The boarding ramp of the Golden Karma Fortress clattered as Shen Qiaoqiao stepped onto the marble stones.
She carried a heavy, rosewood-framed abacus under her arm and a thick stack of gilded legal scrolls in both hands. Her rimless reading glasses sat straight upon her nose. A warm, radiant, and dimpled smile lit up her face as she looked across the battlefield.
Behind her walked Dr. Gu Qinghe, carrying two large silver acupuncture cases and several glass flagons of glowing green nutrient broth.
“Did someone say twelve new employees?” Shen Qiaoqiao asked cheerfully, her heels clicking crisply on the jade tiles. “I brought our standard indefinite-term labor agreements, hazard liability waivers, and the revised overtime schedules.”
First Director Cain struggled onto his elbows, coughing out black foam that hissed against the stone.
“Insolent girl!” Cain wheezed, his bloodshot eyes glaring at Shen Qiaoqiao’s leather folder with sheer venom. “We are the Twelve Sovereign Directors of Ouroboros! We ruled empires from the shadows before your great-grandparents were born! You think a stack of paper and an abacus can bind ancient gods?!”
“Technically speaking, Director Cain,” Shen Qiaoqiao said, kneeling politely beside him on the steps, “you are no longer gods. Under Article Seven of the Planetary Spiritual Heritage Charter, your syndicate has been classified as an unregistered criminal enterprise engaged in illegal mining, extortion, maritime banditry, and unapproved soul-harvesting.”
