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
Shaking his head, he firmly replied,“I don’t feel safe here.”“Not safe? In what way? Tell me, and I’ll change it immediately.”Jarred’s patience was wearing thin after three minutes of back-and-forth. Time was precious to him, and he couldn’t waste it on polite chatter with this old man. Gritting his teeth, he cut to the chase:“Mayor Reyes, what do you want in exchange for letting us leave?”Murphy took a sip of green tea and replied calmly,“Jarred, we’re not detaining you. It’s just too dark to ensure your safety on the road… How about this: tomorrow morning, I’ll personally escort you back. Does that sound fair?”"Haha, by tomorrow morning, they’ll have another excuse. This old fox’s goal is to keep me here until I’ve charged enough artillery shells to wipe out the zombie horde—he has no intention of letting me go tomorrow morning."Jarred chuckled bitterly to himself but outwardly feigned helplessness. After pretending to hesitate for ten seconds, he finally said,“I need to co
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
In the meeting room.Nicky and Albin had returned, while the entire mansion was being turned upside down by the staff. No one could understand how a living, breathing person could vanish in a single minute, with hundreds of superhumans within 500 meters around the villa, yet no one had seen or heard anything.Even extraordinary abilities weren’t usually this mysterious.Nicky, now fully composed, glanced at Murphy and spoke calmly.“Governor Reyes, we’ve told you already, Captain Wu left a while ago. He’s probably already back in Renaissan
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
Additionally, Hope Town would have to eliminate the 20,000-strong zombie horde gathering near the Lakeside bridge, fully reopening trade between the two areas.Finally, six government officials would be sent to monitor the enforcement of freedom, democracy, and public safety in Hope Town, ensuring that the residents were not oppressed.Memphis couldn’t help but chuckle coldly as he read. They were as condescending as ever, projecting a sense of noble superiority. But both sides shared a common goal for now, one wanting time to build strength, the other looking to resolve immediate difficulties and find a way out of being trapped on three fronts.Lakeside Base was busy dealing with the zombie army at Vienna, and they absolutely couldn’t spare any troops for a punitive expedition here, so they’d agreed to set aside their conflicts for now, intending to use Jarred’s “power” first. No doubt they’d turn on him once Vienna’s zombies were vanquished.They also hoped Hope Town would help clea
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
Jarred swept the supplies off the table into his backpack and pulled out a twenty-page report. This was his comprehensive intel from Lakeside. Meanwhile, Memphis set out a separate report, listing troop conditions after fully assimilating the spoils of war, along with the remaining firearms and supernatural resources.They split the documents and began reading carefully.As of tonight, the population of Hope Town totals 1,041, including 307 regular soldiers and 95 reservists, putting military involvement above 38%.Among them, 169 Superhumans possess ranged attack skills, mostly at first-tier levels, with the remaining members having a variety of powers like s