Chapter 170: That’s Convenient

The express lift rose smoothly through Meridian Tower, gliding to a silent halt at the 80th floor.

As the polished brass doors opened, bright sunlight filled the top-floor lounge of the Sky-Palace. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows curved around the room, showing the wide rooftops, monuments, and bridges of District 1.

Amber Sterling was curled comfortably on one of the deep leather sofas, her dark hair pinned back in a messy bun.

Beside her, Calista rested in her magitech chair, while Director Mikay sat in an armchair across from them with stacks of paperwork spread across the wide marble coffee table.

Amber looked up, her dark brown eyes lighting up with a warm smile the moment she saw Evren. Through their soul-bond, a gentle wave of affection brushed against his thoughts.

"You’re back," Amber said, standing up with an easy smile. "How bad was Caldwell’s fit at the Citadel?"

"Caldwell wasn’t the problem," Evren said, walking into the lounge with Zephyra beside him. "We have much bigger concerns, but first, we have business to handle."

He set the two velvet gift bags onto the marble coffee table, sliding one toward Amber and the other toward Calista.

Calista blinked, looking down at the elegant rose-gold box with wide, hesitant eyes. Her hands rested lightly on the armrests of her chair, trembling just a bit.

"What is this?" Calista asked softly.

"Your company account has twenty million dollars, but you were borrowing phones just to call me," Evren said with a faint smile. "That ends today. Open it."

Calista carefully untied the silk ribbon and lifted the lid. Inside lay the flagship phone, a matching ultra-thin tablet, and a stylus resting in black velvet.

She touched the cool glass with the tips of her fingers, her breath catching in her throat.

For years, she had been locked in freezing basement rooms, stripped of everything. Now, a brand-new top-of-the-line phone and tablet were sitting right in front of her, registered in her own name.

"It has the stylus for sketching your botanical formulas," Evren said gently. "We’ll save all our private numbers into it in a bit, so you can reach any of us anytime."

A tear slipped down Calista’s cheek, but a bright, trembling smile broke across her face. "Thank you, Evren. You really didn’t have to do this."

"Of course he did," Amber said with an affectionate laugh as she opened her box. "He’s hopeless when it comes to spoiling us once he remembers, and he knows my favorite colors too well. Thanks a lot, Evren."

Beside him, Zephyra crossed her arms, a playful smirk on her face. "He bought himself a slate-gray set too, just so he wouldn’t feel left out."

Amber chuckled, tapping the smooth screen of her new tablet before looking up, her gaze turning serious. "Alright, Evren... what happened at the Citadel? The moment your meeting ended, the defense channels went dark, and three military gunships flew over our tower."

Evren sat down in an armchair opposite the sofa, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

"The tremor this morning wasn’t an earthquake," Evren said. "Chief Surveyor Vargas ran deep mana scans across the southern fault line. An Extinction-Class rift has formed across ninety miles of territory."

Mikay froze, his pen hovering over the document in his hands. "Extinction-Class? What was the energy reading?"

"The sensors burned out before they could even find a ceiling," Evren replied. "There is basically no rank for this. Kincaid already ordered a unified mobilization to build ground barriers along the southern passes."

Amber frowned as her tactical instincts kicked in immediately. "That makes sense if it’s on the ground. The mountain pass would act as a natural choke point for heavy artillery."

"That’s what Kincaid and the guild masters think," Evren said, shaking his head. "They’re preparing to fight in the valleys, but the tear isn’t on the ground."

Calista looked up from her tablet. "What do you mean?"

"The ground is getting dragged upward by massive gravity fields," Evren explained. "The rift is floating fifteen thousand feet up in the air, drifting right toward District 1. It will break open in less than seventy-two hours."

The lounge fell completely silent. Even the hum of the air vents seemed to disappear.

Amber leaned back slowly into the leather cushions, her fingers tightening against the sofa armrest. As an experienced frontline fighter, she understood the danger right away.

"An aerial breach," Amber murmured. "There are no choke points in the open sky where walls or trenches help. When that rift breaks, high-tier flying monsters and spatial debris will rain straight down on the city."

"Exactly," Evren said. "Kincaid declared a nationwide mobilization decree. Every certified guild has to submit frontline rosters by noon tomorrow for sky defense."

