Apocalypse Architect: A Tower Defense LitRPG

Chapter 99: Pitching the Wall

Winning the bid for Elena was the easy part; paying for her was where the real danger lay. Jax sat motionless in his seat, acutely aware that he couldn’t leave the auction hall just yet. He didn’t have fifty Tier 3 Cores on him, nor did he have the Credits. His survival depended entirely on the return of that attendant.

The auction continued. The subsequent items were lackluster in comparison, fetching no more than ten Tier 3 Cores at best. The fervor of the crowd had died down, but the tension in Jax’s corner remained thick.

Slade sat slumped in his chair nearby, his face a mask of frustration. His eyes darted toward Jax repeatedly, filled with suspicion and malice.

Is this guy actually a scion from a major Inner City family? Slade wondered, his mind racing. Or is he playing us all?

The more he thought about it, the less it added up. A sudden memory flickered in his mind—a face on a poster he had seen recently.

He snapped his fingers, gesturing to his assistant. “Go dig up that wanted poster from a while back. I need to see it. Now.”

“Uh… Young Master Slade, what are you…”

“I told you to go, so go! Cut the crap and move!” Slade hissed, his patience evaporated.

Terrified, the assistant didn’t dare ask for clarification and scrambled out of the hall.

Almost perfectly timed with the assistant’s exit, the auction attendant returned. He hurried over to Jax, leaning in to whisper, “I’ve spoken to Chief Victor about your proposal. He’s agreed to see you, but you need to come backstage immediately.”

“Your Chief is actually here?” Jax asked, masking his relief.

“Yes, he’s waiting for you.”

Jax nodded and rose to his feet. He glanced toward the stage one last time. Elena’s cage had already been wheeled away, and while Hazel had regained her professional composure, her enthusiasm for the remaining lots had clearly vanished.

Jax followed the attendant through a side door and into the backstage corridors, eventually stopping before a heavy office door. The attendant knocked gently.

“Come in!” A powerful, resonant voice boomed from inside.

Jax pushed the door open and stepped into a different world. The office was an opulent display of wealth that stood in stark contrast to the gritty reality of the wasteland outside. Deep, plush carpets swallowed the sound of his footsteps, and two rows of expansive sofas, upholstered in genuine leather, dominated the room.

On one of the sofas sat a man in his thirties. His feet were propped casually on a coffee table, a cigar clamped between his teeth, eyes squinting through a haze of smoke.

But it wasn’t the furniture or the cigar that caught Jax’s attention—it was the platter on the table. Beside a bottle of vintage red wine sat a bowl of fresh fruit.

In Redrock Bastion, metal and monster parts were common, but organic luxuries were virtually non-existent. Water was liquid gold; fruit was a myth, grown only in the hydroponic labs of the Inner City. Yet here, in this office, there were three different kinds. The mere sight of them made Jax’s throat feel parched.

Jax walked over and stood before the sofa. The attendant hurried to the man’s side, whispering a quick introduction.

The man immediately set down his cigar and turned his gaze to Jax.

“Please, sit! Haha! Serve the tea!”

The attendant poured a steaming cup for Jax, who took a seat and studied his host.

Victor, the Chief of this establishment, cut an imposing figure. With a clean crew cut and a well-tailored suit that hugged his tall, broad frame, he looked every bit the part of a man who held power. His clean skin and pampered appearance screamed of high-tier resources.

“Hello!” Victor spoke first, his voice booming. “I’m Victor. I run this place.”

“Chief Victor. I’m Jax.”

Victor paused, his eyebrows raising slightly. “Jax… You’re the one working with Sawyer?”

Jax nodded. “That’s right.”

“Hah! I didn’t expect that. So, you came to play at my auction, too.” Victor leaned forward, his demeanor shifting from casual to shrewd. “I was a little worried when my man said you had a blueprint to sell. But seeing you here, knowing your connection to Sawyer… I’m inclined to believe you. So, let’s hear it. What have you got?”

“I have a blueprint for a defensive wall,” Jax said, cutting straight to the point. “It’s incredibly durable and can withstand sustained attacks from Tier 3 insectoids.”

