Chapter 243 Approaching the Truth
After leaving Emerald Estate, Brittany and Zane rushed back to West Mountain Base without taking a break.
Brittany couldn't stop grinning, not even the freezing midnight snow could bring her down.
Zane was pretty taken aback by this.
Brittany was his boss, and he usually just followed orders from the top, reporting directly to her.
So, Zane was often left in the dark about the details of their missions.
But today, Brittany seemed way too excited, which got Zane curious.
They'd been partners for a long time and had a solid relationship.
Zane asked, "Brittany, what did you see at Steven's place that's got you so pumped?"
By now, they were already far from Emerald Estate.
Brittany, in a great mood and eager to get back for a big reward, decided to spill the beans to Zane.
She said, "Zane, technically, you're just a grunt, you know? Some stuff is above your pay grade. But I'm in a good mood today, so why not!"
The whole Steven thing was small potatoes to the bigwigs at West Mountain Base, so it wasn't super top-secret.
Plus, with everything going on lately, some rules were getting pretty loose.
Brittany let him in on the scoop. "That Steven guy, there were rumors he was mixed up in the Walmart South Warehouse heist. Heard of that one?"
Zane frowned a bit, "Yeah, I think I heard something about that."
Back then, he was still in the army and didn't keep up with outside news much.
"But you know Walmart, right?" Brittany asked.
"Of course, it's a huge chain, famous all over," Zane replied.
"Exactly, not just famous, but the biggest chain store in the world," Brittany said. "They've got over 800 big stores just in The Astralium Kingdom."
"And the South Warehouse in Starlight City had more than a third of their supplies for The Astralium Kingdom. We're talking billions of dollars' worth of stuff," Brittany added.
Zane was shocked. "Billions of dollars! That's insane!"
Even with all the prep and stockpiling before the snow disaster, West Mountain Base didn't have that much.
"Are you saying Steven knows where all that stuff is?" Zane caught on quickly.
Brittany smiled, "At first, the higher-ups thought the same. They figured Steven just knew something and sent us to check it out."
"But after going to Cox Town and checking out Steven's place myself, I realized it's way more complicated than that!" Brittany's tone got serious, mixed with the thrill of uncovering a big secret.
Zane frowned. "I'm not following."
Brittany rolled her eyes, thinking he was a bit slow.
She explained, "If Steven was just a regular warehouse manager, the missing supplies wouldn't have much to do with him."
She went on, "Even if we found him and asked, the info we'd get would probably be useless. Even if we knew who did it, we might not be able to get the supplies back. But what if Steven's got some hidden, powerful abilities?"
Brittany thought about what the villagers in Cox Village had told her and gently exhaled a puff of white smoke.
She asked, "Can a regular person survive this long in the apocalypse and still have serious firepower? Can a regular person fend off hundreds of villagers and take out over a hundred people on their own?"
"From that, it's clear Steven's no ordinary guy!" she declared.
As they chatted, the sled dogs started getting antsy, but with their mouths muzzled, all they could do was whimper and run like crazy.
The two were so caught up in their conversation, they didn't notice.
After all, in this freezing weather, it wasn't unusual for the dogs to act up.
Brittany said, "I was just suspicious before, but after checking out his place, I'm convinced. His living conditions are way too good, even fancier than our leader's at West Mountain Base. He couldn't live that lavishly without a ton of supplies, it's just not possible."
Zane slowly started to get it. "I see! You think Steven's got a massive stash of supplies! And those supplies might be the missing goods from the Walmart South Warehouse?"
Brittany blinked and said seriously, "Maybe not just part of it! It could be all of it!"
"What???" Zane was shocked. "Brittany, that's a crazy thought. Where would he stash all that stuff?"
Brittany replied, "The whole case was a mystery. No one could figure out how the world's biggest warehouse got cleaned out in just a few hours. But now, with Psychics around, any thing can happen."
Zane frowned a bit. "You think he has some ability to hide supplies?"
Brittany said, "It's just a guess. But even if there's a chance, it's worth checking out!"
Brittany's eyes sparkled with excitement. "When we get back, we'll report this right away and have the leader send a big force! We'll crush any resistance with half our squad, no sweat."
"Even if his place is super fortified, with me there, it'll be a piece of cake," she added.
Though Brittany's abilities were more supportive, they were super handy in assault missions.
She couldn't bring in huge objects, but tossing in some bombs or gas was no problem.
No matter how strong a fortress was, breaking it from the inside was always easier.
Zane looked at the confident Brittany, his eyes flashing with envy.
"Man, you Psychics with your natural abilities can do anything," Zane said.
Brittany saw a hint of sadness in Zane's eyes.
As an elite soldier, not having the same talents as Brittany was a big regret for Zane.
Brittany suddenly gave Zane a hard pat on the shoulder. "Zane, don't get too down! You'll get a big reward when we get back from this mission."
"When I become a high-ranking officer at the base, I'll make sure you're taken care of," she said.
Zane looked at the spirited Brittany and couldn't help but smile. "Alright, I'll count on you for my promotion then!"
The sled jostled down the mountain, the two chattering and laughing, both feeling pumped about the huge gains from this trip.
Just then, in Zane's view, Brittany's head suddenly jerked to the side.
A spray of blood burst from her temple, her smile still frozen on her face, but her eyes quickly lost their sparkle.
Then, without warning, Brittany's body fell off the sled.
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