[HOST INTEGRITY: 25%]
[LOCATION: THE LAST STOP FACTORY – MAIN FLOOR]
[TIME: 9:00 AM]
The factory smelled different in the morning.
At night, it smelled like ozone, rust, and burnt spirits. In the daylight, it smelled like… productivity.
The Soul Grinders hummed at a steady rhythm. Crates of Spirit Incense were stacked neatly by output tier. The Red Bandana Triad's trucks rolled in and out on schedule, like clockwork.
Ren Wu stood on the elevated walkway, clipboard in hand.
This wasn't a battlefield. This was a supply chain.
[DAILY OUTPUT: 120 UNITS]
[DISTRIBUTION COVERAGE: 72% OF SECTOR 9]
[WORKFORCE MORALE: STABLE]
"Stable is not loyal," Ren muttered, checking the numbers. "Stable just means they haven't found a better offer yet."
Below him, Lian supervised the spectral laborers with her usual cold efficiency. The starving ghosts—now properly fed and contracted—worked without complaint. Even the Triad members had stopped posturing and started clocking in.
Everything looked functional.
Which meant something was about to break.
A sleek black sedan rolled up to the factory gates.
It wasn't a spirit vehicle made of bones or fire. It was a glossy, corporate sedan that looked like it belonged on Wall Street, not in the slums of the Underworld.
Red Dog's men immediately tensed, weapons half-drawn.
The sedan door opened. A woman stepped out.
She wore a pristine white blazer, a fitted black skirt, and heels that clicked sharply against the cracked asphalt. Her hair was tied in a perfect, severe bun. Her expression was warm.
Too warm.
She carried no weapons. No chains. No scrolls.
Just a slim silver tablet.
Ren's [Contract Sight] flared to life automatically.
[ENTITY: MISS ONBOARDING (LEVEL 6)]
[AFFILIATION: NETHER-CORE HUMAN RESOURCES]
[ROLE: TALENT ACQUISITION DIRECTOR]
[THREAT TYPE: PSYCHOLOGICAL]
Ren's eyes narrowed behind the Crow mask.
"They sent HR," he murmured. "Clever. The Surveyor failed to delete the land, so now they're here to steal the tenants."
Miss Onboarding didn't stop at the gate. She walked straight through it.
No resistance. No alarms.
The factory's spiritual defenses—designed to stop hostility—didn't recognize her as a threat. Because legally… she wasn't. She was a guest.
She smiled at the stunned gang members.
"Good morning, everyone. I'm here for a career consultation."
Lian drifted closer to Ren's side on the walkway.
"Boss," she said quietly, her voice trembling slightly. "Her aura… it feels like… safety."
"That's the trap, Lian," Ren said. "Stay close."
Miss Onboarding's eyes scanned the factory floor. She ignored Ren completely. She walked straight toward Lian.
"Oh," she said softly, her voice projecting clearly over the machinery. "You must be the Foreman. The Bell Tower Weeper, correct?"
She approached with calm confidence.
"You're wasting your talent here, honey. Look at this... dust. Rust. You deserve a clean workspace."
With a flick of her tablet, a glowing holographic contract projected into the air between them.
[OFFER: SENIOR OPERATIONS MANAGER – AFTERLIFE DIVISION]
[SALARY: 5,000 COINS/MONTH]
[BENEFITS: IMMORTALITY EXTENSION + SOUL INSURANCE]
[BONUS: FULL WARDROBE ALLOWANCE]
Lian stared at the floating text.
Five thousand coins.
That was more than Ren's entire weekly revenue. And a wardrobe allowance? It was like she had plucked the desire straight from Lian's heart.
"Your current employer offers... purpose," Miss Onboarding said, her voice like honey. "We offer Security. No more scavenging. No more gang oversight. You'd have a corner office in the Nether-City."
[ALERT: LIAN'S LOYALTY DROPPING (48% -> 30%)]
Ren saw the number plummet.
He didn't panic. He watched.
Miss Onboarding turned her attention to Red Dog, who was watching suspiciously from the loading dock.
"And you," she added. "Mr. Red Dog. Security Chief, I presume?"
A second contract appeared in the air.
[OFFER: REGIONAL ENFORCEMENT DIRECTOR]
[TERRITORY: SECTOR 8 & 9]
[DEBT CLEARANCE: FULL]
[PERK: UNLIMITED CONSUMPTION RIGHTS]
Red Dog's four arms twitched. His eyes widened.
"You mean... I own the sector?" he growled.
"You'd be a Franchise Owner," she replied sweetly. "No more taking orders from a human in a mask. You'd be the King."
[ALERT: RED DOG'S LOYALTY DROPPING (25% -> 5%)]
The factory floor went silent. The laborers stopped working. They looked at the contracts. They looked at the shiny car. Then they looked at Ren.
Nether-Core wasn't attacking. They were buying Ren's army out from under him.
