Apocalypse Trade Monopoly
Chapter 58: : A Drunken Decision

Chapter 58: : A Drunken Decision

Ava stared at the bottles lined up along the far shelf.

Lucas Bai didn’t just hoard weapons. He hoarded quality. Aged whiskey, old-world wines, things that shouldn’t exist anymore, locked away in the heart of his fortress like they were just another part of his empire.

Ava sighed, standing. "You have good taste, Bai."

Lucas didn’t look up from his work. "Naturally."

Ava rolled her shoulders, moving to the shelf. "You mind?"

Lucas glanced over, smirking. "By all means, Beauty. Just don’t pick the one in the silver case."

Ava arched a brow. "Why?"

Lucas grinned. "Because it costs more than most people’s lives."

Ava huffed, grabbing a different bottle. Something deep amber, heavy in her hand. She twisted off the seal, took a whiff—

Smooth. Strong. The kind of drink that burned just right.

She poured herself a glass. Then another.

Lucas chuckled. "I take it this is serious drinking?"

Ava took a slow sip, savoring the heat. "Thinking fuel."

Lucas leaned back in his chair. "And what exactly are you thinking about?"

Ava watched the liquid swirl in her glass. "Syncing."

Lucas tilted his head, interest sparking in his golden eyes. "Already made up your mind?"

Ava sighed. "No. But every damn time, in every story, in every movie—people wait until it’s almost too late. They hesitate, they second-guess, and by the time they commit?"

She took another sip, exhaling sharply. "They’ve already lost."

Lucas studied her. "And you don’t like losing."

Ava met his gaze. "I want to be smart. And you—" she gestured vaguely at him, "—you’re the smartest person I know."

Lucas chuckled. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Zhang."

Ava ignored him, drinking again. The warmth spread through her chest, a steady hum in her veins. The logic was simple.

She wasn’t here to be weak.

Her system had already calculated the risk. Lucas had already stacked the odds.

Ava set her glass down with a final click. "I’m syncing."

Lucas grinned, slow and dangerous. "Drunk decision?"

Ava smirked. "No. Drunk courage."

Lucas tilted his head, watching her carefully. "Then come here, Beauty."

Ava felt her pulse jump, but she didn’t hesitate. She stepped forward, closing the space between them.

Lucas lifted a hand, brushing his fingers just under her chin. "Last chance to back out."

Ava huffed. "Do it, Bai."

Lucas laughed softly. "As you wish."

Then—his golden eyes flared. His system activated. And the link snapped into place.

Ava felt it instantly. A rush, a shift, her Blueprint System reacting—

[SYNC FUNCTION: INITIATED]

[MERGING SYSTEMS...]

[USER LINK ESTABLISHED]

Heat flooded her body, sharp and electric. Like touching live wires, like swallowing fire.

Lucas smirked. "Well, Beauty?"

Ava exhaled, gripping the edge of his desk. "I think I just made the smartest stupid decision of my life."

Lucas grinned. "That’s how you know it’s a good one."

Ava gritted her teeth as the heat surged through her.

Her Blueprint System was shifting, recalibrating, reacting to something foreign—something new. Lucas’s system wasn’t just merging with hers.

It was integrating.

Ava’s vision flickered. Data flooded her mind, an unfamiliar overlay appearing alongside her usual schematics.

[SYNC FUNCTION: ACTIVE]

[MERGING COMPLETE – PROCESSING NEW PARAMETERS]

[ACCESSING MONOPOLY APPRAISAL SYSTEM...]

[USER: AVA ZHANG – NEW STATUS: LINKED]

Ava’s stomach twisted.Linked.

This wasn’t temporary.

This wasn’t just sharing resources.

She and Lucas were connected now.

Ava exhaled sharply, gripping the desk tighter. "Bai—"

Lucas was watching her carefully, golden eyes sharp with something unreadable. "Breathe, Beauty."

Ava tried—but the shift was still happening. The warmth from the alcohol was nothing compared to this. Her blood burned, her nerves tingled, and deep in her mind—

Something clicked.

New data poured in. Not hers. His.

[NEW ACCESS GRANTED – MONOPOLY APPRAISAL SYSTEM]

[VALUE ANALYSIS – NOW AVAILABLE]

[USER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT – NOW AVAILABLE]

Ava felt her pulse pound. "I can see it."

Lucas tilted his head. "See what?"

Ava staggered back a step, hands pressing against her temples. "Your system. It’s in my head."

Lucas grinned. "Of course it is. We’re synced now."

Ava gritted her teeth. "You could’ve warned me how invasive this was."

Lucas chuckled. "Where’s the fun in that?"

Ava glared. "I swear to—"

Then, another shift.

Her Blueprint System adjusted, adapting to the new input. The sharp, analytical calculations she always relied on now had something else layered over them—something that whispered not just how to build something, but how to make it worth more.

Not just function.

Profit.

Ava froze, scanning the room on instinct. Every weapon, every device, even the half-empty whiskey bottle she’d been drinking from—

Values flickered over each one.

[TIER-3 ENERGY CORE – BLACK MARKET VALUE: 1,500 TOKENS]

[TACTICAL KNIFE – CURRENT WORTH: 600 TOKENS – POTENTIAL WORTH: 1,200 TOKENS WITH MODIFICATIONS]

[AGED WHISKEY – CURRENT WORTH: 500 TOKENS – LIMITED SUPPLY IN MARKET]

Ava exhaled sharply. "Oh, hell."

