Ace stood up from the Director's mahogany desk, his newly forged Rank 1 Tensa Zangetsu gripped firmly in his right hand. He glanced at the red leather trench coat hanging on the rack. It was thick, but without the Upgrade Points to properly Reinforce it into actual armor, it would just be heavy, cumbersome leather. He decided to leave it behind for now. He was at exactly 0 UP; he needed to be fast, light, and deadly.
He slipped out of the office and eased the heavy oak door shut behind him. The sharp click of the latch sounded incredibly loud in the absolute silence of the 40th floor. He stood perfectly still, holding his breath, waiting to see if the noise drew any unwanted attention.
Nothing moved.
He began his sweep, falling back on the light, balanced footwork drilled into him from years of Kendo and parkour. He moved aisle by aisle through the cubicle forest. The massive, open-plan space was a terrifying maze of blind corners and waist-high fabric walls, blanketed in a heavy layer of gray dust.
He cleared the perimeter methodically. He checked the smaller side offices first. The glass doors were coated in a film of ash. Ace swept the corners of each room with his eyes, backed out, and pulled the doors shut until the locks clicked. Secured.
Next was the main break room. The frosted glass walls obscured the interior, creating a massive blind spot. Ace pressed his back against the drywall, sliding toward the entrance. He peeked around the frame, the black blade leading the way. The kitchen area was dark and stagnant. A row of vending machines stood dead against the far wall. The mini-fridge was a biohazard of rotting takeout, but nothing was moving. He backed out and firmly pulled the heavy glass door shut.
The Atrium and the Sludge
The layout funneled him toward the center of the building. He stepped into the company atrium, a wide, tiled expanse that separated the executive suites from the main facilities. Above the reception desk, a massive, faded concept-art banner for the Genesis project hung crookedly on the wall.
To his left was the main elevator bank. The brushed steel doors of the center car were forced open an inch, revealing a pitch-black shaft that smelled aggressively of grease and dried blood. Ace gave it a wide berth.
To his right were the heavy metal fire doors of the emergency stairwell. Ace paused. A thick, viscous black sludge was pooled at the base of the door. It wasn't moving. It lay completely dead and still against the tile, but just looking at it sent a deep, creeping chill down his spine. It felt wrong—a primal warning that whatever had bled that tar was waiting somewhere in the depths of the tower. He backed away, leaving the heavy metal doors closed.
The Final Breach
Directly across the atrium were the main restrooms. This was the final unchecked zone. If these were clear, the 40th floor was his.
He approached the Women's room first. He tested the handle—unlocked. He pushed the heavy wooden door inward, leading with his blade. The interior was surprisingly pristine. The mirrors were fully intact, and the tile was sparkling underneath a fine, undisturbed layer of gray dust. He did a quick, silent sweep of the stalls. Empty. He backed out and let the door swing shut, mentally checking it off the list.
The Men's room door, however, was ajar. A two-inch sliver of pitch-black darkness stared back at him.
Ace flattened himself against the tiled wall outside. He strained his ears.
Scrape. Drag. Scrape.
Something was pacing inside, its boots dragging heavily across the dry tile. Ace took a slow, deep breath. He had no system tricks to fall back on. He had to trust his baseline skills.
He raised his foot and kicked the door inward.
The door slammed against the tiled wall with a deafening CRACK. The stench hit him instantly—a concentrated, putrid wave of decay.
Standing by the far sinks on the dry tile was a single Walker. It wore the tattered, dust-covered remains of an Omni-Media security uniform. At the sound of the door, its head snapped toward Ace. Its milky eyes rolled wildly, and it let out a dry, guttural hiss.
The Walker lunged.
Ace didn't panic. The zombie's charge was frantic and horribly off-balance. Ace pivoted on his heel, his Taekwondo training allowing him to smoothly sidestep the monster's path just as it reached him. He raised Tensa Zangetsu in a high guard and brought the masterwork steel down in a clean, brutal diagonal arc.
There was zero resistance. The obsidian blade sheared through the Walker's neck and collarbone with terrifying, frictionless ease. The zombie's upper half hit the dry tile with a heavy thud, followed a second later by its collapsing legs.
The Origin Veil
Ace exhaled sharply, shaking the dark blood from the blade with a practiced flick of his wrist.
Before the monster's severed body even stopped twitching, the passive power of the Origin Veil activated. The zombie's flesh rapidly desiccated, shrinking tightly against its bones until it was nothing more than a hollow, gray husk. Deep within the ruined chest cavity, a crimson Gene ability crystal materialized.
A second later, the crystal shattered with a soft, melodic chime. It broke down into a stream of shimmering, sparkling motes of violet and sapphire energy.
Ace watched as the bright motes drifted through the stagnant bathroom air like glowing embers, swirling gently around him before absorbing directly into the center of his chest. He felt a wave of relief as he realized exactly what his system was doing. It was an auto-loot mechanic acting as a bio-isolation firewall. The system was extracting the raw data, isolating the zombie's corruption, and allowing him to absorb the energy without any risk of infection.
A deep-violet panel flashed in his periphery, providing a direct, objective readout.
> [PROXIMITY SIPHON SUCCESSFUL]
> Source: Tier 1 Walker (Security Variant)
> Essence Purified: +3 UP
> Current UP: 3
>
Ace stared at the UI, a grim satisfaction settling over his exhausted muscles. The 40th floor was officially secure. He had his sanctuary, he had his sword, and he was finally putting points back in the bank.