Mercy General Hospital buzzed with the kind of tension that preceded executions.
Guild Master Chen stood in the sterile hallway like a monument to power, his Level 40 aura pressing down on everything within fifty meters. Behind him, a squad of elite enforcers checked their weapons—plasma rifles, mana disruptors, enough firepower to level a city block.
"Ethan Su," Chen's voice boomed through the hospital's PA system. "You have thirty seconds to surrender, or your sister pays the price."
I stepped out of the stairwell, Derek's unconscious form slung over my shoulder like a sack of grain. Marcus cowered behind me, his face pale with terror. The assembled Guild forces turned their weapons toward us, red laser sights painting my chest like Christmas decorations.
*System Alert: Multiple high-value targets detected*
*Recommended action: Mass collection event*
*Warning: Soul Starvation Timer - 18 hours remaining*
The hunger gnawed at my insides like acid, but I forced myself to smile. "Sorry I'm late. Traffic was murder."
Chen's lips curled in disgust. "Still making jokes? Even now?" He gestured to his men. "Surround him. Non-lethal force only—I want him alive for questioning."
"Master Chen," Sophia stepped forward, her phone still recording. She'd changed into a Guild uniform, the silver badge gleaming on her chest. "Let me talk to him. We used to be... close."
*Target Analysis: Sophia Reyes | Lv.12 Manipulator*
*Violation: Emotional fraud, identity theft*
*Tax Owed: 15,000 EXP + Credibility Rating*
"Ethan," Sophia's voice dripped with false concern. "This doesn't have to end badly. Just give them what they want, and maybe—"
"Maybe what?" I dropped Derek's body, letting it hit the floor with a wet thud. "Maybe you'll take me back? Maybe you'll pretend you didn't help frame me?"
Her mask slipped for just a moment, revealing the calculating predator beneath. "I did what I had to do. You were always going to be a loser, Ethan. I just... accelerated the timeline."
Chen raised his hand, and the air itself seemed to thicken. His awakened ability—Gravitational Dominance—pressed down on us like the weight of mountains. Marcus collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath.
"Enough games," Chen snarled. "Your little parlor tricks won't work on me, boy. I've been hunting rogue awakeners since before you were born."
I reached into my jacket and pulled out a piece of paper—or what looked like paper. In reality, it was a manifestation of the system itself, a tax document written in golden fire that only I could see clearly.
"According to Universal Tax Code, Section Seven," I said conversationally, "abuse of power for intimidation purposes incurs a bullying tax. Rate of assessment..." I paused, meeting Chen's eyes. "One hundred percent."
Chen laughed. "You're insane. There's no such thing as—"
His laughter died as his gravitational field collapsed.
*Collection Initiated: [Conceptual Assets]*
*Target: Chen Wei - Confidence, Balance, Intimidation Factor*
*Processing...*
The change was immediate and devastating. Chen's commanding presence evaporated like morning mist. His perfect posture crumbled, and he stumbled forward, arms windmilling as his inner ear betrayed him. The man who'd stood like a god thirty seconds ago now looked like a drunk trying to navigate an earthquake.
"What—" Chen crashed to the floor, his expensive suit tearing on the hospital's rough carpet. "What did you do to me?"
I walked over and placed my boot on his head, pressing his face against the cold linoleum. Around us, his elite squad raised their weapons, but something was wrong. Their plasma rifles were corroding, metal turning to rust and falling apart in their hands.
*Mass Collection: Equipment Durability*
*Hostile Intent Tax: Applied to all aggressive parties*
*Assets Acquired: 25,000 EXP, Various Combat Enhancements*
"Now," I said, looking down at Chen's terrified face, then up at Sophia's horrified expression. "Who's the loser?"
Sophia's composure shattered like glass. Her vanity, her carefully constructed self-image—I could see it draining away as the system processed her conceptual assets. She began laughing, high and hysterical, tearing at her Guild uniform as her mind tried to process the loss of everything that had defined her identity.
*Soul Starvation Timer: 16 hours, 23 minutes*
*Feeding successful - hunger temporarily sated*
Doctors and patients pressed against the windows of nearby rooms, their faces masks of shock and awe. The boy they'd seen on the news—the terrorist, the murderer—stood over the city's most powerful Guild Master like a conqueror surveying his domain.
