Rain hammered the armored truck like bullets against steel, each drop carrying the weight of cosmic judgment. I'd managed to get Emma secured in the back seat, her breathing steady despite everything she'd been through. The dimensional tear had closed behind us, but I could still feel the MRS enforcement drones probing the edges of reality, looking for our trail.
Marcus lay crumpled against the alley wall, his legs twisted at angles that made my stomach turn. Blood pooled beneath him, mixing with rainwater to form pink rivulets that spiraled down the storm drains. His breathing was shallow, labored.
"Boss," he wheezed, trying to smile through the pain. "Take Emma and run. Don't... don't worry about me."
Lyra knelt beside him, her face grim. "His spine is severed. Internal bleeding. He's got maybe ten minutes." She looked up at me with something approaching pity. "You should give him a quick death. It's the merciful thing to do."
I activated [Asset Assessment], golden data streams cascading across my vision as I analyzed Marcus's condition.
*Target Analysis: Marcus Wang*
*Current Status: Severely Damaged (99% Depreciation)*
*Repair Value: EXTREMELY HIGH*
*Recommendation: Immediate restoration*
"In my company," I said, pulling the god fragment from my pocket, "nobody gets to quit without filing the proper paperwork. And dying on the job counts as unauthorized absence."
Lyra's eyes widened as she saw what I was holding. "Ethan, no. That thing is pure corruption. One touch and you'll be transformed into something that makes nightmares look friendly."
I turned the crystal over in my hands, watching the way it pulsed with malevolent energy. Dark whispers leaked from its surface—promises of power, threats of damnation, the usual cosmic horror package deal.
"Corruption is just what poor people call it," I said, accessing my system's financial protocols. "In my business, we call it money laundering."
*System Alert: Toxic Asset Detected*
*Recommendation: Asset Stripping Protocol*
*Warning: This will consume ALL available EXP*
*Current Balance: 47,832 EXP*
I hesitated for just a moment. That experience represented everything I'd gained from Chen and the Golden Ancestor—my ascension from mortal to something approaching divinity. But looking at Marcus's broken form, at Lyra's exhausted state, I knew what had to be done.
"Do it," I commanded.
*Initiating [Bad Debt Write-Off Procedure]*
*Warning: Draining all liquidated assets...*
A wave of vertigo hit me like a sledgehammer. The golden fire in my veins—the raw power I'd absorbed from Chen and the Ancestor—roiled violently as it was devoured by the system. I could feel my levels evaporating, the sensation of ascending to godhood receding like a tide. My knees buckled, and I had to grab the truck's bumper to keep from falling.
This wasn't free alchemy. I was cashing in my entire fortune to buy a future.
*Processing...*
*Separating liabilities from core assets...*
The god fragment began to scream.
Not audibly—this was the sound of a cosmic entity having its consciousness forcibly restructured, its malevolent will stripped away like paint from a wall. Electricity arced between my fingers as the system worked, and I tasted blood as I bit down on my tongue to keep from crying out.
*Asset Stripping Complete*
*Toxic Debt: Eliminated*
*Pure Assets Recovered: 3 units of Divine Essence*
*EXP Balance: 0*
*Current Status: Mortal (Power Depleted)*
I slumped against the truck, gasping, but in my hand floated three drops of liquid gold that pulsed with pure, uncorrupted power.
"Worth it," I whispered, forcing a smile as the world spun around me.
Lyra stared at the floating droplets with the expression of someone watching their entire worldview collapse in real time. "That's... that's impossible. You can't just wash the evil out of a god fragment. The corruption is part of its fundamental nature."
"Everything has a price," I said, catching the first droplet between my fingers. "Even corruption."
I knelt beside Marcus and forced his mouth open, flicking the golden liquid onto his tongue. "Work-related injury. Company covers full medical."
The effect was immediate and dramatic. Marcus's body convulsed as divine energy flooded his system, rewriting his cellular structure from the ground up. Bones snapped back into place with sounds like gunshots. Torn organs regenerated. His skin took on a subtle golden sheen as the essence integrated with his biology.
*Employee Enhancement Complete*
*Marcus Wang: Level 5 → Level 9*
*New Abilities: [Adamantine Body], [Enhanced Strength], [Damage Resistance]*
Marcus sat up, flexing his hands in wonder. "Boss, I feel... incredible. Like I could punch through a tank."
