Chapter 20: Playing the Field

Ethan Hayes watched Jessica Jones' graceful figure retreating, his gaze lingering. With a slight sigh, he turned away reluctantly.

[Sensing Jessica Jones' strong desire to protect the host, gain 40,000 desire points.]

[Sensing Jessica Jones' gratitude and desire, gain 50,000 desire points.]

[Sensing Jessica Jones' lust explosion, gain 150,000 desire points!]

The night before had been fruitful, netting him 240,000 desire points from Jessica Jones alone.

[Sensing the shock of the purple man, Kilgrave, gain 30,000 desire points.]

[Sensing Kilgrave's fear and final desire before death, gain 300,000 desire points!]

Kilgrave's demise brought a total of 330,000 desire points to Ethan. His total haul from last night was 570,000 desire points. Over the last few days, as rumors about the Ice Devil continued to circulate in Hell's Kitchen, he had gathered an additional 280,000 desire points from the fear and intrigue of the neighborhood.

Ethan had made a discovery: fear and lust generated higher desire points than any other emotion. Super-powered individuals, in particular, yielded dozens or even hundreds of times more points than ordinary people. The stronger the individual, the greater the reward.

Checking his system panel, he smiled with satisfaction:

Name: Ethan Hayes

Wealth Value: 487.75 million points (can be used to improve abilities)

Desire Points: 647 million points (can be used to break through)

Abilities:

• Frozen Fruit (Control, Level 1+)

• Psychic Immunity (Passive+)

• Water Control Magic (Control+)

Skills:

• Phantom Fist (Mastered)

• Bajiquan (Mastered)

Tasks:

1. Destined Encounter: Form deep connections with special heroines, earning substantial rewards. Task reward: blue blind box (optional stacking). Task attributes: independent branches, unlimited tasks.

Reflecting on Kilgrave's death, Ethan considered that when people are killed quickly, the fear they generate is fleeting. Longer periods of suffering lead to greater rewards.

Smirking, Ethan recalled the moment Kilgrave had been close to Jessica and how he had put an end to the mind controller's life with ease. Before leaving, he had left a note for Jessica:

[I've gone to school.]

He also left the address of a villa he had acquired on Long Island. Jessica would figure out what that meant soon enough with her detective skills. But it didn't matter—they were friends, or at least, friends with benefits.

Ethan chuckled. His physique was already nearly on par with Jessica's, especially after all his enhancements. His water control magic made him a master of precision. He looked over at the damp quilt in the corner of the room, realizing just how powerful his water abilities had become.

"With water control this refined, I can manage everything," he muttered to himself with a sly grin.

He tossed a wad of cash on the bedside table to cover the damage from their last encounter—after all, two superhumans fighting in bed had consequences. He left the hotel and washed away any lingering evidence before heading out, using his water abilities to dry his clothes instantly.

No one could know, especially not his little girlfriend, Gwen. Although they hadn't yet crossed that final line, their relationship was heating up, and Gwen's curiosity about him was growing by the day.

But Gwen was busy with her new Spider-Woman duties, and Ethan admired her sense of justice—something that clearly ran in her family, given that her father was the police chief. Still, Ethan had no interest in playing the hero.

"As ice is just water in another form, I've reached a point where my abilities are on the verge of advancing to a whole new level," Ethan thought, realizing that the synergy between his powers was becoming seamless. "I may not have awakened my Devil Fruit powers, but my strength is on par with some of the strongest beings out there."

Lost in thought, he parked his car, thinking about his abilities and the challenges that lay ahead. He was so distracted that he accidentally bumped into someone.

"Sorry about that, Ethan," Peter Parker said, picking up his fallen books.

"It's fine, Peter," Ethan replied with a friendly smile.

Peter hurried away, but a piece of paper fluttered from his pile of books. Ethan's eyes narrowed as he glanced at the page—there were formulas scribbled on it in dense handwriting. Looks like Peter found something his father left behind.

Ethan wondered if Peter had already made contact with Dr. Connors. If so, would Peter get involved with the lizard gene project, or would Connors be the one to experiment on himself?

Before Ethan could ponder the question further, a sweet voice broke his thoughts.

"Ethan!"

Gwen Stacy's bright smile lit up the hallway, sending waves of jealousy through the crowd. She walked over and casually took Ethan's arm, much to the shock of everyone around them.

"Oh my god, Ethan and Gwen are together?" one student exclaimed.

"Unbelievable! Gwen's dating a Chinese guy?"

"Wow, this is the biggest news at Star City High!"

To Ethan's surprise, these reactions gave him desire points.

+10

+40

+500

The 500 points came from Peter Parker, who stood in the background, his disappointment and loneliness palpable as he stared at Gwen's back.

"Ethan was practically invisible before," a student whispered. "Now he's dating Gwen Stacy? I can't believe it."

Gwen seemed to revel in the attention, a playful glint in her eye. She was well aware that Julia, the cheerleader, had her sights set on Ethan, and even Hannah—Ethan's usual study partner—had a slight crush on him. But now, Gwen wanted to stake her claim and show everyone that Ethan was hers.

Gwen's confidence had skyrocketed since becoming Spider-Woman. She wanted to mark Ethan as hers, in more ways than one. Yet she couldn't shake the unease that had been gnawing at her. Over the weekend, she had sensed that Ethan's apartment was suspiciously empty.

"Be honest, where were you this weekend?" Gwen asked, her grip tightening on Ethan's arm.

Ethan's mind raced, but he kept his cool. "I bought a mansion on Long Island. Twelve thousand five hundred and sixty square feet. It even has a private beach."

Gwen's jaw dropped. "What?! How did you afford that?!"

"For being so generous in claiming me as your boyfriend, I'll let you in on a secret," Ethan teased, lowering his voice conspiratorially.

"Are you secretly a male model?" Gwen joked.

"Nope. I'm a writer."

"A writer? What did you write?" Gwen's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Ethan shook his head with a mysterious smile. "You wouldn't want to know, but I'll tell you this—I made 44 million dollars from it."

Gwen was both impressed and frustrated by Ethan's continued air of mystery. She stormed off in a playful huff, leaving Ethan standing there, confident that he had planted enough intrigue to keep her hooked.

"Patience," Ethan mused. "The web has been spun."

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