After Mark finished going though Tomas' office console he fed on the other corpse inside the office, already having expected a treat from the scent it gave off, he was nevertheless overwhelmed by the sheer amount of pure suffering and misery he got out of a single corpse
"...Well, back to it"
Having spent more time than he had expected, Mark squeezed out through the small hole in the wall again before he used his sword to to cut opened the oxygen candle destroying the stable reaction, which quickly covered the office in a self-sustaining fire
Making his way back to Carol's bar took a couple of hours and after greeting the owner Mark took a seat in the back of the bar at a small table where he began browsing listings for ships for a few hours before he leaned back in his seat and let out a long sigh
'There isn't really a good option here…'
About 80% of the public listings were highly marked-up junkers, worn-down ships on their last legs. Around 10% were obvious scams and the last 10% were actually high-quality ships, only they were limited to small-sized ships, and the prices were marked up by around 800%
'I really want a medium-sized ship that I can fit enough maneuver thrusters and weapons onto to take full advantage of my biological form'
Tapping his finger on the table Mark eventually decided to change his approach, so he stood up and walked into the bathroom, once he entered a stall, he unhinged his jaw and swallowed his console whole
'Yeah this will work fine…'
Taking a few moments to familiarizehimself with operating the console that was now lodged inside himself Mark returned to his seat where he sat down and closed his eyes as he started to focus, pulling up the entire market Mark began picking out potential ships, meanwhile he opened a 3d design software and began drafting up plans for a medium sized ship
'I'll build my own fucking medium-sized ship, with more weapon mounts and maneuver thrusters'
-
Mark continued his work in full focus until someone called out to him
"Mark"
As his focus shattered Mark's eyes opened wide as his sword flew across the room and landed in his hand ready to strike, it was only a few moments later that his mind caught up with reality around him and he saw it was Carol that had called out to him, she looked slightly worried
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Ehh… You've been sitting in the same place completely motionless for a few days so I wondered if you were still alive"
Mark nodded and let go of his sword that flew back to its mount on the wall behind the bar before he spoke
"Yeah, I'm alive… Did you need anything?"
Carol nodded and glanced over at Mark's sword on its mount behind the bar
"Yeah, you received an invitation from Serlina a day ago… The messenger couldn't deliver it because of your sword though, so I received it instead"
Mark looked over at his sword for a moment before he let out a sigh and rose from his seat
"Sorry about that, I'll head out then"
Mark held out his hand, a moment later Carol took it and lessened her burdens for half a minute before Mark ruffled her hair like he would a child and headed out of the bar. Walking down the street Mark cleared his mind as he placed a purchase order for the ship he had decided on, then extending out his arm he caught his sword that came flying from the bar, Mark stroked the blade for a few moments to soothe it before he muttered
"...Don't worry, I'll feed you soon"
After taking a short inter-station metro Mark arrived in the business district of Towo station, from there, he walked down the street for a few minutes before he arrived at Metallurgy developments LT, the public-facing business of the Iron Snakes. Now on a normal security station there would maybe a few burly men in tight fitting suits inside the lobby as security, however this was Towo station
"... Maybe the thumbs-up molten metal guy is somewhere around here too?"
