CORE...

The brief name slipped out, taking barely a fraction of a second, but the very moment it escaped Ethan Caldwell’s thin lips, the air in the room seemed to congeal.

Julian Sterling froze, his body going rigid in a heartbeat. This name... how could he even put it into words? It was like an invisible phantom, a vicious curse that had been constantly lingering around his life as of late.

He clearly had no exact idea of what kind of organization it was, having only heard vague whispers of it while accidentally investigating the dark corners related to Dahlia Thorne. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, from deep within his subconscious, Julian had always harbored a profound repulsion and high vigilance toward this name. It was akin to the survival instinct of a small animal catching the foul stench of a predatory beast hiding in the shadows.

What on earth was this group of people, to be capable of triggering such a violent reaction from Ethan’s parents, people who had been submerged in a deep vegetative state for ten long years with their brains nearly paralyzed?

The silence stretched on until it became suffocating. Only the sound of the two of them made the atmosphere even more stifling, along with the heavy, thumping heartbeat echoing within Ethan’s chest.

"At that time..." Ethan’s voice rang out again, pulling Julian out of his chaotic thoughts. His tone was hoarse and bone-dry, like a traveler who had just trekked across a blazing desert, carrying with it the terror of the past crashing back: "Do you know how haunting that scene was, Jules? An entire room filled to the brim with the most advanced medical equipment in the world suddenly erupted into a chorus of piercing alarms. Red lights flashed incessantly, dyeing the entire space in the color of fresh blood."

Julian subconsciously held his breath, his hands clutching the hem of Ethan’s sleepwear so tightly that his knuckles turned completely white.

"Their brainwaves suddenly spiked into frantic zigzag lines across the electronic monitors. Their chests heaved violently, and their muscles, which had already atrophied from being bedridden for so long, began to spasm in fits. The on-duty doctors rushed in frantically, the nurses panicked as they injected sedatives, but it was all in vain. There was no medicine in the world that could extinguish the extreme agitation radiating from their subconsciousness at that very moment."

Ethan squeezed his eyes shut. The hand with its fingers intertwined with Julian’s trembled slightly. Even though he was currently the man who held absolute power, capable of calling the wind and summoning the rain in Saint Lawrence City, deep down inside, Ethan was still that helpless twenty-year-old boy, standing rooted to the spot in that hospital room on that fateful day.

"In that very moment, standing in the middle of the room, I seemingly felt what it truly meant for the whole world to collapse." Ethan murmured, his forehead resting against Julian’s, letting their breaths mingle together: "Everything around me turned into a living hell, blurring away until I could not grasp anything. I watched them thrash about in despair. And then, I suddenly understood it all. Grandpa Arthur did not understand, the doctors did not understand, and even I myself had not understood for all those years... As it turned out, the obsession that made them grit their teeth and endure the torment of the flesh, rejecting a peaceful death for ten long years, was not because they could not bear to leave me."

For some reason, Julian could feel the profound anguish in the man’s words. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Ethan’s cheek, offering a silent comfort. However, Julian still needed to tear this wound wide open, asking Ethan with a trembling voice, "They... was it because... of the sheer indignation in their hearts? A deeply rooted hatred that could not be resolved?"

"That is correct." Ethan opened his eyes, and within the darkness, his gaze flashed with a razor-sharp, chilling, and ruthless glint, exactly like a sword that had just been drawn from its scabbard: "It was CORE. The accident that year was not the will of heaven, nor was it a business hazard. It was an assassination flawlessly calculated down to the most minuscule detail. And the perpetrators were none other than the organization bearing the name CORE."

Julian pressed his lips together.

He felt surprised, yet simultaneously unsurprised. How to frame it? Ethan’s attitude toward CORE clearly demonstrated his absolute revulsion for this organization. Seeing the man’s prior reaction, Julian had already guessed that it was nothing benevolent.

