Crucible Initiative - Sublevel 9 - 6:31 AM
The old man's grip felt like iron.
Yoo didn't struggle. Struggling against Gold 38 at Iron 19 was pointless. He went limp instead, letting his body weight drop suddenly.
The old man compensated automatically, shifting his stance to catch the falling weight—
Yoo twisted. His shoulder popped from the socket with a wet sound. Pain bloomed white-hot, but Akasha Archive categorized it as acceptable damage. The dislocation let him slip free.
He hit the ground rolling. Came up three meters away.
The old man stared at his empty hand. Then at Yoo. Then he laughed.
"Smart kid. Dislocate your own shoulder to escape. Most Iron-ranks would rather keep their arm."
Yoo's left arm hung useless. Blood vessels had ruptured during the dislocation. His hand was already swelling.
"Calculating recovery time. Estimate: 40 minutes with Adaptive Evolution. Recommend—"
Not now.
"What do you want?" Yoo asked.
"Told you. We need to talk." The old man gestured casually. "You can relocate that shoulder yourself, or I can do it. Your choice."
Yoo reached up with his good hand, gripped his dislocated arm, and yanked hard.
The shoulder popped back with a crunch.
He didn't make a sound.
The old man's smile widened. "Tough little bastard. I like that. My name's Zhao. Zhao Feng. Independent contractor. Used to work for Crucible until they decided I was prying too much."
"What?"
"I just asked the right questions." Zhao pulled out a cigarette, lit it with a finger-snap of fire Gi. "Like why Crucible keeps detailed files on how to kill Primordial seed recipients. Or why those files just happened to leak to every major faction in Seoul. Or why a two-year-old kid with an adult's brain is sitting in a cell waiting to get murdered."
Yoo tested his shoulder. Still painful, but functional. "You think Crucible leaked the files deliberately."
"Don't you?" Zhao took a long drag. "Think about it. Perfect security. No breaches in twelve years. Suddenly files leak to seven different factions on the same night? And the only people who die are researchers who might talk about what really happened?"
"Dr. Chen."
"And Jin Wei. And probably three others we haven't found yet." Zhao exhaled smoke. "Someone's cleaning up. Making it look like external theft when it's internal distribution."
Yoo's mind raced. If Crucible leaked the data themselves, why? What do they gain from factions fighting over seed recipients?
"Chaos," Zhao said, as if reading his thoughts. "While everyone'sp focused on grabbing you and the other six active recipients, Crucible does something else. Something they don't want anyone noticing."
"Like what?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Zhao finished his cigarette, crushed it underfoot. "But I know this—the Serpent's Eye ritual needs seven targets. Seven Primordial seed recipients. Performed at a convergence point when dimensional barriers thin. And guess what happens in three days?"
Yoo remembered the countdown stone. Sixty-eight hours.
"Dimensional convergence," he said slowly.
"Twice a year, reality gets weak. Rifts open easier. Summoning rituals cost less. And certain very nasty procedures that normally require Diamond-rank power can be done by Gold-ranks." Zhao's expression darkened. "Like extracting Primordial seeds from living hosts."
Ice spread through Yoo's chest. "Mass extraction."
"Seven recipients. Seven seeds. All harvested during convergence when the cosmic backlash won't kill the operators." Zhao pointed at Yoo. "You're not the target. You're the ingredient."
"Analysis confirms plausibility. Dimensional convergence reduces extraction mortality rate from 94% to 67%. Still lethal to hosts but operators survive."
Calculate: if Crucible wants seeds extracted, why not do it themselves?
"Unknown. Possible answer: Plausible deniability. If factions kill recipients during extraction attempts, Crucible appears uninvolved."
"Why are you telling me this?" Yoo asked.
"Because I'm old. Tired and sick of watching kids die for research data." Zhao pulled out a small vial filled with dark liquid. "This is Serpent's Venom. Extract from a Calamity-tier poison beast. One drop will fake your death for six hours. Heart stops. Breathing stops. But you wake up after the venom metabolizes."
