Empire Building With Infinite Warehouse-Chapter 67: Supply, Demand, and Slaughter

Julien and his team didn’t get any sleep that night.

The moment the livestream ended, and the arena repair costs were securely billed to Mira’s account, they retreated to their newly acquired, dusty basement in District 5.

Adrenaline and the promise of impending wealth kept them moving.

Chris had drunk another green potion, shedding his ruined, dented armour to work in a plain t-shirt.

Even bruised and exhausted, he had managed to drag heavy wooden crates across the concrete floor to build a makeshift counter.

Alice drifted around the room, using her ghostly chill to drop the temperature and act as a natural air conditioner in the stuffy, windowless room.

Kiara sat on an overturned bucket, her datapad glowing in the dim light as she furiously typed out a business model.

"We need to set up a separate counter specifically for A-Rank hunters," Kiara announced, adjusting her glasses and pointing at a smaller table Chris had just shoved into the corner.

Julien paused from dusting a shelf, a rag in his hand.

"Why? A customer is a customer. Their money is all spent the same."

"Because of your unique skill commission rule," Kiara explained, rubbing her temples as if dealing with a slow child.

"Every time you make a sale, you get a small window to copy one of the buyer’s skills. The system has not clarified what your storage capacity is. You might only be able to hold one copied skill at a time, or the old ones might get overwritten. So, it is statistically better to farm your commission from an A-Rank buyer than a D-Rank."

She pointed a stern finger at him.

"And only choose a skill that requires minimal physical output. Do not unnecessarily select things that will break your fragile bones. We need a utility or defensive skill. Understand?"

Julien nodded rapidly, holding his hands up in surrender, looking exactly like a younger brother obeying a strict older sister.

"Understood. Utility only. No massive swords."

Satisfied, Kiara stood up and brushed the dust off her jeans.

"Good. The Association’s security will prevent any physical break-ins or theft down here, so our inventory is safe. I am going back to the hospital to check on my mother and sleep in a real chair. Do not burn the place down in one night."

After the teenager left, the remaining three collapsed.

Chris threw a thin sleeping bag onto the cold concrete, out cold before his head even hit the floor.

Alice retreated to a dark corner, her glowing eyes slowly fading out.

Julien lay on his own cardboard cot, staring up at the dark ceiling.

He finally closed his eyes and drifted off, dreaming of a system interface showing a million-coin balance.

He dreamed of scrolling through the highest tiers of his inventory, buying a legendary sword that could split the sea, and finally having the power to protect his friends without using them as bait.

*******

"Julien. Julien, wake up."

The merchant groaned, swatting at the air.

"Five more minutes, Kiara. I’m buying the ocean..."

"Wake up!" Kiara’s voice echoed sharply in the small room.

Julien quickly opened his eyes.

Sunlight was spilling down the concrete stairwell from the open maintenance door.

Kiara was standing over him, looking slightly panicked.

He glanced around the basement.

Alice and Chris were nowhere near their sleeping spots.

"What happened?" Julien asked, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Change your clothes quickly," Kiara ordered, tossing him his trademark merchant jacket.

"We have customers to serve."

Julien scrambled into his gear and followed Kiara up the four flights of stairs.

When he pushed past the ’Staff Only’ door into the glamorous main lobby of the District 5 Association headquarters, he froze.

Chris was standing near the reinforced glass doors of the entrance, looking absolutely terrified. Alice was floating slightly behind him, her eyes wide.

Outside the thick glass, hundreds of hunters were practically climbing over each other.

The Association’s heavily armored guards were struggling to hold back a massive, chaotic crowd that spilled out onto the front steps and into the street.

"I NEED TWENTY IRON SKIN POTIONS!" a burly man with a massive axe screamed against the glass.

"AND A HUNDRED HEALTH DRAFTS FOR MY RAID PARTY!"

"LET ME IN FIRST!" a woman in sleek leather armor yelled, shoving the axe-wielding man aside.

