Chapter 502: Servant

Time passed quickly as Fang Xing immersed himself in leisure.

Before he knew it, a month had passed.

Fang Xing stepped out of the villa, boarded a bubble, and arrived at a sea far from Mona City.

At the very moment he left, a secret communication reached a rented apartment.

Mo Ye, completely hidden in darkness, saw this and immediately sent a message to Ji Li Di Lan, after which nothing more happened.

After all, the young master had not ordered him to continue surveillance.

"But… the other party rented a 'flight bubble'—if we access the car rental headquarters' backend, we can still retrieve the relevant data."

Mo Ye thought to himself.

As a noble family of the Deep Sea Civilization, even an ordinary member of the Di Lan family still had this much face: "The young master is wise—he should have thought of this already… I won't remind him."

It's hard being a subordinate like us.

What if the one being tracked was a terrifying powerhouse? You'd lose your life!

As long as you're not implanted with a crystal chip or directly soul-enslaved, loyalty is always limited.

Besides, Mo Ye serves the Di Lan family—Ji Li Di Lan still has to wait in line!

…

The sea surface was as smooth as a mirror.

Fang Xing stood atop a colorful bubble, waiting silently.

Not long after, a blue spaceship pierced through the atmosphere, like a space fortress, crashing down with an overwhelming aura that oppressed all life!

Drip!

A beam of light scanned Fang Xing; the ship's AI confirmed: 【Coordinates correct, identity correct, bank card correct… Transaction in progress…】

Clank!

The hatch opened, and two figures in Starry Bank uniforms descended—they wore grim expressions, mechanical in demeanor, radiating meticulous precision: "Mr. Fang Xing, we are escort personnel of Starry Bank: Zi Kong and Lan Xie… You may verify our identities via the Starry Bank official website."

Fang Xing nodded and pulled out his bank card to operate: "I've confirmed your identities."

In his heart, he felt a flicker of surprise: "Two neutron-star-level bodyguards? Not bad…"

"Then please inspect this—these are the source-crystal you requested."

Zi Kong retrieved a secure briefcase; beside him, Lan Xie entered the password.

Upon opening, inside lay a silver-white ring.

Fang Xing sent a thread of will into it and saw a mountain of source-crystals—enough to take him one or two years to absorb.

For other neutron-star-level experts, this wealth alone would be worth fighting to the death for.

'Too bad… it only saves me two years.'

'I don't want to buy more—not because I can't afford it, but Lei Ousi's inheritance is limited, and his personal items have too distinctive a style; if traced back, it'd be hard to explain.'

'Besides… I can't make too many transactions in one place. Once I reach Blue Planet, I'll change my appearance and make a few more deals—that should be enough.'

Fang Xing nodded and handed over a gauntlet—it was also a space item, containing most of Lei Ousi's miscellaneous goods.

Yet he had not taken even one of the treasures that Lei Ousi possessed.

After all, such treasures were not only extremely valuable, but once sold, they were nearly impossible to buy back.

"Goods inspected. All normal."

Zi Kong, with bureaucratic detachment, passed the gauntlet to Lan Xie for a second inspection.

Once Lan Xie confirmed there were no issues, he nodded, a hint of relief crossing his face: "Then… transaction complete… Wait!"

Zi Kong suddenly looked up: "A satellite is tracking our transaction. Is this someone under Mr. Fang Xing's command?"

Fang Xing shook his head: "No."

He knew someone was tracking him, but since they hadn't overstepped, he tolerated it—and let Starry Bank probe their depth.

"Trace and counter immediately!"

"Activate Level-I protocol! Deepness Warship, prepare for combat…"

A cascade of orders issued; soon, the entire Green Water Planet seemed under Zi Kong's control.

"Someone has been tracking you via the car rental headquarters."

Zi Kong nodded: "I've hacked their server. Here's their image… During this transaction, Starry Bank will fully guarantee the safety and privacy of our clients."

He tapped his wrist; a handsome sea-creature stared fearfully into the camera: "No…"

"Ji Li Di Lan, 99, 41st heir of the 23, 81st generation of the Di Lan family—you are spying on our VIP transaction."

Lan Xie spoke with grave seriousness.

"No… I didn't mean to."

Ji Li nearly wept—his damned curiosity.

He'd thought checking via the car rental headquarters would be completely undetectable.

He never imagined it was a Starry Bank VIP transaction!

With their technological power, they could effortlessly seize top-level access to Green Water Planet and expose him instantly.

Angering Starry Bank meant even his family wouldn't defend him—they'd hand him over immediately, terrified of offending Starry Bank.

