Ultimate Tycoon: Building the Richest Empire with System and Heroines

The smell of roasted beans drifted in the air. Ethan sat at a window table in the café, stirring his untouched coffee.

His eyes stared blankly at the street, but his mind was racing.

He was supposed to be planning the next step of his mission. Saving Serena. But the thought had long stopped being about the mission. He really wanted to save her—not for the system, not for the reward—but because... he just wanted to. He didn't know why, but there was something about her that felt real. Important.

But something didn't sit right. Someone was after him.

"Who is that person... or that group?" he mumbled under his breath. "Why me?"

His thoughts drifted again, this time to his parents.

In all the memories he'd recovered from this world's 'Ethan,' there were barely any details about them. That alone was suspicious. But what was stranger—the school and the university he went to were prestigious, the kind of places only the rich could afford. Yet his family… they could barely afford a proper meal in the past.

"How did they manage that?" he whispered. "We never had that kind of money... So how did they send me to those places?"

He leaned back, eyes narrowing.

Knowing the goddess who put him here, this could be part of her twisted design. A planted past. A fabricated background.

He clenched his fist.

"I need to talk to them. I need to know what kind of past they really had… and how they afforded everything."

Just then, the door chimed.

Ethan looked up. Two familiar figures walked in—Nate and Sasha.

They wore matching outfits—blue and white casual clothes with heart patterns. If you stood them side by side, the broken halves on their shirts would align to form a full heart.

Ethan chuckled. "How cute."

The couple spotted him and walked over.

"Hello, Ethan!" they both said in unison.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Are you two getting married or what? Why are you wearing couple clothes?"

Sasha blushed, fiddling with her sleeves. "W-Well… both our mothers went shopping and bought these for us…"

Ethan grinned. "Heh, mother-in-laws doing their duty. Lucky both of you."

"Hehehe," they laughed together and took their seats.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Nate asked.

"Before that, let's order something," Sasha added.

"But it's my treat today," Nate said, waving a hand. "It's not every day you get to sit with a celebrity."

Sasha nodded playfully. "Yeah!"

Ethan looked confused. "Who's the celebrity? Where?"

Sasha gave him a look. "Come on, don't be so humble. Everyone in the city knows you now. They're calling you the Punishment Man. You even have ties with the princess."

Ethan groaned and rubbed his forehead. "Don't remind me…"

A waitress arrived with their drinks and set them down carefully, but instead of leaving, she lingered awkwardly.

"Do you want something?" Sasha asked politely.

The waitress looked flustered. She glanced at Ethan, then back down, then back again.

"C-Can I take a selfie with you, Punishment Man?" she asked nervously.

Ethan coughed. "Punishment Man… seriously?" he mumbled, then gave a forced smile. "Sure."

One selfie turned into five. Then more staff came out from behind the counter—some shy, some overly excited.

Click. Flash. Another selfie.

Sasha laughed. "See? You really are a celebrity."

After things calmed down and the café returned to normal, Sasha leaned forward seriously.

"It's about the café," she said.

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"I know it's too much to ask," she began, "but could you increase the budget? We want to open with a bang. Proper promotions, marketing, and a signature style that no one else has."

Ethan didn't hesitate.

"I can," he replied simply.

Just then—BOOM.

The windows rattled violently.

The sound was so loud it made several people scream. Glass cracked along the edges, and a low rumble shook the ground beneath them.

"What the hell—?" Nate jumped to his feet.

Ethan's chair scraped back as he stood up.

Outside, a faint dust cloud rose near the edge of the street. Something had hit—hard. But what? Lov@e t&h+is+ s@t#ory? S-ho-w% your s!upport on M9!V*LEMP*Y*R.

More screams echoed outside. Someone yelled, "It came from the alley! Something's out there!"

Ethan's face darkened. He looked at Nate and Sasha.

"Stay here."

He stepped forward, eyes narrowing.

Something was beginning again.

As Ethan stepped outside, chaos greeted him.

Screams echoed through the street. A group of people was fighting madly in the middle of the road. Ordinary citizens were fleeing in panic, some unconscious and lying on the ground. Cars were flipped, the road cracked, and buildings trembled. Debris flew like shrapnel.

"What the fuck is happening..." Ethan muttered, standing with Nate and Sasha behind him.

"Ethan, what is going on?" Sasha asked, clutching Nate's arm.

Ethan turned to them. "I told you two to stay inside!"

"No way! How can we leave you alone like this?" Nate replied.

Ethan focused back on the fight.

