“Don’t learn it?” Maxen nodded firmly. “Alright! I swear I won’t learn that unlucky move!” He’d hesitated for a split second, but that agreement seemed a little *too* quick.
Sensing something amiss, Mike narrowed his eyes, a glint of intelligence sparking within. He scrutinized Maxen for a moment before asking casually, “You’ve already learned it, haven’t you?”
Maxen froze, blurting out, “Uh, isn’t it Broke?”
He’d given himself away!
“You have! You sneaky dog!” Mike grinned, pulling out his prepared backup plan.
He’d anticipated this possibility. After all, Ares usually taught Maxen any new moves he learned. Only Maxen was tough enough to handle them.
Mike pointed to a clause in the contract. “Sign here, notarized by the Mystic Market. After receiving this money, you agree to never use Broke against Thor.”
2.5 million Lord merits as hush money for Maxen.
Maxen considered it. This could work! Although only 0.1% of his income landed in his pocket, the sheer volume made up for it!
2.5 million meant 2,500 Lord merits for him. After paying off his debts, he’d have 800 left! Maxen hadn’t been this wealthy in a long time!
*Scribble, scribble, scribble.*
He signed his name, pulled out his portable card reader, and watched as Thor swiped his card with a flourish.
“Huh?” Maxen was surprised. Thor wasn’t even wincing at the expense!
Mike, sensing Maxen’s confusion, scoffed, “Look at your ambition!”
Of the 2.5 million given to Maxen, 68.4% went to Guardian Shadow, effectively returning to Mike’s control, just transferred from his personal wallet to the Guardian Shadow account.
21.6% went to the Nightmare corps, and 9% to the Valor Sword Corps. Both corps were currently stationed in the abyss, facing enormous expenses; this was a welcome boost.
And Mike still had a stake in the Nightmare corps’ funds! 0.9% went to Apollo, a small gift from Mike.
After all these arrangements, the money was well spent! And as the conduit for these funds, Maxen’s 2,500 Lord merits was a generous cut!
The money arrived quickly and left Maxen’s account just as fast. Staring at the remaining 800 Lord merits, Maxen sighed contentedly. “I haven’t been this rich in ages!”
Mike smiled kindly. “Now, I’ve paid 2.5 million Lord merits. It’s not unreasonable for you to cover these two bottles of wine, is it?”
Maxen first confirmed that the wine came from the Mystic Market, not from Thor himself, before relaxing. “Not at all! Perfectly reasonable!”
The moment he finished speaking, he watched Thor pocket the two bottles and walk away.
He still had 800 Lord merits left. *Having money is nice…* Maxen mused.
Then, Nyx Valoria’s icy voice cut through his reverie. “That will be 799.8 Lord merits. Will you be paying by card or charging it to your account?”
Maxen was dumbfounded. “Why is this wine so expensive?!”
Nyx Valoria, anticipating his reaction, showed him a bottle. “This blood wine is from the Mystic Market. Its main ingredient is diluted forbidden prince blood essence. 399.9 Lord merits per bottle. Fair and square…”
Maxen stared at the ingredients list, bewildered. “Who in their right mind uses forbidden prince blood essence to make wine?!”
“Who knows?” Nyx Valoria sighed, her voice laced with pity. “It couldn’t possibly be that Thor sold the raw materials to the Mystic Market, then pulled some strings to get the Wolf’s Den to stock it, just to find a sucker to pay for it while he walks away with the wine, could it?”
Maxen was speechless. That scenario was a little *too* specific. Staring at his remaining 0.02 Lord merits, he wanted to cry.
Just minutes ago, he was a multi-millionaire with 2.5 million Lord merits. Now he was broke again.
As Maxen wallowed in despair, a familiar figure appeared at the door.
Light Nine, having leveled up from 700 to 800 and finished a long day of work, returned to the Wolf’s Den for his daily dose of observing the human condition.
