[Chapter 201. The Currency of Flesh]

Inside the bustling atrium, Vanessa slammed her hands onto the polished stone countertop. She leaned forward, her emerald eyes blazing, her voice raised to a furious pitch that cut through the ambient murmur.

"What do you mean you don't have any fucking intel on the Labyrinth's first floor?"

The administrative clerk behind the desk flinched back as if he'd been struck. "M-my Lady, there is absolutely no documented information regarding the Labyrinth. No one has entered the Labyrinth until now... except the Lord himself."

The young man nervously adjusted his spectacles, pushing them up the bridge of his nose with trembling fingers. "We... we have no official dossiers. There are no maps of the layout, no bestiary on enemy types, and no data regarding the difficulty. We are completely reliant on manual delver reports, and since no one goes in... there is no data for us to analyze."

Vanessa's knuckles were stark white from gripping the sharp edge of the counter. Her beautiful face was twisted into a mask of corporate fury. "Then what do you have? Give me anything. Rumors, whispers, bloodstains on the portal frame. Do not sit there and tell me this entire bureaucratic nightmare you run is completely, utterly useless."

The clerk fumbled desperately with a stack of disorganized papers. His hands were shaking so violently that several sheets slipped from his grasp, fluttering uselessly to the marble floor. "My Lady, I swear to you, since Lord Searanox has not provide a debriefing or report to us regarding his recent dive, we simply have absolutely nothing."

Sarah, who had been hovering nervously behind Vanessa like a frightened shadow, stepped closer. The sweet scent of her perfume clashed with the sour stench of the clerk's fear. "So..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "We're going into it completely blind?"

Vanessa straightened up slowly, her mind racing. She let out a slow controlled breath through her nose, forcibly hardening her expression into a mask of pure pragmatism.

"He fully expects us to die, then," Vanessa stated, her voice devoid of any warmth. "He's throwing us into this place just to see exactly how long we last before we're torn apart and eaten."

She turned away from the clerk, her emerald gaze sweeping critically across the crowded atrium. Her eyes quickly locked onto a group of seasoned and armed adventurers. Their scavenged gear was deeply scarred by claws and weapons, and their faces were grim and weather-beaten. They were lounging near the main entrance, exuding a palpable aura of competence.

"You," Vanessa commanded, her voice sharp as a whip crack as she strode purposefully toward the hardened men. "You've clearly done some runs. Talk to me."

One of the men, a brute with a jagged scar tearing across his thick neck, looked up at her with barely concealed disdain. "Talk about what, sweetheart? The only interesting thing I've seen today is your psychotic boss casually walking in here holding his own severed arm like a trophy. The Labyrinth is a guaranteed death sentence, and we're not stupid enough to even look at it."

Vanessa's painted lips curled into a aristocratic sneer. "I'm not asking you to go in, you coward. I'm asking for information. What have you heard circulating? What are the rumors?"

The adventurer laughed a harsh, ugly sound that lacked any real humor. "Rumors? We heard the Lord himself got violently torn to absolute shreds on the third floor by things that shouldn't exist. If a monster like him can't handle it, what the fuck chance do we have? Or you, for that matter? The only thing we know for absolute certainty is that the green portal is a one-way ticket to a world of agony. Now, if you'll excuse us, little lady, we have much better things to do than trade ghost stories."

He turned his broad back to her, dismissing her with a lazy wave of his calloused hand.

Vanessa's hands immediately clenched into tight fists at her sides, her nails biting painfully into her palms. She could feel Sarah's gaze burning into her back, the crushing weight of their impending doom pressing down on her shoulders. But she flatly refused to be deterred by a pack of cowards. Her instincts honed over years in a world of ruthless competition and high-stakes negotiations kicked into overdrive. She had to find a weakness in the system, a hidden loophole, any scrap of leverage that could give them a fighting edge.

"What do we do now, Vanessa?" Sarah whispered, stepping close enough that Vanessa could feel the blonde's body heat. "We're going to die down there. We're going to be eaten alive."