After all, Starry Bank represented the Starry Civilization!

He acted swiftly, immediately apologizing to Fang Xing: "Esteemed guest, I sincerely apologize… I'm willing to compensate with all my wealth." Zi Kong and Lan Xie turned to Fang Xing, ready to follow his lead.

"Generally speaking, how do you handle such situations?"

Fang Xing paused, then asked.

"Typically, we execute them on the spot. At the very least, we expel them from the Di Lan family and put them on trial…"

Zi Kong replied without expression, making Ji Li tremble.

"Hmm, no need to go that far."

Fang Xing considered: "I'm planning a trip and need a servant. How about making him mine?"

He truly did need a servant—Ji Li seemed sharp enough.

"A slave? Me?"

Ji Li's mouth gaped open—he never imagined his momentary curiosity would plunge him into the abyss.

Yet in his heart, he frantically reassured himself: 'Yes, I was too naive—if I become a slave, isn't all my wealth now my master's?'

'No, I must endure… I'm still not expelled from the family; the Di Lan family won't abandon me. And my creditors… forget it—being chased by them would be about the same: bankrupt, sold as a slave to the slave market—they'd definitely do it!'

A red giant-level slave was still worth a good sum of Deep Sea credits.

And the Deep Sea Civilization never abolished slavery—bankrupts and defeated warriors becoming bonded slaves were commonplace.

"I… I'm willing to be a slave."

Ji Li Di Lan bowed his head, crestfallen.

"Good. We'll go to your place immediately to implant your 'slave collar'!"

Lan Xie shot into the sky; as a neutron-star-level powerhouse, he could reach any point on Green Water Planet in mere breaths.

"Slave collar?"

Ji Li collapsed to the ground—it was a far more terrifying control method than a brain chip, second only to direct soul enslavement!

Even if he changed bodies, it would remain bound to his soul, impossible to remove!

Yet he dared not resist at all—he could only swiftly inform his family of his situation, telling them everything, leaving nothing out.

After all, he had angered Starry Bank.

"Sigh… I hope the family can redeem me from my master."

Ji Li sighed, watching Lan Xie break through the ceiling, resignedly closing his eyes…

…

"Master!"

Moments later, Fang Xing saw a sea-creature with eleven colorful scales on his forehead bowing respectfully before him.

"Then, transaction complete. We're leaving."

Zi Kong and Lan Xie flew into the spaceship and vanished from the atmosphere in an instant.

Fang Xing looked at Ji Li Di Lan and suddenly asked: "What complications come with me taking you as a slave?"

Ji Li's cheek twitched, then replied: "My family won't trouble you, for I brought this upon myself by offending Starry Bank—but there may be a ransom… Though many of my siblings resent me, I'm still a Di Lan. Being someone else's slave abroad is shameful… Of course, the easier route would be to publicly disown me…"

"Beyond that, I owe several high-interest loans… But I still have some savings—if you permit, I can sell all my assets immediately to repay them… A few days from now, it might be too late."

Fang Xing watched Ji Li wholeheartedly consider his interests, and nodded: "A good dog."

Or rather, the Starry Civilization's enslavement technology had truly reached astonishing levels—even a red giant-level powerhouse couldn't escape.

It was even nearly perfect, turning slaves into servants who actively thought for their masters, laboring tirelessly like oxen and horses.

Far safer than any brain-control chip.

"Alright, do as I say: sell all your assets, clear all debts… then buy a ticket to Blue Planet."

Fang Xing nodded.

"Yes!"

Ji Li bowed, then shot off like a streak of light, vanishing swiftly.

Fang Xing remained standing atop the sea, caressing the space ring on his hand.

Within the ring, an invisible vortex emerged, greedily devouring the mountain of source-crystals.

After several minutes, the endless source-crystals were completely consumed.

"One year… less than a year remains before I can break through to the Law Lord realm."

Fang Xing assessed his progress, nodded in satisfaction, then brushed his forehead once.

The five plum-blossom-shaped scales suddenly stirred, splitting into ten smaller scales, each glowing faintly.

Since Ji Li was his servant, it was odd that the master possessed only five scales.

Moreover, Blue Star was no match for Green Water Star—high-tier experts were everywhere, and ten scales were just right.

At that moment, Ji Li's communication came through: "Master, I've sold the 'Precious Pavilion,' cleared all debts, and purchased tickets to Blue Star—luxury cabin. I've also reserved rooms for several servants… departure is in three days."

"Good."

Fang Xing nodded, finding it convenient to have a local-savvy servant like this.

(End of Chapter)