Semua Bab The Apocalypse Hoarder: Bab 471 - Bab 480

"The hardware's nothing special either," Barbara said. "Breaking in was easy. Their data is encrypted, though. Cracking it cleanly will take time."She paused, fingers moving across the keyboard, lines of code reflecting in her glasses. "But based on what I've pulled so far, a sizable organization really is operating in West Ridge."She looked up. Her pale blue eyes were steady and unreadable. "We'll probably run into them sooner rather than later."Cyrus folded his arms across his chest. "What's coming can't be dodged. I don't go looking for trouble, but I don't fear it either. Anyone who tries to ruin my peace is seeking death."He was no longer the man he had once been. An impregnable fortress stood at his back, and a loyal crew stood with him, three of them Awakened, himself included. Even against a well-armed organization, he had absolute confidence in his ability to crush them."Babs, keep tracing their signal. Break the encryption. I want everything we can learn about them,

Cyrus reached out and brushed the tears from the corners of her eyes. His voice remained gentle. "You don't know this, but the first time I saw you, I felt an immediate connection. You look so much like my little sister. The moment I saw you, I wanted to protect you."Keira sniffed and looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes. She blinked hard. "Really?""Of course," Cyrus said with a soft smile. "Why would I lie to you?"A bright smile spread across Keira's face.In the Forstfall, having a man treat her like a younger sister, look after her, and shield her from harm felt like a rare and fragile happiness.Yet a faint dissatisfaction stirred in her chest. 'A sister? Only a sister?'Before she could follow the thought, Cyrus rested his right hand against her flushed cheek. Heat rushed to her face. Her head throbbed as if it might overheat."Listen to your brother," he said calmly. "You don't need to worry about anything. I'm here. As long as I'm around, no one will hurt you."H

Hailey clearly outranked Keegan. At the very least, she controlled their route."This is a special task from above," she said. "No details. Which usually means it isn't critical. Same as always. We check it out, then head back and report."She rose on the sled runners and shaded her eyes, scanning the frozen expanse. At the edge of her vision, a wide river caught the weak light and cast it back in a dull shimmer."It's by the river," she said. "We'll follow the bank and find it."The extreme cold had crippled infrastructure across the globe. Most base stations were down, and positioning systems barely functioned.Even when a location appeared on a map, it reflected pre-disaster data at best. The coordinates offered only a rough reference. They still had to verify everything on foot."Let's move," Hailey said with a brisk smile. "Last stop. Then we're done."She settled back onto the sled.Keegan whistled to the four dogs harnessed at the front. He braced himself and pushed from

"How did it become your personal achievement the moment it touched your lips?" someone muttered.Hailey asked lightly, "So, by that logic, Willowford East has plenty of grain?"Trenton chuckled and clasped his hands behind his back. "I can tell you're not very familiar with Volaris' produce markets. To be honest, about 30% of Volaris' vegetables used to come from Willowford Town."Mid-sentence, he realized he had said too much. In his eagerness to highlight Willowford East's importance, he had revealed the extent of their food reserves.What if their superiors demanded grain for redistribution?He hurried to correct himself. "But with the heavy snow this past month, a lot of crops spoiled. We're barely scraping by now."Hailey smiled faintly. "Willowford Town has at least 1,000 households, right? The fact that you're still managing to stay fed is impressive."Trenton laughed quickly. "Out of all Willowford Town, Willowford East is doing the best."He gestured proudly at the row

Trenton did not answer at once. Instead, he chose his words with care. "If I may be so bold, what exactly does the government want with people like that?"Hailey's suspicions deepened. Willowford East definitely knew something about Awakened individuals.She offered a gentle smile. "People like that are precious national assets. We want to put their abilities to use in rebuilding society."Sir, if you know of anyone like this, you must report it promptly. The government will record it as a major contribution."Trenton nodded. "Oh, I see."He refilled the cups, a faint smile flickering in his eyes.'Sounds noble enough,' he thought. 'But what do we really gain?'Thorgan was Willowford East's greatest treasure. Without him, who knew what would become of the village? Trenton would never hand him over."I'll keep an eye out," he said smoothly. "If I find someone like that, I'll report it right away."As he spoke, he took out his phone and extended it with an easy grin. "Let's exch