The Nightmare Lord's containment field hummed with unstable energy, casting violet shadows across the rubble-strewn wasteland. Ethan Su stood at the epicenter, his tax collector's ledger still glowing faintly from the forced audit that had brought the eldritch horror to its knees. Sweat cooled on his neck despite the evening chill. His muscles ached, but his mind was already calculating the next move.
He didn't get five minutes to savor the victory.
The rumble of diesel engines shattered the silence. Six armored personnel carriers crested the debris ridge, their mounted cannons swiveling toward him with mechanical precision. Behind them marched a hundred soldiers in Alliance combat gear, boots striking the ground in synchronized rhythm.
At the head of the formation strode Captain Zhao Feng, a Level 35 Berserker whose reputation was built on brutality and results. His enchanted armor gleamed with purple-tier runes—each piece worth more than a luxury penthouse. The demonic greatsword strapped to his back pulsed with bloodlust, its edge sharp enough to cleave through reinforced steel.
"Ethan Su." Zhao's voice boomed across the wasteland, amplified by a military-grade sound crystal. "By authority of the Alliance Third Special Operations Division and under Article 7 of the Wartime Requisition Act, you are hereby ordered to surrender all assets, entities, and territorial claims within this combat zone."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "That's a polite way of saying you want to steal my stuff."
"Steal?" Zhao's laugh was sharp. "You triggered an eldritch incursion in a civilian sector. Seventeen city blocks contaminated. Death toll still climbing." He pulled out a holographic warrant, its official seals glowing red. "You're looking at terrorism charges, Su. Multiple counts. Be grateful we're offering you a deal instead of a firing squad."
The soldiers tightened their formation. Ethan noticed the mages weaving containment spells, their fingers tracing suppressive glyphs. Snipers adjusted their scopes. Every exit was covered.
"Let me guess," Ethan said, his tone flat. "I hand over the Nightmare Lord, the land rights, and whatever else catches your eye, and in exchange, you *might* not disappear me into a black site?"
"Smart boy." Zhao's grin was predatory. "Sign here, and we'll call it patriotic cooperation. Refuse, and we'll call it treason."
A contract materialized between them, dense with legal jargon and Alliance letterhead. Ethan scanned it with enhanced perception. Transfer of custody for the divine entity. Forfeiture of all salvage rights. Relinquishment of territorial claims to Plot 447-B and surrounding areas. Waiver of compensation. Acknowledgment of liability for damages.
Highway robbery wrapped in bureaucracy.
The soldiers waited. Zhao's hand rested on his sword hilt, fingers drumming with barely restrained eagerness. Behind Ethan, the Nightmare Lord stirred weakly in its containment field, still too drained to matter.
Ethan pulled out a pen—gold-plated with tax authority insignia.
"You know what? You're right." He clicked the pen. "The Alliance should take responsibility for this mess."
Zhao blinked. "What?"
"I said you're right." Ethan signed with smooth strokes. "Take it. All of it. The creature, the land, the whole disaster zone. Congratulations on your acquisition."
The holographic document flashed green. Zhao snatched it from the air, his eyes scanning for tricks. He activated a detection rune embedded in his gauntlet—no curses, no explosive sigils, no mental compulsions. Just standard legal boilerplate.
The infamous tax collector was just a coward after all.
"Finally, some common sense." Zhao sneered, already mentally spending his promotion bonus. He gestured to his troops. "Secure the entity. Establish perimeter. This land is now Alliance property. Move!"
Soldiers rushed forward, deploying containment equipment. Engineers began surveying the ruins with clinical precision. Zhao stood with arms crossed, the picture of bureaucratic victory.
Ethan's system interface chimed softly.
```
[Asset Transfer: Confirmed]
[Initiating Liability Assessment...]
[Scanning transferred properties for associated debts...]
[Cross-referencing Apocalypse Resource Management Act...]
[Calculating environmental damage multipliers...]
```
"Oh, Captain?" Ethan's voice cut through the chaos. "There's one detail in the fine print you might want to review."
Zhao waved dismissively. "Save it for your lawyer, Su."