The people battling in the street weren't normal. Their hands glowed with a strange yellow light, and every punch or clash destroyed something nearby. One blow cracked a wall. Another sent shockwaves that pushed Ethan and the others back.

"What the hell is that light...?" Ethan said, eyes narrowing. "Their punches are tearing everything apart."

The fighters laughed like maniacs, reveling in the destruction.

"Fuck yeah! This is what power feels like!"

"Exhilarating! This must be the power of a god!"

"I'll kill everyone! They're all insects!"

Then Ethan saw them. A small group of children huddled together in the middle of the road—crying, frozen in fear.

"Shit! There are kids in the middle of that!" Ethan gritted his teeth and bolted.

One of the massive trees, ripped from its roots, flew toward the children. Ethan sprinted, leapt, and rolled midair, shielding the kids as the tree crashed nearby. He helped them up quickly.

"Run! Get out of here! Now!" he yelled.

"T-Thank you, big brother!" one of the kids said, tears in their eyes.

Ethan turned just in time to see one of the glowing maniacs staring at him.

"The fuck? Who's ruining our show?!" the man growled.

"Hey!" another yelled, pointing. "This guy's messing with our fun!"

They all turned to Ethan, eyes gleaming with madness.

"What is this..." Ethan muttered. "I've never read anything like this in the novel. This kind of power... what the hell is going on?"

"Should we torture this guy?" one of the attackers chuckled.

"Why not? It'll be fun!"

They rushed toward Ethan.

Ethan dodged, barely, and swung back. His punch landed on one of them. The guy flinched.

"Tch. That hurt a bit. This little bug wants to fight?"

Another came at him—Ethan ducked, kicked back, slapped, jabbed. He used every bit of martial arts skill he had.

But it was like punching stone.

He was flung like a ragdoll, bounced off a wall, coughed blood, but stood again.

"You piece of shit! You dare hit me?!" one screamed.

They surrounded him, took turns punching, kicking, smashing him into the road.

But Ethan didn't stop.

One well-placed knee made one of them bleed from the nose. Another elbow cracked someone's lip.

"Heh... irritating bug! Now die!"

One raised his glowing hand.

But just then—

Everything around Ethan turned silent. A strange darkness erupted from his body, swallowing the light.

His eyes glowed faintly.

The ground cracked beneath him as he stood, calm, breathing steady.

Then—CRACK!

He stomped one of the villains down into the pavement. The man groaned, stunned.

Ethan looked at the others and raised one hand. He curled his fingers inward, motioning.

"Come on."

Ethan stood still, his foot pressing down on the chest of one of the crazed fighters.

The ground cracked beneath him. A strange, quiet hum pulsed through his body—his right hand glowing with a soft, golden light. But it wasn't like theirs. Theirs was wild, unstable, like fire about to explode. His was controlled. Dense. Sharp.

The moment Ethan raised his glowing hand into the air, the enemies hesitated.

"What… is that?" one of them muttered, his cocky smirk fading.

Ethan vanished in a blur.

BAM!

The first enemy didn't even see the punch. His body twisted mid-air and crashed into a car, flipping it over like a soda can.

"What the f—?!"

Another one charged with a roaring punch. Ethan ducked, slammed his palm into the guy's stomach, and launched him several feet back—his body bouncing twice before crashing through a bus stop.

"You… bastard!!" one of them screamed and tried to grab him from behind.

Ethan turned—expression calm, hand glowing brighter—and backhanded the attacker.

CRACK!

The sound was loud. The man flipped like a ragdoll mid-air and skidded across the pavement, leaving a trail of blood.

"You all talk too much," Ethan muttered.

The rest came at once, roaring like animals. But Ethan's eyes were focused—too calm. His legs moved like he'd danced this battle a thousand times. A sweep kick, an elbow to the jaw, a straight punch so heavy it dented the man's chestplate.

It wasn't martial arts anymore. It was domination.

Ethan spun and slammed his fist into the ground.

BOOOOM!

A shockwave burst out. Roads cracked. The fighters were thrown backward like leaves in a storm. Windows shattered for blocks.

One of the men coughed blood. "What the hell are you!?"

Ethan walked toward him. The golden glow around his arm pulsed again, this time wrapping around his shoulder like an armor of light.

He raised his fist.

"I don't know what I am," Ethan said coldly. "But I'm not someone you mess with."

The punch landed.

Everything went silent.

Dust floated in the air. All the enemies were down, groaning or knocked out completely.

Nate and Sasha peeked out from behind the café door, their eyes wide.

Ethan exhaled, staring at his own glowing hand.

"…This power… what the hell did she give me?" he whispered.