186: The noose of capital

"I'm going to kill him."

Reno's voice sounded like it was squeezed through his teeth, carrying a heavy scent of blood. The high-frequency vibration dagger in his hand carved a deep white mark on the tabletop, making a tooth-aching "creak."

"That shipment is our final lifeline. That One-Eyed Dragon cutting us off now—he just wants to see us die." Reno stood up abruptly, his muscles tensing like stone. "Give me ten men, and I'll hang his head from a flagpole right now."

"Sit down."

Su Li sat in the command chair without even looking up. Her fingers danced across the holographic keyboard, and countless red data streams reflected off her glasses like an airtight net.

"If you kill him, who's going to transport the goods?" Su Li's voice was as cold as a wind from an ice cellar. "Kill One-Eyed, and the Iron Hook Merchant Guild will fall into internal strife. The shipment will be carved up in the chaos, burned, or Hoffman will take the opportunity to swallow it whole. What we want is the shipment, not a corpse."

"Then what do you suggest?" Reno slammed a fist onto the table. "Beg him? Go beg that greedy bastard now?"

"Beg?" Su Li stopped what she was doing and adjusted her glasses, a mocking, cold smile curling at the corner of her mouth. "No, Reno. In the world of capital, there is no begging for mercy. There is only devouring."

"That is my battlefield."

Su Li pressed the communication key.

The holographic screen flickered, and a greasy, hideous face filled the frame. The man wore an eyepatch over his left eye, while his right eye was cloudy and greedy. His left arm was a mechanical Iron Hook that glinted coldly under the lights.

"Yo, if it isn't Hanhai Trade's head manager, Miss Su?" One-Eyed's raspy voice rang out, accompanied by the noisy sound of slot machines in the background. "What, changed your mind? I heard those broken production lines of yours are waiting for supplies to get moving."

"Where is the shipment?" Su Li ignored his mockery, her tone as flat as if she were talking about the weather.

"The shipment is with me, of course, perfectly safe." One-Eyed raised his Iron Hook and waved it before the camera. "But, you know how the market is these days. Boss Hoffman offered a high price for me to 'strictly inspect contraband.' This batch of biomass materials... tsk tsk, looks poisonous to me. I'll have to inspect it for a few more days."

"Name your price."

"Straight to the point!" One-Eyed grinned, revealing a mouth of rotten teeth. "Triple the shipping fee. Cash. I'll release it immediately."

Beside her, Reno let out a beast-like low growl, the dagger in his hand nearly crushed by his grip.

Su Li, however, laughed. Her laugh was so soft it made one's skin crawl.

"Triple?" She shook her head. "One-Eyed, your vision is too narrow. How much did Hoffman give you? Fifty thousand? A hundred thousand?"

One-Eyed froze for a moment, his expression darkening. "That's none of your business. Pay up, or wait to die. The choice is yours."

"Beep."

Su Li unilaterally cut the communication.

Reno's eyes widened. "Are you crazy? That was our last chance!"

"That was his last chance, but unfortunately, he didn't take it." Su Li turned around, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. "Now, it's my turn."

Her fingers danced across the keyboard again, this time so fast they left afterimages.

"Querying all external debts of the 'Iron Hook Merchant Guild'... Correlating 'underground bank' blacklists... Retrieving 'One-Eyed's' personal gambling debt records... Locking flagship 'Backbreaker's' mortgage status..."

A series of commands scrolled across the screen like a waterfall.

"Found it."

Su Li stared at the bright red debt structure diagram on the screen, her eyes flashing with the cruel light of a hunter seeing their prey fall into a trap. "This guy is a gambler. To expand his fleet, he took out high-interest loans and mortgaged all his ships. And his creditors are three underground banks that were originally unaffiliated with each other."

"So what?" Reno didn't understand.

"So what?" Su Li sneered and pressed the confirm key. "Just in the last minute, I used the advance payment from the Divine Court to buy up all his debt at a 20% premium through eighteen offshore shell companies."

On the screen, the complex debt network instantly turned a glaring red, with all arrows pointing to a single name—Hanhai Trade.

"Now, I am his sole creditor."

Su Li stood up and straightened her collar, her movements as elegant as if she were heading to a banquet.

"Reno, get your men. We're going to collect a debt."

...Half an hour later, at the Iron Hook Merchant Guild headquarters, in a massive hangar filled with the smell of engine oil and sweat.

