Around eight that evening.

  The outermost edge of New Tokyo's Lower City.

  Xia Li walked into the Monster Hunter Association. The hall was somewhat empty at the moment, but the few people present all looked toward Xia Li.

  After all, Xia Li was a new face, and new faces in a place like New Tokyo often meant profit to be had.

  "Good evening. How may I help you?"

  Behind the counter, a receptionist who'd dolled herself up beautifully gave Xia Li a gentle smile.

  "Registration."

  Xia Li's expression was cold, rather sparing with words.

  "Please pay twenty spirit stones to complete registration."

  "Transferred."

  "Please pay twenty spirit stones to complete registration."

  The receptionist continued smiling at Xia Li, her demeanor becoming even gentler. Seeing this, Xia Li frowned.

  He'd already transferred the spirit stones, but her repetition was clearly asking him to pay again.

  An initiation test?

  Or trying to gauge his mettle?

  "The transfer record is here."

  Xia Li sent the transfer record, but she maintained that gentle smile devoid of life, like a corpse.

  Seeing it once might make her seem amiable, but seeing it repeatedly became nauseating.

  "Please pay twenty spirit stones to complete registration."

  The same words.

  Silence.

  Xia Li messaged Liu Sheng Qianzao to ask about the situation—whether he should endure or get angry. Liu Sheng Qianzao's response was somewhat complicated.

  [Submit her information to the Trading Network, then pay a deposit for asset tier comparison.]

  [If her assets are less than yours, you can propose a ten-times-price hostile acquisition.]

  [Then for ten minutes, she temporarily becomes your asset.]

  [You can cancel the acquisition within ten minutes by submitting half of her asset value. During this period, if she dies by your hand, you can take the remaining half.]

  [This way she goes bankrupt.]

  [And bankrupt paupers aren't human—dead is dead.]

  Liu Sheng Qianzao told Xia Li how to legally kill people here.

  The process basically meant comparing who had more spirit stones. If the initiator had less than the target, the deposit got eaten by Corporate Union.

  If sufficient but not meeting the ten-times standard, Corporate Union still ate the deposit.

  After meeting the first two conditions and initiating acquisition, if outmatched you could still pay spirit stones to cancel. And winning still required paying spirit stones.

  In other words, this rule guaranteed corporations profit regardless.

  But it was legal!

  Legal by corporation standards. If you had spirit stones and were willing to pay tribute, then the other party wasn't human—just a disposable asset.

  Spirit stones, corporate currency, anything with value...

  All were assets, all were power, all were authority!

  This was the corporations' future—anchoring everything to assets. Wealth was the future.

  [By the way, you can also take out loans when doing hostile acquisitions.]

  [As long as you dare to gamble—bet that you'll win, leverage the future to profit now. Doubling the present means doubling the future!]

  Liu Sheng Qianzao's words gave Xia Li—someone who never touched gambling or loans—a sense of indescribable suffocation.

  Yet somehow...

  It also sparked a hint of inexplicable excitement.

  "I'm now initiating an asset tier comparison against you..."

  Xia Li connected to the corporate Trading Network, using his eyes to look at her. Her asset information was immediately locked by the corporation.

  Then came the judgment.

  Her net worth: approximately three thousand five hundred spirit stones.

  "You're worth less than me..."

  "Hostile acquisition!"

  Xia Li acquired her at thirty-five thousand spirit stones.

  The receptionist wasn't stupid either—her Heaven Chip was also alarming. She'd been acquired by Xia Li!

  She was now Xia Li's asset.

  "Sir, I'll process that immediately! Please—"

  Before she finished.

  Xia Li drew his blade.

  The blade was fast, and before drawing he'd already used Divine Sense Intrusion to attack her Heaven Chip, leaving it unable to react.

  The blade edge cut through air with a sharp whistling sound.

  The receptionist clutched her throat, staring at Xia Li with disbelief...

  Why...

  Why wouldn't he even give her a chance to admit defeat?

  Why...

  Then her body collapsed behind the counter, followed by the sound of something rolling on the ground.

  [Acquisition target deceased. Acquisition failed.]