"Good," I said, turning to Lyra. "Because you're going to need that strength for what's coming next."
Before she could protest, I flicked the second droplet at her forehead. It struck her between the eyes and sank into her skin like water into sand.
"Signing bonus," I explained as she gasped. "Consider it an advance on your salary."
The divine essence hit her cultivation bottleneck like a sledgehammer through glass. Energy erupted from her body in waves, her power level spiking as years of accumulated potential finally found release. Her sword began to glow with silver fire, and I could see new techniques crystallizing in her mind as her understanding deepened.
*Employee Enhancement Complete*
*Lyra Qing: Combat Effectiveness Increased by 1000%*
*Bottleneck Eliminated*
*New Classification: Elite Enforcer*
"The essence counts as a company loan," I added casually. "Interest will be deducted from your future performance bonuses."
Lyra stared at me with a mixture of awe and terror. The woman who had casually sliced through dimensional barriers now looked at me like I was something beyond her comprehension.
"What... what are you?"
"Your boss," I said, moving to the truck where Emma still slept. I placed the final droplet on her lips, watching as it dissolved into her system. "And this is just the employee benefits package."
Emma's breathing deepened, her color improving as the divine essence worked to strengthen her constitution. Whatever genetic disorder had been killing her was being systematically eliminated, her body rebuilt from the cellular level up.
"The real rewards," I continued, settling into the driver's seat despite my exhaustion, "come with performance bonuses. Meet your quotas, and godhood is just another line item on your annual review."
Lyra's pride, her centuries of cultivation, her sense of superiority—all of it crumbled in the face of casual omnipotence. She bowed deeply, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Security Chief Lyra Qing, reporting for duty."
I didn't acknowledge her submission. The system was already feeding me new data, new opportunities for expansion.
*System Alert: Host Status - No Fixed Assets*
*Recommendation: Establish operational headquarters*
*Target Identified: Unauthorized Tax Haven - 3.2km southeast*
*Classification: Underground Financial District*
*Estimated Value: 50 million credits in untaxed transactions*
*Mission: Acquire property for First Revenue Office*
I started the engine, the armored truck's systems coming online with a satisfying hum. Through the rain-streaked windshield, I could see the city's lights stretching out before us—millions of people, all of them potential taxpayers.
"Marcus," I said, putting the truck in gear. "We're going to the Old District. Time to collect some real estate."
"What's in the Old District, boss?"
I smiled, and despite my depleted state, it still felt like winter. "Our new office building. Currently occupied by tax evaders running an illegal credit exchange."
The truck pulled out of the alley, its armored bulk cutting through the storm like a shark through dark water. In the rearview mirror, I could see Lyra following on foot, her enhanced speed allowing her to keep pace effortlessly.
*System Alert: Multiple High-Value Targets Detected*
*Underground Market Population: 847 individuals*
*Illegal Financial Operations: 23 active exchanges*
*Estimated Total Tax Liability: 127 million credits*
*Recommended Approach: Regulatory Shutdown*
The Old District's black market wasn't just a place for guns and drugs—it was the city's shadow banking system, where untraceable credits changed hands and tax obligations disappeared into digital smoke. They thought they were untouchable, protected by layers of encryption and violence.
They were about to learn that nobody hides from the taxman forever.
"Boss," Marcus said, checking the truck's weapons systems, "what's the plan when we get there? You look pretty wiped out."
He was right. Without my accumulated experience, I was back to being mostly human. But I still had the system, and more importantly, I had employees.
"Simple," I replied, watching the city lights blur past. "You and Lyra handle the violence. I'll handle the paperwork."
Through the system's enhanced senses, I could already feel the black market's pulse—hundreds of illegal transactions, untaxed income, forged documentation. It was a tax collector's paradise, and I was about to foreclose on the whole operation.
*System Alert: Approaching Target Zone*
*Hostile Forces Detected: 200+ Armed Combatants*
*Financial Crimes Detected: EXTENSIVE*
*Recommendation: Audit everything*
The truck's headlights cut through the rain as we approached the Old District's entrance—a seemingly abandoned warehouse that concealed one of the largest financial crimes in the city.
Behind me, Emma stirred in her sleep, and for just a moment, I thought I heard her whisper something that sounded like "audit them all."
The truck rolled to a stop, and despite my exhaustion, I stepped out into the storm, ready to teach the underworld the first rule of taxation.
Everyone pays. Eventually.