Maxen, overjoyed to see Light Nine, quickly invited him to sit, ordering two bottles of *not- too-expensive* good wine.
“Light Nine, my dear brother…” Maxen poured out his woes, recounting how he’d been fleeced.
However, he didn’t dare speak ill of Thor directly. If Thor found out, he’d be in deep trouble! So, Maxen invented a nemesis called “Shepherd” who constantly exploited him.
Light Nine found Maxen’s tales of his battles of wits with Shepherd quite entertaining. “This Shepherd sounds like an interesting character.”
After finishing his story, Maxen took a swig of wine, chuckling. Lowering his voice, he confided, “Little Nine (Light Nine), this Shepherd is terrified of the Broke skill. Once my Second Godfather comprehends a similar move, hehehe…”
Light Nine shook his head slightly, disagreeing. “In my humble opinion, I think you’re mistaken.”
“Oh?” Maxen raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “What do you mean?”
“I believe this Shepherd isn’t afraid of Broke or similar skills,” Light Nine analyzed seriously. “Based on your description, he excels at acquiring wealth through cunning means. Restrictions won’t deter him. On the contrary, they might challenge him, making him even more relentless.”
Maxen was stunned. Why hadn’t he thought of that?!
“Thank you, Little Nine! If it weren’t for you, I’d be exploited by Tho-Shepherd again!”
Light Nine chuckled. “However, I do have a suggestion that might benefit you.”
Maxen’s eyes lit up. “Tell me!”
Light Nine offered his advice freely. “Brother, you should change your approach. Don’t try to Broke Shepherd. Instead, ask your Second Godfather to create the ‘Midas Touch’ that Shepherd mentioned.”
*Midas Touch?* Maxen was confused. Why learn that skill? Gold wasn’t exactly valuable.
“This Shepherd probably finds it more painful to see others earn money than to lose money himself,” Light Nine explained with a confident smile. “Not teaching him the Midas Touch is the greatest Broke you can inflict upon him.”
…
After acquiring Maxen’s two bottles of wine, Mike left the Tower of Truth and returned to America, teleporting directly to New York Superpower University. He immediately emailed
Professor Gregory.
Yesterday, the Eye of Truth had provided a solution to Candy’s stuttering problem. However, Mike needed a plausible excuse.
By sending the solution to Professor Gregory, whose name was on the university’s research institute, Candy could have a check-up there, Professor Gregory could offer the solution, and Mike could remain anonymous. Everyone wins.
After sending the email, Mike stretched. Before he could relax for even a minute, a new message arrived via the Shadow Sigil.
“Shadow Four says the Shadow Fortress expansion subsidy proposal has been urgently
approved?”
Mike’s face lit up with uncontainable joy.
Although he hadn’t directly interacted with the human leadership, their cooperation was
impeccable. They never held him back. For example, after analyzing Professor Gregory’s report, they’d realized Thor needed an avenue for profit.
Thus, Maxen naturally became Thor’s liaison.
During the meeting, Maxen had almost used his veto power, only to realize he wasn’t a
Supreme Being.
No Supreme Being status, no veto power.
Veto overruled!
Mike received the complete subsidy proposal, a stack of documents thicker than a dictionary. As an official subsidy proposal involving millions of Lord merits, it was naturally meticulous, leaving no room for loopholes. Fortunately, Shadow Four had summarized it in a few lines:
1. Based on the inventory, the Shadow Fortress expansion cost could be controlled within 11 million Lord merits.
2. The subsidy budget was 4 million Lord merits.
3. The subsidy was divided into two parts: 2 million Lord merits worth of materials and 2 million Lord merits for procurement.
4. After expansion, all Guardian Shadow expenses would be handled internally, with no salary
subsidies.
Guardian Shadow’s current size meant daily wages were a significant expense. If the number
of Lords doubled, the wage bill would increase further, making it impossible to rely solely on
subsidies.
