"No matter what's happening inside, we… have to go in and see."
Kane, who had been silent, finally spoke. His voice was hoarse and low, but it carried an iron-clad, unquestionable resolve.
Not only were there much-needed supplies and equipment there, but more importantly, it was supposed to be their military base! He could not tolerate the possibility that his comrades were inside, suffering unknown torment and… humiliation!
Cassian nodded gravely in agreement. Although he wasn't a soldier, from the current situation, the style of this new, so-called "King" was clearly full of tyranny and uncertainty. Such an unstable "neighbor" was also a huge threat to their future development. Knowing the enemy was a necessity right now.
However, how to get in had become the biggest problem before them.
Forcing their way in was clearly unrealistic. Judging by the tight security at the gate, the opponent's strength was definitely not to be underestimated. As for sneaking in… the base was originally designed by the military; one could imagine how complete its defense system was.
Just as everyone was at their wit's end, a breakthrough appeared in an unexpected way.
That night, while Cassian and Elara were outside, using the cover of darkness to scout the base's perimeter, a man, looking timid and unremarkable, proactively approached them.
The man claimed that he had a way to get them into the base, undetected.
But his price was not low.
...
That night, outside the temporary base's walls, in an extremely hidden, shadow-shrouded corner.
The dark, thin man was bowing and scraping before Cassian and Elara, his face wearing a fawning, yet confident, smile.
"This way, this way, honored sirs, absolutely right!"
As he spoke, he pushed aside a clump of waist-high, snow-covered weeds, revealing behind it… an inconspicuous, rusty iron grate, seemingly for sewage discharge.
He patted his chest and guaranteed with conviction, "Trust me, going in from here, you definitely won't be discovered! This place, right now, is absolutely no problem!"
This man was the one who had proactively sought them out when Elara and the others were struggling with how to infiltrate the base.
At first, Elara was half-skeptical of him. After all, this man himself could only live in the dilapidated tents outside the base. How could he possibly have a way to freely enter and exit this heavily guarded facility?
But when the man, to prove his "ability," took out a pack of high-end cigarettes with almost brand-new packaging—something rarely seen even in the trading post—and lit one with the practiced ease of a long-time smoker… Elara and Cassian's doubts began to dissipate.
Supplies like these were definitely not something an ordinary, wandering survivor living outside the base could easily obtain.
"Just trust me, there's absolutely no mistake," the man said, taking a deep drag from his cigarette and then skillfully blowing a smoke ring. He lowered his voice and said to them, "After you go in from here, walk straight ahead, then turn right, and you'll be able to bypass the surveillance and go directly to the ordinary survivor residential area…"
He seemed to pause for a few seconds, as if quickly recalling something in his mind, and then, in an extremely fluent, unhesitating torrent of words, he clearly recited a long, complex, and precise route for navigating inside the base.
Jorah, standing nearby, was completely stunned listening to his rapid-fire, rote-like speech, his brain unable to keep up.
This man… was definitely not simple.
"Okay, I trust you," Elara said after a moment's thought, having listened to the man's almost bizarrely detailed route description. She finally decided to take the risk.
But she didn't intend for everyone to go in with her.
"I'll go in alone first, to scout the path," she said, looking at Cassian and Zephyr, her tone decisive.
"I'll go with you."
Before Elara could finish, Cassian immediately cut in, his tone equally unquestionable.
They looked at each other, and both saw the same determination in the other's eyes.
Considering safety and the need for someone to provide backup and keep watch outside, Elara ultimately agreed to Cassian's proposal.
She took a crystal core from her pocket—one of the non-attribute, primary mutated zombie cores she had obtained from the Research Institute—and tossed it to the man.
Mutated zombies, because they already possessed rudimentary abilities, had crystal cores that basically carried corresponding attribute properties. The probability of finding a pure-energy, non-attribute mutated zombie core like this was extremely low. Therefore, although primary mutated zombies were not uncommon, the value of this type of non-attribute core was far higher than that of an attribute-bearing core of the same level.
This was the strange condition the man had proposed earlier—he didn't want ordinary crystal cores, nor large quantities of supplies, only non-attribute, mutated zombie crystal cores.
Although the request was strange, just as the man himself had said, the apocalypse had arrived, and everyone had their own reasons and secrets. Perhaps he needed this pure energy core for some special purpose, or perhaps he just didn't want to expose some secret of his own.
Elara, who also carried a great secret, could naturally understand this. For now, she didn't have the extra energy to probe into this man's secrets.
She just left him with a "This is the deposit. There will be a greater reward after this is done," and then, with Cassian, and with the man's help, they opened the rusty iron grate and slipped into the pitch-black hole.
The moment they entered, a damp, slightly foul smell hit them.
Without hesitation, they turned on their miniature tactical flashlights and, following the man's instructions, quickly turned right and proceeded straight down the narrow, dark passage.
To their surprise, the path was indeed, as the man had said, exceptionally safe. They didn't even see a single patrolling soldier along the way.
After about fifteen minutes of twisting and turning, they finally emerged from another hidden exit back to the surface.
And here, just as the man had said, was already inside the base, in the area where the ordinary survivors lived.
Just as they emerged from the exit and were hiding in the shadow of a corner, observing their surroundings, a familiar figure flashed past on another path not far from them.
It was a young man with brilliant blond hair. He seemed to be in a very bad mood, cursing and muttering to himself as he walked.
Although it was just a glimpse, Elara felt that the back and the signature blond hair were… inexplicably familiar.
But she didn't dwell on it. Her eyes, at this moment, were still like those of the most vigilant cheetah, focused on observing the surrounding environment and the distribution of personnel. Only after confirming that no one would discover them in the short term did she gently tug on the corner of Cassian's sleeve.
Cassian felt the gentle pull on his sleeve, and his brow, which had been slightly furrowed as he stared at something, relaxed.
They exchanged another glance, and then, silently, returned the way they had come, back outside the walls.