Chapter 373 Investigating Cox Town
The students vented their dissatisfaction with Lily through their words, without any restraint.
But uddenly, they all shut up at once.
Because by the clock, Lily was about to show up with their food.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before Lily arrived at their snow hut, chow in hand.
"Ms. Evans!"
"Ms. Evans, you're finally here!"
"We missed you so much!"
The students turned on the waterworks, giving her puppy-dog eyes like they'd been through hell.
Lily just dropped the food on the ground and said, "Watch yourselves these days, it's dangerous out there. Unless you're out scavenging for food, stay put in the snow house. Oh, and there's a bunch of cellars in Cox Town stocked with supplies. Lay low in those most of the time. Got it?"
The students were a bit panicked upon hearing this.
Warren quickly stood up, looking scared, and said to Lily, "Ms. Evans, if it's so dangerous, why don't you take us back? Isn't the shelter the safest spot?"
The other students realized this too and quickly came over, pleading with Lily to take them back.
Seeing their pale faces, Lily couldn't help but think of Cindy and Aubrey.
Most of these people had bullied Cindy and Aubrey at school.
Lately, Lily had grown really close to the two girls.
For one, the whole end-of-the-world vibe made people stick together.
And second, she found in them the kindness and decency she'd been missing in Warren and the others.
As a teacher, she was naturally more inclined towards obedient and well-behaved children.
The thought of bringing these bullies back to the shelter and upsetting Cindy and Aubrey? She couldn't do it.
Plus, she wasn't an idiot.
Steven was kind and willing to help her out, but the rest?
They were strangers to her.
Dragging back a bunch of extra mouths to feed? Elinor and the others would've flipped.
Anyway, with no signs of trouble from outside forces lately, Lily wasn't about to rock the boat.
"You can't always lean on me. You're adults now—figure it out. Stay in the cellar! Even if trouble rolls in, you're not the main target. Keep your heads down, and you'll be fine,” Lily explained.
She'd thought it through.
The fight between Steven and West Mountain Base was full-on.
If any small crews were around, they wouldn't dare stir the pot.
And if a big player from outside West Mountain or Eternal River showed up, they'd be gunning for Steven's shelter.
Who'd waste time on a bunch of students with no loot?
Warren and the others still didn't give up.
"Ms. Evans, if things go south, it'll be too late to save us!"
"Just take us to the shelter. It's the safest way! Steven and his crew are beasts, and you're no slouch either. Keeping us safe wouldn't be a stretch, right?"
The disappointment in Lily's eyes grew stronger.
She didn't explain further, just sighed lightly and said, "Take care of yourselves! Listen to me and hide well."
After saying this, she turned and left the snow house, ignoring the students' shouts behind her.
"Ms. Evans! Ms. Evans! Fuck! How can you be so cold-hearted?!" Warren slammed his fist into the wall, rage burning in his eyes. "Why dangle hope in front of us just to crush it?!"
Nathan walked over and took a portion of the food for himself.
Seeing this, Warren quickly came over and pretended to distribute it to everyone.
The food Steven sent tasted really good.
They ate ravenously, leaving nothing behind.
Emberwick Base and Silverlake Base, the two big players, had been on the move since coming back from the Snowfall Cult.
They'd done their homework, scouting around and pretty much pinpointing the so-called mysterious force to the area near Emerald Estate and Cox Town.
Emberwick Base made the first move because Steven had stashed Christian's satellite phone where Lily's students were staying. With that, they locked onto the signal and zeroed in on the location using radar.
Emberwick Base sent Lester, known as the Flame Fist.
In his forties, he was a professional bodyguard before the apocalypse, skilled in various martial arts and an excellent marksman.
Later, he awakened a supernatural ability and naturally became one of Megan's top generals.
Megan sent him on this mission because he was mature and steady, not prone to reckless actions.
Megan wasn't sure how strong Steven's force was, so Lester's main task was reconnaissance, not attack.
Lester and his team ditched their ride when they hit the edge of Eternal River District and went in on foot.
