I Die to Rise: Resurrection System-Chapter 100: High-Value Worms!

The morning sirens began blaring, and Kurt’s eyes opened.

For a few seconds, he lay still on the thin mattress, staring at the cracked ceiling of his cell as the sirens echoed through the prison blocks. Metal doors slammed somewhere down the corridor and boots thundered across steel walkways.

Today.

He sat up slowly, rubbing his face with both hands, then the stubble on his jaw.

Today was the day.

Outside his cell, guards barked orders. "On your feet! Auction stock moving in five!"

Kurt leaned toward the narrow slit in his door. Through it, he could see prisoners being dragged out of their cells and shackled by their hands and legs. The ones the rich bastards upstairs would pay top credit for.

High-value worms, they were called, and he wondered how many of them even knew where they were going.

A guard stopped outside Kurt’s door. The slot slid open, and the red light from a helmet glared at him. "You’re lucky, maggot," the guard said. "You get to be some rich cunts’ personal fuck-toy for one whole week."

The door slid open with a mechanical hiss, and cold metal cuffs snapped around Kurt’s wrists and feet before he could stand fully.

"Move." The guard yanked him up, and Kurt allowed himself to be dragged into the corridor.

The Walk looked different today. Even underground, it felt brighter, cleaner. And far more heavily guarded.

They kept moving until they arrived at the Inner Circle, then marched through security checkpoints until they reached the central plaza of the Eye.

Rows of prisoners were already kneeling along the central path, collars glowing faintly around their necks. Armed guards stood every few meters, rifles pointed at heads, fingers resting casually on triggers.

Kurt scanned the area while keeping his head lowered. Then he spotted Razor two rows down, head bowed like everyone else, but his eyes shifted toward Kurt for the briefest moment. Just long enough for the signal to be understood.

Kurt dropped to his knees among the other prisoners as more guards arrived, dragging chains and pushing carts loaded with restraint gear.

One of them laughed as he kicked a trembling prisoner forward. "Look alive, livestock. Buyers don’t like damaged goods."

Another grabbed Lena’s tail and yanked it hard enough to make her hiss. "You should be used to it by now. Wouldn’t mind getting you for a week if I had the cash."

Lena simply grinned and leaned in, lowering her voice to a purr. "You can get it for free. Five minutes, out back, no one ever has to know."

Her tail swished across the guard’s helmet, and he immediately backed away so fast he nearly tripped, stammering, "M—m—move, convict!" He lifted his baton like he was trying to remember what it was for.

Kurt held back his laugh, then his eyes wandered toward the upper levels of the prison structure.

Somewhere above them was the Warden’s office. And inside that office... the system records. Erase those, and Kurt Manchester would vanish from the Circle’s files entirely.

Heavy footsteps echoed across the platform above the Eye, and every guard immediately snapped to attention.

That only meant one thing.

A tall, broad figure stepped onto the balcony overlooking the prisoners. The Warden had arrived, dressed for the occasion in a long coat that swayed slightly as he rested his gloved hands on the railing.

"Convicts," his voice boomed through the space, amplified by speakers mounted along the walls. "Today is a day of opportunity."

A few prisoners flinched. Others stared at the ground.

The Warden continued. "You have all proven yourselves capable of survival. That alone makes you... valuable."

His gaze swept across the kneeling rows like he was inspecting cattle. "Today, you will be offered to the highest bidders in the Inner Eye."

A ripple of tension passed through the prisoners.

The Warden smiled faintly. "Serve your new masters well... and perhaps they may come back for you next auction. That is... if you’re still here."

Some guards chuckled.

Then the Warden’s smile thinned as his expression shifted to something colder. "And if you embarrass this institution..."

He gestured casually toward a prisoner nearby who was simply chilling with his mates. The man’s collar flashed bright red before detonating with a small and precise explosion.

The prisoner’s headless body collapsed instantly, blood pooling beneath him, and silence quickly fell across the Eye.

"...we will make adjustments." The Warden concluded, his point passed across clearly as he left the balcony without another word.

Guards immediately began hauling prisoners to their feet. "Move them out!"

Kurt rose with the others as chains were connected between the cuffs on their wrists and feet. However, he kept his head down, counting guards, exits, weapons.

Thirty guards around the perimeter of the Eye. Another twenty on the upper platforms. More near the elevator. Slipping past all of them was going to take one hell of a distraction.

As they were marched toward the transport lifts, Razor stumbled deliberately beside him, just enough to brush shoulders. "You ready?" he muttered under his breath.

