DOOMSDAY MERCHANT

Chapter 6: Empty at the Border

Chapter 6: Empty at the Border

​A light drizzle slicked the asphalt of the Provincial Logistics Border Checkpoint as midnight approached. High-wattage floodlights illuminated a massive staging bay where four hundred heavy grain transports and fifty refrigerated livestock trucks sat idling in neat, sprawling rows.

​Inside the checkpoint's heated glass outpost, Director Sun of the Regional Agricultural Bureau sat sipping tea alongside Inspector Gao, a senior fixer directly on the Long Group’s payroll.

​"Look at them out there," Gao said with a smug grin, tapping the glass window. "Tens of millions of dollars in premium produce and livestock, parked like sitting ducks. Han Qing really thought he could bypass our family's regulatory reach."

​"The confiscation order clears at 6:00 AM," Director Sun replied, chuckling as he stamped the preliminary impound documents. "Once these shipments are officially seized under 'market stabilization protocols,' the Long Group can acquire the entire lot at a twenty percent liquidation discount. That boy Han Qing won't know what hit him."

​Outside, the hundred-plus drivers hired by Su Lin had already handed over their keys and departed in private shuttle buses, following Han’s exact instructions. Only a handful of Long Group security guards stood patrol along the perimeter fence, smoking cigarettes and laughing under the rain gear.

​Suddenly, a sleek black sedan pulled up quietly near the outer perimeter, its headlights cutting through the mist.

​The door opened, and Han Qing stepped out onto the wet pavement, holding a black umbrella.

​Inspector Gao spotted him immediately through the outpost window. "Well, well. Speak of the devil. The disgraced heir comes to beg."

​Gao grabbed a heavy raincoat, pushed the door open, and marched out toward Han, flanked by four armed checkpoint guards.

​"Mr. Han!" Gao called out, his tone overflowing with pompous satisfaction. "Lost your way? Or did you come to watch your entire investment get impounded by the state?"

​Han stopped thirty meters from the front line of parked semi-trucks, his expression unreadable beneath the shadow of his umbrella. "Inspector Gao. I see Long Wei has you on a tight leash."

​Gao’s face twitched, but his smirk returned quickly. "Mock me all you want, Han Qing. In six hours, every grain of wheat and every pound of meat in this lot becomes property of the state and subsequently, the Long Group. Your capital is burned. Your supply chain is dead."

​Han glanced past Gao at the sprawling sea of 450 massive cargo transports.

​[Subspace Storage Activation Range: 100 Meters]

[Target Area Locked: Provincial Checkpoint Staging Bay]

[Detected Freight: 400 Grain Semi-Trucks (8,000 Tons Wheat/Rice), 50 Refrigerated Semi-Trucks (1,000 Tons Meat/Dairy)]

[Execute Total Subspace Absorption?]

​"You're right about one thing, Gao," Han said, his voice quiet, almost lost in the soft patter of the rain. "These trucks won't be here at 6:00 AM."

​"Oh? Thinking of driving them out?" Gao laughed loudly, signalling the guards behind him. "The gates are locked, kid! The moment you touch a steering wheel, it's grand theft!"

​Han’s lips curled into a cold, terrifying smile.

​"Who said anything about driving?"

​Subspace Storage: ABSORB.

​[System Command Executed!]

​SWOOSH!

​A silent, invisible spatial wave rippled out from Han’s standing position, sweeping across the entire four-acre staging bay in a split second.

​In less than a heartbeat, every single semi-truck, every trailer, every cargo container, and every refrigerated unit vanished into thin air.

​No engine noise. No grinding gears. Just a massive, instantaneous drop in air pressure that sent a gust of wind blowing across the bare asphalt.

​Where four hundred and fifty giant commercial vehicles had been parked seconds before, there was now only an enormous, dead-silent, completely empty concrete lot. The rain fell directly onto the bare ground.

​Gao’s laughter cut off mid-sound. His jaw dropped so hard his cigarette fell into a puddle.

​The four guards behind him stumbled back, dropping their flashlights onto the wet ground. One guard rubbed his eyes frantically, then slapped his own face, convinced he was hallucinating.

​"W-Where... WHERE ARE THE TRUCKS?!" Gao shrieked, his voice cracking into a horrified squeak. He ran out into the empty middle of the lot, splashing through puddles, turning in frantic circles. "THE GRAIN! THE LIVESTOCK! FOUR HUNDRED TRUCKS! WHERE DID THEY GO?!"

​Han took a slow step backward toward his sedan, opening the car door.

​"Tell Long Wei," Han said softly over the sound of the rain, "that if he wants my food, he’ll have to come to the Western Valley and ask for it himself."

​[Mass Storage Successful!]

[Subspace Inventory Updated: 9,200 Tons of Essential Agricultural Goods Added]

[Trade Points Awarded: +15,000 Points!]

[System Level Up: Subspace Purchasing Engine Reaches Level 3!]

[New Ability Unlocked: Automated Subspace Processing & Automated Crafting Interface]

​Han slid into the back seat of the sedan and closed the door, leaving Gao screaming hysterically into the empty, raining night.

​By 2:00 AM, Han arrived back at the Western Valley Iron Mine.

​The area was already transformed. Dozens of heavy industrial floodlights turned the night into day. Heavy subterranean boring machines were already being positioned at the primary shaft entrances, overseen by Old Man Chen, who was barking orders at a crew of two hundred elite engineers.

​Su Lin stepped out from the temporary site office, holding a secure satellite tablet. Her eyes widened as she looked at Han.

​"Han... I just received a report from our logistics team," Su Lin said, her voice shaking slightly with sheer disbelief. "The border checkpoint... the Long Group's legal team showed up with seizure warrants, but the entire depot was completely empty. Inspector Gao was taken away in an ambulance having a nervous breakdown."

​"I told you not to worry about the logistics," Han said calmly, walking toward Shaft 1. "Did the engineering contracts clear?"

​"Yes," Su Lin said, quickly regaining her professional composure. "Old Man Chen has already reinforced Sectors 1 through 3. The subterranean geothermal taps are being drilled now. But Han... the Long Group’s patriarch, Long Tian, just called an emergency meeting of the Regional Banking Consortium."

​Han stopped at the mouth of the cavern, looking back at her. "Long Tian himself?"

​"Yes," Su Lin warned, her eyes serious. "They realize you have immense liquid reserves that aren't tied to standard banking channels. Tomorrow morning, they are issuing a complete regional embargo. They are going to freeze every commercial material vendor in the province to prevent us from buying construction supplies."

​Old Man Chen walked up, wiping grease from his forehead with a rag, his face dark. "If they cut off commercial concrete and structural polymer supply lines, boy, we won't be able to seal the secondary blast doors in Shafts 4 through 12."

​Han looked at the dark mountain rising above them, then down at his glowing system interface:

​[Trade Points Available: 20,000]

[Level 3 Subspace Crafting Interface: Unlocked]

[Recipe Unlocked: Molecular Composite Blast Concrete & Kinetic Energy Shield Modules]

​A cold, confident smile spread across Han's face.

​"Let them embargo the market," Han said smoothly. "Tomorrow, we stop buying from vendors... and start manufacturing materials they can't even dream of."