They moved through the hidden service corridors of the royal palace.
The walls changed from pristine white bone to rough, dark stone. The air grew stale and heavy. They were descending into the lower industrial sectors of Chimeria. The noise of massive biological furnaces hummed beneath their feet.
Jin walked as fast as his weak legs allowed. His bare feet were cold against the stone. His breathing was heavy. His Foundation Level 3 body was already failing him.
His mind, however, was running at maximum capacity. He was a manager facing a catastrophic corporate collapse. He needed a strategy to survive the night.
He ran a silent risk assessment. He calculated his exact net worth.
His assets were incredibly low. He had Nyx. She was a Divinity Realm killer. She was loyal because of a genetic contract. He also had his own mind. He knew how to read people, manage supply chains, and exploit loopholes.
His liabilities were massive. His physical body was fragile. He had zero financial capital. He had no political allies in the royal court. His older siblings, Kaelen and Vanya, wanted him dead to secure their claim to the throne.
He analyzed the map of the Apex Empire in his inherited memories. Chimeria was huge. It had billions of citizens. But it was entirely controlled by his siblings' bio-sects. If he hid in the lower slums, Vanya's spies would eventually find him. If he tried to steal a ship and fly to a border colony, Kaelen's military fleets would shoot him out of the sky.
Jin stopped walking. He leaned against the damp stone wall. He wiped cold sweat from his pale forehead.
There was no viable plan inside the empire. Staying in imperial territory was a guaranteed total loss. He could not outsmart an army with empty pockets.
He looked at Nyx. She stood perfectly still in the dark corridor, waiting for his command.
"I have no strategy," Jin stated. He did not hide his failure. A good manager consults his specialists when he hits a dead end. "If we stay in the Apex Empire, we will eventually run out of stamina. Vanya has infinite resources. We have none. Where is our best market? Suggest a destination."
Nyx turned her cracked obsidian visor toward him. She processed his request immediately.
"We must leave imperial space entirely," Nyx suggested. Her flat, mechanical voice echoed softly in the stone hall. "We cannot go to another kingdom. They will extradite you to Vanya for a bounty. We need a neutral zone. We need a sanctuary."
"Where?" Jin asked.
"The Genesis Zenith Academy," Nyx answered. "It is located on the Zenith planet, far past the empire's outer borders. It is the largest independent martial institution in the known star systems."
Jin accessed his memories. The name surfaced quickly. The Academy was famous. It was a place where the wealthy elites and powerful mercenaries sent their children to learn the absolute peak of the Gene-Dao.
"Why there?" Jin asked. "If it is famous, my siblings have spies there."
"They have spies, but they have no military authority," Nyx explained. "The Academy is strictly neutral. Furthermore, you have a dormant asset there. Your mother's younger sister is an advanced instructor at the Academy. She hates the Emperor, but she was deeply loyal to your mother. She will provide you with basic shelter."
Jin nodded slowly. Family loyalty was a weak metric, but it was better than nothing. He needed a place to sleep that wasn't a damp cave.
"What stops Vanya from simply hiring a private mercenary army to burn the Academy down?" Jin asked. He always looked for the worst-case scenario.
"The Dean," Nyx stated simply.
Even Nyx's cold voice seemed to carry a heavy weight when she mentioned the title.
"The Dean of the Genesis Zenith Academy is a half-step True Immortal," Nyx said. "He is one of the oldest living beings in the universe. He violently dislikes political interference. If Vanya sends an army, the Dean will slaughter them all in a single afternoon. Your siblings are terrified of him. The Academy is the only place they cannot touch you."
Jin's eyes narrowed. A half-step True Immortal. The corporate shield was perfect. It was a monopoly of violence that his siblings could not challenge.
"The Academy," Jin decided. "That is our destination. We secure passage off this planet tonight."
He pushed himself off the cold stone wall. He started walking down the corridor again. The plan was set. But the mention of the Dean's power reminded Jin of his own severe weakness. He needed to fully understand the hierarchy of the world he was trying to survive.
In his past life, power was measured in bank accounts and stock options. Here, power was measured in biological realms. The Gene-Dao was a brutal, rigid ladder.
There were ten massive steps on this ladder. And the Rule of 9 governed them all. Every single realm was divided into nine levels of power.
At the very bottom was the Foundation Realm. This was where Jin was stuck at Level 3. He was a fragile intern. He was nothing.
Above that was the Core Formation Realm. This was the realm of the five dead assassins. They could grow bone weapons and harden their skin. They were the middle management of the empire's armies.
Then came the Nascent Soul Realm. These were the elite generals. They commanded massive destructive power.
Above Nascent Soul was the Divinity Realm. This was Nyx's level. She was at Level 4. Divinity experts broke the normal laws of biology and physics. A single Divinity expert could slaughter a thousand Core Formation soldiers without taking a single breath.
Then the true monsters began. The Immortal Realm. Followed by the Earth Immortal Realm. This was the realm of Jin's dying father, the Emperor. Earth Immortals lived for thousands of years and possessed planet-shaking power.
Above the Emperor sat the Heavenly Immortal Realm, the True Immortal Realm, and the absolute peak of existence: the Immortal Emperor.
The Dean of the Academy was a half-step True Immortal.
Jin was at the very bottom of this massive, towering ladder. The gap between him and the Dean was like the gap between an ant and a dying star.
He could not rely on his aunt forever. He could not hide behind the Dean's reputation forever. Once he reached the Academy, he had to find a way to fix his broken genetics. He needed to absorb a Gene Legacy. He needed to climb the ladder, or the universe would simply crush him under its boot.
"How far are the black-market docks?" Jin asked, interrupting his own dark thoughts.
"Three miles deep into the industrial sector," Nyx answered. She walked slightly ahead of him, her dark cloak blending into the shadows. "We will encounter local gang patrols. Stay close to me."
"Understood," Jin said. He tightened the silk robe around his chest. He prepared himself to walk through the dirtiest part of the capital. The hostile takeover was in full motion.