Vanessa stopped in the middle of the bustling atrium. The sea of faces around her blurred into a meaningless collage. She took a deep, centering breath, her mind awhirl with calculations, survival contingencies, and desperate compromises. She had to think. She had to find a way out of this impossible situation.

And then, it hit her. A deeply audacious, and utterly degrading plan. It was the only card she had left to play.

"We're not going to die," Vanessa said, her voice dropping an octave, ringing with a newfound determination. "We're going to... we're going to use our bodies to buy what we need."

Sarah's blue eyes widened in sheer disbelief. "What? You mean... with them?" she asked, her disgusted gaze flicking quickly toward the group of dismissive adventurers.

"God, no," Vanessa snapped, her voice low, a vulnerable glint shining in her emerald eyes. "Not with those filthy animals. We're going to offer ourselves to Searanox. Unconditionally."

Sarah immediately began twisting a loose string on her tunic, her eyes darting nervously to the polished floor. "I'm... I'm actually, you know... I've already been doing that. For quite some time now."

Vanessa's expression faltered for a fraction of a second. A flicker of jealous and something entirely unreadable flashed in her eyes before her professional facade slammed back into place.

"And I'm entirely sure Carmen has done the exact same," Vanessa said coldly, her jaw tightening. "And Lana as well. You've all been throwing yourselves at his feet."

Vanessa's mind was already racing ahead, the complex pieces clicking perfectly into place. "It's not just about sex, you naive idiot. It's about establishing leverage. We'll offer him a collective deal he can't possibly refuse. We will formally become his concubines, his dedicated, personal playthings in every sense of the word. And in exchange, we demand crucial information, guaranteed protection, and a fighting chance to survive his impossible demands."

Sarah's pretty face went ghost-pale, all remaining color draining rapidly from her cheeks. "You want us to... to become his whores? To just surrender everything?"

Vanessa's lips curled into a deeply cynical smile. "Wake up, Sarah. We're already his whores. We just haven't been getting paid for it yet. At least this way, we extract a tangible, lifesaving benefit from the transaction."

Her plan was a profound gamble. It was a high-stakes game of sexual seduction and survival. But it was the only chance they had left.

"But he... he is very sweet..." Sarah mumbled, her face flushing a deep, embarrassed red. She nervously played with the hem of her tunic, pulling it down over her thighs. "When I got into his bed, when I snuggled up against him in the dark... He didn't. You know, he didn't push for more. He was gentle."

The specific memory of being held securely in Searanox's arms, the feeling of absolute security and warmth, clashed with reality of their current situation. It was a moment of vulnerability, a tiny, flickering candle of humanity burning in a world entirely overrun by monsters. It was a precious memory she held onto tightly in the dark.

Vanessa let out a short, sharp humorless laugh. "Sweet? Sarah, the man just walked into this room holding his own bleeding arm, and he didn't even blink! He is absolutely not sweet. He's a cold, calculating, psychopathic monster who views us as expendable assets."

Sarah flinched back as if slapped, shaking her head softly, her blonde hair swishing. "No. No, you're wrong. He specifically told me he keeps me safe." Her bottom lip started to quiver pitifully.

Vanessa let out a low, deeply impatient hiss, her patience entirely wearing out. "Fine," she snapped, her voice dripping with vitriolic condescension. "He's a sweet, deeply protective monster. Whatever sick delusion helps you sleep at night. The actual point is, his obsession with control is our only way out of this bloodbath."

A chilling and deeply determined glint entered Vanessa's eyes. "Let's go get Lana and Carmen from the hospital. We need to present a united front."

She turned sharply on her heel and began to walk purposefully toward the atrium exit. Her long stride was filled with resolve. Sarah stood frozen in place for a long moment, a deeply conflicted look marring her face, before she hurried to catch up.

