Semua Bab The Apocalypse Hoarder: Bab 531 - Bab 540

The West Ridge Base lay more than thirty miles from Cloudcrest Manor. In this frozen wasteland, they could not march back and forth forever. If they wanted to maintain a prolonged siege, they needed a forward base nearby.Willowford Town was the obvious choice. It offered free labor, stored grain, and shelters that already stood in place.But if the West Ridge Order could use the town, Cyrus could use it as well. It was better to leave Thorgan there as an informant.Thorgan hesitated at first. "Boss, undercover work like this isn't my thing. Those soldiers look scary as hell. I get nervous just seeing them."Cyrus almost rolled his eyes. Thorgan possessed frightening power. If he chose to act, slaughtering ordinary soldiers would be effortless. Yet he shrank from conflict."Relax," Cyrus said. "I'm not asking you to fight them. Just gather information quietly."Thorgan was not suited for open confrontation. If things escalated, he might panic and die. Cyrus did not want that. He

After securing Thorgan's promise, Lily was delighted. She thanked him sweetly and hurried home.Thorgan watched her retreating figure, clenched his fists, and said with firm resolve, "I have to protect this family."He gathered his courage and went to find Trenton.At that moment, Trenton bustled about as he personally arranged accommodations for the West Ridge team. He assigned them the best housing and ordered every household to bring out stored grain to prepare meals for the soldiers.The pleased expression on his face made him look exactly like a traitor from a century ago.Of course, he was not squeezing only his own village. The six surrounding villages of Willowford Town had all been drawn into it. In fact, the other mayors, eager to show loyalty to the West Ridge Base, had voluntarily increased the amount of food and supplies they offered.By the time Thorgan arrived, Trenton's house was crowded with visitors.Trenton stood proudly in the snow outside his gate. Anyone wh

It was not just Ethan. Every soldier eagerly pulled Thorgan over to eat, drink, and chat with them.A naturally Awakened individual who entered the West Ridge Base would receive captain-level treatment within ACE. That status meant he could very well become their superior one day. Everyone wanted to build a good relationship with him."Trenton, hurry and get people to prepare more food and wine. We're going to have a proper drink with this dude tonight!" Ethan waved at Trenton and ordered him to bring more supplies.Trenton's face stiffened. The higher-ups treated him, the governor, with only lukewarm courtesy, yet they showed such enthusiasm toward the nephew he had always looked down on.The contrast left a bitter taste in his mouth. He did not dare object, though. He could only smile and nod.Even Thorgan had not expected such warmth from the soldiers.After chatting for a while, he finally understood why. People like him were considered key talents within the West Ridge Order

Seeing Cyrus' calm confidence, the women felt noticeably reassured.They worked together to clear the two aboveground floors. With Cyrus' pocket-dimension ability, the process moved at astonishing speed. Within a short time, they had cleaned out new rooms underground and relocated all their belongings.Zoey and Scarlett handled most of the cleaning and organizing. Meanwhile, Barbara and Keira continued their assigned tasks under Cyrus' direction.Cyrus called Barbara over and asked about her progress in hacking into the West Ridge Base's network.She answered honestly, "Their cybersecurity is extremely solid. I've tried multiple intrusion attempts, but every one of them was blocked."Cyrus was not surprised."They're better prepared than we are, both in equipment and in the number of network specialists," he remarked.The people inside the base were the elite of Volaris City.Cyrus did not comment on their morality, but he would never underestimate their intelligence or foresig

Fully armed and carrying the explosives Keira had prepared, Cyrus stepped out of the bunker.Before the West Ridge Order's main force arrived, he intended to fortify the area in advance.His first task was the explosives. He planted dozens of bombs in the snow surrounding the bunker. Even if the enemy knew traps awaited them, they would still have to cross a blast zone to approach. The strategy was completely open. There were no tricks and no deception.He did not know how much damage the explosives would inflict on Awakened fighters. Still, as long as there was even a chance to injure the enemy, he was willing to try.In short order, he buried more than 50 bombs beneath the snow. With a single press of the detonator, he could turn the entire area into an inferno.Next came surveillance. Cloudcrest Manor lacked many things, but security cameras were not among them. The district had once been a top-tier luxury villa community, and its security infrastructure had reflected that stat