The young secretary pulled the object from her pocket and stared at it in shock—a gleaming silver metal sphere. At its core, a blinding crystal energy pulsed violently, growing more intense by the second.

"A Crystal Core Bomb?!"

Her horrified expression froze in place, caught in the blinding white light.

BOOM—

A deafening explosion ripped through the air. The surge of energy detonated with terrifying force, swallowing everyone nearby before they even had a chance to react.

The shockwave tore through everything in its path.

Anyone caught in it was blown apart—limbs flying, bodies shredded.

Even the reinforced ceiling was blasted open, leaving a gaping hole as chunks of debris rained down with a thunderous crash. Flames erupted and spread rapidly, devouring everything in sight.

The office door was blown clean off its hinges.

But inside Ethan's Domain of the Dead, the chaos barely made a ripple. The entire space was shielded, untouched by the destruction outside. He calmly flipped through documents, selecting anything useful and storing them in his spatial ring.

"Holy shit…"

Ricky's eyes went wide as saucers. He stared out the blasted doorway, the scene beyond looking like the aftermath of a natural disaster. Survivors who hadn't been killed outright were now running around in flames, screaming in agony, their minds broken by the horror.

But most didn't make it far—massive chunks of falling debris crushed them into pulp.

"Captain doesn't have a shred of mercy… He's wiping them all out," Ricky muttered, quickly abandoning any naïve thoughts he'd had earlier.

Ethan finished sorting the files and looked up. "Is there a legit way to get into the Inner City?"

"There's an entrance exam, or… if you've got some kind of special skill, that works too," Ricky replied respectfully, answering without hesitation.

Ethan was aiming to slip into the Inner City under a legal identity—it'd be safer that way.

Sure, he could disguise himself as Leia, but there were still a few students with him. If he had to use mental energy to maintain multiple illusions, it'd be too risky. Plus, everyone knew Leia had been to Necroterra. That alone would raise suspicion.

He had the skills and could ace any test, but honestly, it was just too much of a hassle.

He didn't have time to waste.

"Any other way?"

"Well…" Ricky thought for a moment. "You can just pay. If you hand over ten million Alliance Credits, you can buy a pass into the Inner City."

"Now that's more like it," Ethan said, clearly pleased. Simple. Direct.

"Go pay it, then. Get two passes."

"Wait… we're going into the Inner City now?" Ricky blinked, caught off guard. He'd been planning to stick with Ethan a bit longer, make some more money, pay off his girlfriend's tuition, and then head in.

But now, looking at the vault stacked high with gold bars…

Damn, that was fast.

"Captain, we just looted the Black Market. That's illegal as hell. Can we even use this gold?"

"Is the Black Market legal?" Ethan shot back.

"Uh… good point!" Ricky's eyes lit up. The Black Market was in the Exile Zone—a lawless no-man's-land. They sold everything and anything. What Ethan did was basically a public service—taking out scum and cleaning up the streets. A righteous act, really.

With that thought, Ricky stopped worrying and started grinning.

All that gold in the vault? Now it belonged to him and Dane.

"We're rich! We're freakin' rich!" Ricky muttered excitedly, practically diving into the pile of gold bars. He grabbed a backpack, stuffed it full, and got ready to buy the entry passes.

"Better not tell my girlfriend just yet. I'll show up outta nowhere and surprise her."

"..."

The rest of the gold was swept into Ethan's spatial ring. The two of them left the wreckage of the Black Market behind. Along the way, they ran into a few "survivors"—Awakeners who'd somehow made it through the blast.

Ethan didn't let a single one live.

Wherever he passed, not a soul was left breathing.

After returning to Mercenary Town, Ethan and Ricky acted like nothing had happened. When it came time to buy the Inner City access passes, Ethan stayed completely behind the scenes, leaving the whole process to Ricky.

Ricky, for his part, was practically buzzing with excitement at the thought of finally entering the Inner City.

First, he hit the bank, exchanging the gold bars for Alliance Credits. He immediately wired his girlfriend's tuition, then pulled out a photo and stared at it with a goofy, lovestruck grin.

It was a picture of him and a girl—fair-skinned, with a high ponytail and big eyes squinting into crescent moons as she flashed a peace sign. She looked adorable.

"Lena… I miss you so much…"

…

Everything went off without a hitch. The whole process was smooth as butter. The Inner City guards were too busy collecting payments to care where the money came from.

Three days later, the passes were ready.

Ethan and Ricky set out toward the Inner City, passing through the Outer Zone along the way. The entire landscape was painted in shades of gray and black, giving off a heavy, oppressive vibe.

The gray came from the polluted, hazy sky. The black—from the people's ragged clothes, the squat, crumbling buildings, and the ever-present sticks of compressed protein hanging from their mouths.

"Captain, I heard the Inner City's got all kinds of good food—real bread, fruits, vegetables… I tried some once. A little sour, but still pretty tasty," Ricky rambled, practically bouncing with excitement.

"Sour?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Where'd you get it?"

"From a trash heap in the Exile Zone," Ricky said with a sheepish laugh, scratching his head. "It was dumped out from the Inner City."

Ethan immediately understood. The reason Ricky thought fruits and vegetables were sour was because they were already rotting—long past their prime.

Before long, a massive wall loomed ahead, towering like a mountain and cutting the world in two.

Above it, aircraft circled like vultures, their searchlights slicing through the air in blinding beams. Guards in metallic exosuits patrolled the watchtowers, crystal-core firearms in hand.

The entire structure was locked down tighter than a vault. Not even a fly could sneak through.

This was The Skywall.

Originally built to protect the Inner City, it now served another purpose—keeping out the desperate souls trying to sneak in from the outside.

Despite being just a wall apart, the two sides were like different planets.

As Ethan approached, he noticed a crowd of ragged Outer Zone residents gathered near the base of the wall, staring longingly at the sky above the Inner City.

"You don't get it. We could work our whole lives out here and still not earn enough to pay for a single meal in there."

"No way. You serious?"

"I'm telling you, my son works inside. He said a single bottle of red wine can go for over a million Credits!"

"Get outta here! Your kid's full of it."

"Swear to God!"

A few old men stood outside their crumbling homes, chatting casually as if they weren't standing in the shadow of a fortress.

Ethan and Ricky stepped up to the Skywall gate, and a squad of guards immediately surrounded them.

"What's your business here?"

"Sir, it's me!" Ricky said quickly, bowing and grinning. "I just got my pass a few days ago."

"Oh…" One of the guards recognized him, but still gave him a once-over, clearly not ready to wave them through just yet.

Ricky caught on fast. "Sir, I just dropped a ton of cash on the pass, so I'm a little strapped right now. But once I get a job in the city and make some money, I'll be back to show my appreciation."

"Smart kid," the guard said with a satisfied smirk, finally stepping aside and waving them through.

"Go on in."

…

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