The world had lived in the "Black" for ten years.
To the generation born after the Great Deletion, the term "Level" was something used in architecture, and "Debt" was a manageable concept found in textbooks on pre-Abyssal economics. Han Jue was fifty-five now, his hair a distinguished silver, his presence in District 7 more akin to a living monument than a man. He spent his days in his small office, teaching the local youth that the most powerful weapon in the world wasn't a sword, but a well-placed decimal point.
But the universe, much like a hungry bank, never truly stops looking for interest.
It happened on a Tuesday, during a light rain that smelled of damp pavement and blooming jasmine. There was no thunder. There were no red screens. Instead, every digital device on the planet—from the massive billboards in Times Square to the simplest smartphone in a rural village—flickered once and displayed a single, terrifyingly professional notification:
[NOTIFICATION: MERGER & ACQUISITION] Company: Earth (Solar System Branch) Status: Seed Round Complete. Transitioning to IPO. Underwriter: The Galactic Exchange.
Han Jue sat at his desk, a cup of green tea halfway to his lips. He watched the words scroll across his desktop monitor. His heart, which had beat with the steady rhythm of a retired man for a decade, gave a sudden, sharp thump. It wasn't fear. It was the sensation of a veteran soldier hearing a distant bugle.
"Brother?"
Han Ling stepped into the room. She was thirty now, the Minister of Global Finance, her presence commanding and sharp. She held her tablet with a trembling hand. "The satellites... they aren't picking up a Rift. But there's a ship. It's not Abyssal, Jue. It's... it's gold."
Han Jue stood up, his joints popping. He walked to the window.
High above the clouds, a vessel the size of a small moon had entered the atmosphere. It wasn't a jagged fortress of bone like the Sovereign of Light's palace. It was a sleek, polished orb of liquid gold, reflecting the sunlight with a brilliance that made the eyes ache. It didn't broadcast terror. It broadcast wealth.
"ATTENTION, SHAREHOLDERS OF SECTOR 814," a voice boomed, perfectly translated into every tongue. It was smooth, corporate, and utterly devoid of empathy. "YOUR SEED PHASE HAS CONCLUDED. EARTH HAS SHOWN REMARKABLE RECOVERY FROM ITS PREVIOUS BANKRUPTCY. AS SUCH, THE GALACTIC EXCHANGE HAS ELECTED TO TAKE THIS PLANET PUBLIC. TRADING COMMENCES AT MIDNIGHT."
The Return of the Auditor
Han Jue didn't wait for a formal invitation. He walked to a safe in the corner of his office—a safe that hadn't been opened in a decade. He tapped in a code that was long forgotten by the world.
Inside, there was no magical armor. There was no glowing sword. There was only a single, heavy fountain pen and a tattered, black leather ledger.
As his fingers touched the leather, a spark of white light—the last residual ember of the Sovereign of the Ledger—traveled up his arm.
[...System Link Re-Establishing...] [Status: Guest Auditor (Unregistered)] [Warning: You are no longer a Sovereign. You are a 'Sole Proprietor'.]
"Sole proprietor," Han Jue whispered, a dark, witty smile touching his lips. "I like those odds."
"You can't go up there alone," Han Ling said, standing in the doorway. "The Global Security Council is already preparing a nuclear strike. They think it's another invasion."
"It is an invasion, Ling-er," Han Jue said, tucking the ledger into his suit jacket. "But you can't kill a hostile takeover with a nuke. You kill it with a counter-offer. Tell the Council to stand down. If they fire, they'll just be giving the Exchange an excuse to claim 'Property Damage' insurance and seize the planet by force."
He walked past her, pausing to squeeze her shoulder. "Call Garrick and Selas. Tell them their retirement just got cancelled. We have a meeting with the Underwriter."
The Golden Boardroom
The "Underwriter" did not descend to the surface. It sent a "Professional Invitation" in the form of a teleportation beam that smelled of expensive cologne and ozone.
Han Jue, Garrick, and Selas materialized in a room that defied the laws of three-dimensional space. The floor was a river of liquid diamonds, and the walls were displays of shifting stock tickers from across the galaxy.
At the end of a long, obsidian table sat a being made of living light, wearing a suit tailored from the skin of a supernova.
"Mr. Han Jue," the being said, gesturing to a chair. "I am Vax, Senior Underwriter for the Galactic Exchange. We've been reviewing your work. Your 'Great Deletion' was a masterful piece of debt restructuring. Truly, the best we've seen in this quadrant."
Garrick, his mechanical hand whirring with agitation, slammed his fist on the table. "We deleted the System! We're out of the game! You have no jurisdiction here!"
