Buying My Way Through the Multiverse

Over the next few days, Gray focused his attention heavily on completing the underground railway system. Working around the clock, his massive army of shadow clones successfully hollowed out the path all the way from the Virginia base back to the prison in Georgia.

Once the connection was made, Gray teleported directly to the prison to explain the new transportation network to Rick and the Council. He also wanted to run a highly specific medical test he had forgotten to try. He walked out to the pasture, pulled out an iron bucket, and gathered some milk from one of his Minecraft cows. He then walked into the subterranean laboratory and handed the bucket to Dr. Jenner.

”Take some blood samples from a volunteer survivor,” Gray instructed the scientists. ”Then, have them drink this milk and take another round of blood samples immediately after.”

Dr. Jenner looked down at the bucket, completely puzzled. ”Gray, it’s just milk. What exactly are we looking for here?”

”In the universe this milk comes from, it can instantly clear away any poison, curse, or negative status effect,” Gray explained. ”Test it out and see what it does to the human bloodstream. I know the walker virus is already airborne and inside everyone, but it doesn’t hurt to see if this can actively suppress or alter it.”

Intrigued by the possibility, Jenner and Candace immediately got to work setting up the baseline blood panels.

While the medical staff ran their laboratory tests, Gray’s shadow clones kept up their relentless pace inside the 650-mile tunnel. One massive division of clones was strictly responsible for hollowing out the raw earth, while a second line of clones followed right behind them, reinforcing the walls and ceiling with solid stone blocks. Behind them, a third wave of clones was actively laying down the functional iron train rails. Thanks to the sheer numbers and infinite stamina of the clones, the tracks were already halfway completed.

During his visit to the prison, Gray realized he had completely forgotten to build a proper school facility for the children and refugees in Atlanta. Instead of wasting time constructing a brand-new building on the surface, he decided to utilize his subterranean facility.

He used his Minecraft tools to effortlessly expand the stone basement sideways, hollowing out a massive new wing. He opened the system shop, purchased several more computer terminals pre-loaded with SCP-5094, and installed them throughout the space. In total, he set up five small, modern classrooms, equipping each one with ten of Miss J’s anomalous teaching computers. Now, the Atlanta prison had the exact same instant-learning capabilities as the Virginia base.

Gray continued working around the clock, leaving his shadow clones to handle the tunnel excavation and rail laying. Before leaving the subterranean lab, he checked in with the scientists one last time.

”Keep me updated with your results on that milk,” Gray told Dr. Jenner. ”Let me know the second you find anything”

Jenner nodded, adjusting his microscope. ”We’re running the baseline tests now, Gray. I’ll have the White Queen monitor the cellular changes continuously.”

With the experiment underway, Gray used his Jumper ability to teleport back to Virginia to continue his walker cleanup. During one of his high-speed aerial scouting loops, his maxed-out world map flagged a massive, sprawling settlement far outside his usual territory. Intrigued, he flew over to inspect it and realized he had just stumbled across the Commonwealth.

He continued flying out of sight, unequipped his heavy, blackened armor, and used his magic to manifest a set of regular old-world clothes to blend in. Flying past their security checkpoints, he easily infiltrated the community and began mingling with the citizens to gather information. This place easily housed the largest population of living humans he had seen since arriving in this universe.

However, it didn’t take long for Gray to notice the dark reality of the community. The leadership was trying desperately to keep society exactly the same as the old world. They had a working currency-based economy, which simply meant the wealthy elites at the top continuously abused and exploited the poor working class.

As Gray explored the upper-class districts, he spotted a massive crowd gathering near a stage. Governor Pamela Milton was giving a grand public speech, and standing right beside her was her arrogant, spoiled son, Sebastian Milton.

Gray narrowed his eyes and activated his Sin Vision to screen the political figures. The glowing aura around Pamela revealed a long list of political corruption and sins, but it was Sebastian who made Gray’s jaw tighten. The son’s sheet lit up in a deep, murderous crimson. Sebastian already had several innocent human kills marked directly on his record.

Gray stood in the crowd, watching the politicians with a cold expression. He wasn’t planning on trying to relocate all these thousands of people to his bases... trying to move an entire massive city like the Commonwealth would be an absolute pain in the ass. But making the citizens’ lives significantly better by ruthlessly getting rid of the corrupt tyrants running the show? Now, that was something he could definitely do.

During the night, Gray flew high into the air to scout for weak points across the Commonwealth. These people were so entitled that they had divided the entire settlement into clear, segregated sections; they moved all the rich elites into one luxurious neighborhood, while packing the poor working class into cramped apartment buildings. They still maintained a heavy security presence, with guards in funny-looking armor patrolling everywhere. Gray could see that even some of the poor residents were likely guilty of crimes like murder or rape, but screening thousands of people individually would take way too much time.

He checked his system interface and saw that his Training Dimension cooldown would officially end in a day and a half. He decided to use this remaining downtime to gather a massive amount of blackmail material on all the corrupt officials and people in power. To be fair, digging up their dirty secrets wasn’t hard at all. Gray wanted to give the common citizens the option to eventually rise up and establish a much better form of government. He knew that having a singular, unchecked leader would always lead to corruption.

Gray followed Sebastian Milton everywhere. The guy was a complete asshole, walking around with the arrogant attitude that he was completely untouchable. But that was about to change. Gray was just about to infiltrate Pamela Milton’s private estate when he suddenly sensed one of his real-world shadow clones dispel.

