5: Chapter 5: A former tycoon, now a laborer for me

"What can you do?"

Lin Chen repeated Su Qingyu's question, his tone as flat as if he were evaluating a tool. He didn't answer immediately but cast his gaze outside the Fortress gates.

There, the Financial Center Square, which originally symbolized civilization and order, had now been reduced to a bloody arena.

"Laying bricks! Let me lay them first!" Wang Dehai—the head of a hundred-billion-dollar The Group in his previous life—was pushing and shoving with a middle-aged balding man, fighting over a slightly vibrating Rib Brick on the ground. The bone's fracture was as sharp as a knife, and Wang Dehai's palm was already sliced and bleeding profusely, yet he refused to let go.

"Chairman Wang, have some class and wait your turn!" The balding man had a hideous expression as he bit down on Wang Dehai's wrist.

"Ah!" Wang Dehai screamed in pain but took the opportunity to snatch the bone, rushing toward a gap in the city wall as if clutching a peerless treasure. There, countless bone fragments were automatically filling the wall, making a tooth-grating grinding sound.

Further away, a woman wearing a Prada suit, hailed as the "Investment Queen" in her previous life, was crawling on the ground, tremblingly stuffing a finger bone with teeth marks into a wall crevice. When she withdrew her hand, a section of her pinky finger had been bitten off, and blood flowed freely, yet she didn't dare to cry out, only staring fixedly at the black rune that had just emerged on her wrist—the "Work Point Mark" generated by Lin Chen's system, recording the nether talismans she had earned.

"Do you see?" Lin Chen finally spoke, his voice cold. "Here, labor is the only currency."

He tapped the air casually, and the system interface appeared. A black light shot toward Su Qingyu's wrist, forming an exquisite skull pattern.

[Su Qingyu: nether talisman Balance 0]

[Position: Unassigned]

"Your first task—" Lin Chen pointed to the chaotic crowd below the city wall, "Go record their work hours and supervise the construction. If you miscalculate even one nether talisman, you'll make up for it with your own bones."

Su Qingyu's face turned pale. He wanted her to manage these business moguls she once had to look up to? And even withhold their "wages"?

"Lin Chen, I..." She tried to maintain her last shred of dignity.

"Or would you rather lay bricks with them?" Lin Chen interrupted her, casually redeeming a Bone Hoe shrouded in black energy from the system. "This hoe automatically drains the user's vitality; it's perfect for a novice like you."

Su Qingyu looked at the Bone Hoe emitting an ominous aura and shuddered. She silently lowered her head and walked toward The Group of former wealthy elites who were fighting until they were bloodied over a patella.

At that moment, Zhang Hao crawled over on all fours, flatteringly rubbing against Lin Chen's pant leg. "Master, do you want me to help Miss Su? I guarantee I'll make these old geezers work obediently!"

Lin Chen glanced at him. "You? There's something more important."

Before he could finish his sentence, a shrill scream suddenly echoed from the distance.

A survivor was trying to hide a translucent finger bone—the remains of a Commander-level Bizarre Monster, worth a hundred times more than ordinary bone fragments. Just as he stuffed the finger bone into his pocket, his entire pants suddenly burst into green ghost fire, instantly consuming him.

"Ah—!" He rolled in the sea of fire, his flesh dripping like wax, eventually turning into a charred corpse. Meanwhile, the finger bone flew back to the city wall automatically, fitting perfectly into the structure.

The other survivors were scared out of their wits, working even harder.

"See that?" Lin Chen said to Zhang Hao. "The Fortress has its own rules. Your task is to ensure everyone follows them."

He handed Zhang Hao a pitch-black bone whip, its body covered in barbs and its tip shaped like a snake's head with an open mouth.

"This whip can sense malice," Lin Chen said indifferently. "If anyone dares to slack off, it will move on its own. If anyone dares to resist..." He paused meaningfully, "Remember to clean up the mess."

Zhang Hao trembled with excitement, taking the bone whip with both hands. "Don't worry, Master! I'll definitely train them all into the most obedient livestock!"

He turned and rushed toward the construction site, the bone whip letting out a piercing crack in the air. "Everyone, move faster! You! Wang Dehai! If you dawdle any longer, don't even think about getting any nether talismans tonight!"

