Endless Evolution: Last Star

The sun was nearing the horizon line about to go into the sunset when Adam, Jena, and Silvana approached Silvana's house. Inside was a large silver chest with an electronic lock.

"Oh, so that's how it works." Adam muttered. It was the first time he'd ever been rewarded for a mission with anything other than credits. Unlike money, artifacts couldn't be turned into mere numbers in code, they had to be stored somewhere and in something as well as moved.

Silvana nodded.

"To be honest, I didn't expect Zera to be so generous. Though... Considering you literally saved them, it makes sense. After all, you alone did more than the entire Scarlet River Squad, so your share is impressive." Silvana uttered before entering the code.

Crackle.

The chest opened, revealing two sections, a large one taking up 95% of the entire chest and a small one containing only one item - a flash drive.

Before moving on to the most interesting part - the artifacts, Adam decided to check how much money he got for this mission. After all, Scarlet River Squad contained many members and each of them had to get a share, so the reward couldn't be too big.

Silvana remained silent, waiting for Adam's reaction, soon she got what she wanted.

"Holy shit!" Adam exclaimed, looking at the five-digit figure, "30,000 credits for one mission! Hell yeah! I'm one step closer to my goal!"

Jena and Silvana looked at each other, slight smiles appearing on their faces. They genuinely enjoyed seeing Adam's joy, fully deserved and earned with blood.

"This was a Cluster Mission for K1 Squad, so nothing is surprising about it. Sure, other Phantoms and especially Harvesters got less, but Cluster Missions are always very profitable. However, the main value of the Cluster Missions isn't the money, it's the artifacts."

"Yeah, you're right, now I won't have to worry about not having artifacts anymore. At least temporarily." Adam smirked, staring at the chest.

Inside were 10 First Rarity Artifacts and 10 Zero Rarity Artifacts. Just enough for Adam to evolve his artifact in the future and to create a key, or rather one of the three components.

"Hey, be honest. Did you consult with Zera? The reward is too perfect for what I need." Adam cast a glance at Silvana.

Silvana looked away.

"Maybe just a little."

Adam smirked.

"Alright. Now, shall we head to storage?" Adam asked, dusting off his hands.

"By the way..." Jena muttered, touching her lips, "Storage is a paid service, right?"

Adam's face went pale. He hadn't thought of that at all. It wasn't that he wasn't willing to pay, but he didn't need the extra spending. After all, he needed to raise a few hundred thousand for Trici's training.

"Don't worry. A medium-sized warehouse will be enough for you at first. It'll cost 500 credits per month, in a year it's only 6,000 credits, that's only 20% of what you earned from this mission." Silvana explained calmly.

Adam frowned.

"500 credits? I don't mean to sound greedy, but my house where my whole family lives costs 1.100, and it's a whole two-story house with a garden!" Adam waved his hand. He didn't understand how a simple warehouse could cost half of his house.

Because it wasn't a simple warehouse.

...

The mechanical door opened as they stepped inside the iron-walled chamber, large enough as four separate rooms crammed into one.

The door closed, and on it lit up a panel with the initials - A.V.

"Oh... Now I think I'm starting to realize what I just gave half a thousand for." Adam muttered, looking around.

Storage wasn't just an empty room with cold walls, there was everything one could think of to organize their stuff.

Many shelves stand for armor or weapons, boxes for artifact capsules, and even special containers with low and high temperatures for special items. Also, there were plenty of regular boxes for simpler things.

"By the way. You can put in a request to have all your items directed here. They'll be left next to the door in a special section so you can pick them up without anyone knowing what's in your storage." Silvana explained with a slight wave of her hand.

"Yeah, that would be great, but now it's time to make this place not so empty!" Adam exclaimed, pulling out containers of artifacts and inserting them into the cells on the wall.

Twenty cells were filled with various artifacts, then Adam walked over to the stands and a long table running along the wall.

The engine of the Brass Puppet, Adam placed on a magnetic platform, the engine hovering above it as if in zero gravity. The Steel Knight's sword was locked into a special metal stand, the clamps were almost invisible.

"What do you think?" Adam smiled, turning to Silvana and Jena.

Jena tilted her head, taking a closer look at the changes in the interior, "Not bad, especially for a start. I'm sure, you won't have enough of this storage in a few months."

Silvana nodded.

"I agree. It's a good start. Coming in here after a while, you'll be able to remember all your battles and challenges, to realize what you went through to get where you are."

Adam sighed.

"Yeah, I never used to understand how people could spend a lot of time, effort, and especially money to put together a collection of some things. However, now I realize that the memories of the hardships overcome are worth so much more. Well... only if you have extra money..." Adam said with a slight smile on his face.

Although Adam didn't have all the money in the world, he wasn't stupid and realized he could easily raise enough money for Trici's training.

Now, he didn't have to worry about food or a roof over his head, which meant his thoughts and desires could focus on something other than a handful of coins.

Power gave not only the ability to protect someone, it allowed freedom - the most precious thing a human could possess, even time wasn't as valuable.

...

After spending time with his family and getting some rest, Adam devoted some time to himself and at 6 P.M., headed to the Second Ring, right to the Black Shell.

The Second Ring was different from the Third and First one, primarily because of its size. The Second Ring was the largest area in terms of territory and was somewhat of a mixture of the luxury and diversity of the First Ring and quiet neighborhoods with residential buildings like the Third Ring.

"Hmm... This should be right here, correct?" Adam muttered, checking the map. He was almost to the Black Shell, he only had a few hundred meters to go.

Bam.

Suddenly, from the corner came a man who, with a confident look, ran straight into Adam. The man was a mere human, so the impact threw him back.

The man's back touched the ground as he grabbed his knee and screamed, "Help! I'm being attacked by the Phantom! It's Adam Vinter, that crazy rookie!"

At the same moment, many people on the streets turned around with puzzled expressions on their faces.

Then, in the distance, red and blue lights from police cars appeared. They came too early, so it was obvious that someone had called them in advance.

'What the hell...?' Adam was completely shocked, not understanding what was happening.