Chương 146: Downward Spiral

Marcus's eyes instantly narrowed. Even though he had anticipated this, he never expected it to happen so fast! Even Evelyn, standing to the side with her perpetually unchanging expression, turned cold. Clack! Raven, standing right behind them, decisively racked the bolt of her rifle. She raised the muzzle, aiming directly at Chester, who was standing a short distance away. A faint, dark blue glow flickered in her eyes. Clack, clack!

The men behind Chester instantly raised their own weapons, pointing them right back at Evelyn's group!

"Raven!"

"Stand down!" Evelyn and Chester shouted simultaneously.

"Colonel Ye, let's not make this ugly. Like I just said, every bullet, every able body is a resource for the convoy... We haven't been together long, but I don't want to point my gun at a comrade either..." Chester reached back, pushing down the barrels of his subordinates' rifles before turning back to Raven.

"Little girl..."

"Ptui! Disgusting!" Raven scowled and spat at him. Even though Evelyn had firmly pushed the barrel of her gun down, Raven refused to completely lower her weapon.

"We confirmed silhouettes moving within the fire. Whether for research purposes or simply monitoring the horde's movements, we must send a scout team to the blast zone immediately..." Evelyn stared at him coldly.

"So, you're planning to kill us?"

"Colonel Ye, what kind of talk is that? Why would I kill you? Like I said... sigh..." Chester finally laid his true objective on the table.

"How about this. From now on, I'll be taking charge of all personnel and supply allocations for the convoy.

"If your people want to go scouting, fine. But the vehicles stay put..." The vehicles were his true target. Only by holding the mobility and supplies in his own hands could he ensure that his people wouldn't become cannon fodder for some so-called "mission." It was their only chance of reaching the Quarantine Zone alive.

"We drove those vehicles out of the military district!" Raven squeezed past the two adults, rifle in hand, and shouted.

"But now they belong to everyone!" Even staring down the barrel of a gun, Chester didn't back down an inch.

"These guys might be here to escort you to the Quarantine Zone, but we aren't! We're doing this to get ourselves to the Quarantine Zone alive!

"Joseph is dead. The mission is over... But this convoy still needs to get to the Quarantine Zone. From now on, there are no escort missions. There are only combatants and non-combatants." Evelyn looked at Chester expressionlessly. Seeing more and more people gathering around them—including civilians from the buses—she realized her small group was at a complete disadvantage. Besides, he wasn't exactly wrong. The mission was over. Even if Joseph hadn't died, the mission was already over.

"I can agree to that, but..."

"Sis!" Before Evelyn could finish, Raven anxiously tried to stop her. But Evelyn ignored her and continued speaking.

"Our people must retain our own equipment. You can have the APC and the assault vehicles, but our group is keeping one cargo truck. We will handle our own food and water." Standing behind Evelyn weren't just a few veterans and Raven; there were also the researchers. Even if the mission was no longer important, it didn't mean the people weren't. Every researcher with her was a core member of the Mount Ji Research Institute. They needed to stick together.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Hearing Evelyn's terms, Raven understood her intentions. She stopped arguing, merely furrowing her brow and keeping her finger firmly on the trigger. Standing to the side, Marcus rested both hands heavily on his rifle, silently watching the "militia" surrounding them. His stance seemed casual, but it firmly shielded the two women behind him.

His gaze constantly darted between the dark muzzles of the guns and Chester's forehead. Even staring down this many barrels, he was completely confident he could put a bullet in Chester's brain before taking his last breath.

"Fine..." Chester agreed without hesitation. This was exactly the line he had drawn in the sand; he just hadn't expected Evelyn to be so compliant. He even shot a provocative smirk at the blatantly murderous Marcus before ordering his men to lower their weapons. He smiled and said:"Colonel Ye, you truly are a smart woman. But I still have to remind you, Joseph is dead. Nobody could survive an explosion of that magnitude. If you're really that stubborn, go see for yourselves.

Just don't drag the convoy's vehicles into it!" With that, he led his men back to fix the generator, leaving only four or five guys behind to keep an eye on them. Once the crowd dispersed and the volatile tension finally faded, the few surrounded veterans quickly huddled up. They looked at Evelyn and Marcus, unsure of what exactly had just transpired.

"Colonel, what are they trying to pull? A mutiny? Do you want us to pay them a visit tonight and..." One of the veterans made a sharp slicing motion across his throat.

