The invitation arrived before noon.
No logo.
No sender.
Just a location, a time, and a single line of text:
"Private Medical Auction. Entry requires influence."
Lin Chen read it once, then deleted it.
They had noticed him.
---
[System Log: Black-Market Medical Exchange Detected.]
[Classification: Consortium-Linked.]
[Estimated Value: High.]
"Auction," Lin Chen murmured.
"Good. That means desperation."
---
Underground Market
The venue was hidden beneath a luxury hotel—
a place where wealth and anonymity shared the same air.
Lin Chen entered alone.
No security stopped him.
No questions were asked.
His presence alone was enough.
---
Inside, the atmosphere was quiet, controlled, predatory.
Doctors in tailored suits.
Investors who never looked at the stage.
Guards who didn't carry visible weapons.
On the screen, the first item appeared.
"Subject A-17.
Neural degeneration. Experimental reversal protocol.
Estimated survival rate: 12%."
A number appeared beneath it.
Starting bid: 5 million.
No one flinched.
---
Lin Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.
So this was how they priced life.
---
[System Log: Unauthorized Human Experiment Detected.]
[Ethical Override: Not Applicable.]
[Strategic Value: Extremely High.]
Interesting.
The system didn't tell him to stop it.
It told him it was useful.
---
A Different Bid
Bidding rose quickly.
Seven million.
Nine.
Twelve.
Then Lin Chen raised his hand.
"Zero," he said.
The room went silent.
The host frowned.
"Sir, this is a private auction—"
"I'll take him," Lin Chen continued calmly.
"No money. Full authority."
Murmurs rippled through the room.
An investor laughed softly.
"Authority doesn't buy research subjects."
Lin Chen looked at him.
It was a brief glance.
Measured. Cold.
---
[System Log: Authority Projection — Active.]
[Target Influence: Localized.]
The investor's smile faded.
He suddenly realized something was wrong—
his phone had no signal.
The exits felt farther away.
Lin Chen spoke again.
"Your experiment fails," he said.
"You lose the subject, the data, and the funding."
A pause.
"If I take him," Lin Chen continued,
"you lose nothing.
And you get results."
---
Demonstration
The screen flickered.
Live footage appeared.
Subject A-17, convulsing.
Lin Chen walked onto the stage.
No gloves.
No rush.
He placed a single needle at the base of the subject's neck.
[System Log: Sovereign Pulse — Minimal Output.]
The convulsions stopped.
Vitals stabilized.
Neural signals normalized.
Silence swallowed the room.
---
Someone whispered,
"What… did he just do?"
Lin Chen stepped back.
"Now," he said calmly,
"who's still bidding?"
No one spoke.
---
Aftermath
The host swallowed hard.
"The subject… is transferred under your name."
Lin Chen nodded once.
As he turned to leave, the same calm voice from the phone call echoed behind him.
"This was not how this auction was meant to end."
Lin Chen didn't stop walking.
"Auctions end when someone sets the price," he replied.
"I did."
---
[System Log: Resource Acquired — Experimental Subject.]
[City Control Progress: +7%]
[Consortium Attention Level: Elevated.]
Outside, night fell.
Lin Chen looked at the city lights.
"They wanted a market," he thought.
"I'll give them a monopoly."
---
End of Chapter