***

The next day.

LionArk Headquarters.

Sherly came into Ethan's office with Officer Hans and Officer Liam. Officer Hans was fully responsible for the security and military operations of LionArk, while Officer Liam was in charge of human resources.

Their duties overlapped with Ethan's plan this time, which was to restart the Raid Tower expedition and reclaim the city's core security duties.

Ethan believed the Raid Tower was important to improve every member's abilities and levels, and also to earn a lot of contribution points.

The city's core security duty that Twin Sun currently held should be returned to LionArk, especially since LionArk had more than enough members to protect the city from internal or external threats.

"Greetings, Sir Ethan," Hans and Liam said. Ethan nodded at them.

"There are a few things I need to discuss with you. This is about the LionArk Raid Tower Expedition and the City Core Security Duty," Ethan said.

Hans glanced briefly at Liam, and Liam looked back at Hans. Soon, both of them nodded and stepped forward, taking the seats in front of Ethan's desk.

Ethan explained why he needed to restart the Raid Tower Expedition as soon as possible. The two men nodded in agreement.

In their view, the Tower was the ideal place to train skills, awareness, and teamwork.

"Even though it's good for beginners, I don't plan on sending beginners there. The team leading the expedition will be those who are experienced and have been long-time LionArk members," Ethan said.

"Seems like you want to build a strong foothold in the Tower so when beginners start their expedition, there's another team to help them," Hans explained.

"More or less like that. You understand what I mean, right?"

Hans cleared his throat. He knew what needed to be done, but to carry it out, he needed to consult with Officer Liam to decide which teams would go.

Ethan's eyes shifted to Liam, who sat beside Hans. He asked him about the new members from the first and second batch.

"They show good improvement. After getting their training, they can work together in teams of three," Liam answered.

"I'll negotiate with Twin Sun and ask them to hand over the city police authority token to LionArk. Still, I won't throw Twin Sun aside."

"They'll stay assigned, but their responsibility and authority won't be as big as before," Ethan explained.

"Can you choose the best teams among the beginner members to serve as the city police unit? Try to make sure each team has at least one woman."

Liam cleared his throat in understanding. It was already his job to manage LionArk's human resources. Ethan was glad Liam and Hans understood their work quickly.

"Because I need to talk to Twin Sun, the realization of the city's core security duty will be a little delayed."

"But I want you to start the Raid Tower expedition plan immediately," Ethan said.

"If LionArk gains big benefits, I will build a city inside the Tower," Ethan stated.

Hans and Liam understood. For now, their closest task was executing the Raid Tower expedition plan. There were many experienced LionArk members.

If arranged into five-man parties, the number reached twenty-one parties, meaning one hundred and five people who were experienced with the Tower environment.

Their meeting ended, and Hans and Liam left to return to their offices. Sherly was still in Ethan's office, waiting for his next instruction.

"Sherly."

"Yes, Sir Ethan?"

"Go and call the Twin Sun Guild here. I need to talk to them."

"Understood, Sir Ethan," Sherly said.

She left the office, leaving Ethan alone. Ethan stood from his chair and walked toward the glass wall that looked out to the back courtyard of the headquarters.

There was still no news from the big three guilds. Are they protecting the suspects?

In the middle of the quiet room, someone ran from the lower floor to the third floor as fast as she could. The woman was rushing to Ethan's office because she had something important to report.

The door opened, and Sherly appeared, breathing hard. Ethan turned sharply toward her.

"Why are you out of breath like that?" Ethan asked.

"A representative… from Redemption Sword arrived. Ashley is downstairs, stopping him from entering," Sherly said.

"Stopping him?"

"Miss Ashley… asked me to call you down there."

Ethan narrowed his eyes. He moved quickly, leaving his office and going down the stairs.

From the stairway, he could already see many people gathering their attention at the front of the LionArk headquarters, as if something was happening there.

The entrance was blocked by the crowd. Sherly helped open a path for Ethan. People stepped aside once they saw him, letting him pass until he stood at the very front of the headquarters.

Ashley was there, standing on the paving stones, gripping her magic staff tightly. Ethan arrived beside her, not drawing his weapon.

A man stood in front of Ashley. His username sounded familiar to Ethan. When the man turned around, Ethan's eyes widened and his heart pounded as he recognized him.

"Gordon?!" Ethan said, shocked.

Gordon, also known as MagisterDao. He used to be Ethan's friend who helped bring LionArk to its golden age.

But after many things happened to LionArk, he gave up and chose a different path, betraying Ashley.

Ethan looked at Ashley. She was staring sharply at Gordon with a serious face and teary eyes.

Ethan knew why Gordon and Rick left LionArk. It meant they couldn't be fully blamed.

"Ethan? It's really you?! How are you still alive? I went to your funeral," Gordon said. His voice was loud enough for many people to hear.

"A lot happened. I don't even know what happened."

"Now everything makes sense. Among all of us, you were the best at fooling the system," Gordon replied, calmer now.

Many people started whispering about EthanArk's identity. They knew MagisterDao and AshleyLeon123 since both were legendary LionArk players, but EthanArk? They had no idea.

Gordon heard all the murmurs from the people inside and outside the LionArk headquarters, from regular members to officers.

"They're questioning your identity? They don't know?" Gordon said.

Ethan and Ashley stayed silent. They couldn't stop everyone's curiosity.

"In that case, let me make it clear for them."

"EthanArk is EthanAsh666."

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