One-Eyed was smugly drinking low-grade synthetic wine when suddenly, with a loud "boom," the heavy alloy doors were kicked flying like scraps of paper.

Through the dust, Reno strode in. He wasn't carrying a gun, but was wearing black combat fatigues that looked exceptionally menacing at this moment. His gaze was colder than the dagger in his hand.

"Damn it! Who dares barge into my territory!" One-Eyed roared, and dozens of thugs armed with modified firearms immediately surrounded them.

"Me."

Su Li stepped out from behind Reno. She walked steadily across the oil-stained floor in her high heels. In her hand, she held a thin data pad as if it were a death sentence.

"Su Li?" One-Eyed froze, then burst into wild laughter. "What, couldn't pay up, so you want to play rough? With just the few of you?"

"I'm not here to play rough." Su Li tossed the data pad onto the table in front of One-Eyed. "I'm just here to settle the accounts."

One-Eyed looked down suspiciously, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.

"You... this is impossible..." His voice began to tremble, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. "Those debts... how could you possibly..."

"Default Clause 13: If the creditor changes, they have the right to demand immediate full repayment of principal and interest from the debtor." Su Li's voice echoed in the cavernous hangar. "A total of 1.8 million credit points. One-Eyed, are you paying by card or cash?"

"I... I don't have that much cash..." One-Eyed panicked. He looked around at his subordinates for help, but the thugs just looked at each other, none of them daring to move.

"No cash?" Su Li raised an eyebrow. "Then we'll proceed according to the contract. Seize all collateral, including this ship beneath your feet and the chair under your ass."

"In your dreams!" Driven to a dead end, One-Eyed snapped. He violently swung his massive Iron Hook at Su Li. "I'll kill you first!"

"Seeking death."

Reno moved.

No one saw how he moved. Only a sharp crack was heard in the air, followed by the bone-chilling sound of twisting metal.

"Snap!"

One-Eyed let out a shrill scream. His prized mechanical Iron Hook had actually been snapped off at the joint by Reno's bare hands!

Reno kicked One-Eyed's knee, forcing him to kneel before Su Li. Then, the broken Iron Hook was tossed onto the ground by Reno like trash, landing with a loud clang.

The surrounding thugs all recoiled a step in fear. This was absolute crushing power, a terrifying deterrent belonging to a warrior.

Su Li looked down at One-Eyed, who was rolling on the ground in pain, her eyes devoid of any emotion.

"Now, can we talk about the shipping fee?"

One-Eyed clutched his stump, weeping and snotting. "We'll talk... we'll talk! Anything you say! Take the goods! Take them all! Just please don't take the ship!"

"No." Su Li crouched down, looking directly into One-Eyed's fear-filled eyes. "I've changed my mind. I'm not taking your ship, and I don't want your life. I want your people."

She reached out and waved two fingers in front of One-Eyed.

"Sign this lifetime exclusive transport agreement. From now on, the Iron Hook Merchant Guild is Hanhai's dog. You'll bite whoever I tell you to bite. I'll take over your debts. I'll let you keep your life."

One-Eyed looked at the agreement, then at Reno, who stood beside him like a god of death. He bowed his head, trembling. "I... I'll sign."

Ten minutes later.

The warehouse doors that had been tightly sealed were thrown open. Crate after crate of seized biomass raw materials were quickly loaded onto high-speed transport shuttles, the blue glow of engines illuminating the dark night sky.

Reno stood on the gangway, watching the busy scene. He turned to look at Su Li, who was wiping her glasses.

"I thought you were going to kill him," Reno said gruffly.

"Killing is the most clumsy method." Su Li put her glasses back on, the lenses hiding the fleeting exhaustion and disgust in her eyes. "Money is a noose, Reno. I'm responsible for putting the noose around their necks, and you..."

She glanced at Reno's hand, which had just snapped steel.

"...You are the one who kicks away the chair."

The communicator rang. It was Chen Feng.

"Is it done?"

"It's done." Su Li's voice returned to its usual efficient tone. "Logistics are fully open. The goods are on the way and will enter the factory in two hours."

"Very good."

Chen Feng's voice carried a calm that felt like the precursor to a storm.

"All personnel, enter silent mode. Notify everyone to prepare for the 'performance'."

Su Li looked up at the deep starry sky. There, a storm capable of overturning the entire star sector was silently gathering.