The moon had always been Earth's silent witness, but as the Sovereign Venture—a repurposed A-Rank scout ship powered by Selas's atmospheric currents—pierced the lunar exosphere, it was clear that the witness had been charging a secret rent.
From the observation deck, Han Jue looked down at the lunar surface. It wasn't the desolate grey expanse of the NASA archives. Under the spectrum of his Audit Vision, the moon shimmered with a sickly, neon-gold light. Massive, translucent spires erupted from the Sea of Tranquility, looking like giant, glowing hypodermic needles plunged into the rock.
"They're siphoning the core," Garrick growled, his mechanical eye zooming in on the structures. He was currently wearing a high-pressure tech-suit that made him look like a walking furnace. "Those aren't buildings, Jue. Those are Mana-Distilleries. They've been refining lunar dust into 'Universal Credits' while we were busy fighting krakens in the Pacific."
Han Jue tapped his silver fountain pen against the glass. "It's worse than that, Garrick. Look at the flow-lines."
Using the Master Ledger Fragment, Han Jue projected a holographic overlay for the team.
[Environmental Audit: Luna]
[Primary Activity: Data Mining & Resource Extraction]
[Current Occupant: The Selene Syndicate (A Subsidiary of the Galactic Exchange)]
[Status: Squatting]
"Squatting?" Selas asked, her hand sparking with a localized electric field. "They have cities down there. How is that squatting?"
"Because," Han Jue said, his eyes flashing with that familiar, cold white fire, "they never filed a 'Notice of Intent to Occupy' with the local planetary authority. They treated Earth like a bankrupt estate. They figured since the 'Owner' was busy with a System-wide foreclosure, they could just move into the guest house and start charging themselves zero rent."
The Selene Syndicate
The Sovereign Venture landed not on a landing pad, but in the middle of a high-security courtyard paved with pressurized diamonds. Immediately, the ship was surrounded by "Lunar Enforcers"—beings made of liquid mercury-glass, carrying staves that vibrated with the frequency of a collapsing star.
A tall, spindly figure stepped through the ranks. He wore a suit made of woven starlight and carried a digital tablet that looked more like a piece of glass than a computer.
"Mr. Han Jue," the figure said. His voice was a series of harmonious pings, translated instantly by the ship's comms. "I am Director Krov of the Selene Syndicate. You are trespassing on private property. The Moon has been held in 'Protective Escrow' by the Exchange for the last three thousand years. Your presence here is a breach of galactic contract."
Han Jue stepped off the ramp, his simple charcoal suit a stark contrast to the neon extravagance of the Syndicate. He didn't carry a weapon. He carried a briefcase.
"Protective escrow?" Han Jue asked, walking directly up to Krov. "I've reviewed the planetary history, Director. Escrow requires a neutral third party. The Syndicate is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Exchange—the same Exchange that was trying to force a hostile IPO on Earth last week. That's not escrow. That's Self-Dealing."
Krov's glass face rippled with static. "Your planet was in default! We saved your satellite from drifting into the sun!"
"You saved it so you could use it as a server farm," Han Jue countered. He opened his briefcase and pulled out a single sheet of paper. "I'm here to discuss the Occupancy Tax."
The Audit of the Sea of Tranquility
Krov let out a sound like a synthesizer laughing. "Tax? You are a Level 0 inhabitant of a Tier-3 planet. You have no jurisdiction here."
"I don't need a level to calculate a debt," Han Jue said. He raised his pen, and the air between them began to fill with glowing, white equations.
Through the Sovereign of the Ledger class, Han Jue began the calculation. This was the "Financial Magic" that had terrified the gods in the Vatican.
$$V_{Luna} = \int_{t=0}^{3000} (\text{Resource\_Value} \times \text{Inflation\_Rate}) dt + \text{System\_Log\_Access\_Fee}$$
"For three thousand years," Han Jue's voice boomed, resonating through the thin lunar atmosphere, "you have siphoned Earth's gravitational mana to power your distilleries. You have used the Moon as a backup server for the old System's 'Historical Logs'—a service that Earth never authorized. According to the Intergalactic Civil Code, the 'Lien' you claim is void due to Bad Faith Prosecution."
