"Who cares? It’s all a big show anyway," the bald man said impatiently, his deep voice echoing across the floating balcony. "That’s exactly why the Capital Games matter. I don’t want random participants this time. I want the good ones, the desperate ones, the ones who betray each other when fear enters their hearts—and most importantly, I want someone who will dance exactly the way I tell them to."

He was tall, broad-shouldered, and carried himself with the authority of someone long accustomed to obedience. Even the way he spoke suggested he had no patience for hesitation.

Beside him stood a young assistant dressed in a sleek silver uniform. The moment he finished speaking, she bowed quickly.

"Yes, Director Tom."

She hurried away without daring to ask questions, disappearing through the sliding doors at the far end of the balcony.

The balcony itself did not remain still.

Soft thrusters beneath it activated, and the entire platform rose smoothly along the side of the skyscraper, climbing past glass walls that reflected the golden skyline of the Capital. The city stretched endlessly below—towers, aerial pathways, floating advertisements, and glittering traffic lines crossing through the sky like streams of light.

The balcony stopped at a much higher floor.

Director Tom stepped forward onto the connecting platform. The moment both his feet touched it, the metal beneath him shifted shape. Four wheels extended from the sides, and the platform began carrying him forward automatically through a wide corridor.

As he entered, lights activated one after another in a straight line ahead of him, illuminating the passage with theatrical precision.

This floor was unlike the official halls below.

It was chaotic.

Men and women worked everywhere, each one stranger than the next. Some had hair dyed into impossible colors—curled rainbow spirals, silver braids, glowing green strands. Others had modified their bodies in bizarre ways. One woman had feathers stitched along her jawline. A man nearby had replaced his nose entirely with an artificial beak shaped like a bird’s.

Tables overflowed with fabrics, digital design boards, miniature clothing models, and floating screens displaying rotating stage structures.

Everywhere people were designing.

Some created outfits using holographic mannequins. Others adjusted miniature stage models projected in midair.

The moment Director Tom appeared, several heads turned.

One man clapped dramatically.

"Looks like the Capital Games are really here," he said with exaggerated excitement. "Look who finally decided to visit. Director Tom himself."

The speaker stood out immediately.

Blue fish scales had been stitched across one side of his neck and cheek in decorative patterns, shimmering under the white lights. A massive ring pierced through his nose, hanging low enough to sway when he moved.

Director Tom barely glanced at him.

"Yeah, I’m back, Jumbo."

At the mention of his name, several nearby designers instinctively straightened.

"Can you do your job this time?" Director Tom continued without warmth. "I want everything grander than before. Bigger stage. Better entrance. Better costumes. Supreme is bored."

The word Supreme changed the room instantly.

Even the noisy designers fell quiet.

Jumbo’s expression stiffened. The theatrical confidence he wore a moment earlier disappeared. He quickly wiped his palms on his clothes.

"A-alright, Director Tom," he said, forcing a smile. "Supreme will not be disappointed. I’ll create a welcome stage worthy of being remembered. Better lighting, larger screens, moving platforms... and of course the finest ceremonial suit for Supreme."

Director Tom stared at him for a moment.

"You better."

Then he turned and continued down the corridor without another word.

Only after he disappeared did Jumbo finally exhale.

He grabbed a cloth from nearby and wiped sweat from his forehead.

The fear remained visible in his eyes.

Then his voice rose sharply.

"Bring me candidates for decoration placement! Sector girls—young, but not too young. They need fresh faces, not frightened skeletons."

Several assistants immediately moved.

Screens around the room flickered alive.

Images began appearing rapidly—young girls from various sectors displayed one after another. Faces flashed across the screens in quick succession, each image staying only a second before disappearing.

Sector 3.

Sector 8.

Sector 12.

And then—

Two familiar faces appeared briefly.

Tansy.

Rose.

Their images remained only a moment before vanishing into the endless stream of selections.

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

The deeper section of the laboratory felt different the moment Tyler and Tansy stepped beyond the main chamber.

The temperature rose gradually with every step.

At first it was subtle—just enough warmth to notice against the cold artificial air of the upper corridors. But after several more meters, the heat became undeniable. The metal floor beneath their boots felt warmer, and faint currents of heated air drifted through the passage like breath escaping from something still alive deep within the facility.

The corridor here was narrower than the sections above.

Unlike the clean rooms near the entrance, this place looked built for containment. Thick reinforced walls lined both sides, layered with metal plates and heavy bolts. Warning lights were embedded along the ceiling, though most no longer functioned. A few still flickered weakly, casting uneven flashes across the floor.

Tansy instinctively lowered her voice.

"It’s getting hot."

Tyler nodded without slowing.

He could feel it too.

Not ordinary heat from machines.

Something deeper.

The kind of warmth that suggested stored energy—something unnatural lingering beneath metal and concrete for far too long.

At the end of the corridor stood another large door, already half open.

Its thick frame had been warped inward, as if enormous force had once pushed from inside before freezing in place.

Tyler carefully stepped through first.

Then both of them stopped.

