Chapter 264 Spy
West Mountain Base was a good 30 miles from Emerald Estate.
In this freezing weather, they couldn't keep making those long trips.
So, if they wanted to go toe-to-toe with Steven for a while, they needed a base close by.
Cox Town was the obvious pick.
Not only was there free labor, but also the villagers' supplies they could use whenever they wanted.
But if West Mountain Base could think of that, so could Steven.
He thought, 'Why not have Earl stay behind as a spy to gather intel on those guys?'
At first, Earl wasn't too thrilled about it. "I can't do this! Those soldiers are scary; I get freaked out just looking at them."
Steven was at a loss for words.
With Earl's combat skills, he could easily take out those regular soldiers if he wanted to. But he was such a scaredy-cat.
Steven said, "Relax, I don't need you to fight them head-on. Just keep your ears open, gather intel for me. I'll handle the rest."
Earl was too chicken; if a fight broke out, he could get himself killed.
Steven didn't want that; he actually liked Earl. The guy was endearingly dumb.
He promised, "I'll make sure you get a good reward once the job's done."
Hearing he wouldn't have to fight, Earl felt a lot better. "Oh, that's a relief! As long as I don't have to fight, I'm in."
Steven walked into a game room on the second floor that Brock had left behind.
In the 860-square-foot space, there were all kinds of rare figurines, some limited to just ten sets worldwide, or even rarer.
Steven casually picked up a pure gold figurine and snapped a photo to send to Earl.
Steven said, "If you pull this off, I'll give you the whole set of pure gold figurines!"
Earl got the photo and was instantly hooked.
Earl exclaimed, "This... this is the golden figurine from 2035! It's pure gold and only five sets exist worldwide."
"Captain Rogers, I'll definitely get this done for you!" Earl's face lit up with excitement.
In the past, just one of these could sell for over $400,000, let alone a whole set! It was beyond his wildest dreams!
That's the beauty of being a geek, finding joy in the simplest things.
Steven hung up, feeling a bit bummed that he couldn't get Earl to come to the shelter.
With Earl's skills, dealing with West Mountain Base would be a breeze.
But Earl had his own family, and Steven couldn't force him. If he did, it might backfire.
Steven didn't want anyone in his shelter to have split loyalties.
"No worries, leaving you there might be the better move. But if you think you can get along with the soldiers from West Mountain Base, you're in for a rude awakening." Steven shook his head, feeling sorry for the naive folks of Cox Town.
They really thought West Mountain Base was some official organization.
Steven couldn't say much; not everyone had access to the high-level info he did.
The regular folks in The Astralium Kingdom were used to being managed.
Meanwhile, after chatting with Steven, Earl knew he couldn't just sit around anymore.
He had to follow Steven's orders and gather enough intel to make sure neither he nor the people of Cox Village faced Steven's wrath.
After thinking it over, Earl decided to have a serious talk with Gavin.
Earl put on a woolen hat and stepped out of his house.
Just as he was about to find Gavin, he saw someone running towards him from a distance.
"Julia!" Earl's heart skipped a beat, and a big smile spread across his face.
She was the first girl to greet him voluntarily in five years.
From that moment, Earl was smitten.
"Earl!" Julia ran up to him, catching her breath, and then flashed a bright smile.
"Julia, what are you doing out here? It's freezing; you should stay warm at home," Earl said, concerned.
Julia glanced towards Gavin's house and said, "Mr. Gavin Cox said every household should bring out food for the soldiers."
"My parents took the meat from our house, and I came by to bring you something," she explained.
Julia pulled a pair of cotton gloves from her pocket and handed them to Earl.
"I made these myself!" she said shyly.
Earl was touched; the gloves were pretty ugly, clearly handmade.
Knowing Julia had made them for him, Earl felt even more moved.
'She really cares about me!' Earl thought happily.
"Julia, thank you! You're so sweet," Earl said with a goofy grin.
Julia replied, "I'm glad you like them! Try them on."
Earl put on the gloves; they were a bit tight, but his heart felt warm.
After some small talk, Julia suddenly frowned and asked quietly, "Earl, do you think it's good or bad that these soldiers are in our village?"
Earl was taken aback. "Julia, why do you ask?"
Julia sighed, "Life's tough for everyone now. Before they came, we could at least survive on our stored food."
"But now, we have to feed dozens of soldiers. One or two meals are fine, but what if they..." Julia trailed off, looking around nervously.
The villagers were scared the soldiers might stay for good and start taking their food.
After all, they had guns!
Hearing this, Earl saw the worry on Julia's face, and a sense of protectiveness surged within him.
He looked at her with determination and said, "Julia, don't worry! No matter what happens, I'll protect you!"
Julia smiled, "Thank you, Earl! I knew you were a good person. You'll protect my parents too, right?"
"Of course! I won't let anyone hurt you guys!"
Earl thought to himself, 'Your parents will be my parents someday, so of course, I have to protect them.'
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