Apocalypse Trade Monopoly
Chapter 113: – Executable Logic

Chapter 113: – Executable Logic

Lucas stirred with a sharp inhale, like waking had to be declared. His whole chest rose once, all at once, then dropped. For a second, he just lay there, blinking against the ceiling of the hummer, his pupils shrinking and expanding like the light around him was having an argument.

Then he sat up.

Ava didn’t say anything.

She was already watching his system.

[Subject: Lucas Bai][System Integration: COMPLETE][Update Tier: 2.8 → 4.2][New Function Detected: Passive File Synthesis][Linked Ability: Contextual Decryption][Current Limit: Requires Raw Energy Source Input][Physical Boost: 18% Strength | 12% Reflex | 31% Neural Sync Efficiency][System Rarity Rating: Increased to ’Elite-Tier Unique’][Market Value: Do Not Display Publicly]

Ava raised an eyebrow.

Lucas flexed his hand like it wasn’t his. He tilted his wrist slowly, examining the smooth glide of tendons and muscle.

"Feels weird," he muttered, voice still hoarse. "Everything’s lighter. And heavier. At the same time."

"You’re heavier," Ava said. "Also faster, more valuable, and statistically more annoying."

"Mm," he said, already flicking his fingers toward the front console. "Cassi, status."

Cassi didn’t look back from the driver’s seat. "We’re still mobile. Eastbound. No tails since the tank. Just passed grid point 33.4. You’ve been out four hours and some change."

Lucas nodded. "Good. Route slightly north. I dropped a set of coordinates before blacking out. We need to make a stop before the next vendor."

Ava’s eyes narrowed.

"You’re serious?"

Lucas didn’t answer.

He didn’t need to.

She glanced at her display, pulled up the pinged destination.

And groaned. "Tell me that’s not a supermarket."

Cassi barked out a laugh. "Oh, it totally is. White Elephant brand. Classic."

Ava groaned. "Of course it is."

Lucas said nothing.

Cassi grinned. "Let me guess—Bai-branded capitalism dressed up as discount yogurt and shelf-stable sadness? Used as secure supply drops and logistics fallback sites. In case of war. Or, you know, the end of the world."

"And obvious drop point," Ava snapped. "Which is why the military camps them."

Cassi finally spoke, voice low and even. "It almost sounds smart."

Ava folded her arms, lips pressed into a line. "So we’re doing it again?"

"No," Lucas said. "We’re doing it the smarter way."

He tapped his bracer, sending a silent transmission Ava’s way. Her system caught the ping immediately and opened a locked file, icon red with encrypted markers.

"What’s this?" she asked, already scanning it.

"Intercepted from a military courier," Lucas replied. "My agent in Dockside got into a secondary feed node and yanked it mid-transfer. No password. Just layered obfuscation. They didn’t want to encrypt it properly. They didn’t want anyone knowing it existed."

"What’s it about?"

Lucas turned to her. "You tell me when we get it."

Before she could process, he reached out—smooth, fast—and pulled her into his lap with a single motion, like it was already decided.

"Hey—" Ava started, but he was already holding her steady, arm firm around her waist, eyes locked on hers.

"Listen," he said, and this time his voice was different. Slower. Focused, but... off. A touch too soft.

"I need you to crack it. That file could explain why some beasts have energy cores and some don’t. Why some burn out, and some evolve. The quality of the cores. Their market value. Trace signatures. Maybe even how to predict conditions they’ll show up."

Ava blinked. "You think it’s about core evolution?"

"I think it’s about resource," Lucas said. "If we figure out what gives some of them stable cores—and others nothing—we change the entire trade ecosystem. We corner the market. And if the military’s hiding it..."

"It’s probably gold," Ava muttered, eyes already skimming the file’s structure. "Layered deep. Not user-locked, but... woven. This wasn’t meant to be cracked with a password. It’s supposed to be dismissed as junk data."

Lucas didn’t reply.

He was... distracted.

She felt it before she saw it—the slight change in his breathing, the way his focus drifted for a second—not on the file, not on the data.

On her.

His eyes were glazed. Not gone, just... hazed.

And then he leaned in, just slightly, his nose brushing the side of her neck before she could stop him.

"Lucas—"

He inhaled once.

Stopped.

And blinked.

Then again—sharper, like something had just pulled him out of fog.

He pulled back half an inch. "That was—"

"Do not say anything stupid," Ava warned, cheeks heating.

"I wasn’t going to," Lucas said, but his voice was lower now. Quieter. A little stunned.

"I think it’s a side effect," Lucas murmured.

His voice was low—warmer than usual, almost lazy, like it was moving through honey. He didn’t pull away. He leaned in instead, eyes fluttering half-shut, his breath ghosting across her skin.

Ava stilled.

"Lucas," she warned.

But he didn’t respond.

He was in a haze again. Not blank. Not lost. Just... drugged on instinct. System feedback. Her proximity.

His nose brushed the curve of her neck, slower this time, less curious and more deliberate. The way someone might explore warmth in winter. The kind of closeness that made Ava forget, for just a second, how dangerous he was when he wasn’t calculating.

"Lucas," she said again, quieter now, breath catching.

Then his mouth was on her neck.

Not kissing.

Not quite.

Teeth grazed her skin.

And then—he sank in.

Not deep. Not savage. But undeniably real.

His lips parted just enough to let his fangs—barely visible before—press against the line of her pulse. She felt the pinprick heat of it, followed by a pressure that wasn’t quite pain.

More like a pull.

She gasped, fingers tightening instinctively in the front of his shirt. His other arm had already tightened around her waist, holding her still as if he needed to anchor her there, not for her sake—but for his own.

It wasn’t violent. It was slow. Controlled. Like Lucas had lost every part of himself that calculated profit margins and fallout scenarios and had instead gone perfectly, beautifully quiet.

And the part of her that should’ve shoved him away?

Didn’t.

Her system fluttered in her vision—uncertain.

[NEURAL SYNC FLUCTUATION: ELEVATED][BLOOD LOSS: MINOR – STABLE][CORE TRACE ENERGY: DETECTED – SHARED UPTAKE?]

Ava swallowed hard. "Lucas..."

He didn’t answer.

But she felt the tremor go through him.

The way his jaw flexed, his breath stuttered—like the taste had shocked something awake in him.

And then, just as slow as he started, he withdrew.

He didn’t pull away completely. Just leaned his forehead against her shoulder, jaw still tight, breath hot on her collarbone.

"I didn’t mean to," he said hoarsely. "I swear."

Ava’s voice came out rough. "But you did."

"I can’t tell what’s mine anymore," he whispered. "What’s system-driven. What’s not."

She didn’t move.

Didn’t push him off.

Her fingers were still curled in his shirt, knuckles white.

"I’m not mad," she said, after a long moment.

He blinked.

"I should be," she added, quieter. "But I’m not."

Lucas finally looked up. His pupils were still blown wide, gold flickering faintly at the edges.

"You taste like metal and electricity," he said, voice half-drunk.

"Flattering," Ava deadpanned.

"It wasn’t a complaint."

They stared at each other.

Too long.

Something had changed.

Whatever the core had done to him—it wasn’t just physical.

Something about her set it off.

And neither of them knew how to fix it.

Or if they wanted to.

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