Free Web NovelChapter 112: [112] The Liability Clause, A Corporate Shield
Arthur Sterling did not run anymore. He stopped dead right in the absolute center of the massive plaza.
His chest heaved up and down. Sweat dripped from his chin and stung his eyes. His pristine tailored suit was completely ruined. It was covered in grey dust, ash, and the foul smelling grime of the lower wards. His legs burned with the kind of deep muscle fatigue he had not felt since his days as a corporate liquidator on Earth.
He was entirely nerfed. His million fold multiplier was locked away behind a cosmic audit. He was running on the base stats of a mortal man. frёewebnoѵēl.com
But as he stood directly in front of the towering, humming reality-shields of the central energy grid, his pitch black eyes were cold. They were dead. They were full of absolute, undeniable victory.
He turned around slowly to face the firing squad.
The fifty High Enforcers marched into the open square. They did not break into a run. They did not shout or scream. They moved with a terrifying, robotic precision. Their heavy white starlight boots hit the cracked pavement in perfect unison.
They fanned out smoothly. In a matter of seconds, they formed a perfect, inescapable half circle perimeter around Arthur, Cassia, and Vane.
Fifty heavy plasma rifles were raised simultaneously. The humming of their high tier weapons reached a deafening, vibrating pitch that made the air taste like burnt copper and ozone.
Arthur looked at his system interface. He checked the final tally scrolling in the corner of his vision.
[Ding!]
[Total Collateral Damage Calculated.]
[Public Infrastructure Damaged by Sanctioned Entities. Total Value: 6,000,000 Merit Points.]
Arthur took a slow, deep breath. He let it out in a steady stream. He spread his arms wide, completely exposing his unprotected chest to the fifty Enforcers.
"Alright boys," Arthur called out. His baritone voice dripped with pure, unfiltered corporate arrogance. "Time to pay the bill."
The fifty High Enforcers stood like statues of white starlight. Their mirrored visors locked onto Arthur’s chest. The air in the plaza was thick with the smell of ozone and burnt metal from the long chaotic chase through the city.
Cassia and Vane stood a few feet behind Arthur.
Cassia’s hands hovered inches away from the sleek holsters strapped to her thighs. Her silver eyes darted from target to target, calculating angles and drop rates. Vane gripped the hilt of his massive chipped broadsword. His heavily scarred muscles tensed up. He was ready to fight to the absolute death.
"Do not draw your weapons," Arthur commanded softly. He didn’t look back at them. "Keep your hands where they can see them. Right by your sides."
Vane gritted his teeth so hard a vein popped in his neck. "Arthur. They’re going to execute us! We are backed against a wall!"
"Just watch the show, Vane," Cassia whispered. She slowly moved her hands away from her stun pistols. She raised her hands slightly, keeping her palms open. She knew exactly what Arthur was doing. She had seen him work the system before.
The lead Enforcer stepped forward. The heavy boots clanked loudly against the cracked marble of the plaza. The featureless, mirrored visor stared blankly at Arthur.
"Anomaly Arthur Sterling," the Enforcer’s synthesized voice buzzed from its helmet speakers. "You are guilty of unauthorized reality manipulation. You are guilty of assaulting a sanctioned officer. You have resisted arrest."
The Enforcer raised his heavy stun-baton with his left hand while keeping his rifle trained on Arthur with his right. The baton crackled with lethal, blue voltage.
"By order of the Celestial Court and the Iron Consortium, your existence is forfeit," the Enforcer droned. "Commencing execution."
Arthur didn’t flinch. He didn’t beg for his life. He didn’t drop to his knees. He just offered a cold, predatory sneer.
"You boys are incredibly sloppy," Arthur said. His baritone voice carried perfectly over the humming weapons.
The lead Enforcer paused. The robotic logic of the entity struggled to process the sheer arrogance of a mortal man about to be vaporized into ash. He was cornered. He had no magical aura. He had no shields. Why was he smiling?
Arthur slowly reached his right hand up. He didn’t reach for the pitch black sword on his back. He tapped his index finger against the side of his head.
"System," Arthur commanded. "Project the ledger."
With a soft hum, a massive, glowing blue holographic screen erupted from Arthur’s system interface. It floated in the air directly between him and the firing squad. It was ten feet tall and perfectly clear. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
It wasn’t a magic shield. It wasn’t a reality barrier. It was an itemized receipt.
The Enforcers stared at the screen. The glowing green text scrolled rapidly down the blue background.
[Omniversal Holdings Ledger: Damage Report.]
[Item: Anti-Air Turret. Destroyed by Celestial Enforcer plasma fire. Value: 50,000.]
[Item: Water Purification Tower. Destroyed by Celestial Enforcer plasma fire. Value: 120,000.]
[Item: Primary Transit Rail. Shattered by Celestial Enforcer blunt force trauma. Value: 250,000.]
The list went on and on. It detailed every single cracked brick, every shattered window, and every melted wire the Enforcers had carelessly destroyed during their blind pursuit through the Margin.
At the very bottom of the long list, a massive, blinking red number sat waiting.
[Total Value: 6,000,000 Merit Points.]
"You just destroyed six million Merit Points worth of registered corporate infrastructure," Arthur announced loudly. He pointed a firm finger at the screen. "You didn’t have a warrant for property damage. You didn’t file the proper requisition forms. You just walked into my city and started shooting like a bunch of uneducated street thugs."
The lead Enforcer lowered his baton slightly. The glowing visor tilted. "Irrelevant. You are an anomaly. Collateral damage is acceptable during the purging of a threat to the Celestial Court."
"Not when the threat owns the property," Arthur countered smoothly.
He took a slow confident step forward. His dark eyes locked onto the mirrored visor of the captain.
