66: Heaven Official Descends

The twelve-hour countdown in the upper right corner of the light screen was ticking towards zero.

Han Yuexi had already departed.

The entire Immortal Cave was deathly silent.

Lu Yuan sat cross-legged, his eyes closed, his Dao Heart completely undisturbed.

He had made no preparations.

He knew very well that against an existence capable of turning even a Sandbox Simulation into Chaos, any preparation based on existing information would be a self-important futility.

When the last second vanished.

【00:00:00】

There was no wind in the Immortal Cave, no Qi fluctuations, and no visitor arrived.

Everything was exactly the same as the moment before.

But Lu Yuan's mind, at that instant, was gripped by an invisible large hand.

He lost control of his Golden Finger.

The light screen of the Great Dao Options Exchange, branded deep within his Divine Soul and intimately connected to his life, was forcibly lit up by an irresistible will for the first time without him actively summoning it.

The familiar dark blue interface was covered by a layer of indifferent, emotionless gold.

All transaction buttons, market scans, portfolios... all turned a deathly gray, unclickable.

Only in the center of the light screen did light converge.

A humanoid silhouette, constructed from pure golden light particles, slowly emerged.

It had no facial features, no robes, not even clear gender characteristics; it was merely a humanoid, absolute concept collective of light.

A voice, not transmitted through the air, but directly in the depths of Lu Yuan's consciousness, resounded.

This voice also had no tonal fluctuations.

“Seat number CN-734, Lu Yuan.”

“I am your supervisor, Heavenly Dao Auditor, codenamed Auditor.”

Auditor's light-figure hand gently waved.

On the light screen before Lu Yuan, all transaction records, capital flows, leverage multiples, and karma points changes concerning the “Dragon-Snake Mountain Range Luck Competition” were retrieved.

Streams of data flowed at a speed exceeding the limits of Lu Yuan's Divine Soul comprehension.

In just one breath.

The waterfall stopped.

Analysis concluded.

“Audit subject: Dragon-Snake Mountain Range series of trading events.”

“Behavior characterization: Malicious market manipulation, disorderly leverage arbitrage, non-value creative speculation.”

“Assessment conclusion: This behavior fostered a massive amount of ‘bubble Karma,’ causing a slight disturbance to the underlying Karma chain of the current Universe sector.”

Auditor's voice was still an emotionless statement.

But every word struck hard at the Foundation of the financial edifice Lu Yuan had built.

She lightly defined his proud interlocking schemes and precise operations as... irregular operations.

“Audit results announcement.”

“In this event, your total profit: eighty-nine million one hundred twenty-three thousand six hundred seventy-two karma points.”

“According to Article 73 of Chapter 3 of the Basic Law of the Federal Reserve Seat, a 90% ‘Karma Order Maintenance Tax’ shall be levied on non-value creative profits.”

“Tax payable: eighty million two hundred eleven thousand three hundred four point eight karma points.”

On the light screen, a string of numbers capable of causing any Soul Transformation Old Ancestor's Dao Heart to collapse was marked in dazzling blood-red.

The golden data stream in Lu Yuan's eyes froze for a moment.

Even though he had adjusted his Dao Heart to absolute zero, upon hearing this result, his Divine Soul still experienced an uncontrollable, violent ripple.

This was not liquidation.

This was a more thorough... harvest than liquidation.

“What is the basis for the tax rate?” Lu Yuan asked, his voice so calm that no emotion could be discerned.

Auditor's light-figure hand waved again.

A thick, heavy legal code, also composed of light, unfolded before Lu Yuan.

【Basic Law of the Federal Reserve Seat】.

Its clauses were dense, and each character contained a supreme rule that Lu Yuan could not comprehend, a mere glance causing his Divine Soul to sting.

Auditor turned to Article 73 of Chapter 3.

It was written in a script older and more fundamental than Heavenly Dao vows: Any karma points acquired through methods of disturbance, destruction, or pure zero-sum gaming shall be regarded as ‘bubble assets,’ and The Federal Reserve has the right to levy a punitive tax of 70% to 99% on them to maintain the stability of the Karma market.

All clauses were extremely unfavorable to Lu Yuan.

“All my transactions were conducted within the rules framework of the Exchange,” Lu Yuan tried to argue.

“You did not violate the rules of the ‘Exchange’.”

Auditor's voice came.

“But you violated the rules of ‘The Federal Reserve’.”

“The Exchange is merely a tool; The Federal Reserve is the order.”

One sentence blocked all of Lu Yuan's room for excuse.

He fell silent.

This was the first time since he acquired the Golden Finger that he was at an absolute, unarguable disadvantage at the rule level.

The other party was the rule-maker.

And he was just a player who had just learned to use the rules.

“You have one month to pay the tax.”

“If overdue, your seat account will be permanently frozen, and all frozen and unfrozen assets will be forcibly cleared to compensate for the deficit your actions caused to the Karma chain.”

Auditor issued the final ultimatum.

Lu Yuan's thoughts raced.

Eighty million karma points.

Even if the entire Qingyun Sect, along with the recently annexed Wang family, were bundled and sold to the Exchange, it would probably not even make up a tenth of it.

This was a dead end.

Inside the Immortal Cave, silence fell once more.

Auditor's light figure floated quietly, seemingly waiting for Lu Yuan's ultimate despair.

Just as Lu Yuan's Divine Soul felt cold, the programmatic voice suddenly had an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible inflection.

“Of course.”

“The Federal Reserve also offers another solution.”

“Work in lieu of tax.”