Chapter 280 New Message
Charles led the special forces team back to Cox Village.
They had left all pumped up but came back looking like a mess.
As they rolled into the village, Gavin and the others rushed over to meet them.
Gavin, with a big, eager grin, asked, "Captain Reed, did you guys crush it? Did you take down that jerk Steven?"
A bunch of village leaders behind him chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, we heard a huge explosion. You must've blown his place to bits, right?"
"Did you turn Steven into ashes?"
"You're awesome. One move and it's game over. Truly impressive!"
"Captain Reed is amazing, and so is the West Mountain crew!"
A flood of empty praise poured out.
But the more the special forces listened, the darker their faces got.
Their mission had just tanked, and nearly half their team was gone. They were already in a foul mood.
So hearing the Cox Town villagers' praise felt like a slap in the face.
Shane snapped, "Shut up!"
His voice was so loud that everyone froze in shock.
At that moment, Gavin finally caught on.
'These soldiers don't look like victors!' he thought.
Everyone clammed up, not daring to say more.
Charles stepped forward and told Gavin and the others, "We're starving. Get us more food than usual."
After that, Charles headed towards their temporary digs.
Shane glared at Gavin and the others, saying, "We fought hard today, so make sure the food is good! Got it?"
"Yes, Sir!"
No one dared to argue.
After they walked away, the villagers couldn't help but start whispering.
"Looks like they lost the battle!"
"No way! These soldiers can't even handle one Steven?"
"Who knows! Steven is a vicious devil with ruthless methods!"
"But they are a regular army! Look at their gear, fully armed. If so many people can't handle one guy, it's embarrassing!"
The villagers' voices weren't loud, but the soldiers' hearing was sharp, and they caught every word.
Their faces were filled with shame and anger, but they could only pretend not to hear.
After all, losing the battle was a fact, and arguing would only make them look worse.
Shane said gloomily to Charles, "Aren't these villagers too rude? Let me teach them a lesson!"
Charles glanced at him and said coldly, "No need! Keep them around; they can still supply us with food and labor. We can deal with them after we finish off Steven if we want."
Charles walked into the snow house and said indifferently, "The base also needs some labor. When the time comes, let them go and contribute to our organization."
Shane nodded, a dangerous glint in his eye. "They're lucky! Back in the day, I'd have had a few of them on the ground."
Every soldier at West Mountain Base had walked the line between life and death.
Although they hadn't been to a battlefield in peacetime, saying they had killed countless people was no joke. Back in the early days of the apocalypse, folks around West Mountain Base were desperate to get into the shelter once they heard about it.
How did they handle these people?
To survive, everyone did whatever it took. Some even tried to force their way in.
Charles and his team, cold-blooded machines, took out anyone who tried to break in, all on Peter's orders.
Later, there was a riot at The Fourth Life Warehouse because of unfair resource distribution.
They crushed that too.
To this day, who knows how much blood is on their hands.
Killing people to them was no different from gutting fish.
Meanwhile, Gavin was surrounded by a bunch of anxious villagers.
"Mr. Gavin Cox, didn't you say they'd leave in a couple of days? It's been way longer!"
"I don't think they're going anywhere. They lost the fight, and who knows when it'll end!"
"But these soldiers eat like horses. One guy's daily food intake is like a family of four!"
"If this keeps up, Cox Town can't handle it!"
Gavin frowned, feeling uneasy.
But to keep things calm, he had to reassure the villagers not to worry.
In the crowd, Earl watched and sighed helplessly.
Steven's words were coming true step by step.
Gavin had welcomed these West Mountain Base soldiers with open arms, but now he feared he couldn't get rid of them, ultimately screwing himself over.
However, hearing that West Mountain Base had failed to take down Steven's shelter made Earl more determined to stick with Steven.
Earl ran back home and called Steven.
"Captain Rogers, the West Mountain Base guys came back with their tails between their legs. I think there are half as many as when they left! Did you take them out?"
Steven, getting the gist from Earl, knew the West Mountain Base soldiers had retreated.
He put away his sniper rifle and closed the window.
Then he replied, "I drove them off. How do they look now? Are they in good spirits?"
Through their spirits, he could gauge if they had another plan.
Understanding the opponent's mindset was crucial.
Earl replied, "They look like beaten dogs, each one uglier than the last."
"And they immediately demanded food when they got back. How shameless!" Earl also felt bad for the villagers' food.
Even though Cox Town was big on agriculture and fishing, each household's food reserves weren't much, enough to last a year and a half at most.
But now, they had to feed a bunch of hungry soldiers who demanded good food, and the villagers were overwhelmed.
Steven said, "This is just the beginning. They might still be polite to you now. Slowly, they might not even treat you as humans!"
Steven showed a wicked smile. "Earl, how's your history knowledge?"
"Just so-so!" Earl scratched his head. "Captain Rogers, why do you ask?"
Steven said indifferently, "I just want to remind you, these West Mountain Base soldiers are people with blood on their hands, who don't give a damn about life." He added, "In history, when food gets really scarce, things can get ugly. Soldiers have been known to capture people for food. Cox Town has a lot of folks, right? It's like a big meat processing plant."
