After all, The Panacea had just auctioned off a serum for an eye-watering $1.38 billion, thoroughly delighting The Sterling Sovereign.
And in return, the man had casually dropped $26 billion to secure The A.W.S-0 Neural Stability Serum just to place it in her hands.
Even now, when she just wanted to make a quick buck on an appraisal fee, he went out of his way to threaten the ship's entire management to ensure her safety.
Was this... the legendary power of love at first sight?
...
A few moments later, on the auction floor.
The frantic murmurs of the crowd had not ceased.
Suddenly, the side doors opened, and the sharp, rhythmic click of high heels echoed through the room.
Countless heads turned instinctively.
They watched as Director Kaelen respectfully guided a young woman onto the auction stage.
She was stunningly slender, draped in a black silk gown that cascaded perfectly over her curves.
With every step, the hem of her dress swayed like a blooming black datura, radiating a lethal, intoxicating allure.
The stage lights washed over her, making her luminous skin practically glow.
Her complexion carried a hint of pallor, and a dark, untouchable melancholy clung to her features.
Those slightly upturned eyes swept indifferently across the crowd. Though her gaze was freezing cold, it somehow made it impossible for anyone to look away.
She was chillingly detached, with striking crimson lips.
She possessed a fragile, almost sickly beauty.
Yet, she was absolutely breathtaking.
The entire hall fell dead silent for a fraction of a second.
"That's The Panacea? She's so young?"
"Wait... The Panacea is a woman?"
"I always pictured some deranged sixty-year-old madman! I had no idea she was... gorgeous!"
"This stunning woman is the legendary underworld chemist?"
"I've heard the rumors for years, but this is the first time I've ever seen her in person..."
Almost everyone in the room had heard her moniker.
But very few had ever been close enough to actually look at her.
Who would have guessed that the ruthless, eccentric black-market chemist was a young, dazzlingly beautiful woman?
Serena paid zero attention to the hungry, calculating stares.
She casually strode up to the Apex Bio-Transfer Pod, her heels clicking against the floor.
A slow, dangerous smile curved her crimson lips.
...
At the exact moment Serena stepped onto the stage, across the auction hall...
The cloaked Overlord, who had violently bid for the mother liquid earlier, sank back into his seat.
From beneath his heavy hood, his dark eyes locked onto the security perimeter.
The lead guard was still standing there his piercing grayish-blue eyes. fixed
through his tactical visor.
ely Of The Overlord
The Overlord clenched his fists tight.
He forcefully choked down his blinding rage.
Lowering his head, he used the concealment of his massive sleeves to discreetly activate a comms device.
An encrypted transmission vanished into the ether.
[Specimen Fourteen is on stage. Retrieval impossible.]
[Exterior validation complete. All buyers have visual confirmation.]
[Ship administration has lost manual override of the auction core.]
Somewhere deep within Project Zero-Transit, in a heavily concealed sector.
The Raven stood in total darkness, radiating an aura of pure, suffocating fury.
He stared down at the tablet in his hands.
The screen displayed a decimated, pitch-black control room.
Shattered servers and fried terminals littered the floor in total ruin.
This was supposed to be Obsidian Sun's central nervous system aboard
over years of operations...
Project Zero-Transit belnet
And now, it was ashes.
up
A massive volume of data had been violently traced and hijacked by The Panacea.
To prevent a catastrophic breach,
ket
The Raven had been forced to order
thediate destruction of order
own
ahald.
swhovels