The silence in the barracks was heavy, but it wasn't the silence of fear anymore. It was the silence of a shareholders' meeting waiting for the CEO to speak.
Ren stood over the corpse of the assassin leader, the blue light of the Lightning Wood casting long, jagged shadows against the rusted walls.
Ironhead stood next to him, gripping the Spirit Stone Ren had tossed him. The large man looked at the stone, then at the other 298 slaves watching from the dark.
"Listen up!" Ironhead bellowed, his voice like grinding gears. "Ren is the boss now. Anyone has a problem with that?"
No one spoke. The corpse on the floor was a compelling argument.
Ren stepped forward. He didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to.
"I am not your boss," Ren said calmly. "I am your Broker."
He scanned the crowd with his NPV Eye. Numbers floated over their heads—a sea of red ink. Net Worth: -500. Net Worth: -1,200. Net Worth: -10,000.
"I've looked at the ledgers," Ren lied smoothly (he hadn't seen the physical books, but the System told him everything he needed to know). "Overseer Ma isn't just skimming your daily quotas. He is falsifying your debt interest. Every day you work, your debt actually increases by 5%. You will never leave this floor. You will die here, and your bodies will be rendered down for biofuel."
A murmur of despair rippled through the room. They knew it was true, but hearing it spoken aloud made it real.
"However," Ren continued, raising a finger. "I am proposing a restructuring plan."
He pointed to the heavy iron door.
"Tomorrow morning, Ma opens that door expecting to drag my corpse out. Instead, we are going to seize the Weighing Station. We are going to take the stockpile of Spirit Stones he keeps in his private safe. And we are going to use his own communication array to bribe the Supply Captain of the Middle Realm."
A thin, skeletal man stood up in the back. "You're crazy. Ma has two guards with repeating crossbows. We have... scrap metal."
Ren turned his golden gaze toward the skeptic.
[Target: Prisoner 402]
Background: Former Imperial Archer (Disgraced).
Skill: Trajectory Calculation (Mastery).
Current Value: 5 Karma.
Ren smiled. "What's your name?"
"Liu," the man muttered.
"Liu, you used to be an archer, didn't you?"
Liu stiffened. "How did you—"
"I know the value of everyone in this room," Ren interrupted. He kicked the Spirit Steel dagger toward Liu. It skidded across the metal floor and stopped at the man's feet. "Ironhead takes the front. You take the dagger. Your job is to eliminate the guard on the left. Can you make the throw from twenty meters?"
Liu looked at the dagger. He picked it up, his hand trembling, then steadying. The grip of a weapon woke something up inside him. "From twenty meters? With this balance? Easy."
Ren turned back to the crowd. "I don't need heroes. I need investors. Invest your life in this operation, and I guarantee a return of your freedom. Stay out of it, and you stay in the red forever."
He held up the Lightning Wood. It pulsed violently.
"Who wants to be rich?"
One by one, the slaves stood up. They grabbed rusted pipes, sharpened shanks, and rocks. They were starving, desperate, and terrifying.
Ren nodded. "Good. Now, here is the acquisition strategy."
06:00 AM. The Morning Shift.
The heavy iron bolts of the barracks door clanked. The gears ground together.
Overseer Ma stood outside, flanked by his two crossbow-wielding guards. He held a handkerchief over his nose to block the smell.
"Drag the body out!" Ma shouted into the dark tunnel. "And the rest of you rats, get in line! Double quotas today for the disturbance!"
Nothing happened.
The door stood open. The darkness inside was absolute. No shuffling feet. No groans of waking men.
Ma frowned. "I said move!"
He gestured to the guard on his left. "Go check. Make sure the assassins finished the job."
The guard grunted, raised his crossbow, and stepped into the pitch-black doorway.
He took three steps.
Thwip.
A wet thud echoed.
The guard didn't scream. He just crumpled, a Spirit Steel dagger buried to the hilt in his throat.
"Ambush!" Ma screamed, stumbling back.
The second guard raised his crossbow, aiming blindly into the dark. "Come out!"
BOOM!
A bolt of blue lightning erupted from the darkness. It didn't hit the guard; it hit the metal doorframe next to him. The electricity arced, turning the entire doorway into a stunning trap.
The guard seized up, his crossbow firing a bolt into the ceiling as he convulsed and fell.
"Charge!" Ironhead's roar shook the walls.
Three hundred screaming slaves poured out of the barracks like a flood of angry water.
Overseer Ma's face went pale. He turned to run back toward the Weighing Station, where the alarm array was. He was a Cultivator—a Qi Condensation Stage 3 expert—but even he couldn't fight three hundred men in a narrow tunnel.