Kurt didn’t look at him. "Always."

Razor chuckled quietly. "That’s good. Because once this starts... it doesn’t stop."

They both glanced at Lena. She met their eyes for half a second, and there was an understanding.

They stepped onto a massive freight elevator surrounded by guards, chains rattling as dozens of prisoners were packed together like sardines.

The platform began rising slowly. Higher and higher. Through the open shaft above, Kurt could see daylight. And beyond it—

The Inner Eye.

A massive circular structure floating above the prison like a crown. Glass walls. Luxury decks. Private balconies. And dozens of wealthy spectators already gathering.

The elevator shuddered as it reached the top, and guards began pushing prisoners forward toward the processing gates.

Kurt’s eyes drifted toward a guarded security corridor that led deeper into the administration wing. According to the blueprint he’d studied before coming to the Circle, that was exactly where the Warden’s office would be.

It was hard to tell the guards apart due to their helmets, which also muffled their voices. But it wasn’t hard for Lena. She could tell by their scent alone.

As they moved, she got closer to the guard who’d grabbed her tail earlier, the one still sweating from her little tease.

She brushed against him, just slightly, and tilted her head up. "You know," she purred, voice low enough that only he could hear, "I wasn’t kidding earlier."

The guard stiffened. "What?"

She tilted her head, ears flicking, voice suddenly soft and vulnerable. "You know... I actually always get a little worried of what’s waiting in there." Her tail curled shyly around her own leg.

"I keep thinking I need to get out of my head? Maybe a strong, experienced guard could help with that? Help me relax before the auction." She bit her lip, golden eyes wide and innocent.

"Five minutes," Lena whispered, her tail curling around his wrist now. "Out back. Just you and me.You’re completely in charge here."

"Damn right I’m in charge." The guard glanced around nervously. His buddies weren’t paying attention. Too busy herding prisoners. "But... I... I’m on duty," he stammered.

Lena leaned in closer, lips brushing the edge of his helmet. "That’s what makes it exciting right?"

The guard swallowed hard, his hands moving aimlessly across his belt that held his key card, and Kurt could see his resolve crumbling in real time.

"There’s a staff prep room," the guard said quietly. "Down that hall. Nobody goes there during the auction."

Lena smiled. "Lead the way."

The guard grabbed her arm, gently this time, and pulled her out of the line. None of the other guards noticed. Or maybe they did and just didn’t care.

It was auction day, there was chaos. One guard doing a last-minute check on high-value stock? Routine. Expected. Smart, even.

He led her down the corridor, glancing back once to make sure no one was watching. Then he pulled out his key card and swiped it over the door panel.

The door hissed open.

They stepped inside, and just before the door closed behind them, Lena shot Kurt the tiniest, wickedest wink over her shoulder.

Kurt watched from the corner of his eye, waiting. One second. Two seconds. Then he gestured subtly with his hand, activating Theft.

The key card vanished from the guard’s belt and materialized in Kurt’s palm. Without hesitation, he slipped it beneath his sleeve smoothly and kept walking like nothing had happened.

***

High above the prison complex, a massive silver blimp drifted toward the Inner Eye docking platform.

Inside, Cassandra sipped from a crystal glass filled with something expensive and tasteless.

The interior of the blimp was obscenely luxurious. Velvet seats. Gold trim. Chandeliers hanging from the ceiling despite the fact they were in a goddamn airship.

Wealthy patrons lounged around her—nobles, corporate buyers, crime lords dressed in designer suits. All here for the same reason.

The auction.

A servant approached her seat and bowed low. "Miss Anova, we will be docking shortly."

Cassandra nodded politely, setting her glass down.

Her eyes drifted toward the massive prison structure below. Somewhere inside that nightmare, Kurt was probably about to do something reckless. And just the thought of it made her lips curve slightly.

The blimp aligned with the docking platform, and massive clamps locked into place with a heavy clunk.

Passengers began filing toward the exit corridor. Cassandra slipped the C4 brick from her purse into the corner of her seat and stood gracefully, smoothing her gown.

Then she checked her reflection in a polished window before stepping onto the docking bridge leading into the Inner Eye.

The moment she stepped out, every head turned.

Prisoners and guards, stopped what they were doing and stared. She was stunning in a way that demanded attention—icy blue eyes, flawless skin, voluptuous curves wrapped in that gown.

Kurt felt the shift in the air like a change in pressure. Perfect, beautiful, bloody Cassandra. He’d asked the gods of gambling and scams for one hell of a distraction. And through her, the bastards had bloody well delivered.