CLANG—THUD!
The heavy golden boarding ramp of Harvester General Jin Ge’s flagship was pried open from the outside by two of General Tie Zhan’s armored guards using a fused star-iron crowbar, dropping down onto the black-hole brick pavement of Municipal Impound Lot #4 with a loud clatter.
Pei Xuan strolled casually up the golden ramp with his hands behind his back, wearing his simple gray cotton town-mayor robes and comfortable cloth shoes.
Right behind him walked Old Wei with his broadsword resting on his shoulder, General Tie Zhan munching on a roasted locust leg, Hong Ling carrying a bundle of freshly ironed yellow Debtor Vests, Abacus Su holding his thirty-foot red invoice scroll, and Old Yellow the Golden Dragon-Camel—who had shrunk down to the size of a farm horse so he could trot up the stairs and inspect the flagship’s carpet for anything edible.
Inside the grand golden command bridge at the top of the flagship, the atmosphere was as cold as a morgue.
Two dozen Upper-World bridge officers had already thrown their golden spears into a neat pile in the corner and were squatting against the wall with their hands on their heads—the exact posture Pei Xuan had instructed over the megaphone twenty minutes ago.
