Chapter 554: Chapter 538: Everything Can Be Subcontracted

Within the Cybertron Half-Plane, the massive Phase Two expansion of the Soul Mine had been launched ahead of schedule due to the "contract killing" plan.

Thousands of Factory Servants toiled diligently, and new crystal computing modules sprang up like mushrooms after rain—installed, debugged, and illuminated. The deep blue light converged into a boundless sea of stars. Each "star" ran simulations and calculations at a terrifying speed, producing Soul Coins for Allen day and night without pause.

"Commander, Phase Two is expected to be completed in four days. At that time, the total computing power of the Soul Mining Machine matrix will increase by five hundred percent. The daily production of standard Soul Coins will stabilize at 50,000."

Jarvis’s voice echoed in Allen’s mind.

"Very good." Allen hovered above the mine, overlooking the miracle he had forged with his own hands. "How are we doing on the initial deposit of 500,000 for Mammon?"

"Production and packaging are complete. They can be delivered at any time through Sargeras’s sacrificial channel."

Allen murmured in acknowledgment. The cost of 500,000 Soul Coins was a mere 12.5 million Low-Level Magic Stones. To him now, this amount of money was nothing but a drop in the ocean.

Kaspar Murphy. Since this name had made it onto his high-priority hit list, it was destined not to stay there for long.

Five months later, on the fifth layer of Purgatory, the Wailing Wilderness.

The sky here was eternally a foul, dark yellow, and the earth was cracked and dry. Countless Frenzied Demons with bulging muscles, twin horns on their heads, and giant axes in hand engaged in endless, bloody slaughter across the land.

The Phantom of the Greedy Monarch Mammon descended before a throne built from the skulls of Giant Beasts. Slouched on the throne was a terrifying entity three times the size of a normal Frenzied Demon—the Lord of the fifth layer, the Slaughterer Baal.

"Mammon, you cheapskate, you actually bear to leave your pile of Gold Coins?" Baal exhaled a puff of scorching breath, his voice laced with tyranny and impatience.

"Baal, I bring you a huge deal," Mammon’s Phantom wavered. His dozens of arms glittered with golden light, completely out of place in the dilapidated surroundings.

"A huge deal? My business is chopping off enemies’ heads!" Baal roared.

"Then it seems we have some common ground this time. A filthy rich Wizard Plane." Mammon tossed out the bait directly. Imitating Allen’s tone, he packaged himself as a client holding a massive contract. "I’ll provide the coordinates, and you help me send troops to conquer it. All the flesh and blood goes to you, while the wealth comes to me. In addition, I will prepay you two million Cybertron Soul Coins as military funding."

Baal’s movements halted. A trace of confusion flashed through his eyes, which were as large as brass orbs. "Cybertron Soul Coins? What the hell is that?"

Mammon sneered and flicked a finger. A Soul Coin appeared out of thin air before Baal.

Baal snatched it and tossed it directly into his mouth like a piece of candy. The next second, his violent aura paused, then erupted even more fiercely like a volcano! Those murky eyes instantly turned a deep, purplish-red.

"Delicious! Such a pure soul! But you think two million is enough to hire me and my legion?" Suppressing his inner ecstasy, Baal immediately started to negotiate for a higher price.

"Don’t play dumb with me, Baal," Mammon exposed him mercilessly. "This bunch of brainless cannon fodder under your command can crawl right back out of the Blood Pool even if they all die. I’m practically giving you military rations for free.

"Give me a straight answer on whether you’re in or not. If you’re out, I’ll go to the third layer right now and find Asmodeus. That old fox will definitely be very interested in these Perfect Souls."

Hearing his nemesis’s name, Baal’s breathing instantly grew heavy. "Deal!" He stood up abruptly from the throne, letting out an earth-shattering roar. "When do we strike?"

Mammon parted his giant, fang-filled maw and smiled. "Wait a few more months. Once I’ve gathered all my Soul Coins, I’ll find another ’outsourced’ helper."

The Greedy Monarch was calculating shrewdly in his mind. He only paid a "subcontracting" cost of two million to mobilize the entire military force of the fifth layer. The remaining three million of the prepayment would fall securely into his private pockets. This feeling of taking a kickback was simply more wonderful than swallowing ten thousand souls alive!

He thought, "This fool has already agreed. Next, I’ll go have a chat with Asmodeus. That guy is a bit smarter, so I’ll give him three million at most—not a single coin more."

Resource Realm Z-019 had been named the Crystal Crown by its owner, Kaspar Murphy.

It was a rare, small yet wealthy Plane with extremely abundant crystal mineral resources. The majority of the entire Plane’s continental shelf was composed of a supernatural mineral called blue crystal. This ore was the top choice for crafting equipment that increased Magic Power Value. Although the unit price was not high, it had always been hard currency in the market.

In the Plane’s sky floated hundreds of Floating Islands modified by Alchemy, planted with various rare Magic Plants. On the ground, tens of thousands of Alchemy Puppets and Low-Tier Golems carried out orderly mining, transportation, and rough refining work along preset tracks. There was even a small Wizard Academy here, continuously replenishing fresh blood for his enterprise.

A fully armed private fleet belonging to Mechanical Gears patrolled the Plane’s flight paths. Any unauthorized intruders would be blasted to ashes by the Magic Energy Main Cannon at the first opportunity.

This place was Kaspar Murphy’s greatest source of wealth and the foundation that sustained his research and cultivation as a Dawn Star Level Wizard. Every year, this Crystal Crown Plane alone could bring him a massive income of over two billion Low-Level Magic Stones.

In the center of the Plane, a Wizard Tower made entirely of white Crystal Stone pierced the clouds. At the top of the tower, in the Observatory Room, Kaspar Murphy held a glass of fine wine brewed from Star Flower nectar. Through the giant floor-to-ceiling Crystal Stone window, he overlooked his prosperous and orderly kingdom.

A hint of faint regret rested on his face.

"Allen Wesren... actually advanced to Morning Star," he muttered softly to himself, his voice betraying neither joy nor anger.

It was a pity. If that boy had broken through a few years later, he would have had plenty of methods to make Wesren Heavy Industry, along with all its technology and factories, fall into the hands of Mechanical Gears. A burgeoning commercial entity capable of generating hundreds of millions in profit every year—who wouldn’t covet such a juicy piece of meat?

Unfortunately, the other party was now also a Morning Star.

Since they were both members of the Association, using his past methods would be an open provocation of the rules, which would attract the scrutiny of the Supreme Council. Taking such a risk for a commercial rival wasn’t worth it.

Kaspar had lived for nearly a thousand years. He had made his way from a common Wizard Apprentice to where he was today not through momentary impulses, but by relying on his wisdom to evaluate situations. One must be decisive when striking, and equally decisive when pulling back. This was his primary Law of survival.

"Never mind." Kaspar drained the wine in his glass, temporarily casting that name out of his mind.

He was just a lucky junior; he posed no real threat. The heavily invested Mechanical Gears could no longer be counted on to swallow him up, but as long as Kaspar guarded his own territory well, wealth and power would continue to gather toward him in an endless stream. He looked at the verdant, rich land below, his heart filled with the peace and satisfaction of having everything under his control.

What he didn’t know was that an inter-planar destructive strike—funded by a Wizard, executed by Demons, and following modern commercial subcontracting processes—had already finalized its execution contract.

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