"Your shirt looks torn," Rose said, pointing directly at his sleeve.
She had just reached for another sweet when her eyes narrowed and shifted toward Tyler’s arm.
The white fabric near his wrist no longer looked completely intact. It was subtle —only a missing strip near the edge where the material should have sat smoothly —but once noticed, it beca obvious enough that even Victor glanced over.
Tyler lowered his eyes briefly and understood imdiately.
The missing section ca from the nanobots he had used earlier. Even though the transformation had been controlled carefully, part of the outer layer had not fully restored after retrieving the silver injection. To anyone unfamiliar with what he was doing, it simply looked like damaged cloth.
"I’ll be back," Tyler said calmly.
Before leaving, he leaned slightly toward Tansy and said sothing quietly enough that only she heard it.
Tansy gave a small nod. Tyler then left the Lounge without hurry and walked toward the nearest bathroom section attached to the waiting hall.
The interior was clean enough to resemble a private hotel rather than a ga facility. Bright lighting reflected off pale walls, and even the mirrors looked expensive.
He entered one of the stalls, locked the door, and sat down on the closed toilet seat rather than using it.
Only then did he begin.
From inside his coat, he carefully removed the small copper pot.
At first it looked ordinary enough to fit entirely in one hand.
Then he spoke quietly.
"Bigger."
The copper pot responded imdiately.
Its body expanded until it beca large enough to comfortably hold multiple items inside without spilling.
Tyler placed it on his lap.
Next, he reached the copper and poured out the contents it had been carrying.
The Solaris coin ca first. Then the refined Carbonyx ore.
Both landed softly inside before he lifted them out and placed them aside for a mont.
The purple glow from the refined Carbonyx remained faint but unmistakable even inside the bathroom light.
Then his sleeve shifted.
The white fabric near his arm loosened, silver threads moving aside as a hidden syringe slid into his hand.
The silver dical injection.
The real prize from the dic drone.
Tyler studied it closely for a second.
The liquid inside looked denser than bronze dicine, almost brighter when held under direct light.
Then he placed it into the copper pot.
A mont later, he reached inside and pulled out another silver syringe.
Then another.
Then another.
The copies appeared one after another .
Tyler looked at them with quiet satisfaction.
Silver dicine from the Capital itself would clearly be more valuable than bronze.
Once satisfied, he emptied the pot again.
The original silver syringe ca out.
He set them all aside carefully before returning to the next part.
The copper pot was empty once more.
This ti he placed the Solaris nanobot coin and refined Carbonyx back inside.
Then he reached in.
One coin ca out.
Then another.
Then another.
The copies gathered in his palm until several identical Solaris nanobot coins rested there together.
He focused.
Imdiately the coins lost their rigid form.
Their tallic surfaces loosened and lted into liquid silver threads that spread across his fingers and climbed upward beneath the white suit.
Tyler did not rely hide nanobots under the fabric.
The white cloth dissolved seamlessly into programmable nanobot structure, transforming into fabric like - layer by layer until the clothing beca a living swarm disguised perfectly as formal wear.
The missing sleeve section restored itself at once.
No tear remained.
No flaw remained.
The suit looked cleaner than before.
The whole cloth he is wearing is made of Nanobots.
Tyler flexed his fingers slightly and felt the response.
Then he reached for the refined Carbonyx.
A small piece disappeared into his hand.
The nanobots absorbed it imdiately.
Purple lines flashed faintly beneath the white fabric before vanishing.
The energy transfer happened faster this ti because the swarm had already learned the material.
The Carbonyx fed directly into the nanobot network, charging it.
Tyler could feel the difference almost imdiately.
The suit beca subtly lighter while internal response sharpened.
The swarm held more reserve now.
More movent.
More transformation potential.
He looked down once, making sure the outer appearance remained perfect.
White suit.
No visible change.
Only hidden power layered beneath elegance.
The silver syringes were then returned carefully into his sleeves for later use.
He also placed a coin and Carbonyx inside the copper pot and kept it.
---
Victor stood near the dessert table for nearly half a minute before gathering enough courage to move.
Among the many sweets arranged there, he carefully selected a strawberry cake—one of the smaller ones, layered neatly with cream and fresh fruit on top. He held it with unusual caution, as though dropping it would sohow make the attempt even more humiliating than it already felt in his mind.