As the two women walked through the magically lit streets of Androxis, the weight of their impending doom seemed to press down on them from the sky itself. The city, once viewed as a miraculous, shining beacon of hope against the apocalypse, now felt distinctly like a inescapable cage. The suffocating silence of the inner district was broken only by the sharp, rhythmic clicking of their boots against the polished stone, serving as a metronomic counterpoint to the terrified beating of her heart.

They found Carmen and Lana in the makeshift hospital ward. The humid air was incredibly thick with the sharp smell of antiseptic and the coppery tang of fresh blood.

Carmen, covered in a light sheen of sweat, was demonstrating her healing spell on a groaning patient. Her face was a mask of calm, intense concentration. Lana stood a few meters away, her arms crossed over her chest, wearing a look of utter boredom.

Vanessa wasted absolutely no time with pleasantries or gentle introductions.

"We have a new, mandatory directive," Vanessa announced, her voice clipped and cutting cleanly through the groans of the wounded. "Searanox ordered us to clear the first floor of the Great Labyrinth. We have less than twelve hours before the deadline."

Carmen's glowing hands faltered, her healing spell sputtering out. Her usual, serene composure fractured for a brief moment. Lana's bored facade instantly vanished, replaced by a look of wide-eyed terror.

"The... The Labyrinth?" Lana stammered, her young face turning ashen, her knees visibly knocking together. "We can't. We absolutely can't. We'll be slaughtered."

"That is exactly the plan," Vanessa said, her lips curling into a knowing smile. "But I have an idea. A way to leverage this death sentence into a profitable opportunity."

She looked deeply at each of them in turn, her calculating gaze lingering specifically on Carmen's face. "We are going to offer Searanox a formal deal. We will collectively become his dedicated concubines. In exchange for the uncensored intelligence regarding the first floor, and a fighting chance to survive."

Carmen's face immediately flushed a furious red. "H-his... his what?" she stammered, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her wooden healing staff tightly. She pushed Vanessa and Sarah with her staff, towards a part of the facility that was currently unoccupied. Lana followed right behind Carmen who franticly pushed the two forward.

"His concubines," Vanessa repeated, her voice unflinching, demanding total compliance. "We formally offer him our bodies, our complete, unquestioning, and total sexual submission. And in direct return, he gives us exactly what we need to survive."

Carmen took a hesitant, staggering step back, her expression a chaotic mixture of deep disbelief and hidden longing. Vivid, intensely private memories of her day spent alone with Searanox flashed hotly in her mind. She wanted to be touched by his hands again. She craved feeling his lips on hers. But... not like this. This was a dirty bargain. This was a transaction of flesh for survival, not a genuine moment of shared intimacy or affection.

Lana's face was a rigid mask of horror and disbelief. "You... you cannot be serious, Vanessa," she said, her voice dropping to a horrified whisper. "That's... that's just not right. He wouldn't even want that from us."

She vividly remembered the day she offered her body, and the unexpected, overwhelming warmth of his arms as she had broken down and cried pathetically into his shoulder. She remembered the strangely gentle, rumbling way he had spoken to her to calm her terror.

Vanessa let out a short cynical laugh. The ugly sound echoed loudly in the empty room.

"Of course he'd want that, Lana, you naive child. He is a man. A deeply arrogant man with unchecked power, surrounded entirely by a city of terrified subjects. Why in God's name wouldn't a monster like him want a dedicated harem of beautiful, devoted, entirely submissive women at his constant beck and call?"

Sarah stepped forward, her voice a fragile, breaking whisper. "You just don't know how it feels, Vanessa. To be held by him in the dark." Her voice was barely audible, her blue eyes cast down at the floor. "It's really not like that."

She finally looked up, her eyes filled with a desperate, deeply pleading light. "Please, Vanessa. Listen to me. He's not like that. He's not a monster. He's... he's..."

Sarah struggled pitifully to find the right words. The memory of his secure embrace and the overwhelming feeling of absolute safety warred with the reality of their situation.

"He's what, Sarah? A fucking savior?" Vanessa's voice dripped with pure, venomous sarcasm. "Open your eyes. The only thing that man is interested in saving is himself."