Hearing the collective attention of the buyers snap toward them, Director Kaelen's heart lurched. He stepped forward quickly. "Ladies and gentlemen, the exact details still require thorough verification..."
"Of course they do," Jasper chimed in with a bright, entirely too-innocent tone. "But didn't your men just confirm that his identity checks out, and you found the comms logs to prove it?"
He glanced pointedly at the terminal in Jerrick's hand. "Since you've already verified that this guy belongs to Obsidian Sun, and he's the one who ordered the med-tech mole to wipe the data and evac Specimen Fourteen..."
"Doesn't that pretty much confirm that Specimen Fourteen is deeply tied to Obsidian Sun?"
"You aren't going to tell me that those highly specific orders to delete records and alter vitals were just a wacky coincidence, are you?"
The biting sarcasm effectively choked off whatever excuse Director Kaelen was about to offer.
He desperately wanted to bury the incident.
But the evidence had just been laid out in front of an audience.
If he tried to deny it now, it would only make the buyers believe the administration was actively orchestrating a cover-up.
Guided by Jasper's leading questions, the crowd easily connected the dots. "So the faction that manufactured Specimen Fourteen is Obsidian Sun?!"
The elites who had been endlessly speculating about the creator of Asset 14 suddenly rooted their feet to the floor.
People stopped in their tracks, their eyes locking onto the quarantine unit housing Specimen Fourteen.
Jasper let out a highly exaggerated sigh, clicking his tongue. "Makes sense. I was just wondering why an asset like Fourteen didn't come with a single shred of public manufacturing data."
"If this thing really is tied to Obsidian Sun..." He flashed a meaningful smile. "Then it all adds up perfectly."
Director Kaelen's expression was thunderous. "Mr. Wraith, the administration is still investigating. We have not reached any final conclusions."
Jasper threw his hands up in a gesture of absolute cooperation. "Understood. My lips are sealed."
Director Kaelen gritted his teeth. Did the man even possess a conscience under that mask?
The sheer audacity!
But some things, once spoken out loud, didn't need hard evidence to become accepted truth.
No one in this room was stupid.
Obsidian Sun operatives had infiltrated the auction floor.
They had ordered a medical mole to wipe Asset 14's data, manipulate its vitals, and attempt to smuggle the specimen out.
And if they couldn't steal it, they were supposed to destroy it.
Who in their right mind would believe that Obsidian Sun had zero connection to Specimen Fourteen?
They had all been guessing earlier.
Wondering what kind of syndicate possessed the unfathomable wealth and technological prowess to create an augmented weapon that defied human limits.
And it wasn't just one.
Specimen Seven. Specimen Fourteen.
Ranging from unstable Semi-Finished Assets to a nearly perfected biological weapon.
There was clearly a massive, long-term research initiative driving this!
Now, the name that had been lurking in the shadows had finally been dragged into the light-Obsidian Sun.
"So it's Obsidian Sun..." a buyer murmured, his expression darkening. "If it's them, this actually makes perfect sense."
"Are we really surprised, given all the rumors about their human
modification projects over the years?" another added with a cold scoff. Half the missing persons cases we've tracked trace back to them."
"I just didn't expect them to push the science this far."
"We never had concrete proof
bet
before. But with Specimen Fourteen.
sitting right in
front of us, these
just rumors anymore."
The majority of the people in the hall weren't exactly clean.
To secure a seat here, you had to have your hands in a few illicit industries.