A few days later, Michael Bolton found an opportunity to give Uncle Foster a red envelope, and smoothly secured the contract for the cafeteria at the Sunshine Youth Behavior Correction Center.

This matter, likewise, was nothing significant.

The correction center was essentially Uncle Foster's personal domain; whatever adjustments he wanted to make could be done with just a word. For over a decade, he had changed suppliers for equipment, uniforms, and all sorts of miscellaneous items every so often. To put it bluntly... whoever offered the biggest kickback got the business. As for the quality of the goods provided, that didn’t matter at all—after all, he wasn’t the one using them.

In short, Michael Bolton took control of the center’s food supply with ease, without arousing anyone’s suspicion.

From that day on, he began long-term preparations for a certain plan... and this work was finally completed this morning.

……

“You came at just the right time.”

When the “dessert lady” suddenly appeared in the room, Ethan Logan was lying on his bed with his eyes closed, resting.

However, he didn’t need to open his eyes to know someone had come, and to know exactly who it was.

“I warned you to leave.” The other party had no intention of exchanging pleasantries, her tone was icy from the start. “I waited for you for two days. Today is the third day. It seems you have no intention of leaving.”

It was lunchtime, and William Grant had gone to visit another dorm, so only Ethan Logan was in the room; “she” had chosen this moment precisely because of that.

“Don’t worry, I’ll leave tomorrow,” Ethan Logan replied. “But... you’d better leave today.”

“What?” She sneered. “You want me to leave?”

“That’s right. Not only do you need to leave, but Lily Bennett has to leave as well,” Ethan Logan continued.

His words made her expression change.

“Hmph... So, you’re after her too?” The killing intent she radiated was almost tangible.

“No.” Ethan Logan was telling the truth. “Of course, I’m not here for you either.”

“You think I’ll believe that?” she said again.

“Whether you believe it or not doesn’t matter,” Ethan Logan said. “Your hostile attitude, or rather... your posturing, won’t solve anything. It’ll only waste both our time.” He paused, opened his eyes, and stared at her without fear, meeting her murderous gaze. “If you had enough intelligence or ability, you wouldn’t be wasting your time in this center—you would have already taken Lily Bennett away. If you had enough strength and determination, you wouldn’t be here arguing with me; a direct attack would be the most efficient approach. Now, since you have none of that, just shut up and listen to me. After I finish, think it over, and then give your opinion.”

Every word Ethan Logan spoke hit the heart of the matter, which made her furious, but she had no way to refute him. She could only suppress her anger and wait for him to continue.

“Looks like you agree, so I’ll begin,” Ethan Logan looked at her for a few seconds, then continued, “Two mornings ago, while eating breakfast in the cafeteria, I locked onto Lily Bennett. For an ability user like her, who can’t control her powers well, she stands out to me like a high beam in the night... Combined with your previous ‘warning’ to me, I immediately deduced that your ‘target’ was her.

“No wonder her file says ‘voluntarily requested to enter the center for treatment’—which sounds like a fabricated statement. After meeting her, I understood her motivation was reasonable—she’s confused and afraid of her own ability. She thinks it’s some kind of illness or curse, but doesn’t dare tell anyone, so she came here hoping that this institution, which you can enter as long as you pay, could ‘cure’ her.

“Of course, as I said, I’m not here for her; I don’t really care about her thoughts or actions. It’s just... solving this mystery made me feel quite satisfied.”

He paused for a few seconds, then shifted the topic: “Compared to Lily Bennett, I’m actually more interested in you...

“Once I identified your ‘prey,’ it wasn’t hard to find you, the ‘hunter’—just look at who’s around her.

“So, that very afternoon, I saw through you. Even though you wore a very expensive semi-implant fiber mask, and your figure is indeed quite petite, your expression, gait, and certain subtle actions are definitely not those of a teenage girl...

“As someone who acts cautiously and thoroughly, I immediately sent a message to my companions outside, asking them to help investigate your identity.

“Although our contact was brief, that one minute was enough for me to learn a lot. For example, you know the so-called ‘rules of the underworld,’ and... your ability should be related to ‘shadows.’ Just these two points were enough to narrow down the investigation considerably.

“By dinnertime yesterday, my companions had completed the investigation and sent me information on several suspects with shadow-related abilities who are currently missing. With a bit of reasoning, I confirmed that you are the Level 2 ability-user criminal wanted by the Federation, codename—‘Shadow Weaver.’”