The chamber beyond was enormous.

Far larger than the other laboratory rooms they had seen.

The ceiling rose high above them, lined with thick cables and mechanical rails that converged toward the center of the room.

And there—

Something massive hung suspended inside a circular containment frame.

The creature.

It was dead.

Its enormous body remained trapped upright inside layers of machinery, held in place by thick metal restraints that pierced through its limbs, chest, and shoulders. Heavy rods had been driven directly through parts of its body, locking it into place like a specimen no one had ever intended to release.

Its skin looked like cooled volcanic stone—dark black layered with jagged cracks, but unlike the creature shown in the video, the glow beneath those cracks had long faded.

The mechanical arms fused into its body were still there, thick weapon-like structures attached where flesh and machinery had become indistinguishable.

The head hung slightly forward.

Lifeless.

Yet even dead, it looked violent.

Tansy slowly approached, staring upward.

Near one side of its ribs, jagged crystalline growths protruded outward.

Her eyes narrowed immediately.

She stepped closer.

"That..."

She touched one of the darker crystal formations carefully.

Then looked at Tyler.

"This looks like Carbonyx."

Tyler walked beside her and studied it more closely.

It was similar. He already got a piece from her father already.

But not identical.

The crystal growing from the corpse was darker— almost black-blue rather than black-purple— and faint silver veins pulsed inside it like trapped lightning frozen in stone.

"Same family," Tyler said quietly. "But not the same thing."

Tansy frowned.

"You mean Carbonyx came from this?"

Tyler did not answer immediately.

Instead he looked around the chamber.

Beside the containment frame stood a control station—larger than the previous ones, still active, its screen glowing faintly with symbols neither of them understood.

He walked toward it and pressed several panels until the display shifted.

Rows of unfamiliar writing filled the screen.

Sharp geometric language again.

Unreadable.

Tansy stood beside him.

"Still nothing?"

Tyler shook his head.

Then he noticed a familiar icon.

A video file.

He pressed it.

The screen flickered.

A recording began.

The same chamber appeared on screen—but active.

The creature was alive.

It thrashed violently inside the restraints, roaring soundlessly through the old recording while several technicians in blue uniforms moved around the chamber.

Massive injection arms descended from above.

Each arm carried giant cylinders filled with thick liquid.

Dark fluid.

The needles plunged deep into the creature’s neck, chest, and spine.

The liquid emptied rapidly.

At first nothing happened.

Then the creature convulsed.

The cracks across its body brightened.

The dark crystal growth spread violently across its limbs, expanding in jagged bursts while its mechanical arms shook uncontrollably.

Then—

The entire chamber erupted in light.

A violent blast filled the screen.

The recording cut instantly to static.

Silence returned.

Tansy stared.

Tyler’s eyes narrowed deeply.

"This is where the Carbonyx came from," he said quietly.

He looked again toward the dead monster suspended behind them.

"This is not even a material from your nation."

Tansy looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

Tyler studied the corpse.

"The ore in your mines is probably a derivative. Something copied... refined... reproduced."

He pressed another file.

A second recording appeared.

This one showed chaos inside the same chamber after the explosion.

Emergency lights flashed red.

Several technicians rushed through smoke-filled corridors.

Then one figure came into focus.

A woman.

She wore protective gear different from the others—sleeker, lighter, clearly designed for mobility rather than laboratory work.

In her hand she carried a sealed metallic container filled with glowing liquid extracted from a transparent tube connected directly to the creature’s body. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The liquid shimmered faintly silver-black.

She ran toward another chamber.

The recording followed briefly.

At the far end stood a circular distortion in the air.

A portal.

Without hesitation, the woman stepped through it carrying the liquid.

The screen ended.

Both Tyler and Tansy stared silently.

Before either could speak—

A metallic sound echoed behind them.

Wheel.

Then another.

Tyler turned instantly.

A robot had entered the chamber.

Larger than the café droid.

Silver body.

Single glowing eye.

Several mechanical arms folded neatly along its sides.

It rolled forward and stopped near the doorway.

Its eye scanned both of them.

Then it spoke.

A sharp stream of unknown language filled the room.

"Xei walon tri-kae? Auron dex valen-ki?"

Neither Tyler nor Tansy understood a word.

But both reacted immediately.

Without speaking, Tyler stepped toward the control panel and began pressing random buttons like someone deeply focused on work.

Tansy instantly copied him, grabbing a nearby tool and pretending to inspect one of the side machines.

The robot remained silent for two seconds.

Its eye flickered.

Then turned red.

Panels unfolded instantly across its body.

Gun barrels emerged one after another.

Mechanical arms locked into firing position.

The barrels aimed directly at Tyler and Tansy.

The robot spoke again—this time louder.

"VALEN IDENTIFN FAILUlORE."

Tansy slowly looked sideways at Tyler.

Tyler kept his expression calm.

Then muttered quietly,

"...Run."

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

Author here:

I accidentally uploaded Chapter 674 first and Chapter 673 after that, so please read accordingly. Sorry for the mix-up!