his mind drifted back to Serena. To the ache in his chest.

But then—

Clack.

All five men stood at once.

They moved in sync and walked toward him. Slowly. Calmly.

Ethan noticed they were not getting off, they were walking toward him.

Then they stopped right in front of his seat.

Ethan sat up straighter, his eyes narrowing. "Can I help you?"

Before anyone answered, the woman in black stood and stepped into the aisle.

She walked toward them, toward him, each step deliberate.

From her back, she pulled a sleek weapon.

A chrome-and-black nunchuck, glinting under the lights. The same skull-triangle symbol etched on the handle.

Then—

Snap.

Blades slid out from each end.

DING!

System Alert: Killing intent detected.

" What the hell?"

He threw himself sideways just as a silenced shot ripped through the air, tearing into the seat where his head had been.

"Shit!"

He rolled across the aisle, grabbing the steel pole beneath the seat and yanked it free with a grunt.

The woman lunged.

Clang!

Her blade crashed against the pole as Ethan blocked, the impact numbing his arms. Sparks danced between them.

"Aagh!" he gasped as pain jolted down his wrist.

One of the suited men grabbed him from behind and slammed him into a seat.

WHAM!

"Urgh!" Ethan groaned, ribs crying out.

A knee crashed into his gut.

He nearly puked.

These weren’t street thugs. Their strikes were clean, efficient.

He ducked another punch and elbowed the man in the throat. "Haaah—!"

The assassin woman moved like lightning. She twirled her weapon again and slashed downward, cutting deep into the seat.

Ethan rolled away, glass crunching under him. He grabbed a fire extinguisher, yanked the pin with his teeth, and sprayed her in the face.

HISSSSSSS!!

She hissed and backed off, wiping at her mask. He didn’t wait.

BANG!

Another shot,barely missed his leg.

Ethan’s eyes snapped to the front.

The driver had pulled out a gun and was aiming at him through the mirror.

"You’ve got to be kidding me! Even the damn driver?!"

"Target must not escape," the driver muttered like a machine.

Ethan hurled the extinguisher.

THUD! It smashed into the driver’s face, sending him slamming into the steering wheel.

The wheel jerked.

The bus swerved violently.

Ethan staggered to his feet, grabbed the handrails, and spun around.

The assassin woman was already back on him.

CLANG! CLANG!

Steel met blade.

Her movements were inhuman,fluid, precise, relentless.

He parried high, blocked low, side-stepped a thrust, but her final spin cracked him across the face.

CRACK!

"Aghh!" he cried out, blood spraying from his lip.

She followed up with a knee to his ribs.

CRUNCH!

He flew sideways and smashed into the emergency door.

"Gaaagh!" His back screamed in agony.

His jacket tore open. His side was bleeding. His vision blurred.

His hands trembled. "These bastards... ."

If my mastery hadn’t increased, I’d already be dead.

The woman turned and raised her hand.

"Stop," she said coldly. "He’s mine."

Even her voice sent chills down his spine.

Ethan coughed blood, eyes wild. His instincts screamed.

She lunged again.

This time Ethan fought back harder. His fists flew. Elbows, knees, fluid like liquid lightning. Her blade caught his jacket, slicing the fabric, but he pivoted low and kicked her knee.

She staggered. First time.

He blinked.

"She’s... holding back now?"

He lunged with all his weight, slamming his knee into her stomach.

THUD!

She staggered.

He followed up elbow to the jaw, foot sweep, a swing of the steel rod across her back.

She gasped and stumbled back.

"Now you’re holding back..." Ethan muttered. "Why?"

But the others didn’t wait.

The five suits surged forward, combat knives drawn.

"Back off!" the woman shouted.

They didn’t listen.

BANG BANG!

Gunfire filled the cabin.

Ethan ducked behind a flipped seat, bullets shredding the upholstery.

He rolled out, kicked a man’s knee in, then slammed his head into the window frame.

SMASH!

Blood sprayed.

Another attacker stabbed. Ethan blocked with the steel rod and headbutted him full force.

"AAH!!" his own forehead burned. "Shit—"

Then—

BANG!

A shot rang out.

The driver took a bullet to the chest.

Everything froze.

BOOM!!

The bus spun out of control, tires screeching.

Sparks flew.

Glass shattered.

The world tilted.

CRASH!!

The bus flipped.

SCREEEEEEECH!!!

It rolled. Once. Twice.

Then slammed into a ditch.

A second explosion followed.

KRA-KOOM!!

The entire vehicle erupted into flames.

— — —

Smoke. Blood. Screams.

Ethan opened his eyes, barely conscious.

His body was half-trapped under a twisted metal panel. Fire surrounded him..

His left leg was bleeding heavily. Blood pooled beneath him.

Shards of glass stuck from his arm.

His chest rose in shallow, painful gasps.

"Urghh... I should’ve died."

He coughed. Blood dribbled down his chin.

Heat closed in.

His vision flickered.

Then...

Shadows.

Five of them charred, limping... but alive.

They stepped through the fire like ghosts.

And at the center—

She walked.

Her mask cracked, one side dangling.

The rest of her suit scorched and torn.

One slow step after another.

Ethan groaned, forcing himself to his knees.

He grabbed a bent metal rod and pulled himself up.

The fire roared behind her.She stopped two feet in front of him.

The final shard of her mask fell.

And Ethan saw her face.

His breath stopped.

His wounds, his pain,everything vanished for that one second.

Ethan’s world collapsed.

Because the person standing before him...

His lips parted, voice cracking in disbelief.

"...Serena?"