"Mutiny! Rebellion!" Ma screamed, sprinting down the corridor.
He reached the Weighing Station, fumbling for the keys to the heavy gate.
"Too slow," a cold voice said right behind him.
Ma spun around, Qi flaring in his palms. He prepared a [Stone Fist Strike].
Ren was standing there. He wasn't running. He looked calm, almost bored. In his hand, the black wood hummed.
"You..." Ma grit his teeth. "You think a piece of Lightning Wood makes you my match? I am a Cultivator! My skin is like iron!"
Ma punched. His fist glowed with gray light, heavy enough to shatter a boulder.
Ren didn't dodge. He activated his NPV Eye.
[Target: Overseer Ma]
Attack: Stone Fist (Grade 1 Technique).
Weakness: The technique has a 0.5-second delay in Qi circulation at the elbow joint due to an old injury.
Cost to Exploit: Minimal.
Ren saw the red line of the weakness light up on Ma's arm.
Ren stepped to the side, moving not faster than Ma, but earlier. He avoided the fist by a millimeter. As Ma's arm extended, overcommitted, Ren slammed the tip of the Lightning Wood directly into Ma's exposed elbow.
ZAP.
"ARGH!"
Ma screamed as the electricity bypassed his 'Iron Skin' and fried the nerve cluster in his joint. His arm went dead, hanging uselessly at his side.
Ren didn't stop. He swung the heavy wood like a club, smashing it into Ma's knee.
Crunch.
Ma collapsed, howling.
Before Ma could gather his Qi for another attack, a dozen slaves caught up. Ironhead was the first. He tackled the Overseer, pinning him to the ground. Then came Liu. Then the others.
They didn't kill him. Ren had given strict orders.
"Hold him!" Ren commanded.
The mob pinned the massive Overseer down. Ma spat blood, looking up at Ren with pure hatred.
"You're dead, kid," Ma wheezed. "The Sector Lord... the Azure Vault... they will sense the disruption. They will liquidate this whole floor."
Ren walked over to Ma's desk. He picked up the heavy iron abacus—the one Ma had used to cheat them for years.
"Let them come," Ren said. "But first, we need to balance the books."
Ren placed the abacus on the desk. He looked at Ma.
[Target: Overseer Ma]
Personal Assets: 3,000 Karma (Stashed in Floor Safe).
Secret Ledger: Hidden in the false bottom of the desk drawer.
Ren pulled open the drawer, smashed the false bottom, and pulled out a black leather book.
Ma's eyes went wide. "No! Put that down!"
Ren opened the book. It was a record of every illegal bribe Ma had paid to the supply captains, and every ounce of ore he had stolen from the Sect.
Ren smiled. "This isn't just a ledger, Ma. It's a confession."
Ren turned to the mob. "Tie him up. And open the safe under his chair."
Ironhead kicked the chair away and pried up the floor panel. Inside sat a small chest. He broke the lock.
A golden glow spilled out.
Inside were hundreds of Spirit Stones. Not chips. Whole stones.
The slaves went silent. They had never seen so much wealth in one place.
"That's our sweat," Liu whispered. "That's our blood."
Ren reached into the chest and grabbed a handful of stones. The System pinged wildly.
[Asset Acquired: Low-Grade Spirit Stones (300)] [Total Value: 30,000 Karma.]
Ren felt the weight of the wealth. With this, he could pay off his 5,000 Karma debt instantly. He could buy his freedom. He could leave these people here and ascend to the next floor alone.
The thought crossed his mind. He was a capitalist, after all.
But then he looked at the Black Ledger in his other hand. He looked at the infinite ceiling of the Gilded Spire.
Buying his freedom was small thinking.
If he wanted to rule this world, he didn't need just money. He needed a corporation.
Ren turned to the crowd. He held up the stones.
"This," Ren shouted, "Is your dividend!"
He tossed the handful of stones into the crowd.
Pandemonium erupted—but it was joyous pandemonium. Men were weeping, clutching stones that could buy their families out of slavery.
"Ironhead, Liu," Ren ordered. "Secure the perimeter. No one leaves Sector 4. We are under new management."
Ren sat down in Overseer Ma's chair. He placed the Lightning Wood on the desk and opened the Grand Ledger System.
[Debt: 5,000 Karma.]
"Pay in full," Ren commanded mentally.
[Transaction Complete.] [Debt Cleared.] [User Status Updated: Free Citizen.] [Marketplace Unlocked.]
A new menu unfolded in Ren's vision. Thousands of items, skills, and bloodlines listed for sale from across the universe.
Ren's eyes gleamed gold.
"Now," he whispered. "Let's go shopping."