Apocalypse Trade Monopoly

The market still buzzed around them. Stalls overflowing with stolen tech, scavenged weapons, ration bars priced like gold. The stench of sweat, rust, and desperation clung to the air.

Jessica was gone.

The soldiers were gone.

But the problem?

Still here.

Ava turned to Lucas, muscles tight with tension.

"What's your plan?"

Lucas's golden eyes flickered, gleaming under the dim bunker lights.

Then—

He smiled.

Not reassuring. Not kind.

Just sharp. Calculating. The kind of smile that set people up before tearing them down.

"Oh, Beauty," he murmured. "You make it sound like I only have one."

Ava's stomach twisted.

He was enjoying this too much.

"Lucas." She stepped closer, voice low. "Jessica will talk."

"Of course."

"And the military?" Ava's jaw clenched. "They'll dig into our trades. Into the Token System."

Lucas grinned. "I know."

Ava inhaled. "Then tell me—what's your move?"

Lucas tilted his head. Studying her. Measuring.

Then—finally—he answered.

"We make ourselves too valuable to touch."

Ava's pulse kicked up.

Lucas turned, walking leisurely through the market, forcing her to follow.

"Right now," he murmured, "Renshaw and his superiors see us as a problem. An inconvenience. A thorn in their perfect little system."

Ava fell into step beside him. "And you want to change that?"

Lucas chuckled. "No. I want to make it so they can't afford to fight us."

They passed a stall lined with scavenged body armor. Another displaying high-caliber ammo. Lucas barely glanced at them.

Instead, his focus was on something bigger.

Ava could see it.

The gears turning in his mind. The way his fingers tapped idly against his belt—calculating. Predicting. Plotting.

Ava's gut tightened. "Lucas, are you trying to—"

Lucas cut her off, voice smooth. "What do people fear more than the military?"

Ava frowned. "Starvation. Disease. Losing their place in the bunker hierarchy."

Lucas smiled. "Exactly."

He gestured around them. "The military? They think they run everything. Food. Medicine. Weapons. But what happens when the people realize they don't need them?"

Ava exhaled. "You're shifting power."

Lucas's golden eyes burned with amusement. "Not shifting. Creating."

Ava's stomach tightened.

She could see it now.

This wasn't just trade. It wasn't just a way to make money.

Lucas was building something big. Dangerous. Unstable.

Her voice was tight. "People are unpredictable, Lucas. You think you can control this, but what if it backfires? What if it makes the military stronger?"

Lucas exhaled—sharp, amused. Like he'd been waiting for her to catch up.

"Ava." His tone was patient. Too patient. Like he was speaking to someone who didn't know how the world worked.

"There are always at least four possible outcomes to an event." He lifted a hand, flicking up fingers lazily. "Chaos. Order. Stagnation. Collapse."

His golden gaze locked onto hers.

"I just pick the best one for me."

Ava's pulse kicked up.

Not for the market.Not for the people.Not for survival.

But for Lucas.

She swallowed. "And if your best outcome gets people killed?"

Lucas stopped walking.

Turned.

And when his golden eyes met hers—something shifted.

The lazy amusement was still there, but underneath it?

Something colder.

He took a slow step closer, and for the first time, Ava felt it.

Not just the charm. Not just the intelligence.

The weight of him.

The kind of presence that didn't just survive in a world like this but thrived.

"People die every day, Beauty," he murmured, voice softer now. "You think the military cares? You think the traders care?"

Another step.

Ava didn't move. Wouldn't.

"They'll die whether I play my hand or not," Lucas continued. "The only difference is—"

He leaned in. Just enough that she could see every gold-flecked detail in his eyes.

"Who benefits."

Ava's breath hitched.

Lucas Bai showed her his hand.

He built the table.

Stacked the deck.

And when the pieces fell?

He'd already planned for every outcome.

Her voice was quieter now. "And what happens when it's you?"

Lucas smiled. Slow. Sharp.

"Then, Beauty—I make sure I'm the last one standing."

Ava had exactly half a second to register before—he had grabbed her wrist.

Firm. Unrelenting.

And then—he walked.

Dragging her through the market, through the shifting bodies, past vendors shouting over each other for scraps of trade.

Ava yanked back. "Lucas—"

"Keep up, Beauty." His grip didn't loosen.

Her jaw clenched, but she let him pull her forward. For now.

"Where are we going?" she demanded.

Lucas's smirk was effortless. "Two more trades to make. Then—"

His golden eyes flickered with something sharp.

"I save the best for last."

Ava exhaled, irritation curling in her chest. Of course.

Lucas always had something up his sleeve.

They stopped at a stall tucked in the shadow of a rusted-out transport truck. The vendor was a short, wiry man, his left arm replaced with a crude mechanical limb—scrap metal bolted together, hissing slightly as he moved.

Sun Lei.

Ava recognized him immediately.

A weapons broker. One of the best.

And, more importantly—one of the most dangerous.

Sun Lei grinned when he saw Lucas. A sharp, unpleasant thing.

"Bai. Thought you might be dead by now."

Lucas laughed. "Not yet. But you might be if you don't have what I want."

Sun Lei's grin didn't fade, but his fingers twitched.

Ava tensed. She shifted just enough to loosen the knife at her hip.

Sun Lei's sharp eyes flicked to her—assessing. Calculating.

Then back to Lucas.

"Depends," Sun Lei said. "What does the golden boy of the market need so badly he actually came in person?"

Lucas's smirk sharpened.

"A prototype."

Ava's stomach dropped.

Oh, no.

Sun Lei's amusement faded. Fully.

"You're insane," he muttered. "Not moveable. Suicide to trade."

Lucas's golden gaze gleamed. "And yet, here I am. Asking."

Ava's pulse kicked up.

Tech that shouldn't even exist anymore. Pre-catastrophe. Military-grade. 

She stepped closer, voice low. "Lucas, if they find out—"

"They won't," he murmured. "Not until it's too late."

Sun Lei exhaled sharply. "You better have something big, Bai."

Lucas grinned.

Then—he reached into his jacket.

Pulled out a single silver chip.

And dropped it on the table.

Sun Lei's entire body locked up.

Ava's breath hitched. She recognized it immediately.

A data drive.

Not just any drive. Encrypted. Old-world.

Sun Lei cursed. His metal arm hissed.

"You're going to get me killed," he muttered.

Lucas tilted his head. "Not if you take the deal."

A long, tense silence.

Then—Sun Lei moved.

He grabbed a small, reinforced case from under the table. Slid it forward.

Lucas didn't even hesitate. He picked it up, checked the weight, and smiled.

"Pleasure doing business."

Ava barely exhaled before—

Lucas grabbed her wrist again.

"One more stop, Beauty."

She barely had time to curse before he dragged her off.