"It's about the Equal Liability Clause." Ethan's smile was thin. "Section 14, Paragraph 3 of the Asset Transfer Act: Any party assuming ownership of contested property must also assume all associated financial obligations. And according to the Apocalypse Resource Management Act, Article 22: Asset ownership transfers all causal and legal responsibilities immediately. Debt judgment supersedes criminal prosecution."
The system's voice boomed across the wasteland, cold and absolute.
```
[DEBT INHERITANCE PROTOCOL: ACTIVATED]
[New Debtor: Captain Zhao Feng, Alliance Third Division]
[Transferred Liabilities:]
- Foundation Repair (Eldritch Contamination): 890,000,000 credits
- Environmental Remediation (Nightmare Essence): 1,240,000,000 credits
- Psychological Damages (Ancient God Disturbance): 670,000,000 credits
[TOTAL OUTSTANDING DEBT: 2,800,000,000 CREDITS]
[Payment Due: IMMEDIATE]
[Interest Rate: 15% per hour compounding]
[Note: Per ARMA Article 22, ownership = absolute liability]
```
The color drained from Zhao's face. "What... this is a mistake!"
"Congratulations on your new property." Ethan's tone was clinical. "The land comes with some maintenance issues. Nothing a Level 35 Berserker can't handle. Though you might want to start with the 2.8 billion in back payments."
"This is insane! I don't have—"
```
[Debtor Assessment: INSUFFICIENT ASSETS]
[Total Recoverable Value: 47,000,000 credits]
[Shortfall: 2,753,000,000 credits]
[Initiating Forced Liquidation Protocol...]
[WARNING: This process cannot be reversed]
```
Zhao's enchanted armor began to crack. Purple runes flickered and died. The demonic greatsword on his back let out a mournful wail as its binding enchantments unraveled, the blade corroding into rust-eaten scrap.
"No! NO!" Zhao clawed at his disintegrating equipment, but the system was merciless. His boots crumbled. His gauntlets flaked away. The protective amulets shattered. Within seconds, the mighty Berserker stood in plain fatigues, stripped of every enhancement.
```
[Liquidation Complete: 47,000,000 credits recovered]
[Outstanding Balance: 2,753,000,000 credits]
[Debtor Status: CRITICALLY INSOLVENT]
[Applying Bankruptcy Sanctions...]
```
"Wait! I'm an Alliance officer! You can't—"
```
[Authority Override: Debt supersedes military rank per Creditor Protection Act]
[Command Transfer: Zhao Feng → Ethan Su (Primary Creditor)]
[All subordinate personnel now under creditor jurisdiction]
[Duration: Until debt satisfaction]
[Resistance will incur additional penalties]
```
The hundred soldiers froze. Their weapons lowered involuntarily. One by one, they turned to face Ethan, bodies rigid under the system's compulsion. Their eyes reflected confusion and fear—minds still their own, but bodies no longer obeying.
One soldier tried to speak. His jaw locked shut.
Another attempted to raise his rifle. His arms went limp.
Zhao fell to his knees, hands shaking. "This... regulations... oversight..." His voice cracked as the system's enforcement tightened around his throat, forcing him into silence.
"Gentlemen, ladies." Ethan walked past the kneeling captain, addressing the troops with quiet authority. "Welcome to your new employment. I hope you're good with manual labor. We have twenty-two hours to build something special."
He gestured to the ruins. "This wasteland is about to become the most tax-efficient structure in the city. A sanctuary that even high-dimensional auditors can't penetrate." His hand drifted to his pocket, where the Ancient God's divine fragment pulsed with stolen power. "We're going to build a shelter from the storm."
In the sky above, something vast and geometric shifted. The Entropy Council's surveillance drones descended, their sensors sweeping the area with invisible beams.
A sharp pain lanced through Ethan's skull. His system interface flickered red.
```
[WARNING: HIGH-DIMENSIONAL DETECTION IN PROGRESS]
[Entropy Council Surveillance: ACTIVE]
[Audit Countdown: 21:47:33]
[Recommendation: Initiate countermeasures immediately]
```
The air tasted like copper. Reality itself seemed to thin where the drones' sensors touched.
Ethan's jaw tightened. Time to get creative with the books.
Behind him, Zhao wept silently, and a hundred soldiers picked up shovels with trembling hands.