Apocalypse Architect: A Tower Defense LitRPG

Chapter 181: A New Partner

A flicker of triumph lit up Jax’s face.

He immediately began scouring the room, his eyes darting into every corner. Sure enough, his search of the trash bins yielded results. He pulled out empty instant noodle packets, vacuum-sealed bags that once held dried fruit, biscuit wrappers, and even a disposable water bottle.

“Haha, look at this,” he said, holding up his findings.

The others stared, confused, as Jax presented the garbage like a priceless treasure.

“What is it? It’s just trash.”

Jax slapped his thigh, brandishing the water bottle. “Are you all blind? Can’t you see this is fresh?”

“What?”

Realization dawned on their faces. They were stunned that Jax could piece together such a vital clue from mere scraps of garbage.

Elena strode over and took the bottle from him, examining the few drops of water left at the bottom.

“He’s right,” she confirmed. “If this bottle had been here for years, the water would have evaporated long ago. But look—there are still a few drops left, and the cap was opened. Someone drank from this and tossed it aside… recently.”

Vance’s eyes lit up. “Haha! That means someone else is here! If we can find them, they might know how to get this plant running!”

A jolt of energy shot through the group. They immediately fanned out, searching the room for more clues.

Jax hefted an iron hammer, gave the control room one last scan, and then headed out. His gut told him their quarry wasn’t here; they had to be somewhere else. The fork in the corridor seemed like the most logical place. He reached the junction and headed toward the staff dormitories.

He hadn’t even set foot inside when a familiar scent hit him: stale cigarette smoke. The smell was fresh, still hanging heavy in the air. Someone had been here moments ago.

He broke into a sprint, the sound of his boots echoing down the hall and clearly alerting whoever was inside. A frantic pounding of footsteps erupted from deeper within the building.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Jax gave chase, homing in on the sound. The person ahead heard him coming and picked up the pace, but they had clearly underestimated their pursuer.

Jax heard the footsteps clattering down a stairwell. A quick glance over the railing showed his target scrambling from the third floor down to the second. Without a second thought, Jax vaulted over the railing, landing with a solid thud on the second-floor landing.

His target, clearly not expecting such a reckless move, gasped. After several minutes of running, his lungs were already burning. He scrambled for the nearest room, ducked inside, slammed the door, and threw the lock. He pressed his back against the wood, panting for breath.

His relief was short-lived. A loud crash shattered the silence as the window beside the door exploded inward. A moment later, Jax’s head poked through the jagged hole, a faint, predatory smile on his face.

“Not bad,” Jax said. “You’re fast. Almost lost me back there.”

The man flinched, his eyes wide with terror. Jax’s casual smile only made him more nervous, and he didn’t know how to react.

“Not fast enough, apparently! Who the hell are you? Why are you chasing me? And how did you get in here?”

Jax pulled his head back from the window. The man heard his footsteps circle around to the door, followed by a soft, almost polite knock.

Realizing he was trapped, the man gave up. With a sigh of resignation, he unlocked the door and swung it open to face Jax.

“What do you want?” the man demanded, his voice trembling but defiant. “If you’re here to blow up this power plant, you can forget it! I won’t stop you from killing those bugs, but you’re not touching this facility!”

Jax just laughed. “You’ve got it all wrong. I have no intention of destroying this place. I’m here to make a deal.”

“A deal? What kind of deal?”

“The name’s Jax. I’m the Lord of The Sprawl,” he said, extending a hand. “Just passing through, looking to hunt some bugs and collect a few Cores.”

The man hesitated at Jax’s outstretched hand but eventually took it. “Volt. I was the chief engineer and head of logistics here.”

“An engineer? Perfect. You’re exactly the man I was looking for.”

“What for?” Volt asked, his expression guarded. “There’s nothing for you here.”

Jax wagged a finger. “Not true. I’m not here to take over. I just need one thing: power. How can you say there’s nothing I need when you’re sitting on a mountain of it?”

“Power? You’re just looking for… power?” Volt looked stunned. He clearly hadn’t expected such a simple request.

“That’s right. Just power,” Jax said, his smile disarmingly casual. “It’s that simple. Surely you can help me with a little request like that?”

Volt studied him for a long moment, his eyes narrowed. “You’re not lying, are you?”

“What would be the point?” Jax scoffed. “Look, I’m here to kill the seventh-order Parasitic Silkworm, pry the Core from its corpse, and make a tidy profit. That’s it.”

Jax then briefly outlined his plan.

When he finished, Volt just stared at him, dumbfounded. He’d seen plenty of fools try to take on the Parasitic Silkworm. None of them had come back. He never would have guessed this unassuming man possessed such insane ambition.

“You actually think you can kill it? That thing is a seventh-order Parasitic Silkworm. Its power is beyond anything you can imagine. Take my advice and walk away. If you piss it off, this entire city will pay for your arrogance.”

Volt’s words were blunt, but Jax didn’t seem to care. He just needed two things: the plant’s power and the knowledge locked inside this man’s head. Pride was irrelevant. This was a negotiation. If they could make a deal, great. If not, they’d part ways. No need for pleasantries.

Jax just smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m not a fool, and I don’t make stupid decisions. So, do we have a deal?”

“Fine,” Volt finally conceded. “I’ll help you. But it won’t be easy. We’ll need cable trucks to transport the lines; there’s no other way to transmit the power. The old grid is completely destroyed. We’ll have to lay a new one from scratch.”

Volt then laid out all the requirements. Jax listened, nodding along. When Volt finished, he looked him in the eye. “Good. Then it’s a deal.”

They shook hands again, sealing the agreement. Jax then led Volt back to the control room.

The rest of the team was still searching the nearby buildings. They stared in shock when Jax returned with a stranger in tow. They gathered around, sizing up the scrawny, bookish-looking man.

“No way. Is this the guy? He looks like he’s never seen a day of combat in his life.”

“Hey, don’t knock the nerds. Maybe he’s exactly what we need.”

“Well, if he can get the lights on, I don’t care what he looks like. This might solve our biggest problem.”

After a brief introduction from Jax, Volt officially became a temporary member of their team. With the goal of rebuilding the grid, the first question was where to build the Defense Tower and how much power it would require.

Jax fell into thought. He didn’t know the exact attack range of the high-energy tower either. After a moment of consideration, he made a decision: they would build it on the skyscraper closest to the Parasitic Silkworm’s lair.

“That’s a massive undertaking,” Volt warned. “We’re talking about a distance of two kilometers. The cables we’ll need will weigh over a hundred tons. It’ll take a huge amount of manpower and resources to move them.”

Volt grabbed a pen and a scrap of paper and began sketching and making calculations. In a few minutes, he had a complete list of all the necessary materials.

Jax took the list and immediately dispatched the team to help gather the supplies.

Once everything was accounted for, Volt led them to an adjacent basement. Parked in the cavernous space were several heavy-duty trucks. Their beds were loaded with massive spools of brand-new, untouched industrial cable.