Lucas laughed. "Finally catching up, Beauty?"

Ava snapped her gaze to him. "I can see everything."

Lucas grinned. "That’s the point."

Ava gripped the edge of the desk. "This... this changes everything."

Lucas tilted his head. "Scared?"

Ava exhaled. "No. Just recalculating."

Because this wasn’t just a sync.

This was power.

And Lucas Bai had just tied his to hers—permanently.

Ava rolled her shoulders, feeling the last wave of heat settle into something steady, something controllable. Her body had adjusted. The sync was complete.

She glanced at Lucas. "You’re going to regret this."

Lucas smirked, stepping closer. "Doubtful."

Ava narrowed her eyes. "You know what this means, right?"

Lucas tilted his head. "Enlighten me."

Ava crossed her arms. "It means I can see your value. And if I ever decide you’re not worth it—"

Lucas laughed. "Then you’d have to break the link, Beauty. And we both know you won’t."

Ava huffed. "Cocky bastard."

Lucas grinned. "Your cocky bastard."

Ava rolled her eyes. "Three days, Bai. Then I decide what to do with you."

Lucas winked. "Looking forward to it."

Ava cracked her knuckles, rolling her shoulders as the new wave of data from the sync settled in.

For the first time in weeks—maybe months—she actually felt excited.

Her Blueprint System had always been powerful, but now? With the added boost from Lucas’s Monopoly Appraisal System?

It was limitless.

She scanned the weapons on the walls, data flickering over each one. Values, material breakdowns, efficiency ratings. But more importantly—

Potential.

Ava grinned. "Alright, Bai. Let’s see what we can do with all your overpriced toys."

Lucas leaned back in his chair, golden eyes gleaming with amusement. "Impress me, Beauty."

Ava plucked one of Lucas’s high-frequency blades off the wall, spinning it in her grip.

[SCANNING WEAPON...]

[TYPE: HIGH-FREQUENCY BLADE – CURRENT WORTH: 4,200 TOKENS]

[MODIFICATION POTENTIAL: EXTREME]

Ava grinned. "You don’t mind if I make a few... improvements, right?"

Lucas smirked. "By all means, Zhang. Just don’t break it."

Ava rolled her eyes. "No promises."

She pulled out her upgraded tools, her fingers moving fast, letting her system guide the process. The blade’s energy conductor was outdated. The power cell was strong but inefficient.

Easily fixed.

[UPGRADE INITIATED...]

[REPLACING POWER CORE...]

[INTEGRATING PLASMA EDGE...]

[ADJUSTING ENERGY OUTPUT...]

[UPGRADE SUCCESSFUL – WEAPON VALUE: 9,800 TOKENS]

Ava activated the sword.

A thin line of blue plasma flared to life along the edge, humming with controlled power.

Lucas whistled. "You made me a laser sword."

Ava twirled it, testing the balance. "Not just a laser sword. A plasma blade with a high-frequency oscillation for added cutting power."

Lucas grinned. "You just made my day, Beauty."

Next Ava moved on, eyeing one of the disabled spider drones in the corner of the room.

[SCANNING UNIT...]

[TYPE: RECON DRONE – CURRENT STATUS: INACTIVE]

[FUNCTIONALITY: LOW]

[UPGRADE RECOMMENDATION: HIGH]

Ava crouched, prying open the access panel. "Why do you have so much broken tech?"

Lucas shrugged. "Some deals don’t work out. Fix it, and I’ll make sure it does."

Ava sighed. "Fine. But I’m naming them."

Lucas chuckled. "Naming my drones?"

Ava grinned. "You keep breaking things. I keep fixing them. That makes them mine."

It was long, Ava worked fast, upgrading the processors, reinforcing the chassis, and optimizing the energy cores.

[UPGRADE INITIATED...]

[ADDING AUTONOMOUS TARGETING SYSTEM...]

[INTEGRATING DEFENSIVE COUNTERMEASURES...]

[UPGRADE SUCCESSFUL – DRONE VALUE: 6,500 TOKENS]

The drone powered up, mechanical legs twitching before it skittered across the floor—smoother, faster.

Ava patted it like a pet. "Good boy."

Lucas watched it move, amused. "What’s its name?"

Ava smirked. "Murderbug."

Lucas laughed. "Of course it is."

Ava was just getting started.

One drone? Good.

A swarm? Better.

She activated three more disabled units, tweaking their AI to communicate, operate in formation, and execute synchronized attacks.

[UPGRADE INITIATED...]

[ENHANCING SWARM PROTOCOLS...]

[INTEGRATING INFILTRATION MODE...]

[UPGRADE SUCCESSFUL – SWARM VALUE: 20,000 TOKENS]

Ava leaned back, admiring her work. "Congratulations, Bai. You now have a personal army of robot spiders."

Lucas grinned. "Beauty, I think I’m in love."

Ava snorted. "I accept payment in tokens and good whiskey."

Lucas smirked. "Done."

Ava grinned, wiping her hands clean.

She’d synced with Lucas. She’d rebuilt his arsenal. And now?

She was going to make sure they both won.