It was glaringly obvious.
From the very beginning, The Panacea had deliberately set her sights on The Apex Bio-Transfer Pod, immediately homing in on Specimen Fourteen.
This woman was no ordinary buyer drawn in by some random rumor.
She came explicitly for Specimen Fourteen!
And yet, with just a single glance at the pod's interface, she had successfully
deduced that it contained an augmented biological asset?
Specimen Fourteen's existence was Obsidian Sun's most heavily guarded secret.
Even aboard Project Zero-Transit, practically no one knew about it!
But now, The Panacea knew.
Commander Richter's eyelid twitched violently, a murderous intent surging in his gaze.
Yet, when his eyes met Serena's half-smiling, predatory stare, an intense wave of unease washed over him.
"Panacea," he gritted out, word by word. "What Specimen Seven? I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"This is nothing more than emergency medical cargo that the ship needs transferred immediately!"
"I am warning you, back away from here right now!"
"If anything goes wrong, the ship's administration will not let you off the hook!"
"Walk away this instant, and Obsidian Sun will pretend tonight never happened."
Serena scoffed lightly. Her pale, striking face was etched with unbridled arrogance. "The ship's administration?"
She waved a hand dismissively. "Whatever the consequences are, take it up with my patron, The Sterling Sovereign."
She spoke with absolute, unwavering entitlement, layering her words with the perfect amount of high-handed tyranny.
It was as if no matter how much chaos she unleashed, The Sterling Sovereign would blindly clean up her mess.
"To put it simply, I've got my eye on this cargo."
Playing the part of the spoiled favorite flawlessly, she raised a hand and tapped lightly against the pod's armored exterior.
"From this moment on, this prize belongs to The Panacea."
Commander Richter's face turned livid.
First came Joker, and now The Panacea.
And looming behind this woman was the bottomless power of The Sterling Sovereign.
All three of them had locked onto Specimen Fourteen!
To make matters worse, not a single one of them was someone he could just quietly dispose of.
Just as Richter clenched his fists,
ready to order his remaining
Obsidian Sentinels to take dowel
Panacea at all costs,
A dull thud echoed through the air.
The
An Obsidian Sentinel flew backward, crashing hard at the Commander's feet.
The guard didn't even have time to scream before his body went completely limp on the floor, devoid of life.
The threat died instantly in Richter's throat; he couldn't force a single syllable past his lips.
Julian casually tossed the confiscated weapon onto the ground.
With agonizing slowness, he smoothed out his slightly ruffled cuffs.
Only then did he lift his elegant, calculating gaze toward Serena. "The Panacea, I presume?"
Serena raised a brow, her cold, luminous eyes sweeping over the man who stood amidst a sea of fallen sentinels, looking
devastatingly pristine that he didn't seem to have a drop of blood on him.
"Mr. Joker," she murmured with a faint smirk. "You know me?"
vet
Julian nodded, then shook his head. "Given your current infamy aboard Project Zero-Transit, I doubt there's a soul alive who doesn't know you. sŵnovels
It was the absolute truth.
Julian's lips curved upward. "However, a friend did mention you to me before I boarded."
His words carried a heavy, deliberate implication.
After all, if they mutually acknowledged her identity as "Julian's person" right here and now...
The rest of their alliance would be much smoother and easier to navigate.
Yet, upon hearing his words, Serena's eyes narrowed imperceptibly.