There wasn't really any way around it, the 8 security androids that guarded the proximity of the entrance to the building didn't look all that friendly, with their large frames, red glowing eyes and bare polished steel limbs. Oh and the way they all turned towards Mark when he entered their range didn't really make him feel welcome
Mark took out a small console and snapped a picture of the androids which he sent to his newest acquaintance, a particularly neurotic personality with a complete lack of morals. Needless to say Mark got along with them swimmingly
"I have an appointment with your boss"
"State your name"
"Mark"
Mark kept a close eye on the security androids ready to strike, he idly twirled his sword by its hilt as he considered plan B. a few minutes later he received a reply, well more of a critical thesis of the security androids design from his mysterious friend Mark responded with a few fire, thumbs up and smile emoticons before the security android finally spoke
"Your appointment have been confirmed, please enter"
Mark nodded and walked into the lobby, looking around briefly, he more so got the impression of a high-class hotel lobby than a corporate front desk, locking eyes with a receptionist Mark switched his grip on his sword as he caught the hilt and stopped spinning it around
"Hi"
"Welcome, sir, please take a seat, I will collect you when the boss has finished her preparations"
Mark narrowed his eyes as he began spinning his sword again, the high-pitched whistle slowly grew louder as he continued to stare down the receptionist that kept their service smile strong. More than a minute passed in this manor before Mark spoke again, his voice booming
"Cut this shit out, Serlina. I don't appreciate you dickwavering me like this"
"Sir, please calm do—"
Before the receptionist finished talking Mark threw his sword across the room, the blade passed cleanly her head before it buried itself in the polished marble wall behind her. Despite having a sword pass through her forehead, the receptionist kept her business smile perfect for a few moments longer before the hologram dissolved along with the rest of the lobby. In mere moments, what had looked like a high-class hotel lobby showed its real face, Mark whistled before he commented
"This is quite the nice kill box"
Polished metal covered every surface with slit drains in the floor, several security personnel that had been hidden by the hologram were revealed in their fortified firing positions that previously looked like luxury sofas and cafe sets. And standing behind the reinforced glass wall that moments ago had looked like polished marble behind the lobby counter were Serlina with her arms crossed along with a few of her lieutenants
"How did you—"
"Because of the complete lack of smells, I get that it's made to be easily cleaned, but most places generally have some sort of scent"
"I see, well thank you for accepting my invitation. Unfortunately it was time-sensitive and we no longer require your services"
Mark flashed a confident smile as he recalled his sword before plainly stating
"No it wasn't, you really hold a grudge, don't you?"
Serlina's smug smile disappeared before she plainly stated
"You really are a jackass Mark"
"Yeah, so are you going to play nice, or are we going to have to do this the hard way?"
Serlina remained silent as her bionic tail swished back and forth behind her, then suddenly, without warning, the security personnel in the lobby opened fire on Mark. The firelines perfectly intersected and cut his body to pieces, within mere moments all that was left were a bloody mess on the sterile floor. Still the gunfire only relented when the goons had emptied their magazines completely
"I guess that's that"
Serlina let out a sigh and took one last look at Mark's mangled corpse before she turned around and walked towards the elevator to her office, however a horrible chill went up her spine as a loud, high-pitched whistle echoed out inside the lobby, before she managed to turn around the whistle of death were drowned out by screams of her security personal being dismembered. Turning back, she saw the reinforced glass between her and the lobby was covered in blood and viscera
"Ser! Move!"
Getting snapped out of her daze by James's yell Serlina ran towards the elevator under the cover of her bodyguards, if she could just reach her panic room then surely—
"Nope, now you've properly pissed me off"
The cold voice shattered all hope she had, a moment later a metal blur turned bodyguards into chunky salsa before it served both the arms of her fiancé
"JAMES—"
Then before she finished screaming, the sword flew right at her face where the hilt shattered her jaw, knocking her out cold
-
When Serlina woke up again she found herself unable to move, staring up at a white ceiling, after a few moments a hologram appeared, then a video call appeared in the top left side of the hologram. It was a doctor in white scrubs wearing a purple facemask
"Miss Serlina, please rest assured of your safety, 11 hours have passed since your incident"
A few moments passed before a series of pictures appeared on the larger hologram, depicted were a list of the injuries she had sustained as the doctor continued
"I have rebuilt your spinal cord at section C3 to C7 with our patented calcium alloy due to the severe damage. However I wanted your input on your jaw reconstruction"
Several different bionic options showed up on the hologram along with a full biological regeneration treatment, attached to each option were the price in credits along with payment plan options. Serlina focused on her bionic tail implant that was fused to her spine and used it to interface with the hologram to ask the most important question on her mind
"Your fiancé? One moment… No, he doesn't show up in any of our recent records"
Serlina closed her eyes for a few moments before she hardened her resolve and opened her eyes again, she looked over the options she were presented with before she asked her doctor another question
"The timeline? Yes, due to your existing enhancements bionic implants present the fastest recovery time in our catalog, however the price is… I see, I will get to work immediately unless you have some special modifications in mind? Certainly, then once again thank you for trusting Assembled pharmaceuticals for your personal health and enhancement"