Apocalypse Architect: A Tower Defense LitRPG

Chapter 158: The Pitiful Victor

Victor squirmed in his plush leather seat, sweat beading on his forehead.

He was absolutely terrified that Governor Niu was about to publicly execute him. Everything Victor had built—his staggering wealth, his meteoric rise from a mid-tier merchant to a patriarch of the core circle—was built directly on the back of his secret supply deals with Jax.

But now, it was an open secret that Jax had orchestrated the Insect Swarm siege that was currently starving Redrock Bastion to death.

Victor’s feelings toward Jax were a violent whiplash of love and hate. He loved the kid for giving him the Wall blueprints that made him a kingpin. But right now, with the entire council of Redrock Bastion openly discussing how much they wanted to flay Jax alive, Victor hated him for putting a massive target on his back.

As the meeting dragged on, the other patriarchs kept shooting dark, sidelong glances in Victor’s direction.

Victor swallowed hard, trying to shrink into his expensive suit. This was his first time sitting at the high table with the apex predators of the city, and he was completely out of his depth. If he was purged today because of his association with Jax, all his scheming would have been for nothing.

At the head of the table, Governor Niu stood up. He pointed a laser pointer at the paused surveillance feed of Jax’s face on the main screen.

“Gentlemen,” Governor Niu’s voice cut through the murmurs. “How much do you actually know about this boy?”

The patriarchs exchanged blank looks, shaking their heads. To the elites of Redrock, a grassroots scavenger operating out of the slums was entirely beneath their notice.

Governor Niu wasn’t surprised. He had only just received the intelligence dossier himself.

“Allow me to illuminate you,” Niu said, tapping a key on his console to bring up a meager text file. “His name is Jax. Twenty-one years old. He used to run with a low-tier insect hunting squad based out of our city. Several weeks ago, he was implicated in a severe crime and sentenced to death. Somehow, he escaped execution and fled to The Sprawl.”

Niu paused, letting the weight of that sink in. “His trail goes cold after the escape. However, his recent operational capabilities are staggering. The high-efficiency energy conversion modules currently powering The Helios Syndicate’s Defense Towers? Sourced from Jax. The impenetrable Wall blueprints that Victor here used to secure his seat at this table? Sourced from Jax. I assume you can connect the dots.”

The room erupted into furious, hushed speculation.

“He was a death row inmate?! How did a grunt slip past the executioners?”

“Jax… sounds like a nobody. But his tech is years ahead of ours. Is he an Awakener?”

“He has to be. Probably a high-tier Psionic Awakener. If we could capture him and reverse-engineer his mind…”

“The boy is an idiot,” a patriarch scoffed. “He chose the wrong side! Doesn’t he realize The Sprawl only exists because we allow it to? Without our Supplies, they’ll starve. A so-called genius who chooses the slums over Redrock? Pathetic.”

“Don’t be a fool,” another countered sharply. “He single-handedly redirected a localized apocalypse to our doorstep. The boy has teeth. If we let him grow, he’s going to be a massive problem. We need to either bring him to heel or put a bullet in his head.”

Governor Niu listened to the bickering, his face impassive. When the room finally quieted down, he spoke again.

“It is clear that Jax is a threat, but he is not an existential one. He cannot shatter Redrock Bastion,” Niu stated confidently. “However, the boy possesses manufacturing capabilities that we desperately need. Killing him now is the equivalent of slaughtering the goose that lays the golden eggs. I propose a different strategy.”

The patriarchs leaned in.

“Since Jax is clearly motivated by profit and willing to negotiate—as evidenced by his deals with The Helios Syndicate and Victor—we buy him out. We offer him a seat at the table. If we bring him into the fold, he calls off the swarm, and we integrate his tower defense technology into our grid to permanently secure the city.”

The patriarchs murmured in grudging agreement. It was the most logical, profitable play.

“However,” Governor Niu continued, his eyes scanning the room, “the logistics of delivering this offer are complicated.”

The room tensed.

“The Sprawl hates us,” Niu stated bluntly. “They know we intended to use them as cannon fodder. Furthermore, Slade’s botched infiltration attempt last week has only radicalized them further. Whoever we send as an envoy is walking into a hornet’s nest. Therefore, our emissary must possess three qualities: they must be expendable to the core families, they must not officially represent the military, and they must have a pre-existing, positive relationship with Jax.”

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the conference room.

Every patriarch suddenly found their datapads incredibly interesting, aggressively avoiding eye contact with the Governor. Going to The Sprawl right now was a suicide mission.

Governor Niu’s gaze swept down the long mahogany table, past the established warlords and old money elites, finally locking onto the terrified, sweating man sitting at the very end.

“Victor.”

Victor flinched as if he’d been shot.

“You will be our envoy,” Niu commanded.

Victor was the perfect scapegoat. He had been a core member for less than twenty-four hours, making him entirely expendable. He had direct ties to Jax, and crucially, he hadn’t been present during the council meeting where they voted to sacrifice The Sprawl.

Victor stood up, his knees visibly shaking. “G-Governor Niu… you want me to go?”

“You are uniquely qualified,” Niu said smoothly, though his tone brokered no argument. “Do not fret. If you succeed in bringing Jax into the fold, your rewards will be astronomical. I will personally grant you the primary contracting rights for all future city defense expansions. Well? Will you serve your city?”

Victor screamed internally. I should have kept my mouth shut! I shouldn’t have flashed my money! I haven’t even gotten to use the executive dining room yet, and now I’m being sent to a firing squad!

“But, Governor, I…” Victor stammered, his mind racing for an excuse. But looking at the cold, expectant faces of the most powerful men in the city, he knew he had no choice. Refusing the Governor meant a bullet right here, right now.

“Excellent. It is decided,” Governor Niu said, cutting him off before he could find an excuse. “Do not fail us, Victor. Bring him in, and we will throw a banquet in your honor upon your return. Council dismissed.”

The patriarchs filed out of the room, leaving Victor standing alone, entirely shell-shocked.

Miles away in Sector 33, Jax was completely oblivious to the political maneuverings in Redrock.

He had spent the morning overseeing the construction of his nine new mining outposts. With the infrastructure laid down, all he had to do was wait for the miners to extract the necessary resources so he could upgrade the facilities to Tier 3. Once that prerequisite was met, the Tier 4 Bastion upgrade would finally unlock.

With his resource generation on autopilot, Jax returned to the central Bastion, relaxing on the command platform.

He had absolutely no idea that his former business partner, Victor, had just arrived in The Sprawl to negotiate on Redrock’s behalf.

“Hey! Hey, what the hell is this?!” Victor screamed, pounding his meaty fists against a heavy steel door. “I am an official envoy! I came here to negotiate! You can’t just lock me up! I demand to speak to Jax! Let me out!”

Outside the room, a pair of heavily armed Awakeners ignored him entirely. One of them casually pulled a welding torch from his belt and began fusing a thick iron plate over the room’s single window, sealing Victor in complete darkness.

“Damn it! I’m a dead man!” Victor wailed, his voice cracking.

Realizing that no one was coming to his rescue, he slid down the door, collapsing into a pathetic heap on the floor. With trembling hands, he pulled a crushed cigarette from his pocket and lit it, the cherry glowing faintly in the pitch-black room.

Just down the hall, Sawyer and Director Quinn were huddled together, quietly discussing exactly how they were going to execute their newest prisoner.