Linda didn't move at first.
Not out of strategy. Not out of calculated fear.
She was just stupid enough to freeze.
Ava, flat on her back, saw it before she did—the shape slinking out of the shadows, bones too long, teeth too sharp, eyes that used to belong to a person but didn't anymore.
A Shifter.
Or at least, what was left of one.
The transformation had been incomplete, or maybe just wrong. Some people, after the meteor shower, had shifted too much. Gone too deep into their new instincts and never came back.
Their minds rotted away before their bodies could, leaving behind half-beasts that forgot they were ever human.
This one used to be a man, maybe.
Now, it was something else.
Its head was too wolf-like, but its limbs were too long, fingers curled into hooked claws instead of paws. Its chest rose and fell in ragged, wheezing breaths, its ribs visible beneath its stretched, torn skin.
And right now?
It was staring directly at Linda.
Ava, still gasping for breath, barely got the words out.
"…Move."
Linda finally snapped out of it.
She turned to run—but she was too slow.
The Shifter lunged.
Linda screamed as claws ripped through her shoulder, sending her sprawling backward. Blood splattered against the rubble, bright and too fast, too much.
She scrambled, breath jagged and panicked, trying to crawl away, but the thing wasn't done.
Ava didn't wait to see what happened next.
She was already moving.
Her ribs ached like hell, her lungs still fighting to catch up, but survival was a better motivator than painkillers.
She grabbed the closest piece of rebar, heart slamming against her ribs, and turned—
Right as the Shifter's head snapped toward her.
The moment their eyes met, she knew.
It wasn't human anymore.
There was no hesitation, no restraint, no recognition.
Just hunger.
Ava gritted her teeth and swung.
The rebar connected with a sickening crack, hitting it across the jaw, knocking it sideways.
It didn't kill it.
But it gave Ava one second to breathe.
And that was all she needed.
She turned on her heel and ran.
The streets were a broken mess, rubble and rusted cars turning every path into a maze.
Ava dodged past twisted wreckage, heart hammering, knowing the thing was already moving again.
She could hear it—the sound of claws against pavement, the growl turning into a high-pitched screech that wasn't quite animal, wasn't quite human.
She had no weapons, no plan—
And then she saw the warehouse.
Half-standing, its roof caved in, but the entrance still intact.
Ava pushed herself harder, lungs burning, her ribs screaming in protest.
She could make it.
She just had to—
A shadow moved in the corner of her vision.
Not the Shifter.
Someone else.
Then something whipped past her head, a blur of silver cutting through the air.
A knife.
Aimed directly at the Shifter.
Ava had just enough time to register the sound of the blade sinking into flesh before she collided with a solid wall of muscle.
Arms wrapped around her waist, catching her before she could hit the ground.
A voice—low, smooth, dangerously amused—spoke above her head.
"Well. That was dramatic."
Ava looked up.
And met golden eyes.
The Shifter was dead—a knife buried to the hilt in its throat, its body twitching one last time before slumping against the ruined pavement.
Ava, still caught in someone else's grip, tilted her head up.
Golden eyes met hers.
The man holding her looked annoyingly comfortable, like this whole life-or-death situation was nothing more than an inconvenient business meeting.
Lucas Bai.
Ava didn't know him personally, but she knew of him.
Everyone in the bunker did.
Lucas Bai was Level Two, but no one believed he was just a regular Mutant. He had connections, influence, wealth—a monopoly on trade, information, and anything worth having.
And he was currently looking at her like she was an equation he was trying to solve.
"You're heavier than you look," he remarked, his arms still firm around her waist.
Ava blinked. "Wow. What a compliment."
Lucas smirked and let go, stepping back just as a second figure approached.
William Zhou.
Lucas Bai's personal butler. Or bodyguard. Or assassin.
Ava wasn't entirely sure, and no one was stupid enough to ask.
Zhou was older, silver-haired, and moved like someone who knew exactly how to kill you in three seconds or less.
Ava, still catching her breath, nodded toward the dead Shifter.
"Was that yours?" she asked, pointing to the knife.
Lucas gave a lazy shrug. "Zhou's, technically. But I'll take the credit if it impresses you."
Ava snorted. "Not even close."
Lucas studied her, his expression unreadable, but his system was already working.
His Monopoly Appraisal System wasn't just for objects.
It worked on people too.
And right now?
Ava Zhang was glowing with something no one else had.
His system flashed data across his vision, revealing things she hadn't even told herself yet.
[User: Ava Zhang]
[Status: Hidden System Detected]
[Ability: Blueprint System – HIGH VALUE]
[Market Potential: Extremely Profitable]
Lucas's lips twitched.
Well.
That was interesting.
"A scavenger, huh?" he said, tilting his head. "Doesn't seem like the best fit for you."
Ava rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry, do I not look like someone who rummages through trash for a living?"
Lucas chuckled. "Not exactly."
His system still analyzed her, breaking down her potential, her value, her worth.
And from what he could see?
She was worth a lot.
Ava was about to make a sarcastic remark when her own system activated.
And this time?
It wasn't subtle.
The moment her eyes landed on Lucas Bai, something shifted.
Or rather—something clicked.
Because her system didn't just see him.
It saw everything he had on him.
[Blueprint Analysis Activated]
[Detecting Constructible Parts…]
[HIGH-LEVEL MATERIALS LOCATED]
Blueprints flooded her vision.
The belt buckle on his waist? A hidden compartment for microtools.
The watch on his wrist? Not just a watch—a tactical interface, loaded with encrypted data.
The fabric of his coat? Lined with reinforced plating, lightweight but durable.
Every item on him was a puzzle piece, and her system was racing to put it all together.
She had never seen so many possibilities at once.
Her pulse spiked, her breath shaky as her vision swam with glowing schematics.
Lucas noticed immediately.
His golden eyes sharpened, watching the way her hands twitched slightly, the way her gaze unfocused, distant.
Something was happening to her.
And he had a very strong suspicion he knew exactly what.
A slow, knowing smirk pulled at his lips.
"You see something you like?"
Ava blinked fast, forcing herself back to reality.
She scowled. "Yeah. Your face. Would look great with a punch in it."
Lucas laughed.
Oh, he liked her already.
William Zhou, still standing a few feet away, finally spoke.
"Sir," he said, glancing toward the ruins ahead. "The warehouse is within reach. We should move."
Lucas didn't take his eyes off Ava.
"Right," he murmured. "But first—"
He pulled something from his coat, holding it between two fingers.
A ration bar.
Real food. Not the moldy excuse for bread they handed out in Level Three.
Ava's stomach betrayed her immediately, twisting in painful hunger.
Lucas held it just out of reach, tilting his head.
"You hungry?"
Ava narrowed her eyes. "What's the catch?"
Lucas smirked. "No catch. Just a trade."
"For what?"
His golden eyes gleamed.
"Your help."
Ava exhaled slowly, studying him.
He knew.
Maybe not everything. But he knew enough.
And in a world like this?
That was dangerous.
But so was starving to death.
She eyed the ration bar one last time—then grabbed it from his hand.
"Fine," she muttered. "But if you try to screw me over, I'll find a way to kill you."
Lucas just smiled.
"That's the spirit."