The moment Lin Xuan's Qi Pulse hit the phone in the apartment, Li Mo was ready. She had spent the long night maintaining the Minor Qi Condensing Formation, her ears straining for any sound of trouble from the city. The faint pulse of energy from Lin Xuan—a silent command invisible to all but her—was confirmation of both his success and the escalating danger.
She immediately relayed the coded message to Zhang Wei: "Initiate Final Phase. Target: Abandoned Asset Auction."
For Zhang Wei, receiving the message on a burner phone deep inside his luxury apartment was terrifying and electrifying. The brevity and ambiguity of the command only amplified his fear. He had been monitoring the news for any sign of the Black Steel Group's disaster, and rumors were already spiraling through the corporate underworld: the D-12 site was a total loss, the drilling rig inexplicably destroyed, and insurance was refusing to pay due to "unfiled geological risks."
Zhang Wei interpreted Lin Xuan's command not as an invitation to buy, but as a mandate for financial annihilation. He was being tasked with publicly humiliating and bankrupting the Black Steel Group—a final, corporate execution ordered by the true, hidden power of the city.
He threw on a dark suit, his face pale but resolute, transforming from a trembling lapdog into a desperate, focused corporate hyena.
His life, he knew, depended on the success of this mission.
The "auction" was held that same afternoon in the heavily fortified, dimly lit sub-level basement of a defunct logistics center known only as 'The Pit.' It was an illegal, high-stakes clearance sale organized by the local underworld to rapidly liquidate the abandoned assets of the Black Steel Group (BSG) before corporate lawyers or the police could intervene.
The primary item was the ruined drilling platform itself—a monstrous, oil-slicked wreck that still held immense value in its component alloys and advanced metallurgy. Dozens of shadowy figures were present: legitimate scrap dealers, black marketeers, and, crucially, a small, sweating delegation from the Black Steel Group, led by a middle manager named Mr. Hong, whose job was to desperately buy back the equipment at any cost to minimize the disaster.
Zhang Wei entered the room, his eyes scanning for rivals. He was armed with the entire $350,000 tribute he had offered Lin Xuan, supplemented by a generous spike of liquidity from the Rank D Wealth Talisman fund—an untouchable war chest that Li Mo was managing remotely.
The atmosphere was tense. The underworld auctioneer, a scarred man named 'The Broker,' stood beside the ruined platform, striking his gavel.
"Gentlemen! We start bidding on the entire D-12 platform—all parts, all salvage, sold as one lot. Starting bid: fifty thousand dollars."
Mr. Hong from BSG jumped up, desperate. "$250,000! We buy it back as scrap!
The other bidders grumbled. They wanted components, not the whole ruined package.
Then, Zhang Wei spoke, his voice dry but carrying an unnatural confidence that he drew entirely from the terror of failing Lin Xuan. "$260,000."
Mr. Hong's eyes widened. "Three hundred thousand! This is corporate property! This is a recovery effort!"
Zhang Wei lifted his hand. "$310,000."
The Broker grinned, smelling blood. "Three hundred and ten! Going once..."
Hong began sweating profusely. "Four hundred thousand! That is our absolute limit for this junk!"
Zhang Wei pulled a small, elegant tablet from his pocket. On the screen, a secured, real-time message from Li Mo flashed: "Target Component: Primary Magnetic Containment Unit. Outbid all opposition. Cost is irrelevant. Inflict maximum financial damage."
Lin Xuan, now stabilizing his massive haul of Earth Vein Essence back in the apartment, was directing the war from afar, weaponizing the enemy's resources against them. He wasn't interested in the whole drill; he wanted to ensure the BSG delegation overpaid catastrophically for their failure and that the most valuable component—a piece needed for his next synthesis—was stripped away from their control.
"One million dollars," Zhang Wei stated calmly, ending the silence.
The room erupted. The bid was insane—ten times the scrap value.
Mr. Hong collapsed into his chair, defeated, his budget shattered.
"Sold! One million dollars to the sharp gentleman in the corner!" The Broker slammed his gavel, his eyes glittering at the commission.
Zhang Wei had won the rig, but the real work began immediately.
"Broker, I am interested in one component only," Zhang Wei announced, walking toward the wrecked drill. "The Primary Magnetic Containment Unit—the circular alloy at the base. I will sell the remaining nine hundred thousand dollars worth of junk components back to the room. Starting bids are now open on the hydraulics, the chassis, and the engine block."
The room descended into a frenzy of opportunism. The BSG representative, Mr. Hong, watched in agony as the components he had just overpaid a million dollars for were now being carved up and resold by Zhang Wei. Zhang Wei, directed by Li Mo's precise instruction, sold everything except the Primary Magnetic Containment Unit for a total of $850,000.
In the span of thirty minutes, Zhang Wei successfully:
Inflicted $1,000,000 worth of public financial damage on the Black Steel Group, forcing them to overspend disastrously to cover their tracks.
Recouped nearly $850,000 of Lin Xuan's initial investment by reselling the non-essential junk.
Acquired the single, high-value spiritual component—the Primary Magnetic Containment Unit—for a net cost of only $150,000.
Zhang Wei left The Pit an hour later, the Primary Magnetic Containment Unit secured in a discrete transport vehicle and the eyes of the underworld now upon him. He had successfully performed his master's financial execution.
Back at the apartment, Lin Xuan ended his stabilization cycle. The Liquefied Earth Vein Essence was humming safely within the Minor Spiritual Storage Talisman. He opened his eyes as Zhang Wei's transport pulled up outside.
Li Mo met Zhang Wei at the door. Zhang Wei was shaking, but this time with exhilaration.
"Master Lin!" Zhang Wei announced, bowing deep. "The command was executed. The Black Steel Group is ruined publicly, and we have acquired the target component—the Primary Magnetic Containment Unit. I believe the component contains a rare, stable alloy."
Lin Xuan walked over to the casing holding the magnetic unit. It was heavy, complex, and clearly a piece of advanced mortal engineering. He placed his hand on the alloy, channeling his Immortal Gaze. The unit's complexity was a distraction; the core of the magnet contained thousands of meters of ultra-pure, superconducting copper wiring, stabilized by traces of Nebula Alloy—a material once used for starship shielding during the Great Exodus.
[New Synthesis Material Detected: Superconducting Nebula-Alloyed Copper Wire (C-Rank Secondary Resource)]
The System's notification confirmed his foresight. The magnetic unit was not just a C-Rank material; it was the secondary resource required to process and stabilize the Liquefied Earth Vein Essence. He had acquired the exact component needed for the next grand synthesis.
"The loyalty is confirmed, Zhang Wei," Lin Xuan stated, a dangerous calm in his voice. "You have performed well. You may keep the remaining funds as working capital. Continue monitoring the Black Steel Group's collapse. You are now the eyes and hands of the Emperor in the mortal shadow economy."
Zhang Wei, overwhelmed by the reward and the approval, left, a willing puppet of power.
Lin Xuan looked at Li Mo, who was now analyzing the newly acquired magnetic unit. "The Earth Vein Essence is sealed. The Nebula-Alloyed Copper is acquired. The stage is set for the first Rank C Synthesis."
He smiled faintly. "It is time to make a true spiritual item, Li Mo. Something that will not just secure our city, but connect us to the larger world."
Lin Xuan has the primary (Essence) and secondary (Copper Wire) materials for a Rank C Synthesis.