Meanwhile, Wallflower’s gun crew had been surrounded by a group of six or seven newcomers, some seeking to learn and others to interrogate.Those who came to question initially arrived out of curiosity, but after hearing Jarred’s explanations, they were fuming."What? You brought twenty shells, but eighteen fell out in a bush by the road?""You lost artillery shells while… going to the bathroom? Were you carrying them somewhere they shouldn’t have been?""Jarred, the official count on your requisition was exactly twenty shells. Bringing only two? This is a breach of contract!"Most of the crowd shared this sentiment, yet out of nowhere came an officer from the Fourth Battalion, Deputy Commander General Ambrose Santos, who approached Jarred sincerely."Jarred, I heard you can reinforce shells with special abilities? Come to our battlefield, we’ll provide you with anti-tank rounds, howitzers, and DKZ-82 recoilless guns to work your enhancements."Hearing this, Black, the Deputy Commande

The high command overseeing the campaign initially intended to continue the pursuit with specialized artillery, but Jarred kept glancing at the time and eventually waved his hand, signaling for a halt."I’m exhausted, mentally and physically.” he muttered: “If I don’t rest now, I’ll collapse. I can’t reinforce any more abilities right now."Although he was thoroughly protected by multiple layers of Light Armor, two lapses in Soul Suppression had left him on the edge. While others like Nicky and Albin were still holding up, Jarred was not.Under Jarred’s heavy insistence, he was finally granted permission to withdraw.The jeep carrying Jarred Lawton, Nicky Weiss, and Albin Palmer left the battlefield, heading back to the rear base. Joining them was Richard Savage, who personally arrived to receive them."Head of Department Savage, we’ve missed home for too long, let’s just head straight back. No need for a reception or welcome party.” Jarred mumbled drowsily in the jeep, stifling a yaw

Memphis had planned everything out. Jarred would use the Level 4 Simulation Ring to replicate the Moonlight Reflection ability, the clone would operate publicly while the original Jarred gathered intelligence from the shadows.The skill had been charging up with moonlight energy for days, accumulating a full twelve hours of continuous activation. Memphis had deployed it twice, for six hours each time, allowing Jarred to copy it to ensure mission success.The Reflection Clone was relatively fragile and required thorough protection to maintain its duration. Too many hits would shorten its lifespan. This was why Jarred had hidden behind Light Armor instead of fighting, and even two glancing hits had shaved significant time off the first activation’s duration.He had no intention of using the second activation unless absolutely necessary, it was far too valuable.Jarred would infiltrate the base himself to gather direct intelligence. This was challenging for an average person but trivial

Earlier that day, Jarred had wondered why the Lakeside base hadn’t been using machinery like excavators and bulldozers for trench digging, it turned out over 30 excavators had already been dispatched to the front lines, leaving the rear with only manpower.Hearing this, Memphis nodded, making a mental note to deploy nearly all their human and material resources toward Cloudy Town for trench digging. Without natural barriers like Lakeside’s rivers, they would create a "river" to completely separate Renaissance and NO Province.With all four rounds of scouting updates complete, it was time for the home base defense group, led by Allan Powell, Lionel Hester, Damon Miller, and Michal Reilly, to give their reports.Allan finally led his troops in clearing all zombies trapped within Pinecrest, Sapphire, and Whispering Avenues, burning 80% of the corpses and burying the remaining 20% near Grieving River, where they planned to experiment with growing mutated wild crops.Lionel successfully co

After setting this plan, Memphis then addressed Allan and Timon."Gather all the Superhumans with earth-manipulation skills. I want to dig a tunnel straight through the heart of Sunny Hills."Memphis elaborated on his strategy, and those around him couldn’t suppress a chill.Their leader was indeed bold, this reckless plan, if it succeeded, would secure a peaceful stretch for Renaissance.But if it failed, everyone would perish…Imagining the worst-case scenario, a brutal battle at Cloudy’s front with all of Hope’s 1,000-plus residents thrown into the fray, they’d barely be enough fuel for the fire.Memphis’s mood was grim. Testing the response of the monsters in Cloudy’s B Zone today had forced his hand, leaving no room for compromise. If there was ever a time to take a risk, it was now. Otherwise, they’d face the unrestricted invasion of over 100,000 zombies from NO precinct into Renaissance.Once the discussion concluded, Jarred took out a phone and played an audio recording, a car