Ava
didn't trust Lucas Bai.
Which was
perfectly reasonable
, considering the guy looked like he was born to scam people out of their last scraps of food and make them thank him for it.
But she
trusted hunger even less.
So here she was—following him and his
silent but lethal butler
, William Zhou, through the
ruins of a collapsed warehouse
, dodging
unstable flooring, rusted metal, and the occasional dead body.
Lucas led the way with
casual ease
, like he'd done this
a hundred times before
. He probably had.
"Try to keep up," he called over his shoulder.
Ava ignored him, adjusting the
thin gloves she had borrowed from a dead guy outside.
If she was going to be
digging through contaminated ruins
, she wasn't doing it barehanded.
Lucas stopped in front of
a half-collapsed storage section
, motioning toward the remains of
a supply rack.
"See anything useful?" he asked, tone light.
Testing her.
Ava exhaled through her nose.
His
Monopoly Appraisal System
could tell him exactly
what had value
.
And
her Blueprint System
could tell her exactly
how to use it.
The moment she
scanned the wreckage
, blueprints
flooded her vision
, overlaying the scene like a
holographic schematic.
[Analyzing...]
[Identifying Materials...]
[Scrap Alloy – Reinforceable]
[Copper Wiring – Salvageable]
[Rust Damage – 42% Repairable]
Ava grinned.
Oh, this was fun.
She
moved instantly
, slipping past Lucas, crouching beside
a shattered console buried under metal beams.
Her
hands worked fast
, prying off
anything that could still be useful
—wiring, panels, even
a rusted motherboard that her system said could still function with minor repairs.
Lucas watched,
intrigued.
Most people worked
slowly
, second-guessing themselves.
But Ava?
She moved
with certainty
—like she
already knew what she was looking for.
Because, he realized,
she did.
His system flashed another
analysis report on her.
[User Ava Zhang]
[Processing Speed: 97% Efficiency]
[Resource Judgment: Exceptional]
[Trade Potential: Skyrocketing]
Lucas let out a
low chuckle.
"Well, well," he murmured. "Looks like I found a
goldmine.
"
Ava didn't
look up.
She just reached for another
salvageable part
, her voice dry.
"Yeah? Too bad you're terrible at keeping secrets."
Lucas blinked—then
laughed outright.
She'd
caught on.
Smart girl.
They worked
fast, efficiently
, pulling salvage from the wreckage like they'd been
doing it together for years.
William Zhou stayed
on watch
, his eyes scanning the ruins for
movement, threats, or other scavengers.
By the time they had
gathered enough
, Ava was
breathless, sweating
, but
exhilarated.
Lucas appraised their
haul
, golden eyes gleaming.
Ava's hands moved
fast, efficient, and ruthless.
She knew exactly how this worked.
Lucas Bai didn't
give things for free.
Which meant the moment he
turned to her
, golden eyes glinting with something
too sharp to be friendly
, she was already bracing herself.
And sure enough—
"You should work for me."
Ava scoffed, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Yeah, no thanks."
Lucas didn't look
surprised
. If anything, he looked
amused.
"Come on, Zhang," he said, stepping closer. "You and I both know you're wasting away in Level Three. You're sharp, you work fast, and—"
His head tilted slightly.
"You have a system, don't you?"
Ava's fingers
twitched.
She kept her face
neutral
, but Lucas
was watching too closely.
She could lie.
Deny everything.
But something told her
it wouldn't work.
Because Lucas Bai
already knew.
"Think it through," he said, stepping closer, his tone still easygoing—but there was something
dangerous
beneath it. "The bunker's changing, Zhang. The military's rolling out
tokens soon
—official currency for food, supplies, everything."
He smirked.
"And you're gonna want some if you plan to stay in the system."
Ava
narrowed her eyes.
That was
new information.
Right now, trade was
barter-based
—people exchanged
what they had, fought for scraps, made deals however they could.
But
tokens?
That meant
real structure. Real control.
And
if Lucas already knew about it, that meant he was getting ahead of it.
Ava
crossed her arms
, studying him.
"You planning to hoard them?"
Lucas smiled. "I'm planning to
own the economy
before it even starts."
And there it was.
The truth, laid out in
one simple sentence.
He wasn't just
trading.
He was
building an empire.
And he wanted her
on the ground floor.
Ava rolled her shoulders, pretending she wasn't
already thinking ten steps ahead.
"And what exactly do you need me for?" she asked.
Lucas's
eyes glinted.
"You work fast. You know how to spot value before others do. And," he paused, watching her
too closely
, "I have a feeling you'll be
very useful soon.
"
Ava's stomach
twisted.
He still
wasn't saying it outright
, but she knew.
He knew.
About her system.
Not everything. But
enough
.
Which meant she had
two options.
Walk away. Keep pretending. Keep
scraping by
in Level Three with
rotting food and no future.
Take the deal.
Play the game.
Use
Lucas as much as he was planning to use her.
Ava ran her tongue over her teeth.
"Alright," she said finally. "I'll work for you."
Lucas smiled.
"Smart girl."
Ava scowled. "Yeah, yeah. Where's my cut?"
Lucas
chuckled
, already turning toward the bunker.
"First cut?" he echoed. "How about a room?"
Ava blinked.
Paused.
Lucas glanced back, golden eyes glinting. "You wanna stay in Level Three forever, Zhang?"
Ava
sighed.
Yeah. That's what she thought.
So she followed him inside.
And just like that—
the first deal was made.