Chapter 285 Diktat
The folks in Cox Town were kinda relieved when they heard only their phones would be taken away.
Even though everyone was smiling, the reality of losing their phones—basically their main source of fun—was hitting hard. But they got why the special forces had to do it and went along with it.
The biggest thing about the people here? They knew how to follow orders.
Sure, even if more of their stuff got taken, as long as it wasn't their lives, they could mostly deal with it.
So, everything went smoothly, and the villagers handed over their phones without a fuss.
In the middle of all this, Earl's heart was racing, and he was super nervous.
The others weren't scared because they hadn't been in touch with Steven.
But Earl? He was Steven's undercover guy in Cox Town!
Lucky for him, he was terrified of dying. From the day he started working undercover, he had been ready for this.
Every day, he made sure to delete his chats with Steven and even set up a quick way to remove Steven from his friends list with just one tap.
When Gavin came around to collect phones, Earl quickly deleted Steven from his friends list.
At that moment, there was no trace of Steven left on his phone.
Unless someone did a data recovery, but that was pretty unlikely.
With thousands of people in Cox Town, it would take forever to recover data from each phone.
Plus, they might not even have the right gear to do it.
Gavin walked up to Earl and asked, "Earl, where's your phone?"
Earl quickly dropped his phone into the box, saying, "My computer's at home; I'll grab it later!"
Gavin was pretty chill with Earl since Earl had a shot at going to West Mountain Base someday.
"Alright, wait until Captain Reed finishes talking, then you can go," Gavin said.
After Gavin left, Earl realized he was drenched in cold sweat.
He had dodged a bullet, but how was he gonna contact Steven now?
Could it be that the folks at West Mountain Base had already found a traitor among them?
After taking everyone's devices, Charles started handing out tasks.
He told everyone in Cox Town to get into a wartime state and help them attack Steven's shelter.
"I hope everyone can work with us; it's for your own safety. Only by taking down Steven, this murderer, can you have a happy future!"
All the villagers were confused and really scared.
"Are they gonna make us attack Steven's shelter?"
"I don't wanna go; so many people have died before."
"We're just farmers and fishermen; what do we have to fight with?"
"Yeah, you have professional soldiers, why make us fight?"
The villagers were pretty upset and started voicing their concerns.
Charles tried to calm everyone down, "You don't need to charge into battle; we just need you to help with some engineering work. Don't worry, we'll handle the direct fight with Steven!"
He pounded his chest and said, "Trust us, protecting people's lives is a soldier's duty!"
Gavin and other village leaders also spoke up to back Charles.
The villagers were still kinda unhappy, but no one wanted to be the first to stand up and oppose.
So, that was that.
In reality, their opinions didn't matter at all.
Charles was basically telling them they had no choice but to cooperate, whether they liked it or not.
Earl was super uneasy.
He was worried about his cover being blown and felt like everything Steven had warned him about was coming true.
At first, the special forces from West Mountain Base just came to Cox Town asking for food.
Then, it escalated to a bunch of troops being stationed there, making the villagers provide shelter, food, and info about Steven. This put everyone in Cox Town in a tight spot.
Now, they were being asked to join the attack on Steven's shelter.
Knowing Steven, if he managed to deal with this, he'd definitely come back for revenge on everyone in Cox Town!
Earl was also worried that the folks at West Mountain Base might take even more extreme actions against Cox Town in the future.
Standing behind Charles, Lily was next to Clay and Shane, feeling pretty relieved she had the foresight to bring two phones.
If they asked for her phone, she could easily dodge the search.
But right now, Charles didn't suspect her at all.
First, Lily's impressive skills had earned her the respect of the whole special forces team; second, Charles couldn't think of any reason why Lily would betray West Mountain Base. At West Mountain Base, Lily enjoyed all the perks of the Second Life Warehouse!
In Charles's mind, he couldn't imagine anyone giving up a cushy life to save some random people.
Lily looked at Charles, feeling a bit cautious.
Because Charles's actions this time came out of nowhere, and he hadn't given her a heads-up.
Was it because he suspected her, or did he have some super-secret plan? She couldn't tell.
After thinking it over, Lily decided to ask Charles directly.
After all, as a member of the special forces, it wasn't unreasonable for her to inquire about the battle plan.
"Captain Reed, with such a big operation this time, do we have a major action planned?" Lily asked.
Charles glanced at Lily and gave a faint smile. "The higher-ups have ordered us to take down Steven's shelter! So now, we have to mobilize all available forces!"
Trying to make Lily feel less out of the loop, Charles explained, "I came up with this plan last night because of the urgency, which is why I didn't inform you."
Lily said calmly, "It's okay, you're the captain; you make the decisions."
Charles had his soldiers hand out tasks, then called Lily, Clay, and a few others into a room.
He shared his plan with the team leaders, while the special forces' strategists were already in the know.
"We've made several probing attacks on the shelter. Although we've taken heavy losses, we've basically figured out Steven's abilities. Firearms, rocket launchers, and other ballistic weapons are useless; he can absorb and bounce them back. But his attack methods are limited; he can only use a sniper rifle and doesn't dare to come out of the shelter. So, my plan is for us to use our supernatural abilities to keep attacking from the shelter's blind spots!" Charles pointed to the 3D model of the shelter. "This shelter is big and doesn't have windows on every side, so there are a lot of blind spots. My plan is for us to take turns using our supernatural abilities to attack the shelter from these blind spots!"
