Chapter 22 - Trevor Became Useful, Unfortunately
Eli had imagined Trevor begging him for help many times.
Reality was less satisfying.
Trevor looked sick.
His hands shook.
The stimulant withdrawal had started.
“Why help me?” Eli asked.
“Because I don’t want to die.”
“Strong argument.”
Trevor knew the production site.
An old pharmaceutical lab outside the city.
Lucas’s family called it a storage facility.
Trevor had been there twice.
Maya did not trust him.
Mr. Zhou trusted him even less.
The system displayed:
[TREVOR CROSS]
[HOSTILITY: LOW]
[FEAR: EXTREME]
[TRUTH PROBABILITY: 84%]
Not certainty.
Good enough.
They made a plan.
Trevor would text his supplier and request another dose.
Eli, Maya, and Jace would follow.
Before they left, Trevor looked at Eli.
“Why are you helping me?”
Eli considered saying because I’m better than you.
The system would probably give bonus Defiance.
Instead he said, “Because you’re an idiot, not a corpse.”
Trevor blinked.
“Thanks?”
“Don’t get emotional.”
The lab was guarded by ordinary security outside and cultivators inside.
Through a broken window, Eli saw metal tanks filled with violet liquid.
Then Insight caught something worse.
A second production line.
Black liquid.
Spirit cores floating inside.
Maya whispered, “That isn’t stimulant.”
Mr. Zhou’s voice came through the earpiece.
“Describe it.”
She did.
Silence.
Then the old man said, “Leave. Now.”
Too late.
Every door locked.
A speaker clicked on.
Lucas’s voice filled the lab.
May you like
“Welcome, Eli.”