Then he walked toward Rose.
His expression was so visibly nervous that even Kennedy noticed before Rose did.
Victor stopped in front of her and extended the plate.
The shy hesitation on his face made his intention obvious long before he spoke.
"This... for you," he said quietly.
Rose looked at the cake first.
Then at Victor.
For a mont she said nothing.
Victor almost looked hopeful.
Then Rose tilted her head slightly and answered with complete calm.
"You sll like Aruna."
Victor froze.
The words hit with such precision that his shoulders visibly stiffened.
His mouth opened, but no imdiate reply ca.
Nearby, Kennedy—who was currently sitting still while a dical drone treated the wound on his head—burst into laughter the mont he heard it.
Even the drone paused slightly while applying the treatnt, though whether from reaction or simple timing was unclear.
Victor looked like he wanted the floor to open beneath him.
Because he knew exactly what Rose ant.
The previous day, during transport and waiting periods, Aruna had dragged him into her room and made things he can never say aloud.
Tansy, standing beside her sister, imdiately tapped Rose lightly on the head.
"Stop that," she said, half embarrassed. "Let’s go."
Rose nodded as though she had done nothing wrong.
Then, just before turning away, she looked back at Victor and added with a playful wink:
"Sorry. But I already have a boyfriend."
That finished him.
Victor’s expression collapsed completely.
And sohow the fact that both sisters imdiately walked away together toward the n’s restroom area made it worse, because even his broken thoughts could not understand why they were going there.
Kennedy laughed harder, leaning back while the drone continued its treatnt.
"Looks like both sisters are taken," he said between grins. "Now I’m curious who this mysterious new guy in our sector is."
Victor looked even more miserable.
He still held the untouched strawberry cake.
---
anwhile, near the restroom corridor, another participant had just finished washing his face.
He lifted his head, wiped water from his mouth, and then froze when he saw two girls walking straight inside.
He looked at the sign.
Then looked again.
This was clearly the n’s restroom.
His confusion deepened further when neither of them seed embarrassed.
Instead, they simply entered, looked around, and moved deeper inside as though they knew exactly where they were going.
Then he noticed sothing stranger.
One of the stall doors farther inside opened slightly.
A man inside lifted one hand and waved them over.
The participant’s mouth twitched.
He muttered sothing under his breath that sounded like a curse and imdiately left, deciding he wanted no part in understanding whatever was happening.
Inside the restroom, Tyler had already secured the stall door again once both girls entered.
The space was cramped for three people, but enough.
The mont the lock clicked, Tyler’s sleeve shifted.
The white fabric opened near his arm like liquid peeling apart, revealing several syringes hidden beneath the nanobot layer.
Tansy’s eyes widened instantly.
When she saw the silver liquid, she gasped.
"That’s silver d."
Rose looked from the syringes to her sister in confusion.
Tansy imdiately explained, voice low but urgent.
"Silver dicine is much better than bronze. If this is real, it can completely cure Father."
That changed Rose’s face at once.
Her eyes lit up.
The usual teasing vanished, replaced by sudden seriousness.
Tyler let them absorb that for a second.
Then he reached into his coat and took out several Solaris coins.
He placed a few into Tansy’s hand.
Then a few into Rose’s.
Both imdiately stared at them.
The tal surface reflected the restroom light clearly, and the face stamped into the coin was unmistakable— the First Citizen’s profile engraved in official Capital currency.
Tansy frowned.
"Capital currency?"
Tyler shook his head slightly.
"No. Place it on your forehead."
Rose blinked.
"What?"
"I’ll sync them to your brainwaves first."
Neither girl understood imdiately, but both obeyed because by now Tyler had already done too many impossible things to question first.
One by one, the coins touched their foreheads.
Tyler focused briefly while the nanobot command system registered their brainwave patterns separately.
The process took only seconds.
Once finished, he explained quickly.
"Keep them hidden. Don’t use them unless absolutely necessary."
Then he gave the shorter explanation.
The coins could transform.
They could beco tools, blades, ergency protection—limited, but enough to matter if the next ga turned worse.
Tansy stared at the coin in her palm, then tried to turn into a blade.
Rose looked equally stunned as her sister. Neither asked how Tyler had obtained them.
At this point, survival mattered more than explanations.
All they needed now was to remain alive long enough to use what Tyler had given them.
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