Chapter 2: The Financial Gambit
Chronos walked back to his apartment, a man moving through a ghost world.
Every person he passed was already dead in Silas's memories. That woman with the double stroller? Torn apart by Shamble-Rots on Day 3 when she tried to flee the city. The barista laughing behind the coffee shop counter? Mana-sickness victim one of the 30% who would collapse when the System integrated and never rise again.
He didn't feel pity. Pity was a luxury his current biomass couldn't afford.
He felt calculation.
Back in the apartment, he toweled off, changed into dry clothes. Silas's closet held nothing useful: graphic tees, faded jeans, a single blazer for job interviews that never happened.
Biomass Status: 68.4kg
Required for Basic Transformation: 0.3kg (Rock Dove wing)
His stomach growled again. Human digestion was inefficient. He needed biomass, and he needed currency to acquire it legally before society collapsed.
Chronos opened Silas's laptop. Password: Apocalypse7. The man hadn't been subtle.
First: financial assessment.
· Checking: $3,417.22
· Savings: $0
· Credit Cards: $12,000 total limit (all nearly maxed)
· Student Loans: $43,000
· 401k: $8,742 (early withdrawal penalties: 30%)
Insufficient, Chronos thought again.
But Silas's memories contained more than apocalypse data. He'd been a data analyst with a gambler's streak. And he remembered everything.
Including sports scores.
Chronos navigated to an offshore betting site Silas had used during his second regression. Anonymity protocols. Bitcoin accepted. Odds on upcoming matches.
The 2024 UEFA European Championship started June 14.
Silas had watched every match in three different timelines.
Chronos cross-referenced memories. Verified consistency. In all seven regressions, the quarterfinal between Portugal and Germany had ended 2-1, Portugal, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring in the 87th minute. A betting anomaly that shouldn't exist across branching timelines.
The System preserves certain events, Chronos analyzed. Probably maintains narrative cohesion during integration phase.
He created an account. Deposited $500 via credit card cash advance. The interest rate was criminal 28.9% APR. Irrelevant. Money would be worthless in thirty days.
He placed three bets:
1. $200 on Portugal to win (odds: 2.75)
2. $150 on Ronaldo to score anytime (odds: 1.9)
3. $150 on exact score 2-1 (odds: 8.5)
Potential return: $2,317.50 if all hit.
The bets wouldn't settle for weeks. He needed immediate capital.
Another memory surfaced: June 5. Belmont Stakes. Horse named "Midnight Sovereign" wins at 25-1 after leading horse stumbles.
Thoroughbred racing. Less reliable than football horses were biological systems, prone to variance. But the stumble was a structural track issue that occurred in six of seven timelines.
Chronos deposited another $500. Bet it all on Midnight Sovereign to win.
Now he waited.
---
While waiting, he began the real work.
From Silas's memory: Mana-Heart Grubs. First appear in community gardens three days after initial mana leak. Edible. Low biomass but high mana concentration. Boosts early talent development.
He searched community gardens in Manhattan. Found one: Clinton Community Garden, West 48th Street. Closed to non-members, but the fence had a broken slat Silas had used.
Chronos went as night fell.
The garden was an urban oasis raised beds, composting bins, a shed with rusty tools. Moonlight filtered through the city's glow.
He knelt where Silas's memory indicated: beneath the oldest apple tree, where roots intertwined with ley line residuals.
His newly acquired [Mana Sense (Minor)] tingled. A soft, pulsing energy emanated from the soil.
He dug with his hands. Six inches down, the earth changed texture became spongy, warm. Bioluminescent specks shimmered in the dark.
Grubs.
Fat, white larvae the size of his thumb, glowing with internal mana. They writhed slowly, consuming decayed matter and converting it to concentrated energy.
[Lifeform Identified: Mana-Heart Grub (Tier 0)]
[Biomass: 0.01kg each]
[Mana Concentration: High]
[Edible: Yes]
[Effects: +10 Mana Sensitivity, +0.5% Talent Progress per grub]
Chronos collected five. They squirmed in his palm, cool and slick.
He ate one.
The taste was earthy, sweet, with an electric aftertaste. The mana hit his system like a caffeine injection his senses sharpened. The garden's energy patterns became visible as faint silver threads weaving through soil and plants.
He ate two more.
[Mana Sensitivity Increased: Minor → Basic]
[Talent Progress: Extreme Biokinesis 0% → 1.5%]
Better.
He stored the remaining two grubs in a plastic container from the shed. Biomass reserve.
As he stood, movement caught his enhanced senses.
A rat but wrong. Its eyes glowed faintly blue. One front paw was twisted, claws elongated into crystalline growths. Early mana mutation.
[Lifeform Identified: Rat (Mana-Corrupted)]
[Status: Unstable]
[Template Available: Yes (Corrupted)]
[Warning: Corrupted templates may cause biological degradation]
The rat hissed, baring needle-sharp teeth.
Chronos didn't retreat. He assessed.
Threat level: Low. Speed: Average. Biomass: Approximately 0.4kg.
He needed templates. But corrupted ones were risky. Silas's memory confirmed: early attempts to integrate corrupted templates caused cancer-like growths, organ failure.
Still... data was valuable.
