Old Joe rolled in the next afternoon.
Jax was tuning a mechanical arm when he heard the footsteps in the corridor—heavy, dragging, metal scraping concrete. Old Joe's signature sound. Always hauling something.
Door slammed open.
Bone-saw Old Joe filled the frame. Giant sack over his shoulder. Dripping blood. Red seeping through the fabric, leaving a trail across the floor.
Old Joe was covered in dried blood. Face. Clothes. Hands.
But he looked happy.
"Kid. You open up?"
Jax pointed at the scrambler by the door.
Old Joe glanced at the lantern. Still flickering. Nodded.
"Good."
He dropped the sack. Heavy thud.
Something inside moved.
Jax's eyes went to the bag.
Old Joe ignored his look. Jerked his chin toward the back.
"Go. Grab those expired oil cans from the yard. Feed Little Treasure. Quick."
[Ding! Your master "Bone-saw Old Joe" has issued a task: Clean up expired oil and feed Little Treasure in the backyard. Rewards: New Coins +10, Little Treasure Favorability -10, Chore Proficiency +1.]
Jax stood up. Glanced at the sack again. Still moving.
Old Joe caught him looking. Grinned. Blood on his teeth.
"Don't worry. Not a client."
Jax said nothing. Headed to the back.
Through the dark hallway. Pushed open the rusted door. Rot smell hit him hard.
Small backyard. Piled with scrap and busted machines. In the corner, a cellar door. Rusted iron plate covering it.
Scratching sounds coming from under it.
Jax grabbed the expired oil cans. Walked over. Kicked the iron plate aside.
**Whoosh—**
Stench exploded out. Burned his eyes.
He didn't flinch. Poured the cans in. One by one.
The noise under grew louder. A low growl. Metal tearing.
[Ding! Task complete. Rewards: New Coins +10, Little Treasure Favorability -10, Chore Proficiency +1.]
Jax put the plate back. Turned to leave.
Stopped.
The growling changed. From angry to... confused?
Then crawling sounds. Coming up from deep. Moving toward the opening.
Jax looked back.
The iron plate lifted. Just a crack.
An eye stared out at him.
Huge. Gray-white. Vertical slit pupil. Covered in tiny mechanical patterns. Slowly rotating.
Three seconds of staring.
The eye blinked once.
Then pulled back. Plate slid shut.
Jax stood there. Silent.
[Ding! You have discovered Little Treasure's true form: Fragment of a Mechanical Elder God.]
[Little Treasure]
[Level: ???]
[Type: Mechanical Elder God Remnant]
[Description: A "souvenir" Bone-saw Old Joe brought back from the upper levels thirty years ago. A piece of tissue left after an Elder God fell. Eats anything. Loves machine oil. Old Joe's been raising it for thirty years. No one knows how big it really is...]
Jax looked away. Walked back inside.
Some things you don't think about.
Front room. Old Joe had the sack open.
Half-mechanized corpse inside.
Human shape. Top half machine. Bottom half meat. Chest had a big hole. Parts ripped out. Still sparking.
Old Joe was staring into the chest cavity. Face lit up.
"Good shit. Real good shit."
He waved Jax over without looking up.
"Come look. You know this?"
Jax walked over. Crouched down. Looked inside the chest.
Engraved on the inner wall:
**[Demon Heavy Industries · Type 7 Experimental Subject · Property No. 0351]**
Jax's eyes narrowed.
Demon Heavy Industries. Biggest mechanical prosthetic maker in the Middle Layer. Nightmare of The Underbelly. They recycled "waste people" from down here. Turned them into half-mechanical soldiers. Sold them to Middle Layer elites as bodyguards.
Old Joe grinned. Yellow teeth showing.
"Found it in the Seventh District Junkyard today. Demon Heavy was clearing inventory. Dumped a whole batch of experimental subjects. This one's power core? Still intact."
He dug into the chest. Pulled out a fist-sized device. Broken pipes still attached.
[Ding! You have obtained: Demon Heavy Industries Type 7 Power Core ×1 (Damaged)]
Jax looked at it. Beat to hell. But still functional.
Old Joe tossed it to him.
"Fix it. Good money when it's done."
[Ding! Your master "Bone-saw Old Joe" has issued a task: Repair the Demon Heavy Industries Type 7 Power Core. Rewards: New Coins +200, Mechanical Repair EXP +100, Old Joe Favorability +5.]
Jax caught it. Said nothing.
Looked down at the corpse's face.
Young. Twenty maybe. Eyes closed. Face peaceful—like consciousness left before death.
His eyes dropped to the wrist.
Numbers tattooed there.
**Underbelly Citizen ID: B7-0932.**
Jax went quiet.
Underbelly Citizen ID.
Meant this thing used to be a person. Alive. Breathing.
Demon Heavy grabbed him. Turned him into an experiment.
Then threw him away like trash.
Old Joe kept picking through the body. Muttering to himself.
Jax pocketed the core. Stood up.
Walked back to his bench. Sat down.
Held the core in his hand. Didn't start.
After a long moment, he looked up. Glanced out the window.
Across the street. Abandoned mechanical warehouse. Second floor window.
The little girl was still there.
Watching him.
Three seconds of eye contact.
He looked down. Started working on the core.
[Ding! Mechanical Blood Infant's attention toward you +10.]
[Ding! Mechanical Blood Infant's curiosity toward you +5.]
Jax ignored the text.
Soldering iron hissed. Melted over broken circuits.
From outside the window, faint crying drifted in.
He didn't look up.