The Almighty Garbage Collector: Reclaiming My Throne

The Price of Blood

The red alarm lights spun in a circle, painting the underground lab in angry flashes of red. The glass tubes around us cracked wide open, and the shadowy creatures stepped forward. They were not human. Their bodies were made of dense black smoke, and their eyes burned like hot coals.

"Kill them all," the clone ordered, pointing his hand right at my face.

Before the shadowy monsters could jump across the room, Ms. Alabi stepped forward. She did not look scared at all. Instead, her face turned cold and sharp, showing the ruthless personality that made her one of the most powerful business leaders in Lagos. She pulled a small silver remote from her pocket and pressed a bright red button.

"You think you are the only one who prepared a trap, little copycat?" Ms. Alabi asked, her voice carrying clearly over the blaring alarm.

A loud electric hum filled the air. Suddenly, rows of hidden panels on the walls slid open, revealing dozens of high-frequency plasma towers. Bright blue light shot out from the devices, forming an electric cage around the entire center of the amphitheater.

The shadowy creatures leaped toward us, but the moment they touched the blue light, they let out sharp, painful screeches and dissolved into thin air like burning paper.

The clone’s confident smile instantly vanished. He took a step back, grabbing Ife by the arm and holding a sharp metal blade right over her chest.

"Stop right there!" the clone shouted, his voice cracking with panic. "Take one more step, and I will cut her heart out right now! Your sister dies today, Tunde!"

I stopped dead in my tracks. My heart clenched tight inside my chest. I could see Ife’s pale face resting against the metal chair. She was not moving. The violet light from the overhead machine was still pumping into her head, draining her life force drop by drop.

Commander Okoro raised his rifle, aiming directly at the clone's head. "Young Master, give the word. I can take the shot before he moves the blade."

"No," I said, holding up my hand to stop him. "You cannot risk hitting her."

"Smart garbage collector," the clone laughed, pressing the blade a little closer to Ife’s skin until a tiny drop of red blood appeared on her shirt. "Drop your weapons. Both of you. And you, Ms. Alabi, turn off that power grid right now, or the girl dies in five seconds."

Ms. Alabi looked at me, her eyes asking for my choice. She was ready to play dirty, but she knew my weakness was my sister.

[System Alert: Host emotional state is reaching critical levels.]

[Warning: Activating emergency override requires fifty percent of current energy.]

[New Option Unlocked: Shadow Step. You can teleport ten feet in any direction.]

I stared straight at the clone. I did not look at his weapon, and I did not look at the blade near my sister's chest. I locked my eyes directly onto his face.

"You think you won because you copied my face?" I asked, my voice deadly quiet. "You think you are a real person because they gave you memories from my past? You are nothing more than a spare part."

The clone’s face twisted in pure rage. "I am the superior version! I am the one who will rule the Black Sun Faction while you rot in the dirt!"

"Then prove it," I said.

I took one slow step forward.

"I said stop!" the clone yelled, his hand shaking as he raised the blade higher to strike.

In that exact fraction of a second, I activated the system's new ability.

[Shadow Step activated!]

My body vanished from where I stood in a blur of motion. Before the clone could even blink, I reappeared directly in front of him, right beside the metal chair.

His eyes went wide with sudden shock. He tried to swing the blade down toward Ife, but my hand moved faster. I grabbed his wrist with an iron grip and squeezed with all the raw power of the Level 2 Dragon Bloodline.

A loud crunch echoed through the room as the bones in his wrist shattered. The knife dropped from his hand and clattered against the metal floor.

Before he could scream, I drove my fist straight into his chest. The force of the blow lifted him off his feet, sending him flying backward across the room. He crashed hard into the main control computer, smashing screens and sending sparks flying everywhere.

The clone hit the floor, coughing up dark blood, his body twitching violently as the machine behind him began to short out.

"Secure my sister!" I told Okoro.

Commander Okoro rushed forward with his guards, pulling the straps off Ife and lifting her gently out of the metallic chair. Ms. Alabi ran over to check her pulse, her fingers pressing against Ife's neck.

"She is alive," Ms. Alabi said, letting out a long breath. "Just very weak. We need to get her out of here right now."

I turned around and walked slowly toward the broken body of the clone. He was trying to crawl away, his fingers scratching against the concrete floor. His face was starting to melt, the synthetic skin peeling away to reveal a cold, gray metallic frame underneath.

He was not even a real human. He was a machine wrapped in artificial flesh.

"Who sent you?" I asked, standing over him and placing my foot on his chest.

The clone let out a harsh, mechanical laugh, his mouth dripping with black oil instead of blood. "You think... you destroyed the Black Sun? We are... only a small branch. The Supreme Leader... is already waiting... at your old family estate."

My blood ran cold. The old family estate was the mansion where my parents were murdered twelve years ago.

Before I could ask anything else, the clone's eyes flashed red one last time, and his entire body went completely dark. A small self-destruct timer on his chest lit up, counting down from five seconds.

"Get out!" I shouted, grabbing Ife’s chair and pulling it toward the exit.

We sprinted through the blast doors just as a massive explosion tore through the underground laboratory behind us, shaking the entire tunnel and sealing our way back with tons of falling rock.

We burst out of a hidden exit into the cool night air near the edge of the city. Okoro started the van engine immediately, and we threw Ife into the back seat. Ms. Alabi climbed in beside her, checking her breathing with a portable medical kit.

"Drive to the old family estate," I ordered, climbing into the front passenger seat.

Okoro slammed his foot on the gas pedal, and the van sped away into the dark night.

As we drove down the empty highway, my phone suddenly buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out. It was a live video message from an unknown sender.

I tapped the screen. The video showed the iron gates of my old family mansion. Standing in the courtyard, holding a glowing golden box that belonged to my father, was a woman wearing a traditional white lace dress and a dark veil over her face.

She turned slowly toward the camera, lifted her veil, and smiled.

It was Ronke.