106: Chapter 106 The End of the Tycoon

Two sappers immediately stepped forward, skillfully applying plastic explosives to the four corners of the wall.

"Three, two, one, detonate!"

Boom!

The dull explosion shook a few bottles of Lafite off the wine rack. The half-meter-thick alloy wall collapsed with a roar, and a wave of scorching air mixed with the pungent smell of ozone rushed toward them.

As the dust settled, the beam of the searchlight instantly pierced into the hole.

There were no mountains of gold bars or bundles of US dollars inside. In the center of the empty secret room, there was only a massive black server cabinet nearly three meters tall.

It was like a beating mechanical heart, its surface flowing with eerie blue data streams. Dense cooling fans emitted a low roar, and hundreds of thick cables connected to the floor like blood vessels.

"Whoa, this cyberpunk vibe is a bit over the top." Chen Xiaobei's eyes widened as he quickly plugged the data cable into the cabinet's maintenance port.

The sound of Keyboard typing echoed in the secret room.

"Boss! Found it! This is the physical terminal of that 'Shenhao System'!" Chen Xiaobei took a deep breath as he watched the code jumping wildly on the screen. "It's actually still running! It's still trying to connect to the external network through a rogue base station. As long as someone downloads that malicious plugin, it can immediately bind to the next 'Wang Fugui' and continue creating that fake electronic currency."

Gu Changan approached the machine, feeling the hot air blowing from the exhaust: "So this so-called System from the heavens is essentially just an Advanced mining machine with its own AI? And it's still secretly using the city's power grid?"

"It's more than just stealing electricity; this thing's power consumption in the last minute was enough to power all of Donghai City for an hour!" Chen Xiaobei pointed to the soaring energy consumption data.

"That's quite a lot of power." Gu Changan pulled his service pistol from his waist. "Since it's an illegal appliance, there's no need to keep it. Let's physically lay it to rest."

A sapper immediately stepped forward with bomb disposal pliers, preparing to cut the motherboard circuits.

Zzzzt!

Just as the pliers touched the casing, a blue-purple high-voltage arc instantly erupted. The sapper cried out as the tool was sent flying from his hand, and he was thrown back by the electric shock, black smoke rising from his protective suit.

"Warning! Physical destruction detected! Defense mechanism activated! Initiating self-destruct countdown!"

The red light on the cabinet began to flash frantically, and the mechanical voice was bone-chillingly cold.

"It even has an anti-theft dog that bites." Gu Changan helped the sapper up and handed him over to the medical staff, his gaze instantly turning cold. His pupils constricted as his newly acquired [Money Scent] ability activated.

In his vision, this massive machine was no longer steel, but countless golden lines representing "value." At one corner of the machine's base, all the golden lines converged on an inconspicuous black socket—the sole node for energy transmission and the Achilles' heel of this gold-swallowing beast.

"Whether you're high-tech or an alien product, as long as you're on this Earth, you have to obey the law of conservation of energy."

Gu Changan raised his hand and lowered his aim without any hesitation.

Bang!

The specialized armor-piercing bullet accurately bored into that black power interface.

Electrical sparks instantly exploded like a brilliant firework show. The previously roaring cooling fans came to a grinding halt, and the eerie blue light flickered twice before going out completely. The cold mechanical warning stopped abruptly, like a duck being strangled by the neck.

Thick black smoke billowed from the massive cabinet, which had completely turned into a pile of dead scrap metal.

"Who doesn't know how to pull a network cable?" Gu Changan blew the smoke from his muzzle. "Chen Xiaobei, call the scrap collectors. Take this pile of junk to the steel mill. Remember to recycle it at scrap metal prices; this money also needs to go into the national treasury."

Chen Xiaobei gave a thumbs up: "Boss, classy."

Half an hour later, in the mansion's hall.

This place had been transformed into a temporary tax liquidation center. Dozens of Tax Bureau special agents in black uniforms were moving about, equipped with the latest portable asset appraisal exoskeletons, each holding a tablet connected to the national supercomputer.

Beep.

An agent scanned the massive oil painting on the wall.

"'Sunflowers' imitation, but inlaid with real diamonds, valued at thirty million. The System shows undeclared personal income tax and unpaid luxury consumption tax."