He held out the vial.
"Take it. When the chaos starts—and it will start soon—fake your death. Let them think you're gone. Then disappear."
Yoo didn't take the vial. "What do you get from this?"
"Nothing. That's the point." Zhao's smile was bitter. "I'm sixty-three years old. Spent forty years hunting monsters and another twenty working for people who turned out to be worse than monsters. Maybe I just want to save one kid before I die. Sue me."
"You'll be executed if Crucible finds out."
"Probably. But I'm Gold 38. They'll have to catch me first." Zhao pressed the vial into Yoo's hand. "Use it or don't. Your call. But know this—in three days, multiple factions converge on this facility. They'll tear through walls to get you. And Crucible won't stop them. They'll document everything and collect the data after."
Footsteps approached. Investigators returning.
Zhao turned and walked away, hands in pockets, whistling something off-key.
Yoo stood alone, vial heavy in his palm.
Akasha Archive, analyze contents.
"Scanning... confirmed: Serpent's Venom. Toxicity level sufficient to induce death-like coma. Metabolization time: 6.2 hours average. Warning: 3% mortality rate even for healthy subjects."
Three percent chance of actual death.
Ninety-seven percent chance of escape.
Better odds than facing multiple factions in open combat.
Yoo pocketed the vial and returned to his cell.
---
Hunter Association - Strategic Command - 7:02 AM
Captain Lee stood before a tactical display showing Seoul in holographic detail.
Red markers indicated Primordial seed recipients. Seven total, scattered across the city.
Blue markers showed Hunter Association response teams.
Yellow markers showed rival factions mobilizing.
There were a lot of yellow markers.
"This is a nightmare," Deputy Director Han said. Not Instructor Han from Crucible—a different Han entirely, older, harder. "Seven targets. Twenty-three factions moving. Convergence in sixty-seven hours."
"Do we have location confirmation on all recipients?" Lee asked.
"Six confirmed. One's missing—Subject 31. Last seen in Gangnam District three days ago. Either dead or in hiding."
Lee zoomed in on the most contested marker. "Subject 47. Yoo Seung-yoon. Eight billion credit value. Currently in Crucible custody."
"Which means Crucible won't let anyone take him easily." Deputy Director Han pulled up a file. "Their facility has Platinum-tier defenses. Automated turrets, spatial locks, Diamond-rank emergency response. Storming it would cost us dozens of hunters."
"Do we have an alternative?"
"Negotiate. Offer Crucible joint custody. Split the research data."
"You think they'll agree?"
"No. But it buys time." Han highlighted another marker. "Subject 23. Park Min-seo. Silver 35, living independently in Itaewon. Former military. No faction backing. She's the easiest grab."
"Assign Team Three. Extraction within twelve hours."
"Done. What about the ritual components? Intelligence says multiple parties purchased Serpent's Eye materials from black market."
Lee pulled up the procurement logs. "Damascus Mirror. Convergence Stones. Voidblood Ink. Seven Binding Chains. All acquired in the past week through different dealers."
"Someone's preparing the ritual."
"Multiple people. Every faction wants to be the first to extract seeds during convergence." Lee's jaw tightened. "If even one succeeds, they'll have Primordial-tier power. Game over for everyone else."
Deputy Director Han was quiet for a moment. "You realize what we're discussing, yes? Authorizing the extraction of living hosts. These are people. Citizens."
"These are Primordial seed recipients. They stopped being regular citizens the moment they survived integration." Lee's tone was flat. "If we don't extract the seeds, someone else will. At least we'll use them to benefit humanity instead of private interests."
"That's what Crucible says too."
"Then maybe Crucible has the right idea."
Han stared at him. "When did you become this?"
"The day I watched a Nightmare Creature tear through a civilian district because we were too humanitarian to make hard choices." Lee turned back to the display. "Authorization code: Blue-Seven-Seven. Begin extraction operations. Priority targets: Subjects 23, 45, and 47."
"Understood." Han's voice was cold. "I'll inform the teams."
She left.