"Please," Chen wheezed, his voice muffled by my boot. "I have a family. Children."
"So did the people you've crushed over the years." I pressed down harder. "But don't worry. I'm not going to kill you. That would be wasteful."
Chen's trembling hand fumbled for something in his jacket—a small crystal device that pulsed with otherworldly energy. His fingers shook as he grasped it, and I could see the terror in his eyes. This wasn't a weapon he'd planned to use—it was a suicide switch, something stolen from ancient ruins and meant for absolute desperation.
"If I can't have victory," he gasped, "then we all burn together."
He crushed the crystal between his fingers.
The hospital shook.
Reality tore open above us like wet paper, revealing a void filled with stars that hurt to look at directly. Something vast and terrible pressed against the dimensional barrier, its attention focused on me with the weight of cosmic judgment.
*System Alert: Divine Intervention Detected*
*Threat Level: Catastrophic*
*Recommendation: Immediate evacuation*
A voice spoke from the void, each word carrying the authority of eons: "Mortal. You dare steal the prerogatives of godhood? You reek of the Fallen One's corruption."
The presence pressed closer, and I felt my bones beginning to crack under pressure that existed beyond the physical realm. This wasn't just power—this was divinity itself, raw and unfiltered.
"Are you his descendant?" the voice continued. "The heir to the Devourer of Treasuries?"
Before I could answer, the hospital's east wall exploded inward.
Debris rained down, but I caught a flicker of golden light protecting the ICU ward down the hall—my sister was safe. For now.
A figure in flowing white robes landed in the debris, sword gleaming with silver fire. The newcomer was young—maybe seventeen—with long black hair and eyes like winter storms. She moved with the fluid grace of someone who'd been killing things since childhood.
*Target Analysis: ERROR*
*Identity: Lyra Qing*
*Level: ERROR - CALCULATION OVERFLOW*
*Tax Owed: ∞ (INFINITE)*
"Enough," she said, her voice cutting through the divine pressure like a blade through silk. She raised her sword toward the dimensional tear. "Return to your realm, Star-Eater. This one is under my jurisdiction."
The cosmic presence recoiled as if slapped. "You... impossible. The Eternal Auditor was destroyed millennia ago."
"Destroyed?" Lyra's smile was sharp as winter. "I prefer 'temporarily reassigned.'" She made a casual gesture, and the dimensional tear sealed itself with a sound like reality sighing in relief.
The hospital fell silent except for the groaning of damaged infrastructure and Chen's labored breathing. Lyra turned her attention to me, and I felt the system go haywire.
*ALERT: SUPREME TAX EVADER DETECTED*
*COLLECTION PRIORITY: MAXIMUM*
*WARNING: TARGET CLASSIFICATION EXCEEDS SAFE PARAMETERS*
*COLLECT HER! COLLECT HER NOW!*
"Finally," Lyra said, sheathing her sword with practiced ease. "I've been looking everywhere for you, Ethan Su. The only person in three galaxies who's managed to avoid paying his cosmic taxes."
I stared at the impossible number floating above her head—infinity. Not a large number, but the actual mathematical concept of endlessness. The system was practically screaming at me to drain her dry, promising instant ascension to Level 50 and beyond.
But something told me that trying to collect from her would be like trying to drink the ocean.
"This business," I said, my mouth suddenly dry, "just got a lot more complicated."
Lyra's smile widened, revealing teeth that seemed to catch starlight. "Oh, you have no idea. We need to talk about your outstanding debt to the Universal Revenue Service."
She gestured to the chaos around us—the broken walls, the cowering Guild members, Chen still pinned under my boot, Sophia still laughing maniacally in the corner.
"And more importantly," she added, her eyes beginning to glow with the same golden fire that burned in mine, "we need to discuss your inheritance."
*System Alert: New Quest Available*
*[The Auditor's Gambit]*
*Objective: Survive the next five minutes*
*Reward: Answers (maybe)*
*Failure Condition: Cosmic Bankruptcy*
I looked down at Chen, then back at Lyra, then at the infinite symbol still floating above her head like a mathematical death sentence.
"Yeah," I said, not moving my foot from the Guild Master's skull. "This is definitely going to be interesting."