"How is this possible?"
The commander stared blankly at the scattered stones on the ground, his mind nearly blank with disbelief. Just moments ago those objects had been gold bars, but now they lay there as dull pieces of rock, as if the precious metal had never existed at all. He had initially assumed Ethan Cole had come to steal the gold reserves, yet the reality unfolding before him was far stranger—and far more terrifying—than simple theft.
If the gold here could be turned into stone so easily, then the implications were beyond imagination.
Even someone with only basic financial knowledge could grasp the scale of the disaster. The vault beneath the Federal Reserve held more than eight thousand tons of gold, representing roughly seventy percent of the nation's foreign exchange reserves. If anything happened to that supply, the consequences would ripple through the entire global economy.
Under the gold standard system, gold represented the real foundation of money. Currency held value because it was backed by a finite reserve of the precious metal. Without that reserve, paper currency would become nothing more than colored scraps.
"No… no…"
The commander muttered under his breath, his voice trembling as realization sank deeper into his thoughts. He desperately wanted to give the order to attack Ethan, to open fire and end this madness immediately, but reason forced him to restrain himself. If he made that decision, the entire military force under his command would likely be wiped out within minutes.
"The devil!" the commander shouted hoarsely, unable to suppress his frustration any longer. "You can't do this!"
Ethan merely smiled.
Another gold bar floated into his hand, gliding through the air as if drawn by an invisible force. It weighed nearly ten kilograms, yet he tossed it casually like a toy before catching it again.
Then he glanced around at the surrounding streets and buildings, an amused expression crossing his face.
"So you do understand the importance of gold to the world," he said lightly. "Judging by your reaction, I guess you're preparing to fight me over these reserves."
He tossed the bar once more before letting it hover in front of him.
"In that case, I won't touch these gold bars."
The commander blinked in confusion.
"Huh?"
His disbelief had barely begun to form when Ethan suddenly moved.
A nearby floor tile ripped free from the pavement and flew into Ethan's hand. Instantly every soldier's attention focused on the object, tension filling the air as weapons remained aimed but unfired.
The commander's nerves tightened to the breaking point. His greatest fear at that moment was that some nervous soldier might accidentally pull the trigger. If that happened, it would be the last mistake any of them ever made.
Fortunately, the shot never came.
All eyes remained fixed on the tile as Ethan casually held it in one hand.
Then he slapped it lightly with his palm.
The tile measured half a meter across and nearly ten centimeters thick. Under the impact of his hand, something extraordinary happened. A golden handprint appeared exactly where his palm had touched the surface.
Within seconds, that small patch of gold began to spread.
The color flowed across the stone like liquid sunlight, covering the entire tile with a brilliant metallic sheen. The dull gray surface vanished, replaced by the unmistakable glow of pure gold.
The commander's expression twisted into something strange, a mixture of shock and dawning realization.
Ethan had just turned stone into gold.
The meaning of that fact had not yet fully settled in his mind, but a vague sense of dread was already creeping into his thoughts.
With a casual flick of his wrist, Ethan tossed the tile toward him.
It skidded across the pavement with a scraping sound before stopping at the commander's feet. The man hesitated before crouching down, his hands trembling as he picked it up.
The texture felt identical to real gold.
The weight, the temperature, the density—it was all the same.
"You…" the commander began, but the words failed him.
Ethan interrupted him with a relaxed smile.
"I'm in a good mood today, so I'm not planning to do anything unpleasant to you. Since you value gold so much, consider this a small gift."
He crouched down slowly, placing one finger against the ground.
"But that gift isn't the end of it."
A brilliant yellow glow appeared beneath his fingertip.
The moment his finger touched the pavement, a small golden dot appeared on the surface of the tile below. At first it looked harmless, barely larger than a coin.
Then it began to grow.
The golden spot expanded rapidly, spreading across the tile until the entire slab transformed into shining metal. But the change didn't stop there.
Like a virus infecting its surroundings, the gold began spreading outward.
One tile turned to gold.
Then another.
Then a third.
Within seconds the transformation accelerated, racing across the ground in every direction.
A wave of brilliant gold rolled outward like ripples across water. In a single breath, the pavement within three meters of Ethan had already changed. Then the radius expanded further.
Ten meters.
Twenty meters.
Sixty meters.
One hundred meters.
Soon the soldiers realized something horrifying.
The ground beneath their feet had turned into gold.
But the spreading transformation still hadn't stopped.
The golden wave continued outward, reaching the foundations of the surrounding buildings before climbing upward along the walls and structural frames. Massive columns of concrete and steel transformed as the metallic glow devoured everything in its path.
Within minutes the seventeen-story Federal Reserve building had turned entirely into gold.
Then the neighboring skyscrapers followed.
The transformation spread relentlessly, consuming street after street without slowing. Buildings, sidewalks, lamp posts—everything within sight gradually became part of the same dazzling metallic landscape.
One hundred meters.
Two hundred meters.
Three hundred meters.
One kilometer.
By the time the process finally stopped, every structure within a three-kilometer radius had been converted into solid gold.
Far away in Washington, inside the military command headquarters, the room had fallen into complete silence.
Officials stared at the live video feed in stunned disbelief. The entire Manhattan district visible on the screen had transformed into a radiant golden city, the sunlight reflecting off thousands of buildings like a sea of molten metal.
The atmosphere in the room turned heavy with despair.
One man finally broke the silence.
"Gentlemen…" he said slowly, his voice thick with bitterness.
"Our financial system… and our entire monetary structure… has just collapsed."
The statement carried unbearable weight.
Gold had value precisely because it was limited. Humanity had collectively agreed that the metal represented wealth because its quantity was naturally constrained. That scarcity formed the foundation of global currency systems.
But now the situation had changed.
Every building and street within a three-kilometer radius of Manhattan had become gold. The sheer mass of metal produced by that transformation exceeded ten million tons.
Such an enormous supply appearing instantly would destroy the concept of scarcity.
Gold would become worthless.
And if gold had no value, then the currencies tied to it would lose their foundation as well.
More gold did not mean more wealth.
It meant disaster.
Inside the command room, despair hung in the air like a physical weight. No one laughed at the image of the golden city on the screen. Every face reflected the same grim realization.
Back at the battlefield, the commander had reached the same conclusion.
His expression turned pale as he looked at the shining streets around him.
Ethan watched calmly before speaking again.
"Since you like gold so much, how do you feel about this gift?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"If it's not enough, I could always keep going. Maybe turn the entire city of New York into gold."
Then he suddenly slapped his forehead as if remembering something important.
"Oh, right," he said casually. "Gold has a pretty low melting point, and its structural strength isn't very impressive either."
He glanced at the towering buildings surrounding them.
"These skyscrapers probably can't support their own weight anymore."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"So here's the situation. You have about three minutes to run."
He looked directly at the stunned soldiers.
"If you don't want to die, I suggest you start escaping now."
.....
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