Chapter 8: Earn 460 Million, Boxing Into the World
After class, Ethan Hayes walked out of the school gate, his mood calm despite the events of the day. Gwen Stacy, however, wore a cold expression and didn't even glance his way. Ethan wasn't bothered—if it weren't for the system tasks involving Gwen, he probably wouldn't have given her much thought.
Ethan started his Lincoln Navigator, and as he drove past Gwen, a puddle on the side of the road splashed water all over her.
"Dammit!" Gwen shouted, glaring after the car. The dirty water had soaked her clothes.
"That's Ethan's car," Hannah said, holding back her laughter. "And it's new—first day he's driven it to school."
Gwen fumed. "That guy… I'll make sure to know him well," she muttered through gritted teeth.
Ethan, oblivious to Gwen's frustration, arrived home and immediately sat in front of his computer. He opened the IB securities software and felt a rush of satisfaction as he saw the downward red arrow next to Stark Industries.
-18%!
Starting from its high point of $12 per share, Stark Industries had plummeted by 40% yesterday, and another 18% today.
"The long positions have been wiped out. They couldn't close fast enough, and the whole of Wall Street was waiting on Tony Stark's return. They all bet heavily on long positions!" Ethan thought with a grin. "Yesterday's circuit breakers didn't give the securities companies any time to react. Everyone was selling off Stark shares."
Today's stock price had dropped to $5.904, with an earlier low of $5.63. Ethan had taken advantage of the panic, buying more than 156 million shares at an average price of $5.63 before the price climbed back to $5.904.
He now held 83 million shares of Stark Industries, having returned the 73.49 million borrowed shares to the brokerage. This time, Ethan hadn't used leverage—he planned to hold these shares long-term. Stark Industries was set to transform, and when it did, its stock could potentially surpass a trillion-dollar valuation.
"Unfortunately, I don't have much money left," Ethan thought. After deducting interest and fees, he had made a net profit of about $460 million, not including the $44 million he had originally invested.
Ethan wasn't planning to buy more Stark Industries stock just yet. He would wait a few more days to see if the price dropped further, then use his holdings to pledge stock, leverage contracts, and go long on Stark's industrial stock index in the futures market.
"The key moment to go all-in will be when Tony Stark admits he's Iron Man," Ethan mused. "And when Obadiah Stane makes his move to oust Tony from Stark Industries, it'll create another turning point for the stock."
Name: Ethan Hayes
Wealth value: 484 million points (can be used to improve abilities)
Desire points: 2.38 million points (can be used to break through)
Abilities: Frozen Fruit (Control, Level 1), Psychic Immunity (Passive)
Skills: Phantom Fist (Beginner), Bajiquan (Beginner)
Tasks:
1. Destined Encounter: Face a special heroine and establish a super-friendship. Task reward: blue blind box (optional stacking). Task attribute: long-term, single branch task.
2. Capture the opportunity of Peter Parker and create the birth of a female Spider-Man. Task level: blue. Task mode: scrolling.
"My wealth has increased by $484 million, and my desire points by 80,000," Ethan noted, scrolling through the information. He chuckled when he saw how the system attributed the increase in desire points to "playing poker" with Jessica Jones.
"It seems that in the Marvel world, the greatest satisfaction for a man doesn't come from power or money—it's from conquest," Ethan thought, grinning. "Conquering heroines generates a lot of desire points. The system is practically encouraging me to be bold."
Ethan's attention then shifted to the second task: creating the birth of Spider-Woman.
"The system suggests that if Gwen Stacy is bitten by the spider instead of Peter, she could become Spider-Woman. Maybe she'll become the Ghost-Spider," he mused. "Is it possible that the spider's gene can affect Gwen in the same way it does Peter?"
After some thought, Ethan decided that even if he didn't complete the task, there wouldn't be any penalties. He would only lose out if the system issued a second round of missions tied to this one and he failed to complete it.
"My wealth is more than enough for now," Ethan reflected. "But to unlock the second stage of my Frozen Fruit ability, I need 5 million desire points."
That was a long-term goal. Unless Ethan achieved a high level of comprehension with the Frozen Fruit and unlocked its Awakening power on his own, it would take some time to reach that milestone.
"For now, I'll focus on improving my skills," Ethan decided. His Psychic Immunity was already maxed out—it couldn't be upgraded further. And although Phantom Fist and Bajiquan were at the beginner level, he had trained diligently since arriving in this world. His solid foundation from his previous life gave him the confidence to face others in hand-to-hand combat.
Phantom Fist was known for its lightness and flexibility, allowing for deceptive movements, while Bajiquan was characterized by its strength and simplicity.
"My body has been strengthened by the Frozen Fruit, so I'm already stronger than many so-called martial arts masters. Improving my martial skills will give me more tools in battle and broaden my tactical options," Ethan reasoned.
Without hesitation, Ethan chose to upgrade both skills.
[Consuming 100,000 desire points, Phantom Fist has been promoted from Beginner to Transformation Realm.]
[Consuming 150,000 desire points, Bajiquan has been promoted from Beginner to Transformation Realm.]
As Ethan's skills reached the Transformation Realm, his physical strength surged by 60%. With both Phantom Fist and Bajiquan perfected, his body became even more attuned to channeling his power efficiently.
Moreover, his enhanced five senses, combined with the newfound mastery of his internal energy, put him in a state of heightened awareness. The moment something shifted around him, he could react instantly.
"I don't even need to use the Frozen Fruit now. I could beat Daredevil and even go head-to-head with Wilson Fisk," Ethan thought confidently.
[Your boxing skills are perfect. Do you want to use desire points to integrate them?] the system prompted.
Ethan responded immediately, "Integrate."
[4,000 desire points used. Integration successful.]
[You have obtained Baji Phantom Fist.]
The combination of rigidity and flexibility, strength and deception, made the newly formed Baji Phantom Fist a powerful tool in Ethan's arsenal. Although it didn't increase his raw strength, it multiplied his combat effectiveness significantly.
With this new technique, Ethan could control and enhance his Frozen Fruit powers even more efficiently.
Name: Ethan Hayes
Wealth value: 484 million points (can be used to improve abilities)
Desire points: 2.34 million points (can be used to break through)
Ability: Frozen Fruit (Control, Level 1), Psychic Immunity (Passive)
Skill: Baji Phantom Fist (Transformation Realm)
Tasks:
1. Destined Encounter: Face a special heroine and establish a super-friendship. Task reward: blue blind box (optional stacking). Task attribute: long-term, single branch task.
2. Capture the opportunity of Peter Parker and create the birth of a female Spider-Man. Task level: blue. Task mode: ongoing.
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