  [Processing bankrupt individual's information.]

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  His funds were refunded, and half the acquisition target's assets went to Corporate Union.

  Before long...

  Heaven Chip sent a message.

  [Your account has been credited 1,750 standard spirit stone units.]

  The other half of her assets now belonged to him.

  "Anyone else? I want to complete registration."

  Xia Li's swift decisiveness made everyone in the hall pause briefly.

  It seemed...

  This wasn't a greenhorn.

  Disagreement led directly to hostile acquisition, and so quickly—clearly no loans involved.

  That receptionist had collected who knows how much from newcomers over the years, probably saving quite a bit. Yet Xia Li instantly acquired her.

  This meant Xia Li's assets were at least ten-thousand tier. To hostile-acquire Xia Li would require starting at hundred-thousand tier.

  None of them had that kind of wealth.

  They were...

  Paupers!

  "What did you do!!"

  But one among the spectators suddenly erupted in fury. He rushed to Xia Li, about to attack, but then seemed to think of something...

  He just stood there red-faced, teeth clenched, not daring to actually strike.

  Paupers had no right to attack the wealthy—this was the corporation's bottom line. Corporations protected the rich.

  "You should be asking what she did."

  Xia Li calmly responded to the man's question.

  "You could have warned her! You could have proven your asset tier first, shown you had the means to acquire her!"

  "Really? I'll remember that. I'll do that next time."

  "You..."

  "Get lost. Or do you want me to acquire you too?"

  Killing intent surfaced in Xia Li's eyes again. This was Corporate Union—this was where people ate people.

  He needed to do as the Romans do.

  Otherwise he'd become someone else's meal.

  "You'd better not leave the safe zone!"

  The man knew he couldn't act within the safe zone and could only leave with clenched fists.

  But...

  His Heaven Chip began broadcasting information to him.

  [A transaction is being initiated against you...]

  [You have been hostile-acquired...]

  "No!"

  The man immediately turned around and knelt, kowtowing. He'd been impulsive—he'd just spoken tough words in a moment of anger!

  He tried to stop Xia Li from attacking directly, then quickly ordered his Heaven Chip to surrender all his assets.

  He was applying for contributory bankruptcy!

  Xia Li also received the response to this transaction.

  [Target has surrendered all assets to municipal services. Target is now bankrupt. Per welfare regulations, entering acquisition cooldown period.]

  [Please immediately cease any illegal actions.]

  Hearing Heaven Chip's prompt, Xia Li sheathed his blade and looked at the man with mocking eyes.

  "Pauper. When your cooldown period ends, I probably won't even need to act myself. You could have had a quick death."

  At this moment, everyone in the hall looked at the kneeling man.

  This method would keep him alive, but making a comeback during the cooldown period would be difficult—after all, it was only one week.

  A zero-asset target...

  Could be acquired by anyone—a pauper among paupers!

  "I'll survive! I will! Just you wait!"

  Though kneeling, once he felt safe he expressed anger again. Seeing this, Xia Li was amused.

  Was admitting defeat and backing down really that hard?

  Had to talk tough?

  "Everyone, feel free to add my contact. When you acquire him later, if you're short on spirit stones, you can borrow from me."

  At Xia Li's words, everyone immediately started scheming, all messaging Xia Li for his contact. Now there was free profit to be had.

  With Xia Li's wealth backing them, even if that man raised his assets back to thousand-tier during cooldown, so what?

  Seeing this, the man's teeth began chattering involuntarily. Fear finally showed on his face, yet he still mustered courage to bluster.

  "The spirit stones you used to acquire me can't be used to acquire me again within a month! Lending to others doesn't work either! The Trading Network will verify fund sources!"

  "I know. But why do you think I only have that few spirit stones? A pauper like you, even at ten times your worth, my assets could repeatedly acquire you several times!"

  Xia Li knew that in Corporate Union, revealing your asset tier brought danger. But corporations didn't practice "hide your wealth."

  What corporations emphasized was having assets, plus the ability to protect those assets.

  Setting aside everything else, revealing sufficient asset tier at least deterred small fry, preventing any random nobody from causing trouble.