"Raven, Marcus, you two head over to the gas station entrance and secure a vehicle. Use your ability, any car will do..." Evelyn waved them off. After dispatching the two to get a car, she turned to the remaining five veterans.

"What's the point of killing him? If we kill him, there are other captains, and vice-captains. Are we going to execute them all? With that many people swarming us, do you really think you can win? Once unity is lost..." She shook her head calmly.

"Remember, no matter the outcome of internal infighting, the biggest casualty is always the team itself... Cole, take the guys and immediately move all our personal weapons and ammo from the APC to the cargo truck—the one the researchers are in. We'll be riding in that from now on." Cole, caught off guard by the order, looked utterly bewildered.

"We're giving them the APC too?!"

"Yes. The APC's autocannon is already wrecked. I was planning on abandoning it anyway, so let them have it..." Evelyn glanced at the distant APC and spoke flatly. What she didn't say aloud was that the vehicle was no longer just a transport; it was a symbol. Handing it over wasn't necessarily a bad thing. When Joseph was around, two APCs were just equipment. With Joseph gone, a single APC became a symbol of a ruling class.

"Even with them acting like this, everyone's ultimate goal is still the same. We cannot afford internal attrition. Surviving and reaching the Quarantine Zone is the highest priority..."

"Sis!" The faint whine of an electric motor drifted over as a fully electric SUV slowly rolled up from the edge of the gas station. Raven stuck her head out the passenger window. Waiting until the car came to a stop, Evelyn continued addressing the group.

"Regardless of whether Joseph is dead or not, we have to go see for ourselves. After all... we've come so far together. As long as there's even a sliver of hope, we can't give up. We're running low on ammo... It'll just be the three of you going. Try not to fire your weapons. Raven, once you confirm the APC's status, come straight back. You can't maintain that state for too long. The rest of you, start organizing our supplies immediately. The second the fuel pumps have power, fill up the truck.

Be ready to move out at a moment's notice."

"Okay..." Seeing Evelyn's expression, Raven uncharacteristically swallowed her impatience and nodded quietly.

"You guys be careful!" Wyatt pulled open the door of the newly acquired SUV and hopped into the back seat. The others voiced their agreement and scattered to begin their tasks. Watching the three of them drive off, Evelyn returned to her own station. She worked alongside the researchers to pack up their equipment and began dismantling the drone's camera lens. If she could repair it, they would at least have one more card to play...

But shortly after they left, an assault vehicle bypassed the buses and merged onto the road from the far exit of the gas station. Evading everyone's sight, it shadowed the SUV that had just departed, quietly making its way south. The apocalyptic crimson clouds in the distance slowly faded, allowing the pitch-black night to reclaim the sky. Several vehicle headlights and portable floodlights illuminated the gas station's forecourt, pushing back the dark.

Armed guards wearing night-vision goggles patrolled the perimeter, keeping a hyper-vigilant watch on the highway. The civilians who had disembarked only dared to scavenge the immediate vicinity of the warehouse for food and supplies with their flashlights; none dared to venture far. The vast majority simply huddled together inside the buses, praying for the sun to rise...

Meanwhile, beneath the darkening, blood-red sky, a slender silhouette was leaping fluidly from rooftop to rooftop along the street opposite the gas station. She moved like a sprite unbound by gravity, or a flying squirrel gliding effortlessly on the night wind. The night breeze whipped through her short, chestnut hair. Against the backdrop of the dying orange sky, her silhouette was both eerie and breathtakingly beautiful.

Every leap carried her far beyond human limits, and every landing was instantly converted into momentum for the next jump. Bounding from building to building, she raced south toward the fading crimson horizon.

"Claire... people arrived at the gas station. A lot of them. Lots of vehicles, and they even have a tank!" Zoe whispered into her radio. Static.

"Copy that. We hear you, Zoe. Remember, your safety is the absolute priority. Keep a wide perimeter around the blast zone. The second you make contact with Vince, bring him back!"

"Got it!" Zoe stowed the radio, gripped her spear, and stopped looking back at the gas station. She focused entirely on the path ahead. Her two Flying Blades were clumsily tied to her tactical belt with some steel wire, clinking rhythmically as she vaulted through the air. Even though it was pitch black, her telekinesis mapped a perfect five-meter radius around her, sensing every trace of metal: rebar, AC units, expansion bolts, thick electrical cables...

In this concrete jungle, even completely blind, Zoe navigated like a spider across a steel web. Every single foothold was mapped with absolute, flawless precision in her mind.