"I HAVE THREE THOUSAND COINS, AND I WANT TO SLEEP WITH THE BLONDE GUY!"

Chris physically recoiled, wrapping his thick arms around his chest and taking a step backward.

A deep shudder ran down the tank’s spine.

Julien, however, stepped forward.

He looked at the screaming, coin-waving mob of desperate hunters.

A slow, deeply ambitious smile crept across his face.

This was it.

The demand had finally met the supply.

He was about to start exactly what he had longed for.

While District 5 celebrated a new economic boom, District 9 was preparing for a funeral.

The ruined streets were mostly empty of civilians.

The local Association had dispatched several low-tier raid parties to secure the perimeter around the swirling Red Gate.

Gina had also sent her own people to keep everything under control and ensure the remaining refugees were evacuated.

Maya was nowhere to be seen in that mess.

The atmosphere was tense.

Everyone knew the second wave was coming; it was just a matter of when.

Near the outer barricade, a group of twenty Association guards stood watch, their heavy assault rifles resting against their chests.

They were bored, cold, and exhausted from staring at the ominous red portal for two days straight.

When the nearest civilian transport truck rolled out of sight, leaving the street empty, the air pressure shifted.

A dark-haired woman appeared in a literal flash of electricity directly behind one of the perimeter guards.

She moved so fast there wasn’t even time for the man to turn his head as she reached out, her pale fingers resting gently against his temples.

A silent, targeted shockwave pulsed from her fingertips directly into his brain.

The guard didn’t faint.

His eyes went wide, the pupils dilating until they swallowed the irises entirely.

He dropped into a deep, unblinking daze.

The woman leaned in, her lips brushing against his ear.

She whispered a single, quiet command that crackled with mana.

Then, she vanished.

The guard stood perfectly still for three long seconds.

Slowly, he reached down to his tactical vest and pulled a fresh magazine.

He slammed it into his heavy assault rifle, the click echoing loudly down the empty street.

His body turned around, raising the barrel of his gun toward the group of twenty guards standing just a few yards away.

Tat.

Tat.

Tat.

The dazed guard opened fire, and its calibre rounds tore through the morning silence.

He didn’t spray wildly; his movements were terrifyingly precise as he shot the guard closest to him, then pivoted and dropped the next one.

"Gab, what the hell are you doing?!" the guard to his left shouted, dropping to his knees and fumbling for his own weapon.

Gab didn’t answer. He just kept shooting.

Before he could empty the magazine, a wave of motion shot out from an alleyway.

One of the high-tier Awakeners stationed at the barricade sprinted forward, tackling the dazed shooter.

He slammed Gab hard against the brick wall of a ruined bakery.

The impact knocked the possessed guard out cold, his rifle clattering to the pavement.

Lyra sprinted out from the alley right behind the Awakener.

It was Ignis’s party.

They were supposed to be the elite squad stopping people from getting near the gate, not breaking up friendly fire incidents.

"What the fuck is his problem?" Lyra yelled, her voice shaking with adrenaline.

"Did a monster possess him or something?"

She walked over to Gab’s unconscious body, delivering a swift, angry kick to his ribs.

"Check his vitals, lock his hands, and get him in the transport," Lyra ordered the Awakener who had tackled him.

The Awakener nodded, reaching down for Gab’s arms.

BAM!

A massive, concentrated blast of red energy erupted from the street behind them.

The Awakener, leaning over Gab, didn’t even have time to scream.

The cannon blast tore him cleanly in half.

His upper torso was launched through the air, his blood and armor plating splashing directly onto Lyra’s face and jacket. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Lyra froze.

She stood there, trembling uncontrollably, her eyes wide with horror.

The heavy thud of the Awakener’s guts hitting the pavement behind her sounded muffled through the ringing in her ears.

"Wha..." Lyra stammered, her hands shaking as she wiped the blood from her cheek.

"Wah?"

Footsteps echoed down the ruined street.

Kane walked out from the dark, stopping just a few feet in front of the trembling girl.