191: The Feast of the Corpse Vulture

At the Hanhai Trade Base, the light and shadow in the command center cut across Su Li's face, leaving it half-lit and half-shadowed. She wasn't sitting; her hands were braced against the edge of the holographic console, crimson data streams flashing rapidly across her glasses.

"What's the current stock price?" Su Li's voice was as cold as a scalpel fresh from an ice cellar.

"It's dropped past twelve percent and is still accelerating." The trader's voice cracked with tension.

"Too slow." Su Li pushed up her glasses and jabbed her finger sharply into the air. "Notify Shell Company C to release the first batch of debt default notices. Tell the market that Giant Star Mining can't even afford the bill for their toilet cleaner."

"But President Su, our own debt holdings will also depreciate..."

"I don't want money; I want a corpse." Su Li turned her head, her gaze as sharp as a hawk's. "Do as I say. Also, activate the 'Vulture Protocol.' As soon as the stock price drops to five percent, start sweeping up everything. I want to buy every single chair in their headquarters building, even if there's still someone sitting in it."

Chen Feng sat in the shadows behind her, fingers lightly tapping the armrest, silent. This was Su Li's hunt; he was only responsible for enjoying the prey's death throes.

Meanwhile, at the Giant Star Mining headquarters.

The once-magnificent glass curtain wall now looked like a giant joke, riddled with holes from the angry crowd. Inside the building, alarms blared everywhere, but no security personnel came to maintain order—they were busy loading expensive office equipment into their trunks to cover their unpaid wages.

In the penthouse office, Hoffman cowered under his expensive leather chair, clutching a communicator tightly. Sweat washed through the fine foundation on his face, leaving behind comical streaks.

"Pick up... pick up! Damn it!" Hoffman roared at the communicator. "I'm Hoffman! I need to see Chairman Augustus! This is a misunderstanding! Those explosions were Chen Feng's trap!"

"Beep— Beep—"

There was only a busy signal. The Omni-Dimensional Trade Alliance's private line was permanently closed to him.

"Bastards! A bunch of vampires!" Hoffman slammed the communicator against the wall, shattering expensive crystal ornaments everywhere. He scrambled toward the secret elevator. "I have private funds... yes, I have a backup account. As long as I escape..."

Within the virtual space of the interstellar financial network, a silent slaughter was underway.

"President Su, Giant Star Mining's three main creditor banks are attempting to apply for asset freezing and preservation."

"Dismiss their fantasies." Su Li sneered, typing a string of commands on the keyboard. "Slap our 'Priority Liquidation Agreement' for the tender offer in their faces. Tell them: either sell their debt to me at a ninety percent discount now, or jump off a building clutching Giant Star Mining's worthless paper. Give them three minutes to consider."

"One minute has passed... two minutes... They've compromised! The deal is done! All liquid asset lock-up periods have been lifted!"

"Very good." Su Li watched as the massive commercial empire was dismantled into countless fragments on the screen, finally flowing into Hanhai Trade's accounts. A cruel sliver of pleasure curled at the corners of her mouth. "Now, it's ours."

Giant Star Mining Headquarters, private helipad.

Hoffman, wearing a grease-stained janitor's uniform, panted as he climbed into the escape shuttle he had prepared long ago.

"Quick! Start it up!" He pressed the ignition button with trembling fingers.

The control panel lit up, followed immediately by a piercing alarm.

"Warning: Energy core failure. Second-generation energy block (trojan batch) detected. Core fuse protection activated. System locked."

"No... no!" Hoffman pounded the dashboard frantically, a desperate sob escaping his throat. "Why is it my own stock?! Why was even my backup shuttle replaced with this batch?! Damn you, Chen Feng! Damn your cost reduction and efficiency improvements!"

The hatch was suddenly ripped open with brute force from the outside.

"Bang!"

The alloy hatch, which should have been indestructible, flew off like a piece of paper. Against the backlight, a tall, burly figure blocked the only exit, holding a High-frequency Vibration Battle-axe that was still smoking.

"Where do you think you're going, Mr. Director?" Reno grinned, revealing a row of white teeth. The scar running through his left eye looked particularly menacing in the shadows.

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!" Hoffman slumped in the pilot's seat, fumbling to pull a chip from his chest. "I have money! This is my private fund! Two million... no, three million credit points! It's all yours! Just let me go!"

Reno looked down at the chip, then at Hoffman's distorted face, and suddenly laughed.

"Crack."

He stepped on Hoffman's wrist, the sound of bone shattering crisp and pleasant to the ear.

"Aah—!" Hoffman let out a scream like a slaughtered pig.

"You've got one thing wrong." Reno leaned down and patted Hoffman's sweat-drenched cheek. "The boss said that this building, this ship, even every breath of air you're taking right now, finished its transfer of ownership five minutes ago. Are you trying to use the boss's money to bribe the boss's dog?"

Reno stood up, grabbed Hoffman by the collar like a dead dog, and dragged him out of the cockpit.

"Take him away. The boss wants to see this 'great contributor' at the victory banquet."

Hanhai Trade Base, conference room.

Su Li slammed a thick electronic manifest onto the table with a dull thud.

"It's over." She let out a long breath, took off her glasses, and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Every factory, channel, and inventory of Giant Star Mining in this star sector, along with Hoffman himself, now belongs to Chen. The asset liquidation is underway. Although most of it is a mess, the cash flow reserves are enough for us to become the prototype of a 'Stellar-level Financial Group'."

Chen Feng picked up the manifest and glanced at it, showing little joy.

"Well done, Su Li." His voice was calm. "But have you seen Reno's report?"

Su Li put her glasses back on, her expression tightening. "You mean... the warehouses?"

"Exactly." Chen Feng pointed to an inconspicuous note on the last line of the manifest. "When Reno was taking over the assets, he found that three of Giant Star Mining's key military supply warehouses were empty. Not a single screw was left."

"Maybe they were looted by deserting soldiers?"

"Deserting soldiers can't carry away the bases of Heavy Railguns, nor can they dismantle the cores of Shield Generators." Chen Feng stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the pitch-black starry sky. "This was a planned, organized evacuation. Hoffman was just an abandoned puppet. The real meat has already been carved away by someone else."

Su Li felt a chill. "You mean... the Alliance?"

"Regardless of who it was, the storm isn't over." Chen Feng turned around, the cold light in his eyes sharper than the stars. "Have Reno heighten security. Now that we've swallowed a giant's corpse, we have to watch out for the vultures coming for their share."

"Yes."