Vax chuckled, a sound like coins clinking in a velvet bag. "The 'System' you fought was merely a local branch manager—a sub-prime lender named The Origin. He was... clumsy. He treated his assets like cattle. We, however, treat our assets like partners."
Selas narrowed her eyes. "Partners? You're trying to sell our planet on a galactic market."
"Indeed," Vax said, spreading his hands. "Earth is a 'Unicorn' company. High growth, unique biological diversity, and a proven track record of surviving catastrophic mismanagement. At midnight, Earth goes public. Other civilizations will buy shares in your atmosphere, your oceans, and your people. You'll be flooded with 'Universal Mana'—the highest tier of currency."
Han Jue sat silently, his hands folded over his black ledger. "And the cost? I assume the Exchange doesn't provide an IPO for free."
"A modest 35% 'Management Fee' of your total planetary output," Vax said smoothly. "And, of course, the Exchange will hold the 'Golden Share,' allowing us to override any planetary decisions that might negatively affect the stock price."
"So, we become a subsidiary," Han Jue said. "A planet-sized franchise of the Galactic Exchange."
"A wealthy franchise," Vax corrected.
The Hostile Counter
Han Jue opened his ledger. The pages were blank, but as he looked at Vax, words began to appear in a language of white light.
[Target: Vax (The Underwriter)] [Current Net Worth: 14.5 Quadrillion Universal Mana] [Legal Liability: High (Engaged in Unsolicited Solicitation of a Sovereign Entity)]
"I've reviewed your prospectus, Vax," Han Jue said, leaning forward. "And I've found a significant error in your valuation."
Vax's light flickered. "An error? Our analysts are the best in the Andromeda cluster."
"You valued Earth as an 'Unclaimed Asset' because we deleted our local System," Han Jue said. "But Earth isn't unclaimed. It's a Private Equity Firm."
Han Jue tapped the table. "Under the Galactic Commercial Code, Section 9, Paragraph 1: 'Any planet that has successfully self-liquidated its primary debt and maintained a positive growth rate for five consecutive years is classified as a Private Sovereign Entity.' We aren't a 'Unicorn' looking for an IPO. We're your competition."
Garrick and Selas looked at Han Jue, realization dawning on their faces. He wasn't fighting for survival; he was fighting for Market Share.
Vax's suit rippled with static. "A Private Equity Firm? You have no capital! You have no mana-reserves!"
"We have the Heart of the Deep," Han Jue said, gesturing to the floor. "The Pacific Trench. We didn't destroy the Emperor's Core; we converted it into a Sovereign Wealth Fund. And we have the prayers of 14 billion people from the Vatican incident—which I've restructured into a 'Spiritual Bond' with a 15% annual yield."
Han Jue stood up, his presence suddenly magnifying until he seemed to tower over the Underwriter.
"Earth isn't for sale, Vax. But we are looking to expand. I've noticed the Galactic Exchange has a 'High Risk' rating in the Sirius sector. Lots of bad debt over there. Lots of planets that are... over-leveraged."
Han Jue opened the Sovereign's Quill. "I'm not here to sign your IPO. I'm here to offer the Exchange a Consultancy Contract. We'll show you how to audit those planets properly... for a 50% cut of the recovered assets."
The New Game+
The Golden Boardroom went silent. Vax's light dimmed as his internal processors calculated the risk. A Level 0 human was threatening to audit a Multiversal Corporation.
"YOU ARE INSANE," Vax's voice lost its corporate polish, becoming a deep, metallic roar. "YOU HAVE NO SYSTEM! NO STATS!"
"I don't need stats to read a balance sheet, Vax," Han Jue said. "I'm the man who bankrupted a God. Do you really want to see what I can do to your stock price?"
[NOTIFICATION: HOSTILE TAKEOVER INITIATED] [Target: Galactic Exchange (Local Branch)] [Current Progress: 0.01%]
"Garrick, start the 'Iron Production' of our new currency," Han Jue commanded. "Selas, stabilize the 'Spiritual Mana' current. We're launching the Earth-Dollar."
Vax stood up, his supernova suit flaring. "THIS MEANS WAR!"
"No," Han Jue said, walking toward the exit as the teleportation beam began to glow. "This means Competition. And in this market, the Auditor always wins."
As Han Jue materialized back in his office, he looked at Han Ling. She was waiting with a laptop and a determined look.
"Did it work?" she asked.
"The IPO is cancelled," Han Jue said, taking a seat at his desk. "We're going into the Venture Capital business. Tell the world to stop worrying about monsters. We're going to start buying up the stars."
He picked up his pen and began to write.
[Chapter 23: The Sovereign Wealth Fund.] [Objective: Acquire the Moon by the end of Q3.]