Therefore, Julian was not surprised by the fact that the Caldwell family and CORE were at odds with each other.

But he was also astounded.

Astounded because CORE actually had the sheer audacity to invite Ethan Caldwell to work for them. Just as Dahlia Thorne had said, the people in that lunatic organization highly valued Ethan, desperately wanting to invite him into their fold. Recruiting a man whose parents they had previously murdered, what exactly were these people plotting?

Did they view Ethan as nothing, doing all this out of pure mockery? Or were they simply full of themselves, arrogant enough to believe they possessed the capability to conceal everything?

Or, it could also be... because they were all a bunch of lunatics. Just like Dahlia Thorne, solely self-serving, considering themselves to be the absolute center of the universe. Family and bloodlines were truly of no major importance to them.

Regardless of which scenario it was, CORE was by no means an entity to be trifled with.

But Julian did not know what CORE was. He had no clear understanding of this thing at all. It must be said that without that conversation between Dahlia Thorne and Ethan, Julian would probably still have no idea what CORE was. Seemingly seeing through his confusion, Ethan slowly began to explain.

"CORE is the acronym for the Central Organization of Ruling Elites, an organization that acts as a tight-knit circle for those who consider themselves the genetic elite. It sounds beautiful and academic, but in reality, its surface is merely an exclusive underground club, a demonic alliance gathering the very apex predators who hold absolute power. They are not merely filthy rich tycoons. They also share intimate connections, with roots running deep and strong into the ranks of cunning politicians, reigning national authorities, and the foundational pillars of ancient, centuries-old aristocracies."

If one were to compare the Caldwell Empire of that era to a fierce tiger claiming dominance over the mountainous forests of Saint Lawrence City, then CORE was a colossal, invisible network of monsters, extending its tentacles to shroud the entire sky of this nation, even manipulating the scales of international power. They were the law. They were the order. Whoever obediently submitted would be granted a slice of the profitable pie. Whoever dared to stand in their way would be crushed without leaving a single speck of dust behind.

"But why?" Julian tried his utmost to suppress his voice. "Even though the Caldwell Empire was powerful back then, they were legitimate businesspeople. Your parents were certainly not overly ambitious zealots looking to overthrow the government or manipulate the world. For what reason would an organization of CORE’s colossal magnitude go out of their way, utilizing the most despicable methods, to drive your family to their deaths? What core interests of theirs did your parents ultimately cross?"

Ethan’s hand left Julian’s, slowly caressing the younger man’s soft hair, but the movement carried a frighteningly heavy stillness.

"Do you still remember what I once told you about my mother? About the massive medical project that she and that late professor had been pursuing?"

Julian nodded repeatedly, his heart skipping a frantic beat. "I remember. You said that the project was suspended immediately after the professor passed away, and all traces of it were wiped clean."

"Before, I merely thought it was a research project for a vaccine or a specific cure for some terminal illness." The corners of Ethan’s lips curled up into a mockingly bitter smile. "However, after the day their brainwaves reacted to the word CORE, I turned everything upside down, utilizing every underground intelligence network I had built to investigate from scratch once more. Jules, do you know... my mother’s project was not simply about curing diseases. It was a research endeavor on the regeneration of central nervous system cells and the extension of human cellular lifespan."

Julian’s pupils contracted. A frigid chill ran down his spine.

Neural cell regeneration? Extending lifespan?

In the world of those who hold absolutely everything in the palms of their hands, wealth, power, and status, the single thing they truly fear, the sole thing they cannot purchase with all their money, is death itself. Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the immutable laws of nature. But what if... there existed a medical endeavor capable of shattering, or at the very least, delaying that very law?

But it seemed it did not stop there, for Ethan’s voice continued to ring out in a steady cadence: "It was not even confined to the physical human body."

"Beyond the physical human body?"

For some inexplicable reason, Julian’s heart was pounding frantically. A question suddenly lingered in his mind: could it... somehow have anything to do with him?