He paused, shooting the terrified executives a half-smile dripping with danger. "Since when did Project Zero-Transit's management become this entertaining?"
The executives looked like they were going to be sick.
Director Kaelen braced himself. "The Sterling Sovereign, please rest assured. We will track down the source of this rumor immediately. Once we find the culprit, we will give you a satisfactory answer."
"Track it down?" Nicholas arched a brow. "Why go through all that trouble?"
He leaned back against the sofa, his voice cool and detached. "There is nothing in this world I want to buy that I cannot see."
"Since you insist there's nothing more valuable than the serum in there... then take me and Ms. Panacea to the vault for an inspection."
Director Kaelen froze. "This..."
Nicholas stared him down. "I'll see for myself whether the rumors are true."
"Impossible!" one of the executives blurted out.
Realizing his massive mistake, the man quickly backpedaled. "The Sterling Sovereign, I don't mean to refuse you, but... The Sanctum Vault is strictly off-limits for tonight's auction. According to Project Zero-Transit protocol, no buyer is permitted near the vault."
"Protocol?" Nicholas scoffed, the chill in his eyes deepening. "You invite me to this auction, try to placate me with some so-called finale..."
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His flawless, aristocratic face radiated a lethally casual danger in the dim light.
"Now the entire ship knows you're hoarding something better, and when I ask to verify it, you use protocol to block me?"
That icy glare made the executives' knees buckle.
Director Kaelen hastily jumped in. "No, no... Please don't misunderstand, sir. What we mean is that the vault houses numerous unstable experimental subjects."
"Allowing outsiders inside could compromise the data and pose an immense security risk."
"We're only thinking of your safety and The Panacea's. We simply cannot..."
Nicholas's thin lips curled into a freezing smile. "If you're this terrified of letting me look at your cargo, it only makes me more curious about what exactly you're hiding in there."
"That's not it, sir, we really don't have—"
Director Kaelen was practically drowning in cold sweat.
He could feel the panicked, resentful glares of the other executives burning into his back.
Nicholas had officially run out of patience for their excuses.
He raised a hand, elegantly adjusting his cuff. "Two choices."
"Either you take me and Ms. Panacea to the vault for a private inspection."
"Or..."
The man raised his gaze, sweeping it across the trembling room. His lazy tone dropped to a bone-chilling octave. You drag that supposedly non-existent asset onto the auction stage yourselves."
"Let me decide if this little event of yours is even worth continuing."
Director Kaelen opened his mouth, but no words came out.
They legitimately had no idea what the rumor was talking about.
How were they supposed to put a mythical item on stage?
But letting The Sterling Sovereign and The Panacea into the vault? Absolutely not.
Exposing the unstable subjects to any buyer was a catastrophic
vel
violation of their protocols Cel
"who entent"