Ren stepped forward. His boots echoed against the metal walkway as he descended the stairs.
He didn't draw his gun. He drew his Clipboard.
"Interesting offers," Ren said calmly, his voice amplified by the silence. "But you forgot to mention the fine print."
Miss Onboarding finally looked at him. Her smile didn't waver. "We believe in transparency, Mr. Crow."
"So do I," Ren said.
He focused his [Contract Sight] on the floating holographic documents.
The skill burned his eyes, digging past the glowing gold text into the dark, encoded layer underneath.
"Clause 7," Ren read aloud, pointing at Lian's contract. "Soul Ownership Transfer."
He looked at Lian. "They aren't hiring you as a manager, Lian. They're reclassifying you as Office Equipment. Once you sign, you lose your free will. You become a permanent fixture of the building."
Lian froze. "What?"
Ren turned to Red Dog.
"And Clause 12: Termination by Dissolution," Ren said. "Franchise Owners are liable for all sector debts. Nether-Core has 40 million coins of debt in Sector 9. If you sign that, Red Dog, you don't become a King. You become the Fall Guy for their bankruptcy."
Miss Onboarding's smile faltered. For the first time, a flicker of annoyance crossed her porcelain face.
"Standard industry boilerplate," she dismissed. "Interpretations vary."
"It's not an interpretation," Ren said, holding up his Tiger Seal. The seal glowed, verifying his words as Truth. "It's a trap."
Ren turned his back on her. He faced his employees.
They were wavering. Nether-Core offered money. Ren offered... what? Survival? That wasn't enough anymore.
"She offered you a salary," Ren announced, his voice ringing out. "I'm not going to offer you a salary."
The ghosts murmured. Was he firing them?
"I'm offering you Equity."
Ren tapped his system interface.
[ACTIVATE: EMPLOYEE SHARE PROGRAM]
A massive projection appeared above Ren's head. It wasn't a contract. It was a Pie Chart.
"From this moment on," Ren declared, "The Last Stop Factory is an employee-owned enterprise. I am taking 51%. The remaining 49% of all Karma and Coin generated goes into a Shared Pool."
He looked at Lian.
"If we succeed, you don't just get paid. You get rich. You don't work for me. You work with me."
He looked at Red Dog.
"You want a territory? Help me conquer the city, and you won't be a Franchise Owner. You'll be a Shareholder."
[ALERT: LIAN'S LOYALTY (30% -> 85%)]
[ALERT: RED DOG'S LOYALTY (5% -> 40%)]
The energy in the room shifted instantly.
Ghosts didn't understand kindness. They didn't understand mercy.
But they understood Greed.
Ren had just promised them the one thing Nether-Core never would: A piece of the pie.
Lian turned to Miss Onboarding. Her eyes were glowing with a new, fierce intensity.
"I think..." Lian said, stepping back toward the production line. "I think I prefer my current benefits."
Red Dog spat on the ground near the HR Director's polished shoes.
"I ain't paying your debts, lady. I'd rather eat the profits."
Miss Onboarding let out a slow, controlled breath. She tapped her tablet, and the glowing contracts vanished.
"Profit sharing," she said, her voice cold and devoid of its previous warmth. "A dangerous precedent, Mr. Crow. The Shareholders won't like this."
"The Shareholders can file a complaint," Ren replied. "My complaint box is the muzzle of a gun."
She stared at him for a long moment, analyzing him like a bug in the system.
"This isn't over," she said. "We tried the easy way. Next time... we send the Consultants."
She turned and walked back to her sedan. The engine purred to life.
Ren watched the car drive away.
Silence lingered in the factory.
Red Dog scratched his chin with one of his four hands. "So... I really get a piece of the profits?"
"You get 2%," Ren said. "If you stop slacking off."
Red Dog grinned. It was a terrifying sight. "2% of a million is... a lot of meat."
Lian drifted over to Ren. "Boss... did you mean it? About the equity?"
Ren looked at his system interface. The [Profit Sharing] mode was active. It would cut his personal income by almost half. It was a massive financial hit.
But he looked at the factory floor. The ghosts were working twice as fast. The morale indicator was maxed out.
"Yes," Ren said. "A smaller piece of a kingdom is better than 100% of a graveyard."
He adjusted his mask.
"Now, get back to work. We have a quota to crush."
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[QUEST COMPLETED: THE HEADHUNTER]
[NEW FEATURE UNLOCKED: COMPANY STOCK]
[HOST INTEGRITY: 25%]
[END OF CHAPTER 31]
[Author Note:]
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Ren Wu just invented "Employee Stock Options" in Hell.
Nether-Core wanted slaves. Ren built an army of partners.
Next Chapter:The Black Label.
To pay for all these shares, Ren needs a premium product. It's time to cook the "Good Stuff."
Power Stones for the CEO of the Year!