A rush of information hit him... Dr. Jenner had finally found an answer to the Minecraft milk test. Gray initially wanted to make the scientists wait so he could finish his scouting, but he chose to teleport back to Georgia anyway. He would have plenty of time to teach the corrupt officials of the Commonwealth a lesson later.

In a silent blink, Gray appeared directly inside the subterranean prison laboratory. Dr. Jenner, Candace, and the White Queen AI immediately gathered around to present their findings.

”Gray, the results are incredible, but there’s a catch,” Dr. Jenner explained, pulling up data charts on the main monitors. ”The milk absolutely works. It completely eliminated the Wildfire virus from the volunteer’s bloodstream. However, because the pathogen is airborne and everywhere in the environment, the person was re-infected by the air right after. Using it as a permanent cure for the population is a bust.”

”But that’s not all we found, sir,” the White Queen’s voice chimed in over the audio network. ”We tested the solution on a resident suffering from a severe case of the flu, and the subject made a full recovery almost instantly. The fluid completely eradicates standard biological illnesses.”

Candace stepped forward, her eyes wide with excitement. ”And we ran a simulation and a blood tissue test regarding walker bites. If a survivor gets bitten by a walker and drinks a glass of this milk right away, the milk completely neutralizes the lethal toxic infection. They won’t get a fever, and they won’t die from the bite. The physical wound will still need to heal normally, but the infection itself is destroyed.”

Gray nodded, a satisfied smile breaking across his face. Even if the milk couldn’t permanently cure the airborne virus, this was a massive breakthrough. They officially had a foolproof safety net for anyone who accidentally got bitten by the dead in the future.

Gray looked directly at the scientists, noticing the heavy black bags under Edwin’s eyes. ”You both did a good job, and I want you to keep at it, but you need to get enough rest. Prioritize your health from now on.”

Before they could speak, Gray looked up at the ceiling. ”White Queen, lock them both out of the lab if they don’t get their eight hours of sleep. Collaborate with JARVIS to make sure it happens.”

The Jenners opened their mouths to protest, but Gray didn’t give them the chance and instantly teleported away. Edwin Jenner groaned, rubbing his face. ”I hate when he does that.”

Gray materialized right back in the sky of the Commonwealth. Checking the time, he saw that Pamela Milton had finally fallen asleep. She had risen to power quite recently since her father had passed away, inheriting a leadership role that allowed the corrupt officials around her to tighten their grip on the community. A few armored guards were roaming the hallways outside, but Gray simply teleported right past them, appearing directly inside her private bedroom. He equipped his blackened armor and terrifying Nazgûl mask from his inventory in a second.

He walked silently to the side of the bed and slammed his hand down over Pamela’s mouth.

Pamela woke up instantly in a panic, her eyes widening as she grabbed at Gray’s wrist. She pulled with all her might, but she couldn’t budge his Saiyan grip an inch. Seeing the lady squirming and desperately trying to thrash around to get the attention of the guards outside, Gray drew his Valyrian steel dagger and pressed the cold blade flat against her throat.

”Calm down,” Gray muttered beneath his mask.

Feeling the sharp edge on her skin, Pamela froze and finally stopped fighting. Gray kept his grip tight but leaned in close. ”You’ve done a good job bringing all those people together and keeping them safe. I’m going to remove my hand now. If you scream or try to get those guards in here, I will simply murder every single one of them. Do you understand?”

Pamela blinked rapidly, swallowing hard. Gray slowly pulled his hand away and took a few steps back. He casually sat down in one of the luxury single couches in the corner of her massive bedroom, resting his ankle over his knee.

Pamela blinked rapidly, swallowing hard. Gray slowly pulled his hand away and took a few steps back. He casually sat down in one of the luxury single couches in the corner of her massive bedroom, resting his ankle over his knee.

Pamela sat up quickly, pulling the sheets to her chest, her voice shaking but furious. ”What do you want? You’re not getting anything out of me.”

”Oh, I only want one thing from you, and I’m sure you’ll benefit from it too,” Gray said, his voice deep and distorted by the mask. ”I want you to get rid of all your corrupt officials. Clean up your government, or I will do it for you, starting with your son.”

Pamela bolted upright in the bed. ”Don’t you dare touch my son! He’s innocent!”

Gray let out a mocking laugh that echoed in the quiet room. ”Oh, that’s so funny. No wonder he’s the way he is. Being pampered by mommy so much that he thinks he can do whatever the hell he wants.”

Gray stood up from the couch and walked over to the large glass window, looking out over the sleeping city. He turned his head slightly back toward her. ”This is your only warning. I will give you exactly one week to put everything in order. I left a few files on your nightstand with all the information, blackmail, and evidence you need to strip every single one of them of their power.”

”And if I don’t?” Pamela demanded.

Gray glanced over his shoulder. ”Then I will cleanse this city myself, one public execution at a time...starting with yours.”

Without waiting for an answer, Gray threw open the window and jumped out into the night air. The moment he dropped past the balcony and out of sight, he activated his jumper ability, appearing high into the dark clouds.

’I’ve always wanted to play the villain,’ Gray thought to himself, a massive grin forming under his mask as he flew away through the sky to spend the rest of his night clearing out walker hordes.

TITLE: The Commonwealth