Beep.

Another agent scanned the QR code of a limited edition supercar in the garage.

"Bugatti Veyron, smuggled into the country, no plates or registration. Requires back payment of customs duties, VAT, and displacement tax, plus a triple fine, totaling eighty million."

The sounds of data converging rose and fell like notes of doom.

Gu Changan sat on the leather sofa that once belonged to Wang Fugui, watching the numbers jumping on the terminal. They weren't just simple numbers; they were the precise liquidation of the state machine against everyone who dared to challenge the rules.

Finally, the numbers settled at a breathtaking length.

Gu Changan pressed the print button.

Accompanied by the whirring of the micro-printer, a three-meter-long bill was slowly spat out.

Donghai City No. 1 Detention Center.

Wang Fugui curled up in a corner, his eyes dull. He was still fantasizing that as long as the System existed, even in prison, he would eventually have a chance to make a comeback.

Clang.

The iron door opened.

Gu Changan walked in against the light, dragging that long white bill in his hand like a white python.

"President Wang, wake up. It's time to sign the bill."

Wang Fugui jerked his head up. Seeing Gu Changan's face, he instinctively shrank back. "You... what are you here for again? I have no money! All the money has been frozen by you!"

"I know that." Gu Changan stuffed one end of the bill into Wang Fugui's hand, while the other end extended all the way out into the hallway. "This is the bill jointly calculated by the Tax Bureau and the Anti-Money Laundering Center. It includes, but is not limited to, your tax evasion, illegal business fines, compensation for disrupting the financial order, and..."

"...and the electricity bills and equipment disposal fees generated by your System terminal's long-term theft from the municipal power grid."

Wang Fugui looked at the number tremblingly.

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands... billions... trillions...

"Three... three trillion?!" Wang Fugui's eyes nearly popped out. "Why don't you just rob me! Even if I sold every kidney in the world, I couldn't pay this back!"

"Don't get excited. We are a society ruled by law; we don't do that organ-trading business." Gu Changan pulled over a chair and sat down, his tone "kind." "Given that all assets under your name have been confiscated and you are insolvent, the state has decided to give you a chance to pay it back."

"Wha... what chance?" A glimmer of hope ignited in Wang Fugui's eyes.

"Paying with your body."

Wang Fugui covered his buttocks in fright: "A man can be killed but not humiliated!"

"What are you thinking?" Gu Changan gave him a look of disgust. "It's labor repayment. According to big data calculations, you'll be sent to A certain classified unit in the Northwest to operate a sewing machine, doing manual stitching for special bulletproof vests. Calculating at 14 hours of work per day, plus bonuses for perfect attendance and sentence reductions for meritorious service, roughly..."

Gu Changan counted on his fingers: "After about sixty-five million years of operating a sewing machine, you'll be able to pay off this debt."

"Sixty... sixty million years?"

Wang Fugui's mouth hung open, his jaw nearly dislocated.

"Look on the bright side." Gu Changan stood up and patted his stiff shoulder. "At least during this time, room and board are included, and you don't have to worry about utility bills. In a sense, this can be considered an extremely stable 'financial freedom'."

Thud.

Wang Fugui's eyes rolled back, and he fell straight to the ground, foaming at the mouth, completely passing out.

This time, he was truly in despair.

What's scarier than death is living in an endless cage with an unpayable debt.

Gu Changan stepped over his body and waved to the prison guard at the door.

"Call a doctor and wake him up by pinching his philtrum. The trial starts tomorrow. It won't do if the defendant is absent; that's a big scene that will be broadcast nationwide."

Walking out of the dark detention center, the sunlight outside was just right.

Chen Xiaobei was already waiting by the car: "Boss, all settled?"

"Settled. A fool who wanted to buy the world with money ended up without even the money to buy regret medicine."

Gu Changan opened the car door. "Let's go back and write the case closing report. By the way, I heard those 'protagonist' cellmates are organizing a social gathering?"

"Yeah, Ye Tianji and the others are preparing a social ceremony."

"Then let's add a little extra for them." Gu Changan smiled. "Give each of them an extra pair of insoles. Operating a sewing machine is hard on the feet."