The snake head at the tip of the whip suddenly extended, biting Wang Dehai's shoulder. This business giant, who once called the shots in his previous life, screamed in pain, and two blackened tooth marks immediately appeared on his shoulder.

"I'll do it! I'll do it!" Wang Dehai cried and sniveled, desperately stuffing a pelvic bone into a wall crevice.

Su Qingyu recorded the work hours on the side, her fingers trembling. She saw Chairman Li, whom her father once had to bow and scrape to even see, crawling on the ground licking a bone fragment stuck in a brick crevice—the "wage" he had accidentally dropped earlier.

"Miss... Miss Su..." Chairman Li looked up, his mouth covered in blood, smiling flatteringly. "Could you please be flexible and record one more nether talisman for me? Just one!"

Su Qingyu turned her face away and mechanically made a mark in the ledger. The skull mark on her wrist glowed slightly, and her balance changed to "1".

Suddenly, the city wall vibrated violently.

"Roar—!"

In the distance, three Gluttons, each ten meters tall, were approaching. These behemoths were patched together from countless corpses, consuming even ruins wherever they passed. They were clearly attracted by the aura emitted by the Fortress, and they lunged forward with their massive mouths full of sharp teeth.

The survivors were terrified and scattered in all directions.

"So noisy." Lin Chen didn't even look up, lightly tapping the system interface.

The four Nether Sentry Towers atop the Fortress turned simultaneously, but this time they didn't fire destruction beams. Instead, they shot out four massive black spider webs. The webs accurately covered the three Gluttons, binding them tightly.

Even more horrifyingly, the webs began to contract automatically, cutting and compressing the Gluttons' massive bodies like a meat grinder, finally turning them into three pulsating black meat chunks that dropped in front of the Fortress gate with a "thud."

[Glutton Core (High-quality Building Material): Unit Price 10,000 nether talismans]

[Recycle?]

Lin Chen chose "Yes." The three meat chunks flew toward the city wall automatically, merging into it. Immediately, distorted muscle textures appeared on that section of the wall, and its defense significantly increased.

The whole process took less than ten seconds.

The fleeing survivors stared blankly at the scene, then erupted with even more frantic enthusiasm for their work. They finally understood that in this Fortress, safety was not a luxury but a commodity that could be "earned."

Wang Dehai's eyes were bloodshot, and he actually reached out toward a jawbone that was currently biting someone. "Give it to me! This bone can be exchanged for two nether talismans!"

The female investor with the missing finger even knocked aside her companions to grab a still-bleeding spinal bone.

Zhang Hao brandished the bone whip, shouting excitedly, "Did you all see that? Working for the Master will not leave you without benefits! If anyone dares to slack off, this is what happens!" He lashed the back of a survivor who was slightly slow, immediately tearing the skin and flesh.

Su Qingyu silently recorded all of this. She saw people who were once unreachable now willing to sell everything for a bone fragment. And the balance on her wrist was slowly increasing: 2, 3, 5...

When she recorded the tenth nether talisman, Lin Chen's voice suddenly sounded behind her.

"How does it feel?"

He had appeared beside her at some point, looking down at the hellish construction site. "The high society you once dreamed of is now beneath your feet."

Su Qingyu opened her mouth but couldn't make a sound.

She looked at Wang Dehai—the Business Godfather her father had to beg on his knees for investment in her previous life—now crawling on the ground barking like a dog just to earn half a nether talisman more.

She looked at Chairman Li—the Business Tycoon who had critiqued her at charity galas in her previous life—now pressing a severed finger against the wall, trying to exchange it for one more nether talisman.

Finally, she looked at Lin Chen.

This man, whom she had looked down upon in her previous life, now looked down on all of this like a god.

"I..." Su Qingyu's voice was as dry as sandpaper. "I will do this job well."

Lin Chen smiled. The smile was faint, but it made Su Qingyu feel more terrified than any other expression.

"Very good."

He lightly raised his hand, and the balance on Su Qingyu's wrist jumped to "20."

"This is your first paycheck."

"Remember, here, your value is decided by me."

Having said that, he turned and walked toward the depths of the Fortress.

Behind him was a living hell, and also his kingdom.