Adam left the hotel with Elias.

This time, the car did not move toward the business area.

Elias drove away from the wide roads and clean towers. Slowly, the city became quieter. The buildings became lower. The roads became narrower. After almost forty minutes, they reached a peaceful neighborhood on the edge of the city.

Adam looked out through the window.

The place did not look like a black-market storage site.

It looked like a normal house.

The house was made mostly of wood. A small garden stood in front of it, and the locked gate looked old enough to be ignored.

Elias parked the car inside.

"This is the place."

Adam stepped out.

He looked at the house once.

Elias noticed his look and smiled.

"Good storage should never look like storage," he said.

He led Adam through the house.

The inside was simple. Old furniture stood near the wall, and nothing looked special.

Then Elias moved a carpet in one corner and opened a hidden metal door under the floor.

Cold air came from below.

Adam’s eyes became still.

Elias climbed down first.

"Come down," he said.

Adam followed him.

The stairs went deeper than he expected. At the bottom, a large underground space opened in front of him.

Lights turned on one by one.

In the middle of that underground hall stood the machine unit.

It was huge.

The main body was made of white and silver metal. Thick cables ran along the floor. Sealed chambers were joined to each other through pipe-like arms. A control panel stood on one side, and the metal frame looked too heavy for normal workers to move.

Adam looked at it quietly.

Even though this was not the newest machine in the world, it was still far beyond what Aster Core had.

Elias walked beside him.

"There it is," he said. "An older chip manufacturing unit. Not new, but it still works."

Adam looked at him.

"Do you make chips here?"

Elias almost laughed.

"No. That would be asking for trouble."

Adam waited.

Elias pointed toward the machine.

"Do you know how much power this thing uses?" Elias asked. "Even if I made chips, where would I sell them?"

He pointed at the machine.

"The moment I put those chips in the market, people will ask where they came from."

He shook his head.

"I don’t do that kind of work. This is only a model waiting to be moved. It stays here a few days, then leaves."

Adam nodded.

He did not care whose machine it was.

He only cared that he could copy it.

Adam walked closer.

The machine felt even bigger up close. Every part looked connected to another part. If one piece was missing, the whole unit might become useless.

Adam had a choice.

He could try to copy the whole machine at once.

But that was too dangerous.

’Even if I copy the whole thing, can I paste it?’ Adam thought.

His body remembered what happened whenever he pasted too much. The load was not light, and a machine like this was far heavier than anything he usually handled.

’If I try to paste this whole unit at once, I might die.’ Adam thought.

So he did not rush.

Adam took out a small notebook and a pen.

Elias stood behind him, watching.

Adam began to move around the machine.

He looked carefully at each side. He did not understand every technical detail, but he did not need to understand everything. He only needed to divide the machine in a way his power could accept.

He made marks on the paper and slowly divided the machine into four sections.

He kept his face serious while doing it.

From the outside, it looked like he was checking how the machine was built. Sometimes he bent down and looked under a frame. Sometimes he stood on one side and compared the machine with the rough lines he had drawn.

Elias did not disturb him.

Elias watched him write and became more certain of his own guess.

’He is definitely an engineer,’ Elias thought. ’Maybe he wants to build his own version.’

Adam did not care what Elias thought.

Inside his own mind, he was focused on the four parts.

His inventory had slots he could change. Four of them could be used for this work.

’I don’t know if these four parts will paste cleanly later.’ Adam thought. ’But this is the only direct method I have right now.’

He stepped closer to the first section.

Adam placed his hand on the metal surface.

He closed his eyes for a moment and imagined only that part, not the whole machine.

Then he copied it.

The inventory reacted.

Only that specific part appeared inside.

Adam opened his eyes.

’It worked.’ Adam thought.

He moved to the second section.

Again, he touched the machine and imagined only that part.

The second section entered his inventory.

Adam did the same with the third and fourth sections.

Every time he touched a new part, he was careful not to let his mind pull in the whole unit. The machine was connected everywhere. If he lost focus, the system might try to copy more than he wanted.

That would make the whole trip useless.

By the time he finished, his body felt heavy, but he could still stand normally.

Elias came closer.

"Satisfied?"

Adam looked at the machine once more.

Then he nodded.

"Yes."

Elias did not ask more.

He led Adam back up from the underground storage.

Soon, they were in the car again, heading back toward the hotel.

Adam sat in the front passenger seat this time.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Then Adam looked at Elias. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"I will need you again."

Elias glanced at him.

Adam took out a number and handed it to him.

"My contact."

Then he gave Elias a blank white paper.

"Write yours here."

Elias smiled and took the paper.

He wrote his number and gave it back.

"Of course," Elias said. "Another buyer or seller in my network is always good for me."

His smile became wider.

"If you ever need to buy or sell in another market, call me."

Adam folded the paper and kept it safely.

The car stopped in front of the hotel.

Adam looked at Elias once.

Elias gave him a small nod.

Then Adam stepped out of the car.