Mikay let out a long breath, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Seventy-two hours to get an entire imperial capital ready for an aerial invasion. The panic in the streets will start the moment people look up and see the sky turning dark."

"Which is why Starlight Pharmaceuticals needs to be running today," Evren said, looking over at Calista. "Not next week. Today."

Calista sat up straighter. "The Vesper Ancestral Conservatory is secure, Evren. But we have a serious logistical problem."

"Tell me," Evren said.

"The conservatory is twelve acres of quiet gardens, but the star-soil and ancient trees are delicate," Calista explained. "If we bring in heavy chemical reactors, distillation machines, and noisy bottling lines, the exhaust will poison the roots of the trees. The conservatory has to stay a clean cultivation sanctuary, not a smoky factory."

"Then we need a proper manufacturing plant," Evren said.

Director Mikay slid a thick leather folder across the marble coffee table, placing it right in front of Evren.

"I anticipated this while we were at the Imperial Central Bank, Chairman," Mikay said, tapping the gold seal on the cover. "When Gavin Vance’s claim was thrown out of court, his cartel’s credit lines were frozen. The bank and court escrow are moving to sell off his corporate assets today."

Evren opened the folder, looking over the blueprints and property deeds inside.

"It’s the cartel’s new biotech complex in District 2," Mikay continued. "They finished it three months ago—five floors and a hundred and fifty thousand square feet, fully equipped with cleanrooms, distillation systems, and automated bottling lines. But with Gavin locked in an imperial cell awaiting tribunal and their bank accounts frozen, the cartel defaulted on their construction loans this month."

Evren raised an eyebrow. "That’s... convenient. How much does the court want to clear the deed?"

"Thirty million dollars in cash to clear the legal liens," Mikay answered. "The bank wants it off their books as soon as possible before it goes to public auction next month. If you wire the funds through court escrow, Starlight Pharmaceuticals takes full ownership by noon."

"Buy it," Evren said without hesitation. "Wire the thirty million from our main account, take the deed, and set the master access to Calista’s biometrics. Retain the facility’s on-site technicians so the cleanrooms and distillation lines are ready for her."

Calista stared at him, her lips parting in disbelief. "Thirty million dollars... for a complete factory campus?"

"A good alchemist needs the right tools," Evren said with a steady look. "The conservatory will grow the rare herbs. The District 2 plant will mass-produce potions and elixirs for the fight ahead."

"What about security?" Amber asked, leaning over the blueprints. "District 2 is crowded, and with a rift coming, looting and sabotage will be real threats. Walter’s men are still watching the conservatory."

"That changes right now," Evren said firmly. "Walter and his men are veteran fighters, not security guards. Having elite frontline hunters patrol garden hedges while an extinction rift forms in the sky is a waste of their strength."

Amber nodded in quick agreement. "I agree. Walter’s men need to rest and train."

"Mikay, contact the top security providers in the capital," Evren directed. "Hire eighty guards with military backgrounds for round-the-clock watch at both the conservatory and the District 2 plant. In the meantime, move Walter and his forty-nine hunters into the tower’s training suites so they can drill."

"Consider it done, Chairman," Mikay said, jotting down the orders in his notebook. "I will send the escrow wire for the plant and have the guards on site within the hour."

"One more thing," Evren added, looking at Mikay. "Get the personal account numbers for Walter and every single one of his men. They held the line at the conservatory and kinda served as unpaid labours here in the tower. Nobody works for me without being properly rewarded."

"How much should I disburse, Chairman?" Mikay asked, his pen ready.

"Wire one hundred thousand dollars to each of them as a personal bonus," Evren said smoothly. "Five million total from my main balance."

Mikay smiled faintly, nodding with genuine respect. "Noted, Chairman. I will collect their routing numbers and process the transfers immediately."

"Good," Evren said, standing up and walking over to the wide glass wall.

Behind him, Amber and Zephyra walked over, standing at his side as they looked out over the capital. High in the southern sky, thin gray clouds drifted across the horizon, but Evren could already feel the static gathering in the air.

"Seventy-two hours," Evren murmured, watching the busy streets down below. "Let’s make every hour count."