Jax had retrieved the design from the System earlier, gambling that this specific technology would be his ticket out of debt. However, looking at Victor’s reaction, the gamble seemed risky.

A frown creased Victor’s forehead. The excitement in his eyes dimmed. “Brother, are you taking me for a beggar? A wall? Heh. What use is a wall? Do you really think anyone is going to pay good money for a pile of bricks?”

Jax remained calm. “Chief Victor, you’re misunderstanding the nature of this structure. Let me put it simply: this isn’t just a physical barrier. With this wall, the Insect Swarm will actively avoid it. They will go around.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?” Victor’s frown deepened. He looked like he suspected Jax was making a fool of him.

Jax scanned the room, then dipped his finger into his teacup. He leaned over the pristine coffee table and drew a square with the water.

“Let’s say this is Redrock Bastion.”

He tapped a few spots outside the square. “And this is the Insect Swarm. Once the Black Rain stops, the swarm is coming. They’ll likely approach from the north. As I’m sure you know, The Sprawl lies to the north. Once they finish razing that place, Redrock Bastion is next on the menu.”

“I know all that,” Victor said impatiently. “You don’t need to give me a geography lesson. I want to know why your wall makes them turn away.”

“Words are cheap,” Jax replied with a faint smile. “You can verify it yourself. I have the full design schematics, the material list, and the construction method. If you’re willing to partner up, I’ll sell you the formula right now.”

Jax leaned back, letting the implication sink in. “Think about the scale, Chief. The perimeter of Redrock Bastion is over a hundred kilometers. That is a massive engineering project. If you can secure the contract for that renovation… forget just being wealthy. You’d leap past the competition to become the richest man in the middle tier, easily.”

Victor fell silent.

He couldn’t deny the allure. If he could monopolize a project of that magnitude, the profits would be astronomical. However, convincing the high command of Redrock Bastion to replace their existing defenses would be a monumental task. The product had to be undeniable.

“How can you guarantee this works?” Victor asked, his eyes narrowing.

“You already know about my deal with Sawyer,” Jax said.

“I do. And I’m guessing the Defense Tower blueprints he’s selling came from you.”

“Correct. If my wall doesn’t perform as advertised, I’ll sign over a portion of my royalty rights from the Sawyer deal to you.”

Victor’s eyes lit up. That was a tangible asset. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious. You can test it right now. I’ll give you the formula; you provide the materials.”

“Done. If it works, I’ll buy it.”

Jax reached into his pocket and pulled out a glowing Energy Shard, placing it on the table. “This is the core component. Without this embedded in the structure, the wall is just rock and mortar.”

This was Jax’s insurance policy. The wall’s repelling property relied on the energy signature of the Shard—a mechanism that effectively acted as anti-theft protection for the blueprint itself.

Victor picked up the Energy Shard, turning it over in his hand. He couldn’t discern its internal structure, but the power hummed against his skin.

“And this actually works?”

“Absolutely. Time is money, Chief. I assume you have a lab on site?”

“Of course.” Victor nodded vigorously. He pulled a notepad and pen from a drawer under the coffee table and slid them across to Jax. “Write it down. I’ll have my people build a prototype immediately. What about the price?”

“We can discuss the price after you see the results,” Jax said, picking up the pen.

He quickly scribbled down the structural formula and the precise construction requirements. “Follow these instructions to the letter. Do that, and you’ll get the perfect defense.”

Jax stood up, smoothing his clothes. “I’ll be waiting in the auction hall.”

As Victor watched Jax leave, a surge of adrenaline hit him. The young man’s confidence didn’t feel feigned. If this wall was real… the entire defense budget of Redrock Bastion was about to flow into his pockets.

He wasted no time, barking orders for his subordinates to take the notes and the Energy Shard to the testing grounds immediately.

Back in the auction hall, Jax returned to his seat. He kept his expression neutral, but his mind was a whirlwind of calculations.

The auction was long, which was a blessing, but the clock was ticking. If the event ended before Victor’s test concluded, Jax wouldn’t have the Credits to settle his debt.

If that happened, the consequences would be catastrophic: Elena would be lost, and Jax would be dragged away in chains.