Apocalypse Trade Monopoly
Chapter 43: :Priorities First

Chapter 43: :Priorities First

Ava waited until the courier’s footsteps disappeared completely.

Then—she locked the door.

Her stomach was steady, her pulse controlled, but her mind was running sharp.

A thousand-token bounty.

Lucas Bai had made someone very, very angry.

Ava exhaled slowly, pushing the thought aside for now.

First—she needed to check the supplies.

She dragged the crate into the kitchen, flipping the lid off.

Inside—the usual

Packaged rations – high-calorie survival meals, standard for Level Two.

Bottled water – sealed, filtered, nothing suspicious.

Nutrient bars – the kind Lucas always tossed at her in place of a real meal.

Canned protein – cheap, processed, but enough to last.

Ammo cartridges – lower caliber, likely restocking his personal stash.

Ava narrowed her eyes.

All standard.

Nothing out of place

But Lucas Bai didn’t do standard.

Ava reached deeper—and there it was.

Tucked beneath the food supplies, wrapped in cloth—A sealed case.

Ava’s Blueprint System flickered instinctively, scanning before she even touched it.

[SCANNING OBJECT...]

[UNKNOWN STORAGE UNIT DETECTED]

[ENCRYPTION STATUS: ACTIVE]

[SECURITY LEVEL: HIGH]

Ava’s jaw tightened.

Lucas hadn’t told her about this.

Which meant one thing—he had expected to be here when it arrived.

Ava exhaled sharply, fingers drumming against the crate.

Lucas hadn’t mentioned this.

Hadn’t told her to touch it.

And until he did?

She wasn’t going to.

Ava wasn’t stupid.

Lucas Bai played high-stakes games, and opening something he hadn’t cleared was a great way to land herself in the middle of something she didn’t want to be in.

She shut the crate.

Her focus needed to be elsewhere.

Her Blueprint System was still humming from earlier, restless, waiting.

Ava rolled her shoulders.

Her Blueprint System had always worked in her favor—calculating, modifying, creating.

[RESTRICTED BLUEPRINT DETECTED]

[ACCESS DENIED – AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED]

So her system had limits too.

Ava’s fingers twitched.

She hated not knowing the details,

But there was no point wasting time on a problem she couldn’t crack yet.

She needed to focus on what she could control.

Her tools.

The black market upgrade she had gotten earlier was decent—better than what she had before.

But it was time for custom work.

Stronger materials. Precision instruments. Something that would let her push her system further without hitting another invisible wall.

And maybe...

Weapons.

Ava wasn’t an idiot.

Lucas Bai had enemies like it or not she was riding his train.

And now, with a 1,000-token bounty on his head, those enemies were getting bolder.

If someone came knocking while he was gone—She wasn’t about to sit here unarmed.

Six hours later, Ava was just about to finished sketching out the schematics for her tool upgrades when—

A knock. Sharp. Heavy.

William entered.

He enter covered in dusted and debris.

Carrying piles and piles of destroyed goods.

Ava’s eyebrow twitched. "Tell me you didn’t just bring me more broken junk."

William stepped aside, letting her see the full extent of the damage.

Crushed plating. Shattered circuitry. A few components that looked like they had been burned straight through.

"Fix what you can," he said evenly. "We were ambushed."

Ava’s pulse sharpened. "By who?"

William didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached down, flipping open one of the crates.

Ava glanced inside—

Military-grade weapons, destroyed beyond recognition.

Her stomach tightened.

This wasn’t random.

Someone had hit them hard.

Ava inhaled sharply, stepping aside. "Bring them in. I’ll see what’s salvageable."

William gave a short nod, hauling the first crate into her room.

Ava’s Blueprint System was already running scans.

Because whoever had ambushed them?

She was about to figure out exactly what they did.

William hauled the last crate inside, stacking it against the others.

Ava didn’t waste time.

Her Blueprint System pulsed to life, running immediate diagnostics.

[SCANNING...]

[NUMBER OF DAMAGED ITEMS: 14]

[DEGREE OF DAMAGE: SEVERE]

[ESTIMATED SALVAGE RATE: 42%]

Ava’s jaw tightened.

Not great.

She knelt, pulling out the first wrecked weapon.

A rifle—military spec, enhanced plating—but the entire power core was fried, the barrel warped like it had been blasted point-blank.

Ava glanced up. "What hit this?"

William crossed his arms. "Plasma rounds."

Ava’s stomach tightened. "Military stock?"

William’s jaw twitched. "Looks like it."

Ava exhaled sharply. So not just an ambush—someone with access to real firepower.

She dragged another broken device closer—this one was worse.

A shattered tactical drone. Wings melted, core missing.

Her Blueprint System flickered.

[SCANNING...]

[FOREIGN RESIDUE DETECTED]

[TRACING SOURCE...]

[MATCH FOUND – HIGH-ENERGY COMBUSTION RESIDUE]

Ava’s eyes narrowed. "These weren’t just shot at. They were deliberately burned."

William didn’t react. "Yeah."

Ava set the drone down, flexing her fingers.

"Tell me everything."

William exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "Trade run. Should’ve been simple. Then we got boxed in—two groups, well-coordinated, hit hard and fast. No insignia, but they weren’t amateurs."

Ava’s mind sharpened. "And they had plasma rounds and incendiary charges?"

William gave a tight nod. "Someone’s funding them."

Ava stared at the wreckage.

This wasn’t just about stealing goods.

Someone had wanted to send a warning.

Ava flexed her fingers, Blueprint System still running calculations.

"Fine," she muttered. "Let’s see what I can fix."

Her Blueprint System was humming, running deep scans, feeding her the most efficient repair paths.

[SCANNING...]

[COMPONENT DAMAGE: SEVERE]

[REPLACEMENT PARTS REQUIRED]

[ALTERNATIVE FIX AVAILABLE – MODIFIED POWER CORE]

Ava tilted her head. "Modified, huh?"

She could probably make it work.

Maybe even improve it.

But before she could start—William spoke.

"Stay here."

Ava glanced up, brows raised. "What?"

William’s expression was unreadable, but his voice left no room for argument.

"Fix what you can. I’ll be back."

Ava’s eyes narrowed. "Where are you going?"

William didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he grabbed his coat, adjusting the sleeves with smooth, practiced movements.

"To deal with the aftermath."

Ava studied him carefully.

William Zhou was always composed, always calculating. But there was a sharpness to him now—a weight behind his words.

This wasn’t just a routine trade gone bad.

This was bigger.

Ava exhaled sharply. "Fine. I’ll stay put."

For now.

William held her gaze for a moment longer, as if making sure she meant it.

Then—with a curt nod, he turned, walking toward the exit.

The door clicked shut behind him.

Ava sat back, fingers tapping against the half-dismantled weapon in front of her.

She wasn’t stupid.

William Zhou wasn’t just running an errand.

He was cleaning up something ugly.

Ava flexed her fingers.

She wasn’t stupid she do her job and stay put.