Their tricked-out snowmobile was more trouble than it was worth—guzzling gas like crazy and making way too much noise.
Using it for recon would've been a dead giveaway.
They were loaded with gear and plenty of supplies, so hiking through the snow wasn't a big deal.
They moved carefully, tracking their gear's directions, and eventually made it close to Cox Town.
From a distance, they spotted through their binoculars a sprawling cluster of snow-built houses.
Across the river, they were blown away by the jaw-dropping ice fortress!
Lester let out a low whistle and muttered, "No way this was built by hand, right?"
The massive structure looked like a mini ice wall, towering at 65 feet with insane thickness.
Although it was mostly ice blocks reinforced with a steel frame, the sheer bulk of it made it a total beast of a defense!
"Unless we bring in heavy artillery, regular infantry weapons won't scratch it. Now I get why they've been holding off West Mountain Base for so long!" Lester's face turned dead serious as he barked at the team, "Stay sharp! These guys aren't pushovers. One wrong move, and we're toast!"
The soldiers on the reconnaissance mission were cautious by nature and understood Lester's meaning.
Lester took out his equipment and confirmed that Christian's satellite phone signal was within the large area of snow houses ahead.
Lester thought for a moment and called over a clever subordinate. "You go ahead and scout the situation there!"
The subordinate, with a vigilant look, left the main group and headed towards Cox Town.
By now, it was already quite dark. He wore white clothes and a white cloak, making him hard to spot even from 30 feet away.
The scout carefully reached the edge of Cox Town but saw no guards.
He felt slightly relieved and continued to use the snow houses as cover to move further in.
But the deeper he went, the more he realized this wasn't a bustling village.
The dome-shaped snow houses sat like silent graves scattered across the frozen field.
Most of them were empty—barely a handful had curtains or wooden boards covering the entrances.
In the biting cold, there was no trace of life, like the whole place had been wiped out.
"Not a single person in sight, and no guards. It seems there's no organized force here!" The scout concluded.
If there were an armed force, there would be people on guard duty to prevent enemy attacks.
The lack of guards only meant one thing: they didn't have the capability.
The scout felt relieved. Since there were no strong enemies nearby, their operation was safe.
After all, their main goal was reconnaissance, not combat.
Slowly, he approached the location of Christian's satellite phone and found it was an ordinary snow house.
The scout confirmed the location from a distance but didn't dare get too close. Instead, he chose to quietly retreat.
After all, the people living in that snow house might be the ones who killed Christian and Austin Griffin's teams!
On the other side, Lester looked sternly in the direction of Cox Town.
He reminded his men, "There could be extremely dangerous experts hiding here! If we notice anything unusual, we retreat immediately."
His subordinates nodded solemnly.
Anyone who could easily take out Christian and Austin Griffin's teams wouldn't have much trouble dealing with them.
Soon, the scout returned.
He reported to Lester with a pleased expression, "Boss, it's just a ghost town up ahead! No guards, no signs of life. And I nailed down the source of the signal."
Lester looked surprised, "What? How can that be?"
He grilled the scout about everything, getting more confused by the second.
A tough enemy that spooked the leaders of two big bases and kept West Mountain Base at bay for so long—how could their defenses be this weak?
Then his eyes locked on the ice fort across the river.
It hit him. "Wait, is the real firepower behind that thing? But why's the signal here? Is this a setup?"
Lester was skeptical, but since they'd come this far, he figured they'd better scoop up some intel before heading back.
So he led his men and began to advance slowly towards Cox Town.
It was just past nightfall, the sky pitch black. Everyone had hit the sack early, since their beds were the best way to stay warm, and nobody wanted to be out in the cold if they didn't have to.
Lester couldn't believe it. After all that careful sneaking around, they stumbled on a bunch of young folks crashed out in one of the snow houses.
No guards. No nothing.
He checked his gear, double-checking the signal source. Yep, it was definitely coming from here.
For a second, he just stood there, totally thrown.
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