"Shut it down! Kill the server!" Rusty screamed in panic, his newly healed hand snatching at the main power cable behind the server rack."Don't!" Nova intercepted the old technician’s hand. "If you pull the plug now, the bunker’s defense system goes dead. We’ll be blind and locked inside this concrete coffin."On the giant monitor, the live feed displaying their terrified faces suddenly flickered. The image vanished, replaced by grey static for two seconds, before finally forming a new image.It was an encrypted video call.A face appeared, filling the screen.Silas held his breath. He recognized that face. It was the face that graced business magazine covers and billboards all over the city.Seraphina Sterling.However, the woman on the screen looked far different from the "Ice Queen" Silas had met at the hospital or seen on the news.Her silver hair, usually in a perfect bun, was now unraveled and messy, plastered to a forehead wet with cold sweat. Her beautiful eyes were sunken, w

The heavy footsteps were getting closer.THUD... THUD... THUD...Every stomp of The Collector’s feet vibrated the concrete pipe walls around them, shaking loose dust and moss from the damp ceiling. The monster wasn't running; he was charging like a locomotive that had jumped its tracks."My leg..." Rusty groaned, his breathing ragged. The old technician was limping, his face pale as a sheet. The injury from being thrown earlier made every step a torture. "Leave me... I’ll only slow you down.""Don't talk nonsense!" Silas snapped, grabbing Rusty’s arm and forcing him to keep moving. "You’re the one with the map out of here! Without you, we’re just blind rats in a maze!"Ahead of them, a dim light appeared at the end of the pipe tunnel."That’s the exit!" Nova shouted, picking up her pace.They spilled out of the drainage pipe, tumbling onto hard, dusty concrete.They were no longer in the narrow sewer. They were inside a vast, dark subway tunnel. Thick cables snaked along the walls lik

The silence in the underground black market was shattered by Rex's hoarse laughter. The burn-scarred gang leader laughed uproariously, looking Silas up and down, from the top of his head to his mud-caked shoes."A Medical God?" Rex scoffed. "This skinny kid looks more like a street glimmer addict. Where's his white coat? Where's his medical case?"Rusty didn't back down. "His medical case is in his hands, Rex. Pass this up, and you'll regret it for the rest of your life."Rex's eyes narrowed. The laughter vanished from his face, replaced by a cold, murderous aura. "Fine. We have a walking corpse that needs a miracle. If he succeeds, he gets the absolute protection of 'The Underlords'. If he fails... we chop off his hands and sell his pretty assistant to the auction block."Nova swallowed hard, shrinking behind Silas’s back."Bring me your patient," Silas said flatly, without a single ounce of fear.Two hulking thugs emerged from a tarp tent, carrying a makeshift wooden stretcher. On i

That question echoed in Silas’s mind, accompanied by a faint smirk that slowly spread across his face. He stared at his palms, which still radiated the lingering glow of bio-electricity.In the world above, he was a penniless fugitive hunted without mercy. But down here, armed with a power that could manipulate the boundary between excruciating pain and mind-numbing pleasure, he was akin to a god.Silas rose slowly so as not to wake Nova, who was still sound asleep with a peaceful expression. He pulled on his t-shirt, unlocked the door of the VIP carriage, and stepped out into the stuffy underground air.Outside, Rex and a few of his men were standing guard. Seeing Silas emerge, the burn-scarred thug immediately stood at attention and bowed respectfully."Good morning, Doctor," Rex greeted with deep reverence. "Garth is already able to stand today. You truly are a miracle worker.""Good," Silas replied flatly. He leaned his back against the iron wall of the carriage. "Rex, I need a ne

Julian Cross’s face flushed red with anger, but the panic in his eyes was impossible to hide. He stared at his father, who had stopped convulsing. The old man’s body lay stiffly on the Persian carpet, his face turning a sickly blue, his breathing no longer audible."Don't listen to him, Julian!" Chloe shrieked hysterically, tugging at her boyfriend's arm. "He's a fraud! He's just a lowly nurse who got fired for almost killing a patient! If you let his filthy hands touch the Elder, you'll be taking the blame!"Several VIP doctors attending the auction rushed forward. One of them, a renowned cardiologist from the central hospital, placed his stethoscope against Elder Cross’s chest. The doctor's face instantly drained of color."There's no heartbeat," the doctor said, his voice trembling. "His cybernetic pacemaker... the main circuit is completely fried. This isn't a standard cardiac arrest. It's a fatal hardware failure. Without an operating room and his chest cracked open right this se