[System Notification: Audit in Progress...]
[Target: The Selene Syndicate]
[Calculated Debt: 1.2 Billion Universal Mana Units]
Krov stepped back, his mercury skin turning a dark, agitated grey. "You... you can't possibly prove the logs were used!"
"I don't have to prove it," Han Jue said. He pointed to the massive spires behind Krov. "Those spires aren't just distilling mana. They're cooling your servers. You've been selling the 'Past Lives' of Earth's inhabitants as 'Soul-Data' to the higher-tier galaxies. That's a Privacy Violation on a planetary scale."
Han Jue stepped forward, his presence suddenly magnifying. Even without a Level, the authority of the Bailiff was absolute.
"The fine for unauthorized soul-data harvesting is three times the generated profit. I've run the numbers, Krov. Your Syndicate isn't just in debt. You're Irretrievably Bankrupt."
The Lunar Takeover
The Lunar Enforcers raised their staves, but before they could strike, Selas and Garrick moved.
Selas didn't use a storm. She used the Lunar Static. She raised her hand, and the vacuum of the moon erupted with blue electricity, short-circuiting the Enforcers' liquid-glass bodies.
Garrick, meanwhile, slammed his wrench into the diamond-paved floor. "Iron Protocol: Asset Seizure!"
From the Sovereign Venture, thousands of micro-drones—forged by Garrick's new 'Ironclad Logistics' division—swarmed out. They didn't attack the Enforcers; they attached themselves to the glowing spires, injecting a black, ink-like virus into the distilleries.
[Notification: Hostile Takeover - 45% Complete]
[Sovereign Audit is now the Primary Creditor of Luna.]
"Stop!" Krov screamed, his starlight suit flickering. "If you shut down the servers, the 'Master Creditor' will be alerted! You're tampering with the Galactic Backup!"
"I'm not shutting them down," Han Jue said, his pen moving across the air like a conductor's baton. "I'm Nationalizing them. Earth needs a central data hub to manage our new 'Sovereign Wealth Fund.' These servers are perfect. They already have all our names."
Han Jue turned to Han Ling, who was watching via the ship's comms. "Ling-er, prepare the 'Lunar-Link.' We're moving the Global Audit Council's headquarters to the Sea of Tranquility. The air is cleaner here, and the rent... well, the rent is finally free."
The Hidden Clause
As the Syndicate's control faded, the spires turned from neon-gold to a deep, Abyssal violet. The moon's vibration changed from a hum to a low, rhythmic heartbeat.
Han Jue walked to the base of the largest spire and placed his hand on the obsidian surface.
[Accessing: System Backup Logs...]
[Warning: Decrypting 'The Origin's' Private Notes...]
A single file appeared in Han Jue's mind. It wasn't a ledger. It was a letter.
"To the next Auditor: If you are reading this, it means you've figured out the scam. The System wasn't a loan. It was a shield. The Galactic Exchange is coming, and they don't want your souls. They want your Planet's Core. Earth isn't a planet; it's an Unhatched Seed of a Sovereign Star. Don't let them take the IPO. The cost is the world itself."
Han Jue pulled his hand away, his face pale.
"Jue? What is it?" Elena Sol asked, stepping off the ship.
Han Jue looked at the Earth hanging in the lunar sky—blue, fragile, and beautiful.
"The Exchange wasn't trying to buy us," Han Jue whispered. "They were trying to Harvest us. The IPO was just the slaughterhouse paperwork. If the public trading starts, they'll trigger a 'Core-Liquidation' to pay the shareholders."
He turned to his team, his eyes sharper than they had ever been.
"Garrick, forget the cargo ships. I need you to build a planetary shield. Selas, I need you to weaponize the moon's gravity. We aren't just a Private Equity Firm anymore."
Han Jue picked up his pen and wrote the new mission on the air:
[Chapter 24: The Defense of the Seed.]
[Objective: Cancel the Galactic IPO by any means necessary.]
[Current Valuation of Earth: Priceless.]
"Vax is going to be back soon," Han Jue said, looking toward the stars. "And this time, I'm not just going to audit him. I'm going to Delist the entire Galactic Exchange."