"What a mess... I wanted to capture him myself, and then take credit for solving this problem. But if Grandfather got a hold of him, then he is as good as dead."

Fiona relaxed on the chair, looking at the ceiling. In her eyes, Leo had most probably already died. As for the story about him escaping, she believed that it was a lie. After all, how could he escape in that situation, especially without killing anyone?

"What a pity... I have missed this opportunity because I was too cautious." She slowly closed her eyes.

....

Meanwhile, the man in question, Leo Vanderlen had already returned to the planet where his bank was established, albeit in a stealthy manner.

The ships landed on the dark side of the planet, which was mainly the place where the residential quarters were being created.

Often, many construction materials were brought to that part of the planet, as an entirely new city was being created on the planet.

At first, it was just for a distraction, so that they could bring any item to this planet without much attention. However, before anyone knew it, the city had actually started taking place.

At the moment, multiple ships landed outside the city area that was amidst construction.

The materials that were stolen from the prison planet were slowly unloaded.

Even the prisoners, who had changed their clothes, stepped out of the ship, but only after Leo had confirmed that this area wasn't being observed.

Still, just to be sure, he made the prisoners wear clothes that made them stand out a little less.

All of them were wearing clothes from the construction squad that were arranged in the last week.

Although the clothes looked good, only Leo knew how much effort it took to arrange them, especially since the prisoners kept rejecting the previously arranged design, saying that it looked ugly.

The clothes they were wearing were the third iteration.

"It feels so good to finally breathe the air outside that rotten prison planet."

The old mage, and the Martial Master were the last to step out of the ship, aside from Leo.

The old man yawned, stretching his old bones.

"Do we actually have to build the city?" a prisoner suddenly asked.

"God, no," Leo sighed. "Just stand near a pile of pipes and look like you're complaining about the union. It's the universal language of labor; no one will suspect a thing."

The old mage squinted at a nearby crane. "I could probably levitate those girders into place. It would be much faster. Do you need my help?"

As they were brought to the construction area, the old man wondered if it was Leo's way of telling them that he needed their help.

He was really curious. Was Leo really trying to help them, or was he trying to take advantage of them? Although the man felt like a genuine person, he was really intrigued about what he was thinking.

"No magic!" Leo retorted, "You are our guest senior, how can I make you work?"

The old man raised his brow. This young man was actually planning to treat them as a guest with no ulterior motives.

"But if you do feel like you are getting bored while resting, I can give you a position so you can have some timepass?" Leo suddenly said, as if he was trying to help the old man.

"What position?" The old man asked, tilting his head sideways.

"You can be a senior site inspector. Your only power is the ability to find safety violations and drink lukewarm coffee. If I see a single spark of mana, I'm sending you back."

"Just that?" The old man was really taken aback.

Although it felt like Leo was assigning him work, could it really be called that? He was just a spectator in that position,and that too if he was bored of sitting idle.

"That aside, do you have a battle arena where I can fight people?" The Martial Master suddenly said, taking the lead.

"I'm sorry, senior. But it won't be possible for you to fight here. If you did that, this entire planet might not be able to survive the aftermath. So no fighting while we are here."

"What?" Yang's jaw dropped, as if he was a child who was just denied his favorite chocolate.

After a brief period of silence, Leo asked, "But if you so want to compete, aren't there better ways that don't require raw fighting? Can't you compete in a different way that can show your skills beyond just offensive skills?"

"What do you mean?" Yang was really confused about Leo's words. How could he challenge others if they couldn't fight? Won't he die of boredom.

"I mean... We are at a construction site, with less than one percent construction being completed. And we have just received a huge stockpile of materials that are hard to handle," Leo hinted.

"So?" Yang frowned.

"If you want to challenge people, how about you challenge them in over-all strength, and leading abilities?" Leo suggested.

"How would that work? I still don't understand?" Yang still didn't understand what Leo was talking about.

'Tch, do I have to say it directly? Won't it look like I'm pushing them to work? But still, can I really reject free labor? Let's see how I can put it nicely...' Leo thought, without showing his expressions on his face.

"What I meant is that you can't fight here. But you can compete in ways that require you to give it your all... An overall test of your abilities."

Before the man could ask any questions again, Leo continued with his explanation.

"When you find someone you want to challenge, you each can be assigned a hundred mile radius of barren land, where construction is planned. You two will each be allowed to convince half the other prisoners or staff to work with you, as you lead them."

"After a certain period of time, the person whose side of the City would look more developed, and a high tier, would be the winner. They would also be granted a certificate of achievement from me, proving that they were better than their competition."

Leo tried his best to appear like he was only suggesting an alternative way to compete without any ulterior motives.

"So, is there anyone you want to challenge for a battle of construction?" Leo asked, blinking his eyes innocently a few times.

Yang immediately looked at the old man, the corner of his lips creeping up. "This sounds like a good way to compete."

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