Chapter 231: Gathering
Chapter 231: Chapter 231: Gathering
Once the introductions were complete, Kyle Keith added, "The third team of the Omni Squad is participating in full. As for the Endless Squad, Clayton Churchill and I have been temporarily assigned to the Genesis Team. In this operation, there are no squad divisions; we are all here just to protect the hope of humanity." His tone was remarkably sincere.
At that moment, Sharon Sloan suddenly spoke up, casting a provocative glare at Luna Dawson. "Captain Kessler makes it sound so noble, but what if some people only care about showing off and disregard their teammates’ safety?" She was clearly still holding a grudge over their previous conflicts, deliberately targeting Luna Dawson.
Luna Dawson looked up. The smile faded from her eyes, replaced by a trace of icy coldness. "Instead of worrying about me, Miss Sloan, you’d better look after yourself. Don’t play the fool and send your team in one by one to their doom. Handing the entire Omni Squad over as zombie rations wouldn’t be a pretty sight."
"I am a Third Order!"
Sharon Sloan turned pale with anger. She was just about to retort when Ian Wyatt held her back.
Ian Wyatt chimed in at the right moment. "Alright, the mission is what’s important. Let’s not waste time."
He knew perfectly well that infighting right now would only jeopardize the mission. The Sloan siblings always acted as they pleased, frequently leaving behind messes for him to clean up, so he had no choice but to step in and smooth things over. Besides, Luna Dawson had saved his life during the last mission. If it weren’t for the debt of gratitude he owed the Sloans, he would have loved nothing more than to turn around and join the official factions immediately.
Kevin Keane glanced at Sharon Sloan, his tone freezing. "During the mission, if anyone causes trouble, don’t blame me for showing no mercy."
His aura was so overwhelmingly dominant that a single sentence silenced Sharon Sloan instantly, leaving her too intimidated to say another word.
Seeing this, Dylan DuPont quickly moved things along. "Since there are no objections, everyone please sign the non-disclosure agreement. Then, you can collect your equipment and we’ll gather to set off tomorrow morning."
The crowd picked up their pens to sign. The only sound left in the conference room was the SCRATCH SCRATCH SCRATCH of pen nibs gliding across paper.
"Collect equipment?" Luna Dawson looked thoroughly confused. "Haven’t we always just brought our own gear and relied on our own tricks? Did the sun rise in the west today? Is the base actually generous enough to hand out Magic Artifacts?"
Kyle Keith smiled and shook his head. He pulled out three small vials of clear liquid from his jacket and handed them to her. "It’s not a Magic Artifact, it’s this. Enhancing Liquid, fresh out of the research institute.
"When your superpower is depleted by eighty or ninety percent, drink one of these. It’s guaranteed to restore thirty percent within a minute. It can save your life at a crucial moment."
"Exactly," Dylan DuPont said, noting the curiosity of everyone in the room. He chimed in to explain, his voice ringing with heartiness and his eyes crinkling with a bright smile. "For this mission, the base is providing them for free! Every Third-tier Superpower User gets three vials, and every Second Order gets two!"
Sean Barnes leaned in to look at the vials, clicking his tongue in amazement. "I heard this stuff is extremely precious! The folks at the research institute slaved away for months to forcibly compress the power of Crystal Cores into these tiny bottles."
"That’s great," Seth Scott chimed in, his tone full of emotion. "In the past, when our superpower was exhausted, we could only clutch a Crystal Core and slowly absorb its energy. So many people died at the hands of zombies before they could finish absorbing..."
Luna Dawson pinched a vial between her fingers, holding it up to the light. Knowing exactly what was going on, she exchanged a knowing glance with Kevin Keane, then tactfully expressed her gratitude and tucked the vials away carefully.
After returning to the villa, Kevin Keane gave everyone a brief overview of the situation. He decided that the personnel participating in the mission would be Luna Dawson, Kevin Keane, Rhonda Dawson, Blake Blue, Aaron Palmer, and Miles Dawson. The rest of the group, along with Purple Bean, would stay behind to guard the villa, though they were also free to carry out small-scale tasks in the surrounding area.
Lynn Shelby maintained a calm expression as he immediately asked Luna Dawson for a complete set of cat treats and equipment. He stated that his mission at the base was equally important: he had to win over Old White next door.
The group watched him, utterly speechless.