Steven's words made Earl's hair stand on end.
Earl exclaimed, "Damn, stop it! That's terrifying! They... they wouldn't go that far, would they?"
Earl looked at his own body, plump and full of meat, and couldn't help but compare himself to a pig in a meat processing plant.
Steven's teasing smile faded, and he thought about the month he spent in Sunshine Community.
That kind of brutality was unimaginable to the well-fed villagers of Cox Town.
When people are extremely hungry, they can do anything.
Steven said, "I don't know if they'd go that far."
"But if I were you..." Steven gave a cold smile, "I would've run away long ago!"
'Earl, you have such a powerful Supernatural ability; you could live well anywhere. Why are you sticking around with these foolish villagers?' Steven thought.
Earl swallowed hard, feeling indecisive.
Steven reassured him, "Don't worry, you have a Supernatural Ability; they probably won't want to harm you. If you ever feel things are going south, come to me. I'll protect you!"
Steven now wanted Earl to stay put and act as his informant. So he had to give him some confidence.
After receiving Steven's promise, Earl felt a bit more at ease.
"Alright, Captain Rogers. I'll listen to you! If that day ever comes, you must help me!" Earl replied.
"Of course. Keep an eye on their movements and report any changes to me. Got it?" Steven instructed.
"Absolutely!"
After hanging up, Steven asked Aurora to display the 3D structure of the entire shelter.
"What's the damage to the exterior today?" he asked.
Aurora showed a section of the wall. "Damage from firearms, 0.00001%. Damage from an unknown object, 0.028%."
Steven pulled up the section damaged by the unknown object.
The 3D image revealed a shallow fist imprint.
"Charles, huh? He's a monster!" Steven marveled once again.
Tiger Special Forces' captain Charles—Earl had told Steven Charles' name.
But seeing Charles' strength firsthand, Steven was deeply shocked.
Without a doubt, Charles was the most powerful Psychic Steven had ever encountered!
Whether in speed or strength, he had reached a monstrous level.
'Could it be that West Mountain Base has special methods to enhance Psychic abilities?' Steven thought of Zane, who had been dissected.
Zane was an ordinary person, forcibly mutated to gain immense strength.
But it came at a cost; his body had terrible hidden injuries due to the mutation.
Gaining power meant sacrificing health and even lifespan.
'I wonder if Charles' Supernatural ability is naturally strong or if it's the result of some modification?' Steven's interest in West Mountain Base grew.
If such a method existed, he wanted to try it. But the thought was fleeting.
He wouldn't risk his life just to get stronger.
If it wasn't about staying safe, he'd rather be an ordinary guy, living a peaceful and happy life.
Back in the basement, Elinor was the first to rush up. "Steven, are you hurt?"
She hurriedly checked him over, worried something had happened.
"I'm fine, but they might not be," Steven smiled.
Seeing them lifted his spirits. It was a smart move to have them live with him.
After a big battle, he needed the comfort of women, not just physically but emotionally too.
Elinor carefully checked Steven's body and, confirming he was unharmed, breathed a sigh of relief and rested her head on his chest.
Steven patted her back and then sat on the sofa to rest.
Nora fetched beer and snacks from the fridge for him.
Steven looked at Aubrey and asked, "Aubrey, our shelter's outer wall got damaged. Can it be fixed?"
Aubrey, sitting in a chair, rolled her eyes upward. "I know how to make that high-strength alloy. But I need some special materials. And even if we get the materials, we need to go out to repair the outer wall. In these times, you can't just go out to find materials and fix the wall, right?"
Steven smiled. "As long as you can repair it, that's good enough! We're not in a rush."
A perfectly good shelter would be a shame to let get destroyed.
Steven didn't want to keep moving around.
"Who knows how long they'll keep fighting!" Nora sighed, looking worried.
"Then you better be ready for a long fight!" Steven said.
Steven poured her a glass of beer, and Nora smiled as she took it with both hands.
Seeing this, the other girls also came over to ask for beer.
After the battle, they rarely had a moment of peace.
Compared to Steven, the other four girls were more anxious.
Steven knew his abilities well, so he wasn't too afraid.
The others could only hide in the basement, praying Steven would win.
As they enjoyed lunch, the conversation lightened, and they talked about other topics.
After a while, Cindy's phone suddenly made a sound.
The surrounding noise stopped abruptly, and everyone looked at her.
In these times, it was unlikely anyone from the outside could contact them.
And if someone did, it usually wasn't good news.
Cindy calmly took out her phone.
As a top hacker, she wasn't worried about anyone hacking into the shelter's network through her phone.
She opened the phone, glanced at Steven, and then sensibly handed it over from the table. "There's a message."
Steven didn't hesitate and turned the phone to look at it.
[Cindy, it's Lily. My classmates and I need your help. Can I talk to Steven?]
Seeing Lily's name, Steven couldn't help but think of the Psychic he saw holding a broadsword.
"Could she have come too?" Steven asked.
Steven was very cautious. It seemed that after he took Cindy, Lily and the others had contacted West Mountain Base and joined them.
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