One week later in the Outer Ring.
Wise had already returned to Sixth Street and reopened the video store that had been closed for quite a while.
A restaurant called Cheesetopia opened, and with Belle's help, it began serving specialty Outer Ring cuisine.
At the same time, it also served as preparation for the upcoming banquet where the Sons of Calydon would host the various powers of the Outer Ring.
The shop bustled with constant foot traffic, filled with people from every Outer Ring faction.
After the Sons of Calydon secured their position as Overlords, Blazewood welcomed brand-new development opportunities as large numbers of Motor Alliance factions arrived to negotiate the ownership of transport routes.
Nicole's purchased storefront ultimately did not rise in value. Although the Sons of Calydon's dominance indeed made Blazewood livelier, she had miscalculated one thing.
Much like how, before Sol's transmigration, there were too many houses and too few people, resulting in crashing real estate prices—the Outer Ring had plenty of land and few residents; housing was never scarce!
Nicole once again demonstrated her natural "talent," suffering another investment failure.
Left with no choice, she could only keep the property and treat it as the Cunning Hares' Outer Ring base.
Well… not a total loss!
Fortunately, with the influx of so many Motor Alliance factions, demand for precious anti-corrosion meds and healing medicine grew, and Nicole still managed to earn quite a bit through all the busy work.
Meanwhile, after accompanying Belle, Nicole, and the others for an entire week, Sol was now saying goodbye to Billy.
"Here—take it. Consider it an early gift."
Sol handed Billy a card with a smile.
It was a blue-grade [Infinite Ammo Enchantment Scroll], previously promised as a wager—Billy would get it if he ever beat Sol in a game.
Up to now, Billy was still leagues away from Sol in gaming skill.
But since Sol was heading out soon, he figured he might as well hand over this little toy.
"Boss Sol, but I haven't beaten you yet…"
Billy didn't accept the card.
It wasn't because the two Starlight Knight Transformation Belts he'd received earlier made this reward beneath him.
On the contrary—he really wanted Unlimited Ammo. With such an ability, he'd never have to buy bullets again, and his firepower would skyrocket.
More importantly, strength boosts aside… it was cool.
But since he hadn't surpassed Sol in gaming yet, he didn't want to accept the reward early. A promise was a promise.
"Relax. While I'm gone, just polish your skills." Sol patted his shoulder and laughed. "When I come back, we'll fight for real."
"I believe in your potential. You can definitely do it."
"Boss Sol~" Billy's eyes glistened, and he nearly lunged forward for a hug. "You treat me so well, I have nothing worthy to repay you with…"
The transforming devices, unlimited ammo—two wishes, both granted.
Where else could one find such an amazing teammate?
And he still hadn't properly thanked Sol for the knight device—what a blunder!
Sol shoved him away with one hand. "Get lost. I just changed clothes and I don't want engine oil on them."
"Hehe…"
Billy scratched his head with an embarrassed grin.
"I'm off. See you in a month."
Sol waved and started up his bike.
"Come back soon, Boss Sol!"
Billy yelled after the distant motorcycle.
Not far away, a cluster of pink hair, silver hair, cat ears, and blue hair gathered together, watching from a distance.
He left so suddenly—it still felt strange.
"Come on, we've got our own things to do. When he comes back, we'll give him a huge surprise!"
Nicole clenched her fist, her fighting spirit reigniting.
She had to make big money during Sol's absence—then he'd finally look at her with respect!
Hmph, mock her real-estate investments? She'd prove she was a business genius!
There was a stock-market wave coming—she would become a financial shark, buying low, selling high, raking in stacks!
"Mm!"
Belle nodded, just as determined.
She would train hard in swordsmanship and prove herself when Sol returned.
After a week of effort, she could already tear open Hatis with her bare hands. With proper training, she'd gift Sol a Thanatos core as a surprise.
...
Meanwhile, on the road from the Outer Ring toward the city proper, a motorcycle roared forward at high speed.
Today was likely his second-to-last day in New Eridu.
After finishing one final task, he would depart for another world.
At the moment, his system account held over twelve billion Dennies.
Ten billion came from Belobog Heavy Industry's tender contract, and the rest were follow-up rewards from the Bringer incident, the Black Panther Organization incident, and others.
Over 1200 pulls—perfect for testing his luck over in the world of Honkai: Star Rail.
Soon, Sol returned to the Cunning Hares' headquarters.
Using [Materialization of Imagination], he filled Nicole's newly rented warehouse with piles of high-grade supplies, ensuring there was plenty to sell—and plenty to use.
He created five more large refrigerators and lined them up with the originals, all of them stocked full of Little Master Chef–style premade dishes: one fridge of hamburgers, one of meat dishes, one of mackerel, and two full of snacks.
They were premade, but the nutrition and flavor far surpassed outside food.
A qualified harem emperor—even when going off on adventures—must prepare abundant supplies for his little sweethearts at home.
After finishing things at the Cunning Hares, Sol headed to the video store and, without a word, jabbed Wise with a massive injection—300 milliliters of Super Soldier Serum directly into his veins.
"Ow!!" Wise clutched his slender arm, staring at the two-centimeter-thick syringe, pained, shocked, and wronged. "What are you doing!?"
What crime had he committed? Was it wrong to protect Belle from being corrupted!?
"Relax. It's fine. Just a little enhancement drug."
Sol waved casually.
Among all his friends, Wise was by far the weakest.
If anyone were to die first, it would definitely be Wise. Better put some insurance on him—he couldn't risk Belle losing her brother.
This enhancer was Sol's own project, initiated after he used a strengthening card on Belle.
For the [Stellar-Grade Cognitive Computer], simple technological enhancement wasn't difficult, and Wise could now be boosted to triple human limits with no side effects.
Of course, it wasn't as powerful as Sol's… otherenhancement methods. But Sol wasn't into men, so Wise would never experience that.
"Enhancement drug…?"
Wise looked confused—then terrified.
With a syringe that size, this was definitely animal-use medicine!
He suddenly recalled a recent news headline: "Tragedy in the bodybuilding circle—extreme muscle-stimulant user develops cone head, his brain collapsed, consecutive muscle failure, and unfortunately dies during rescue…"
A wave of despair hit him—was he going to collapse too!?
"Forget it, you'll understand later. I'm in a hurry. See you in a month."
Sol hung a CLOSED sign on the shop, dragged Wise into his room, and tossed him onto the bed.
Tech-based strengthening was still inferior to enhancement cards. The process was mildly painful and expelled bodily impurities, making the body—ahem—cleaner.
"AAAHHH!!!"
As the drug took effect, Wise screamed in agony, as though a thousand ants were crawling under his skin.
Damn it—Sol, you're serious!?
You can't get Belle, so you're murdering her brother!?
"Looks like it still needs some tuning."
Sol muttered to himself as he left the video store.
Wise was screaming horribly, but the system scans showed completely stable evolution—no issues at all.
And now, Sol had more important matters to handle, so he couldn't stay to accompany Wise through his suffering.