Shane and Clay looked unfazed, clearly already in the loop. Charles's words were really aimed at Lily.
After hearing Charles, Lily frowned slightly.
"Is that it? It can't be that simple," she said calmly. "Even if we use our supernatural abilities to attack, it would take at least a year or two to see any real results. I don't think the base can afford to let us spend that much time here. Plus, if it's just us doing the work, why did you bring in so many villagers?"
Charles smiled and nodded. "Ms. Evans, you're indeed very sharp, worthy of being an educator."
Lily crossed her arms and said indifferently, "Sorry, I'm a gym teacher."
Charles waved his hand dismissively. "Doesn't matter what kind of teacher you are! The point is, you're right. Our surface attack is just to distract Steven, it's a decoy!" He pointed to the 3D model, below ground level. "Our real plan is to conduct an underground explosion!"
A determined look flashed across Charles's face. He continued, "Turns out TNT is still the best way to deal with fortified structures like this!"
As Lily grasped Charles's entire plan, a chill ran through her body, and she broke out in a cold sweat.
"You... you want to send the villagers of Cox Town to their deaths?"
Underground explosions had been discussed before.
But the general consensus was that it would be extremely difficult without modern excavation machinery.
After all, the area around the shelter had been blasted clean several times.
The surrounding area was too open, and even if they dug tunnels, they would have to start from much farther away.
The tunnel would need to be at least 4,900 feet long!
In such cold weather, forcing the villagers to engage in high-intensity underground excavation would certainly lead to many of them freezing or working themselves to death!
Charles said coldly, "I'm doing this for their own good! Steven has already slaughtered hundreds of them. And once we leave this land, they will have no way to defend themselves against Steven. A certain amount of sacrifice is necessary for the final victory! We are soldiers, and the first rule of being a soldier is to obey orders! Since Mr. Martin has ordered me to take Steven's shelter at all costs, I will spare no effort to accomplish it!"
Lily was so angry that she clenched her fists, her body trembling!
At all costs, but the cost was someone else's life!
Although she knew what kind of place West Mountain Base was, she didn't expect these soldiers to be so heartless.
"I'm not a soldier! I can't do this!" Lily shouted.
"Since you joined the special forces, you already are!" Charles stared coldly at Lily, his sharp gaze like two knives. "Unless you have a better plan to break the shelter, just follow the orders!"
Lily's breath caught; what could she do?
She had already allied with Steven and naturally hoped the shelter wouldn't be breached.
But could she just watch the villagers of Cox Town be sent to their deaths?
Lily's eyes were full of grief and anger; her sense of justice couldn't tolerate such a thing.
But she also knew that resisting would be pointless.
Even though she had never fought Charles, judging by the attitudes and rumors from other captain-level Psychics, Charles's strength was terrifying, and she had almost no chance of winning.
Plus, there were two other powerful Psychics and dozens of elite soldiers here.
If she made a move, it would be a death sentence.
Sensing the tension, Clay, another woman, came over and took Lily's arm.
"We don't have any other options. Steven has supplies for thousands of people, which are crucial to West Mountain Base. In the apocalypse, only a few can survive. Instead of pitying others, it's better to protect yourself and those around you," Clay paused, "For example, your students."
Mentioning her students, Lily's heart instantly calmed down.
Breaking with Charles and the others now would be disastrous for her and her students.
Seeing Lily's expression soften, Clay smiled and persuaded, "We're not monsters. We need those tunnels, and we need them alive to dig them. It's a simple matter of survival."
Lily took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. "Fine, do what you have to do. But remember, they're people, not machines. Don't push them too hard."
Charles smiled, "Don't worry, we have it all planned out! There are so many people in Cox Town; we'll have them take turns digging to ensure no one gets too exhausted."
Lily gave him a deep look but didn't respond.
It was inevitable. Some would die. The digging might be manageable at first, but the lack of oxygen, the exhaustion, the cold... it would claim them eventually.
Lily thought to herself, 'I must inform Steven about this! By destroying the tunnels in advance, he could thwart Charles's plan.'
Lily left Charles's room, holding her broadsword.
She didn't want to stay any longer, fearing she might act impulsively.
But once outside, she heard the villagers of Cox Town discussing loudly.
"What? They want us to work? Why?"
"They come here, eat our food, drink our water, live in our homes. Now they want us to be laborers? This is bullying!"
"Everyone, calm down! The organization arranged this for our own good. We can't have peace in Cox Town without eliminating Steven, the demon."
"Mr. Gavin, but we don't want to do this!"
"Yeah, Steven hasn't bothered us for a long time. We curse him, but our lives are peaceful. Is it necessary to start a war with him again?"
The villagers were very resentful and complained in the square.
Lily watched this scene, initially hoping they could fight for their own interests. But after thinking it over, she realized it wasn't realistic.
At this point, it was no longer up to them to decide.
From the moment Charles decided to conscript them to dig tunnels, they had to either agree or face death.
'I must discuss this with Steven quickly! Otherwise, who knows how many more will die,' Lily thought.
Likewise, this was also to inform Steven.
Only if Steven successfully repelled the attack from West Mountain Base would she have the confidence to escape with her students.
Lily quickened her pace toward her house.
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