NOVGO.NET Chapter 46: Under The Floor
Chapter 46: Under The Floor
Stagnant brine and sharp formaldehyde hung in the air beneath the shuttered seafood plant used as the refinery network’s auction outlet.
Fin walked down the shadowed corridor in a tailored dark coat, adjusting a pair of forged buyer credentials.
Maya stepped beside him with quiet confidence, carrying a silver briefcase loaded with military-grade thermite canisters.
"Ruby is holding the exit tunnel behind the drainage sluice," Maya whispered, checking her encrypted wrist watch.
"She will keep the route open until we finish inspecting these auction lots," he replied in a low murmur.
"The buyers in this room represent five corporate syndicates and two municipal council factions," she noted quietly.
"People who run corporations love buying illegal weapons when the public defense sirens are blaring," he observed.
"They purchase bio-weapons to protect their private estates in District One while lower neighborhoods fend for themselves," she added.
"That is why our squad will balance the municipal ledger before this night ends," he answered with a grim tone.
They pushed through double swing doors into a cavernous basement illuminated by flickering amber vapor lamps.
Dozens of wealthy bidders in fine velvet overcoats gathered around rows of glowing glass stasis vats.
Inside the pressurized cylinders floated grotesque biomechanical chimeras stitched with human bone grafts and synthetic mana cores.
Fin’s internal sensory gauge pulsed with continuous alerts, registering artificial mana frequencies across every containment unit.
’Genesis is not just testing monsters in empty alleys; they are selling war assets to the highest bidder,’ he thought.
"Lot fourteen features a dual-core predator spliced with Grade-C hunter tendons," the auctioneer announced from an elevated platform.
"The opening bid begins at four million credits with guaranteed delivery to private holding vaults," the speaker declared.
A corporate representative in a grey suit raised his electronic paddle without a second of hesitation.
"Six million credits for the prototype," the corporate buyer called out, scribbling a confirmation code.
"That six million credits could feed twenty thousand displaced families in District Four," Maya muttered with disgust.
"Corrupt syndicates prefer buying biological weapons over paying honest taxes to repair district roofs," Fin answered calmly.
"If we let these vats leave this room, innocent porters will die in staged accidents," she noted, clenching her fists.
"None of these experimental crates are leaving this basement tonight," he promised, stepping toward the rear corridor.
He walked past the central auction ring, moving toward an uncatalogued row of cylindrical tanks along the back wall.
In the final alcove stood a black glass vat filled with swirling dark purple fluid and glowing organic tendrils.
A label stamped upon the metal base read: [ Prototype zero // primary derivative // Subject NULL compatibility ].
Fin reached out his right hand, resting his palm against the reinforced glass cylinder to inspect the core.
A crimson and gold interface screen erupted before his eyes with jarring visual force, pulsing like a dark heartbeat.
[ Warning: compatible divine trait detected ]
[ Acquire subject trait: Absolute Hunger? ]
[ Effect: monster absorption efficiency quadrupled across all categories ]
[ Secondary effect: unlocks instantaneous multi-corpse assimilation without saturation cooldown ]
[ Warning: permanently degrades host empathy and biological sanity by seventy percent ]
A terrible, suffocating hunger clawed at the back of his throat, tempting his mind to accept the dark shortcut.
The golden interface flickered violently, presenting two flashing prompts in the air: [ Accept ] or [ Reject ].
’Quadruple absorption speed would clear that two-million EXP wall in less than three weeks,’ he considered for a moment.
Images of Jolly sitting at the kitchen table with her red pencils flashed across his thoughts with sudden clarity.
He remembered Ruby standing on the mud lot, guarding his back while he hauled grain crates for scared draftees.
’Power purchased by throwing away your own humanity is just another predatory loan,’ he decided with firm resolve.
"I pack honest crates for my family," he whispered in the quiet alcove.
"I do not eat madness to make my numbers go up faster."
Fin slammed both palms forward in his mind, rejecting the crimson prompt with unyielding mental force.
[ Host refusal confirmed ]
[ Trait Absolute Hunger rejected ]
[ Active assimilation blocked; quarantine diagnostic pending ]
The dark purple tendrils inside the vat thrashed in fury, but the golden interface returned to its clean state.
Fin stepped back from the glass, exhaling a slow breath as his pulse settled back to its steady baseline.
’A true roof stands on honest stone, not corrupted blood,’ he reminded himself, centering his core balance.
Maya walked over from the fuel line junction, wiping grease from her fingertips with a dark cloth.
"Thermite timers are set for ninety seconds across three primary fuel lines," Maya reported with a grin.
"Did you find anything useful in that black tank?" she asked, glancing at the thrashing tendrils.
"I found a bad deal that cost too much human sanity," he answered, unhooking his hatchet.
"Then let us burn this entire market to the ground before the next lot sells," she replied.
"Light the fuses and get behind the blast partition," he ordered, rolling his shoulders with steady focus.
Fin stepped toward the main pressurized mana conduit that fed power to the entire underground facility.
He gripped his hatchet with both hands, channeling twenty-five percent structural density through his arms.
The hardened blade struck the conduit with explosive kinetic force, severing the thick metal pipe in a single blow.
High-pressure mana fuel sprayed across the room, hissing violently as it contacted the heated thermite charges.
Incendiary fire erupted with a roar, sweeping across the floor in a bright wave of orange and crimson flames.
Glass vats shattered one after another as the thermal shock wave tore through the illegal auction floor.
Wealthy bidders screamed in panic, dropping their digital slates as they ran toward the main exit.
"Run for the drainage sluice right now!" Fin commanded, shoving Maya toward the back egress corridor.
"What about you?" Maya shouted over the roar of the spreading inferno.
"My resistance buys me seconds. Keep the exit clear," he answered, turning toward the flames.
He crossed beneath the active sprinklers, shielding his face from the heat as his sleeves began to scorch.
An emergency comm unit on the wall crackled to life, broadcasting a synthesized voice through the roaring blaze.
"Subject NULL has chosen his faction," the voice declared with detached electronic finality.
"Activate Batch Three prototypes immediately," the speaker ordered across the network.
"Eliminate the anomaly and secure the primary genetic core before the facility collapses."
Fin swung his hatchet sideways, shattering the speaker box into burning scrap before stepping into the drainage tunnel.
Ruby stood at the tunnel threshold with her shield raised, motioning them toward the street-level exit above.
"The entire seafood plant is going up in smoke," Ruby reported, looking at the billowing black clouds.
"Good," Fin said, wiping soot from his brow as they climbed into the dark alley.
"One less illegal kitchen cooking monsters in our city."
"The draftees at Depot Four will sleep safer tonight knowing this place is gone," Ruby noted with a faint smile.
"Tomorrow we fortify the district barricades before Genesis sends their next batch," Fin concluded firmly.
"Did everyone clear the tunnel?" Fin asked, looking back toward the exit.
Ruby counted the figures beside her before answering with a nod.
"Our team is out. I sent the fire crews the drain entrance."
"Keep that route open. I want a headcount, not another speech about acceptable losses."
Behind them, the foundation collapsed with a rumble, burying the charred remains beneath tons of rubble.