The rat charged.
Chronos side-stepped, grabbed a garden trowel from the ground. The rat skidded, turned. Its movements were jerky, unnatural mana burning through its nervous system.
He let it leap at him.
At the last moment, he dropped the trowel and caught the rat bare-handed.
Skin contact.
[Template Acquired: Rat (Rattus norvegicus) - CORRUPTED]
[Traits: Disease resistance, gnawing strength, rapid reproduction]
[Corruption: Mana-instability (15%)]
[Risk: Integration may cause cellular degeneration]
[Biomass Cost: 0.25kg]
The rat bit his thumb. Blood welled.
Chronos squeezed. Bones cracked. The rat went limp.
He absorbed the biomass immediately.
[Biomass +0.42kg]
[Total: 68.82kg]
He examined his thumb. The bite marks were shallow. His body was already producing extra white blood cells an automatic response he hadn't consciously triggered.
The talent works at subconscious levels too, he noted.
He buried the rat's remains beneath the apple tree. Let it decompose and feed the grubs. A closed biomass loop.
Back at the apartment, two notifications waited:
[Bet Result: Midnight Sovereign - WIN]
[Return: $12,750.00 ($500 stake + $12,250 winnings)]
And:
[Pre-Descent Quest Update]
· Acquire 3 biological templates (2/3) ✓
· Secure 10kg biomass (0.42/10)
· Claim territory (0/1)
· Time Remaining: 6 days, 23 hours
Chronos transferred the winnings through three different crypto exchanges, then to a new bank account under a shell identity Silas had created during his fourth regression. The process took two hours and left him with $11,800 after fees.
Enough for Phase One.
He ordered online:
· 50kg protein powder (various brands)
· 100kg rice, beans, lentils
· Basic medical supplies (bandages, antibiotics, sutures)
· Water filtration systems (3)
· Solar chargers, batteries
· Hand tools (axes, saws, hammers)
Delivery to a storage unit Silas had rented under yet another alias. Cost: $3,200.
The remaining $8,600 he allocated to the next priority: territory.
From Silas's memory: Whispering Vine Winery. Upstate New York. 200 acres. Abandoned after owner's death. Sits on triple ley line convergence. Purchased at auction in regression three by "The Reclaimer" faction. Became their fortress.
Chronos found the auction listing. Foreclosure sale. Starting bid: $750,000.
He had $8,600.
But Silas's memories contained more than locations they contained people.
The executor handling the sale: Martin Gable. Age 62. Daughter with rare genetic disorder. Medical bills bankrupting him. In two timelines, he killed himself on July 15 when the insurance denied coverage.
Chronos composed an email:
Mr. Gable,
I represent a private research consortium interested in Whispering Vine Winery for ecological studies. We can offer $10,000 cash today for exclusive option rights non-refundable, but applicable to purchase price if we exercise within 30 days.
Additionally, our medical division has experimental gene therapy for Rosen-Thal Syndrome. Successful in 83% of cases. No cost if you grant the option.
Meeting tomorrow?
..C
He attached a document detailing the (real, from Silas's future knowledge) treatment protocol that wouldn't be discovered until Year 2 post-Descent.
The reply came in eleven minutes:
Where and when?
Chronos scheduled the meeting for 10 AM at a café near Gable's office. Then he turned to the final task of the night.
From the container, he took the two remaining grubs. Ate one. Saved the last.
[Mana Sensitivity: Basic → Enhanced]
[Talent Progress: 1.5% → 2%]
[New Perception Unlocked: Ley Line Detection (100m range)]
The apartment building suddenly glowed with energy lines. A major ley line ran beneath the street outside. Smaller tributaries webbed through walls.
And directly below his apartment a weak spot. A place where reality was already thinning.
The Descent will hit hard here, Chronos thought. First wave of monsters will manifest in this building.
He wasn't staying.
He opened a new browser tab. Created a forum account.
Username: FirstLight
Forum: SurvivalistPreppers.com
Thread Title: "June 30th - What They're Not Telling You"
He began typing, pulling from Silas's memories of early Descent events:
If you're reading this, you've noticed the changes. Animals acting strange. Electronics glitching. Dreams of fractal patterns.
What's coming isn't a storm. It's a System integration. On June 30th, reality resets.
Here's what you need to do...
He wrote for an hour. Basic survival advice: avoid cities, store water, learn first aid, group up. No mention of talents or mana. Too early for that.
He ended with:
This isn't the end. It's a beginning. But only if you're prepared.
More information will be posted as I confirm it.
...FirstLight
He posted it, then closed the laptop.
Outside, the city glittered, unaware.
Chronos checked his status:
[Days until Descent: 29]
[Biomass: 68.82kg]
[Templates: 2 (Pigeon, Rat-corrupted)]
[Talent Progress: 2%]
[Currency: $8,600]
[Allies: 0]
[Territory: 0]
A start.
He ate the last grub, felt mana suffuse his cells. Then he lay on Silas's bed and entered a state between sleep and meditation.
Tomorrow, he would secure territory.
The day after, templates.
By Day 30, he would have the foundations of a civilization that could survive the harvest.
And perhaps, eventually, even turn the harvesters into the harvested.