Early the next morning, it unexpectedly began to rain. The fine drizzle wove into a thin net that shrouded the entire Kensington Base. The distant buildings and roads became hazy, exuding a rare sense of tranquility in the apocalypse.
An off-road vehicle drove steadily out of the villa district, its spacious interior perfectly accommodating the six of them, plus their few little pets. The vehicle soon arrived at the base square. A large crowd had already gathered in the plaza in front of the perimeter wall.
The Special Operations Department’s Genesis Team, led by Dylan DuPont, and the members of the Omni Squad were boarding their vehicles one after another. A variety of modified off-roaders and military vehicles were lined up neatly.
The Sunset Squad’s Marauder took its sequential place behind the third military off-roader. Aaron Palmer brought the vehicle to a steady halt while Kevin Keane looked down to check the final mission details Dylan DuPont had sent to his smart bracelet, his fingertips swiping gently across the screen.
"The Special Operations Department’s Genesis Team has twelve people, all Third Order. Omni’s three squads have forty-seven people, six of whom are Third-tier Superpower Users. Adding the six of us, there are a total of sixty-five people executing this mission." Kevin Keane looked up and shared the information with everyone in the car, his tone laced with a hint of warning. "The Omni Squad and Kyle Keith’s group will probably try some little tricks. Everyone, keep your eyes peeled."
Blake Blue nodded slowly. He didn’t need the reminder; he always maintained his vigilance during operations.
Luna Dawson lounged in her seat, scrolling through the feed on her bracelet out of sheer boredom. With Little Tiger in her arms, she occasionally kissed its forehead, then turned to huddle with Rhonda Dawson beside her, pointing at the news in the mutant community circle and chatting in hushed, laughing tones. The relaxed and cozy atmosphere inside the car was completely at odds with the solemnity out in the square.
In the passenger seat, Miles Dawson had more energy than he knew what to do with. With the window halfway down, he poked his head out to look around, while Aaron Palmer in the driver’s seat also turned his head to glance out the window from time to time.
Before long, several modified off-roaders drove over in a massive procession. The vehicles bore the emblem of the Omni Squad—they were the members of Omni’s third team. As the two convoys passed side by side, a few members of the Omni Squad stuck their heads out. They stared coldly at the Sunset Squad’s Marauder with expressions full of disdain, their hostility practically overflowing.
"Whoa, who are you pulling those stank faces at?" Miles Dawson sneered. He crisply flipped them the international gesture of goodwill, his voice just loud enough for the other side to hear. "We’re here to help your captain save his old man. How dare you be so ungrateful?"
Aaron Palmer also turned his head and shouted out the window, his tone laced with arrogance, "Yeah! If you’ve got the guts, don’t hide in your cars acting tough. Come down and fight your daddy! Rolling your eyes all day long, do you really think you’re something special? Later, when we get to the mission site, if you dare glare at me again, see if I don’t gouge your eyeballs out and feed them to the zombies!"
Those few Omni members had originally wanted to act fierce to claw back some face for their captain, but they were taken aback by how arrogant the Sunset Squad was, threatening to feed them to the zombies right out of the gate!
They had heard the rumors: the Sunset Squad had actually thrown a female superpower user from the Endless Squad to the zombies outside the base, right in front of Kyle Keith! Remembering that the Sunset Squad, despite its small numbers, consisted entirely of formidable powerhouses, the men shot one last vicious glare at Miles Dawson and Aaron Palmer before sullenly rolling up their windows, not daring to make another peep.
However, not everyone harbored hostility toward the Sunset Squad.
Not far away, Yvonne Ford, Sean Barnes, and others from the Special Operations Department were holding umbrellas and preparing to get into their cars. Catching sight of the Sunset Squad, they went out of their way to come over and say hello.
"Captain Dawson, I didn’t expect us to be participating in the same mission again."
Yvonne Ford walked over to the car window, holding a black umbrella with a gentle smile on her face. Wearing the uniform of the Special Operations Department, she stood tall and straight, looking extremely capable.
Luna Dawson’s window had been half open. Seeing that it was Yvonne Ford, she immediately smiled, rolled the window all the way down, and responded enthusiastically, "Morning, Captain Ford! Looking at your condition, it seems you’re doing quite well after joining the Special Operations Department."
Luna Dawson had always been easy to get along with, and she was exceptionally approachable to those who showed her goodwill. Not to mention, Yvonne Ford was beautiful, so she was more than happy to chat with her a bit longer.