Gordon rubbed his eyes. "How many?""Chiyou took out a few waves. Looted off them." Ethan set it down. "The next ones will be harder. He can hold one side. We need our own patrol. You run it. Find people who can fly these. Pick pilots fast."Ethan was not a manager by temperament. He had always left the running to other men. Even the farming was handed off now, which left him with too much time on his hands.He went back to Jiangnan.The city had been rebuilt. No inner wall, no outer wall, no rich quarter and poor quarter. Just streets. Months of work had put the schools back too. The city kept its name. Jiangnan City. In its No. 7 Middle School, history textbooks now carried the names of the young dead. Ethan's was among them.He walked the halls unseen and found David Guo, gray at the temples, vice principal now, still teaching his graduating class the way he always had. The old disappointment was gone from him; the man who had once looked at Ethan's E-rank roll and said nothing was

Ethan picked up Yuliu's call expecting good numbers. He had not expected this good.The Soul-Nourishing Grass only added one to five spirit per dose. Its real gift was not raw power; it made the soul tougher, more resilient. He had not understood why it was selling like water in a desert. Did these people have no idea what a good thing looked like?He had more in the Landlord Space: Seven-Color Soul Grass, the Soul-Nourishing Pills, the Nine-Turn Soul Pill. Most had no cap. Only one did—the Ten-Thousand-Soul Pill, five hundred spirit per dose, and capped per person. It was a nightmare to make; he had only finished ten, and he meant to hold them. Those were not for trading. Those were for the people he would not bury a second time."Mr. Su." Yuliu's voice was careful, grateful. "The grass is selling beyond anything. I bartered, as you asked—for systems, not credits. Some small systems are good. Rich mineral planets. And the slaves you won't have to buy separately. Two human slave popul

"Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea who I am? I'm the grandson of the Mash clan's grand elder. You kill me, and the Mash clan will never let you walk away from this. You want that war?"Biyasen Mash shrieked the words, half anger, half terror. He'd figured it out fast — after a few exchanges, he knew he was outclassed. The men he'd brought weren't faring any better against Gordon Tang and his people.Worse, in the middle of the fighting was a pack of black-and-white, furry, deceptively cute creatures, each carrying a bamboo pole that looked more like a walking stick than a weapon. They kept nodding off between swings, but the moment an opening showed, the pole came down and a head rolled. Brutal little things, utterly unimpressed by rank or title.With the pandas on their side, Earth's forces were winning by a mile.Ethan rolled his eyes. "I'm your grandfather, then. Shut up. You invade our world and you expect us to politely thank you? Send you home so you can bring a big

"Look at mine! This is a mysterious iron plate from a secret realm. Probably a treasure map to some ancient vault. Only a hundred billion credits. Trade goods of equal value, and it's yours.""Ancient vault, my ass. If it were real, you wouldn't be selling it. Look at mine — a fragment of an ancient divine weapon. Special metal. Top forges can't break it down. Pure quality."The moment Ethan's feet hit the floor of the lower market, the vendors who'd been dozing perked up. A fresh face was the best kind of mark — especially one who looked as clueless as Ethan did. He practically glowed with the particular innocence of a big wallet.Ethan's mouth twitched. Did he look that stupid? The junk on these stalls was worthless — scrap metal dressed up as relics. He wasn't falling for any of it.He ignored the hawkers, hands behind his back, and strolled. He spotted a few genuine pieces along the way but didn't move on them. Buying early in a place like this just meant getting fleeced.These hu

The first floor was nearly empty. Ethan circled once and realized the staff didn't care about him — nobody here was shopping. No one greeted him, no one smiled.He found nothing he wanted and stepped back out, frowning. A uniformed staffer hurried past. Ethan caught his arm.The man gave him an annoyed look. "What?""Is something on today?" The man was moving too fast for a routine errand."Auction on the fifth floor. Black Market VIP only. You're new, aren't you?" He glanced at Ethan, dismissive.Ethan quietly produced his new Black Card and flicked it.The staffer's eyes went wide. "Black Card? You're a Black Gold VIP? Why didn't you say? The auction starts in ten minutes. Follow me — I'll put you in a private booth. We still have one open." He said "still" like it was a miracle. He led Ethan up the stairs at a near-run.Ethan's lips curved. Rank opened every door, even underground. A regular customer couldn't get a straight answer; with a Black Card, the same man who'd just been an