They rented a secure room in the lower levels of Iron-Spire.
It was not a luxury suite. It was a square box made of thick stone and reinforced steel. It had no windows. The door had three heavy iron deadbolts. It cost ten low-tier Aether cores for one night. Jin paid the toll without arguing. Security was always a worthwhile expense.
Jin slept on a hard wooden cot. He rested his Foundation Level 4 body. The Iron-Blood Root had fixed his spine, but his stamina was still terrible. He needed the recovery time.
Nyx did not sleep. She stood in the darkest corner of the room, completely silent. She was the ultimate security system.
The next morning, the city woke up violently.
The massive industrial hammers of Iron-Spire started striking hot metal before the sun even cleared the high walls. The deep, rhythmic pounding shook the stone floor of their room.
Jin sat up. He rolled his shoulders. The pain was gone. He felt heavy and solid.
He looked at Luna. The girl was already awake. She sat at a small wooden table. She had a piece of cheap charcoal and a torn scrap of parchment. She was writing down numbers rapidly.
Jin walked over to the table. He looked at the spatial pouch tied to his belt.
"We need to liquidate the cargo today," Jin stated plainly. "We need high-density capital. Low-tier cores are too bulky. We need them converted into pure, mid-tier Aether crystals to pay for the teleportation circle."
Luna looked up from her parchment.
"I categorized the inventory from my memory of the red tent," Luna said. Her voice was steady. She was no longer crying in the dirt. She was in her element. "We have raw iron ore, common beast hides, low-tier cores, and three boxes of rare medical herbs."
Jin nodded. He understood logistics perfectly.
"We will not sell it all in one place," Jin ordered. "If we dump massive amounts of raw materials onto a single merchant, we flood his supply. Market saturation will drive our profit margin straight into the dirt. Furthermore, a single massive transaction draws unwanted attention. We will divide the assets. We will sell in small batches."
"Diversifying the risk," Luna said. She understood the concept. Her father had taught her the same rule.
"Exactly," Jin said. "Can you navigate this market?"
Luna stood up. She smoothed down her oversized grey tunic.
"My father did not own a shop here, but he had wholesale contracts with several local guilds," Luna explained. "I know the names of the quartermasters. I know the exact market value of our goods. I will not let them cheat us."
"Lead the way," Jin said.
They left the secure room. They stepped out into the loud, crowded streets of Iron-Spire.
The air was thick with grey smoke and the smell of roasted meat. The streets were packed with heavily armed mercenaries, wealthy guild masters, and giant beasts of burden.
Luna did not shrink away from the crowd. She walked with purpose. Jin and Nyx followed a few steps behind her. They kept their heavy cloaks pulled tight. They looked like standard, anonymous bodyguards.
Luna led them to the Brass District. It was a mid-level market filled with loud merchants and open-air stalls.
She stopped in front of a large storefront built from dark red stone. The banner above the door displayed a crossed hammer and a gold coin.
Luna walked inside. A fat, bald merchant with a thick gold necklace stood behind a wooden counter. He looked down at the small girl in the cheap clothes. He sneered.
"We do not give handouts to beggars," the merchant grunted.
Luna did not flinch. She placed her hands flat on the wooden counter.
"I am not a beggar," Luna stated clearly. Her voice was sharp and professional. "I represent an independent scavenger crew. We have three hundred pounds of raw, unrefined deep-earth iron. We also have fifty intact Horned-Boar hides."
The merchant raised an eyebrow. The volume was significant.
"Show me," the merchant demanded.
Jin stepped forward. He reached into his small grey spatial pouch. He pulled out a heavy block of dark iron and a thick, tough beast hide. He placed them on the counter.
The merchant inspected the goods. He rubbed his chin.
"The iron is standard," the merchant lied smoothly. "The hides are decent. I will give you two hundred low-tier cores for the batch."
Luna immediately shook her head.
"Do not insult my intelligence," Luna countered perfectly. "The supply chains from the southern plains have been disrupted by bandit raids all month. Raw iron is currently at a premium in this city. The massive weapon guilds are desperate for material. Three hundred low-tier cores, and you pay the spatial transfer fee."
The merchant glared at her. He recognized the tone. She knew exactly what she was talking about.
"Two hundred and fifty," the merchant growled.
"Two hundred and eighty," Luna pushed back smoothly. "Or I will take this iron directly to the Silver-Anvil Guild. I know Quartermaster Vorn pays a premium for bulk delivery."
The merchant gritted his teeth. He knew Quartermaster Vorn. He did not want to lose the inventory to a rival.
"Fine," the merchant snapped. "Two hundred and eighty. Leave the goods."
Jin stepped forward. He emptied the specific batch of iron and hides from the spatial pouch onto the floor. The merchant handed Luna a small, heavy leather bag filled with glowing Aether cores.
They walked out of the shop.
Jin looked at Luna. He was genuinely impressed. His corporate assessment was correct. The girl was a massive asset. She understood leverage. She used the disrupted supply chains to force a higher price.
"Good work," Jin said simply.
Luna smiled. It was a small, tired smile, but it was real. She proved she was not a liability.
They spent the next four hours walking across Iron-Spire.
They visited six different merchants. Luna used her father's connections flawlessly. She sold the medical herbs to an alchemy shop in the upper tier. She sold the low-tier bandit cores to an exchange bank, converting them into a handful of pure, high-density mid-tier crystals.
By late afternoon, the heavy, bulky loot from the bandit camp was completely gone.
The grey spatial pouch on Jin's belt was very light. But it contained pure, concentrated wealth. He had enough capital to pay for their travel and still have a massive reserve left over for emergencies. The hostile takeover of the bandit camp was officially a financial success.
Jin stopped walking. He stood in the middle of a busy intersection.
He looked toward the absolute center of Iron-Spire.
Rising above the thick smoke and the dark metal buildings was a massive, glowing structure. It was a tower built entirely from smooth, translucent blue stone. It did not look like it belonged in the dirty industrial city. It hummed with deep, terrifying power. The air around the top of the tower warped and rippled like heat off a desert road.
It was the city's spatial teleportation tower. It was the only fast way to travel across the massive continent.
"The cargo is liquidated," Jin announced. He pulled his brown hood lower over his face. "Our business here is concluded. We do not stay in one place long enough to become targets."
He looked at Nyx and Luna.
"We go to the tower," Jin commanded. "We buy our tickets. We leave for Zenith City."
They turned away from the noisy markets. They walked directly toward the glowing blue spire. Jin patted the small pouch on his belt. He had the money. He had the guards. It was time to enter the neutral zone and start building his own power.