However, this was within Mike’s expectations. After several major battles, the human race’s coffers were depleted, and various corps were scrambling for funds and resources. Securing a 4 million Lord merit subsidy for Guardian Shadow’s expansion under these circumstances was
no small feat.
Looking at the fresh subsidy proposal, Mike calculated, “Shadow Fortress originally had 9.45 million, plus 68.4% of 2.5 million, which is 1.71 million, totaling 11.16 million…” This was enough to cover the expansion. But with a 4 million subsidy, it would be foolish not to use it!
Moreover, as the head of Guardian Shadow, Mike had many other things to worry about. “After the expansion, there’s 4.16 million Lord merits left. Barely enough for payroll.”
With that in mind, he contacted Shadow Four via Shadow Sigil, scheduling an impromptu online video conference. *Overtime!*
“I’ve reviewed the subsidy proposal,” Mike said, getting straight to the point. “The 2 million in shadow elemental materials is fine. But the other 2 million for procurement… if we acquire those materials ourselves, can we keep the subsidy?”
The money was intended for purchasing materials. If Guardian Shadow could gather enough materials themselves, using the subsidy to buy their own materials seemed reasonable, right?
“It’s possible, but…” Shadow Four, understanding Thor’s intent, pointed out the problem. “Where are we going to find so many shadow elemental materials?”
Due to Guardian Shadow’s massive scale, the human race’s demand for shadow elemental materials was constantly high. Locations producing these materials were already tightly controlled. They couldn’t make bricks without straw. Even Thor couldn’t conjure materials
out of thin air… could he?
“The problem is, other elemental materials can be obtained from the abyss, besides the Tower of Truth,” Shadow Four explained. “But there’s no shadow elemental demon god in the abyss, so the demon creatures there don’t carry shadow elemental materials.”
Mike nodded, understanding the dilemma. *Hmm… Wait a minute!* His eyes lit up.
“So, if there were a shadow elemental demon god, the abyss could produce shadow elemental
materials?”
“Well, yes…” Shadow Four paused, wondering what Thor was up to. He wasn’t planning to
target a demon god, was he? There weren’t any vacant demon god positions…
“The eighth demon god!” Shadow Four exclaimed, catching on.
“Don’t rush the procurement. Wait for my news!” Mike had a plan forming. He’d make
Poseidon learn some new tricks!
If Poseidon couldn’t learn shadow element, they’d find someone who could to be the eighth
demon god!
After the video conference, Mike informed Maxen and the others. They’d be heading to the Eighth Abyss in a few days to meet Poseidon again.
Once Poseidon mastered shadow element and became a demon god, the Eighth Abyss would
produce a steady supply of shadow elemental materials… The potential profit was immeasurable!
As for Poseidon’s feelings… nobody cared.
Having finished his business, Mike left his small dorm room, strolling through the university
campus. Attending university was more of a buffer for Mike, a way to relax and de-stress. Even Superman had to work a day job. Without a break from the constant pressure, anyone
could crumble.
At the cafeteria, using Anderson’s name, Mike received a hearty breakfast. He ate a tenth of it,
then sent the rest via Mystic Market express delivery – 3-minute global delivery – back to
Cain.
Ten minutes later, Mike received a five-star review from Cain: “Breakfast was good. Finally feeling full.”
Mike chuckled. Fortunately, Cain’s intense training regimen prevented any weight gain.
After breakfast, Mike headed to the designated meeting spot. Before even reaching the building, he noticed something was wrong! Blackdragon was in a wheelchair! What happened? Who dared to lay a hand on Blackdragon of Star Class Three?!
As Mike approached, he saw only Blackdragon and Libra. Blackdragon, bandaged and sitting
in the wheelchair, struggled to speak. “Libra, crouch down. I need to ask you something.” Libra, knowing he was at fault, obediently crouched, meeting Blackdragon’s gaze. Tears welled up in Blackdragon’s eyes as he choked out, “Can someone else take the blame for
this?”