Doomsday Elevator

Ethan Quinn stared at the spatial backpack's holographic interface flickering above his mattress. Five grid slots pulsed like hungry mouths. He tossed a rusted pipe into the first compartment—it vanished with a glitch, the backpack's weight unchanged. A manic grin spread across his face.

"System," he whispered, hefting an entire stack of steel beams. "Let's break physics."

——

The Recycling Center floor looked different this time. Mountains of scrap cast jagged shadows under the artificial sun. Ethan moved like a locust swarm, his backpack devouring everything:

Grid 1: 200kg Iron Plates

Grid 2: 150kg Copper Wiring

Grid 3: 180kg Aluminum Sheets

Grid 4: 90kg Titanium Alloys

Grid 5: 50kg PVC Pipes

"Fuck sustainability," he cackled, watching an entire forklift disappear into the void. The System's alert blinked crimson:

Warning: Overload Risk (499/500kg)

A guttural roar echoed through the yard. Ethan spun to see a mutated bear—its fur replaced with rusted chainmail, eyes glowing reactor-blue—charging through a scrap pile.

"New friend!" He drew the crossbow with enhanced reflexes, the Constitution Pill's effects humming through his veins. "Let's dance."

——

Three floors up, the Infinite Library's corruption spread. Survivor_44's final chat message scrolled past, each letter bleeding ink:

[User_44]: T̷̫̔ḧ̶̤́e̷̙͌ ̴̗͝b̸̨͌o̸̻͐o̸̱͗k̴̛̗s̷͜͝ ̶̳͗s̷̞͑ṗ̴̞ȩ̴͂a̴̜̋k̷̫͂ ̸̞̏i̶̼͝n̷̳͠ ̸̥̌m̵̥͠ÿ̸̱́ ̷̝͠š̴̳k̷̙͌i̴̦͌n̶̙͆

——

Back in the scrapyard, Ethan jammed a titanium rod into the cyborg bear's maw. "Chew on this, Furburger."

The explosion vaporized his eyebrows.

Item Acquired: Damaged Fusion Core (23% Charge)

"Jackpot." He spat out a molar fragment. "System, what's this worth?"

Equivalent to: 500kg Iron / 3 Gold Coins

The chatroom erupted as he posted:

[Ethan_L3]: Trading Fusion Core for 10 Gold Coins (DM Death Threats = Auto-Block)

——

That night, the elevator's new "bedroom" module hummed to life—a fold-out cot suspended over his loot hoard. Ethan stared at the ceiling's fresh carvings: eldritch runes that hadn't been there yesterday.

Knock.

He froze. The sound came from inside the spatial backpack.

"Fuck this." He chucked the bag into the toilet cubicle. "Your problem now."

——