Chapter 137: Is this safe haven or prision?
Aiden can see three of them standing in front of him as he hears their spirited voices.
"Reporting to the Leader!"
He has noticed the difference in tone, as he can tell they have changed after seeing him fight, while Ava is still the same as before, so he says to them in a commanding tone.
"Now give me the report about the cores."
Ava, hearing his words, started to explain calmly.
"Leader, in total, we have killed 521 zombies in the second wave."
"There are a total of 474 cores present in these pouches, excluding the ones you and your sister have collected. Out of these 474 cores, 351 are red cores, 84 are green cores, and 39 are blue cores. That is all!"
"All the cores are present in these pouches; not a single one is missing. You can count them if you want, Leader." Ava, after experiencing the effect of the cores, knows these things are valuable, which is why she especially mentions that not a single one is missing.
After saying what she wanted to say, she took out a backpack, put all these pouches inside, and gave them to him, as it wouldn't be easy to carry them otherwise.
Aiden is thrilled after knowing how many cores they have collected. He can see the red cores are enough for some women to reach their limit, and even after that, there would be some leftovers.
However, he is not going to give them like this and has decided to reward them slowly because he can still use these cores. Still, he won't let them work for him for free, so he told Ava to take 110 red cores and give 10 to each of them while keeping 20 for herself.
Ava is pleased to know this because she believes it is the right thing to give them some cores, and it would increase their efficiency in hunting and make them work even harder after feeling the magical effect of these cores.
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"You should also explain to them how they are going to use them."
In response, Ava gives a calm response; however, brightness could be seen on her face, as at this rate, her physical weakness would be gone in no time, allowing her to perform even better.
"Yes, Leader!" She didn't ask why he gave her double, knowing she needed them the most.
'Hehehe! He must have seen I am the most capable one. Now! I just wait for the day when he would announce me as official vice leader.'
After separating the cores, she returns the pouch to him, and after getting his permission, she leaves to make them ready for departure while also distributing the magical cores.
The other two women noticed Ava's excitement, so while walking, they asked curiously, as she was too happy after getting those red stones.
"Vice Leader, are these cores really that precious that even you are excited to get them?"
Ava, hearing them, started to explain what these stones can do, and the more they listened, the more surprised they were by the idea of getting stronger by just absorbing them, as Ava said, though they still didn't know how to do it.
When she mentioned how strong Alicia was and how some of her strength was due to these, their breathing became haggard as they had seen how strong she was, so they asked out of curiosity, as she hadn't spoken about the Leader.
"But what about the Leader? Can we become as strong as him using these stones?"
Ava had already realized after absorbing the stones previously and seeing Aiden fight that even if she maxed all her stats to 10, she still wouldn't be as strong as him, so she replied honestly.
"No, you won't become as strong as him even after you max all your stats. I don't know why the Leader is so much stronger than others; however, the only thing I can think of is that it must be because of his talent."
Now her tone of voice changed as she spoke in a stricter voice.
"That's enough! Now quickly prepare to leave after helping me distribute the stones to the others."
While they were preparing, Alicia reached Aiden from behind. She had heard everything he said and was pleased to see how he distributed the rewards, as she believed it was necessary to reward employees; otherwise, it would affect the company in the long run if they only worked without some motivation.
She also reached him and gave him the 18 stones she had collected, including only 4 blue ones, which she thought were very low, as she knew what they would do.
"Aiden, now let's go back quickly. I am starving."
Aiden, seeing her, agreed with her words. "Yes, we are going back now."
After a few minutes, all the ladies were standing in front of him, and seeing them ready to go, he ordered them.
"We are not going to walk, as it would take much longer, so we are going to run at a moderate pace to reach the base. Be careful, and you guys shouldn't worry about me and my sister; we will take care of each other."
If he had said these words earlier, they would have protested; however, they now replied in unison to his command.
"Yes, Leader!"
Aiden, after giving his command, looked at his big sister beside him. Seeing her nod, he started running as she followed him at his side. He didn't run too fast, as the 10 ladies behind him wouldn't be able to keep up, so he kept a moderate pace throughout the 2-kilometer run towards their parking lot.
After 15 minutes of running, they reached the parking lot, and he could see that, other than him and his big sister, all of them had slightly haggard breathing due to continuous running.
Without waiting any longer, he opened the secret entrance as they followed behind. Finally, after opening the giant black door, they reached their base once again.
The ladies, following, still couldn't hide their shock even after seeing this structure for the second time, noting how big it was. They also noticed that the Leader was taking them somewhere else, but they did their job and only followed him without any questions.
They could see in the distance separate sections of large space in rectangular rooms with the same black metallic gate at the entrance, though the sizes of these sections were much smaller than the 500-meter square giant weapons room.
Aiden stopped after reaching the first gate, as all the rooms were designed the same, excluding one specially designed for him and his sister.
He placed his hands on the scanner to open the door, as every gate could be opened by him or his big sister, with other biometrics added to the system.
He didn't go inside the room and only told Ava what needed to be reminded.
"This is where you guys are going to stay from now on. There is enough space inside for only 10 of you, as it is intended for 30 people to live comfortably here in an emergency."
"Also, all the things you need to live are inside, so you don't have to go anywhere. There is also food stocked inside, which would last about a year. Inside, you will also find a black case containing a black card, which you can use to enter and leave the room and it can also give you access to the training room."
"Make sure not to lose it, as you would be trapped inside if that happened, and without my help, you would be stuck there forever, so make sure not to lose it."
Ava was calm listening to this, as she didn't think she was careless enough to lose a card; still, it scared her a little, seeing the material used to build everything because if they ever got trapped inside, there would be no hope for escape.
"Oh! And one more thing: there is also an emergency device next to the card; however, I don't think it would be useful, knowing no signals are transmitted in the presence of mana. So, be careful with the card. While I may come to save you, however, there could be reasons I wouldn't be able to. You can imagine what would happen then."
"But don't worry much; I don't think it would ever happen, as I will be living opposite to you guys. So go inside without any worries."
All of them were fearful of the idea of being trapped here to die in this so-called safe haven forever, but they were relieved knowing their Leader was living close to them in the room in front of them.
Aiden had designed these rooms to act as both safe havens and prisons due to his cautious personality. He believed that human hearts could change at times, especially in these apocalyptic times. While he had started to trust these women, he knew they were not the only ones who would be living here.
He planned to properly take advantage of this space and recruit many talents into his force, hoping to become someone who could go toe-to-toe with the government if the need ever arose. He had every resource, but he only needed trusted elite individuals who could follow him.
'I wish I had a talent that could let me know if someone was lying or not. The future would be much easier without having to worry about betrayal, which I fear the most.'
Suddenly, he remembered Daphne's talent, thinking her talent definitely had potential in detecting lies, though he wasn't completely sure. Then he heard his sister's voice in his ear, which snapped him out of his reverie.
"What are you thinking, Aiden? Quickly come inside!" She had already opened the gate after the 10 ladies had left.
Seeing her waiting, he quickly walked toward her. As they both entered their room, the black gate closed itself a few seconds later.