112 THE AUCTION OF GENSYN
"Quantum."
Liorea's eyes widened. "You think the Alliance of Evolution is moving against us? That is not likely, we are not in direct competition with them."
"If they are," Coracle said coldly, "then they will pay."
He turned toward the crimson door, the light glinting off his mask shaped like a rooster's head. "Send word to all our cells. Every assassin team halts existing contracts until we know what's going on."
"Is that too drastic? We don't even know if it's really the AOE?" Liorea asked.
"When it comes to the AOE, there is no room for mistakes", Coracle replied.
Liorea smirked before walking away.
When Coracle reentered the cosplay room, the haze swallowed him once more. He resumed his ritual in silence, though his thoughts were far away—spiraling through the fog of hallucination.
"I found you at last," he whispered to the empty air, his eyes narrowing as a phantom face formed before him.
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[The City Council Meeting Hall]
The marble doors of Melrose City's Council Hall slid open, and Zairgid, Damen, and Kail stepped inside. The trio were dressed in sleek, custom-tailored suits — the kind that spoke of money and ambition.
Tonight's auction was the biggest event of the season, and they intended to make a killing.
The hall was crowded with the city's elite.
Representatives of the Veyran, Zetheris, Snow, and Aukuoma families filled the VIP sections, along with several smaller clans orbiting their influence.
Damen scanned the room, recognizing the familiar, hostile stares of Arom Aukuoma, Valto Veyran, and Garius Zetheris — all men who would have gladly seen him dead.
"Why is that Damen Dark here?" Garius asked from the elevated VIP box.
"He's with my useless nephew," Arom muttered, his tone dripping with contempt. "Probably his bodyguard."
Valto snorted. "That's all people like him can ever be — muscle for those born above their station."
Zolan Aukuoma didn't join their mockery.
His gaze stayed on his son Zairgid and the two men beside him. Damen Dark didn't concern him much. The other one did — Kail Venn.
"Do we have a Kail Venn in our extended family?" Zolan asked his brother quietly.
Arom frowned. "Never heard of a Venn among us."
Zolan said nothing more.
Zairgid had told him Kail was a cousin from the Aukuoma branch in Sterling City, traveling under an alias. He came to Melrose city to purchase a business.
He knew it wasn't uncommon for heirs to adopt false names while conducting business out of town— anonymity was a shield against assassination and targeting by rivals.
Still, Zolan wasn't convinced.
What persuaded him was not Kail's words, but his bank account. Anyone who could casually move over a hundred and fifty million aurs had to be more than they appeared.
The governor's secretary stepped onto the dais, clearing his throat. "Ladies and gentlemen, the City Council welcomes you to this evening's auction. We'll begin with development plots and supply contracts before moving to our main event — GenSyn Industries."
The crowd stirred.
After the fall of Kaiser Qiltera, GenSyn's disgraced founder, the company had been seized by the city for its involvement in illegal and inhuman experiments.
The governor had quietly distributed Qiltera's forbidden research among the major families, leaving only the legitimate face of the company — its patents, elixir formulas, and manufacturing lines — for public sale.
"The reserve price for GenSyn Industries is fifty million aurs," the secretary announced. "Do we have an opening bid?"
"Fifty million is steep for a scandal-stained company," Arom grumbled.
"Fifty-one," Garius countered.
The bidding began in earnest, climbing to eighty million within minutes.
Zairgid leaned toward Damen. "Do we start now?"
Damen gave a slight nod.
Zairgid raised his hand. "One hundred million aurs."
The room fell silent.
Heads turned towards him.
Arom's jaw dropped. "Are you insane? Brother, did you tell him to bid that much? GenSyn isn't worth half of that!"
Zolan merely smiled, his arms folded. He wouldn't speak during an auction and especially not in front of competitors.
Garius glared at him. "You're playing a dangerous game, Zolan. You know the Zetheris family is interested in GenSyn. Why do you want to oppose us?"
"I'm not the one bidding," Zolan replied coolly.
"The governor won't allow a boy to run a corporation," Valto sneered.
Zolan smiled again. "If it were anyone else, maybe. But my son's bid is the Aukuoma family's bid — and everyone knows it."
"One hundred and ten million!" Garius barked.
Zairgid didn't flinch. "One hundred and thirty million."
The hall erupted in murmurs.
"This is madness!" Garius snapped. "GenSyn's not worth that much!"
Arom turned red. "Brother, stop your useless son before he drags our family into ruin!"
Zolan's patience broke.
"My son is not useless," he said, his voice was like ice. "Unlike your son — who stole a hundred million from your vault. Did you think I wouldn't find out? And where is that money now?"
Arom's mouth snapped shut as the other family heads smiled behind his back.
He had discovered the theft of a hundred million aurs from his vault and his son Prescott was the only suspect although he denied it, pretending to be innocent.
"Zolan…. I'll never forgive you for humiliating me in public like this", Arom vowed in his heart.
But there wasn't much he could do now. All he could do was sit back and swallow his shame as the bidding war raged on.
"Do you even know how to run an industry?" Garius roared, his voice cracking with outrage. "Do you know you'll need millions more to rebuild GenSyn after the SIA raid destroyed their facility?"
Zairgid didn't much care for business. He'd always avoided his father's circle when the Aukuomas dealt with other great houses.
Still, he felt the Zetheris pressure like a hand at his throat.
"Don't let them bully you," Damen murmured at his side. "Your father's backing you. You've got nothing to fear."
"Yeah," Kail added with a thin smile. "You've got the imaginary rich heir from Sterling behind you. Be arrogant while you can — don't let those scums take you for a wimp."
Zairgid rose.
The room fell into a hush so complete the chandeliers seemed to listen. "I, Zairgid Aukuoma, will invest in GenSyn Industries," he announced, his voice steady. "If anyone objects, outbid me."
Faces shifted.
The boy the city had long dismissed as useless now looked every inch an heir: composed, dangerous, and unwilling to be dismissed.
Those seated at the Aukuoma side tightened into a line of smiles and suppressed relief.
Zolan's expression softened. "My son finally makes me proud," he said, low enough that only his nearest could hear.
Arom felt something else —a new threat. If Zairgid grew into power, Arom's careful balance of influence in the family would tilt.
"Zairgid cannot be allowed to root," Arom thought, teeth bared behind polite lips. "I will see him ended before he blooms."
Around them, the bidding resumed — but a new current ran through the hall now. What had begun as an auction for a damaged company had turned into a contest for reputation, bloodlines, and revenge.
The auction hammer struck once, twice—then fell with a sharp crack.
"Sold! To Zairgid Aukuoma for one hundred and thirty million aurs!"
The hall erupted into a low buzz of shock and disbelief. Zairgid let out a long breath, a smile tugging at his lips. Damen clapped him on the shoulder, while Kail whistled softly.
But before celebration could take root, a cold voice sliced through the noise.
"I object to the result of this bid," said Faemore Melrose, the Vice-Governor of Melrose City.
The room froze.
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