Global Shelter Game

Chapter 163: Chapter 163: The Mastermind

Bena stared intently at the battlefield, thinking to himself.

’They’re clearly well-acquainted with the Steel Brotherhood’s convoy. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have come so prepared.’

"Captain Bena, what do we do now?"

Neil asked in a low voice, worry in his eyes.

Bena’s gaze remained locked on the battlefield. He said in a deep voice,

"The Manager’s orders were to wait and see. We’re not to make any rash moves."

He knew that if the enemy had gone to the trouble of preparing so many EMP missiles, they must be confident they could take down the Steel Brotherhood’s convoy.

Both sides were locked in a strategic gamble.

Either the hidden faction would run out of EMP missiles first, or the Steel Brotherhood’s members would be wiped out.

EMP missiles could disable the power armor, but only for a short time.

Power armor relied heavily on electronic components for combat assistance, but that didn’t mean the suits were useless without them.

If the hidden attackers ran out of EMP missiles, the Steel Brotherhood could likely turn the tables with their power armor.

’If we act rashly now, we’ll likely fall right into their trap.’

While Bena and his team lay in wait, the Steel Brotherhood’s convoy faced an unprecedented crisis.

With two T-45 power armor units disabled, the convoy’s defensive capabilities plummeted.

The mutant creatures seized the opportunity to launch a frenzied assault. The convoy’s members fought back with all their might, but they couldn’t withstand the ferocious onslaught.

Bena had a clear view of the battlefield through an observation port.

Of course, he had no intention of intervening.

After all, the Manager’s orders had been crystal clear: they were to remain hidden until the fighting was over, then emerge to pick up the scraps.

The battle quickly reached a fever pitch.

Out of desperation, the convoy members who had been injured earlier quickly patched themselves up and rejoined the fight.

However, this last-ditch effort was futile. The situation deteriorated rapidly; the convoy’s defensive perimeter shrank from ten meters to just three.

The Steel Brotherhood’s convoy clearly only had two units of power armor. To be honest, for a convoy that wasn’t particularly large, that configuration should have been more than enough.

After all, the combat effectiveness of power armor was undeniable.

Under normal circumstances, two power armor units would have been more than enough to protect the convoy.

But this was clearly not a normal situation.

With one side exposed and the other hidden—the prepared ambushing the unprepared—it wasn’t all that surprising that the formidable convoy had fallen into such a predicament.

The battle didn’t last much longer. After the second power armor was hit by an EMP missile, the convoy’s resistance completely collapsed in less than ten minutes.

A horde of mutant creatures began an indiscriminate slaughter.

As the slaughter concluded, a plume of dust appeared in the distance, heading their way.

Clearly, the ones who had been pulling the strings from the shadows were finally ready to show their faces.

「A dozen or so minutes later.」

A convoy of a dozen or so modified motorcycles rolled onto the scene.

As the new arrivals appeared, the mutants that had been gnawing on the corpses on the ground departed in an orderly fashion, clearing a path for the convoy.

Bena’s expression grew grim as he watched.

"So the mutant creatures really are being controlled by someone," Neil said gravely, a hint of unease in his voice.

As a Mutant Hunter, it was the first time he had ever seen anything like it.

Mutant creatures were individually very powerful; if it weren’t for their low intelligence, they would be nearly impossible for a normal human to hunt.

For someone to be able to directly control these large mutant creatures through some special means was simply unheard-of.

If this method could be used on a large scale, one could amass a huge army with little effort.

After all, if there was one thing the wasteland had in abundance, it was mutant creatures.

However, judging by the situation, the enemy’s method for controlling mutants must have flaws or be impossible to mass-produce.

Otherwise, the convoy would have been besieged by thirty large mutant creatures, not just three.

After all, no matter how powerful it was, even power armor was helpless in the face of overwhelming numbers.

Quantity has a quality all its own.

Honestly, forget thirty. With proper coordination, even ten or twenty large mutant creatures wouldn’t have much trouble surrounding and taking down two power armor units.

Bena nodded without a word, merely observing the other party’s actions.

The enemy convoy stopped beside the remains of the Steel Brotherhood’s. Several people dismounted and began to survey the battlefield.

Their movements were slick and practiced; they had clearly done this sort of thing often.

"Captain Bena, what are our next orders?"

Zhou Mei asked in a low voice, a battle-ready glint in her eyes.

Bena pondered for a moment, then said,

"We’re not making a move just yet. Let’s see what they’re up to."

The others all nodded in understanding.

They remained concealed in the shadows, silently observing the enemy’s every move.

The newcomers were clearly very interested in the Steel Brotherhood’s convoy.

Upon arriving, the riders immediately began to search the cargo trucks, as if looking for something specific.

"Captain Bena, they’re looking for something."

Hawke said in a low voice, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Bena nodded. "Just as I thought. Their objective wasn’t a simple raid."

For them to have prepared so meticulously, there must have been something on those trucks that they desperately wanted.

’That made sense. Otherwise, one power armor unit would have been more than enough to escort an ordinary trade convoy. Why would they possibly need two?’

The group acted cautiously, searching the battlefield several times. Soon, they pulled several black cases from one of the cargo trucks.

Bena immediately adjusted the focus on his binoculars, but the distance was simply too great.

Even with his high-powered, military-grade binoculars, he could only vaguely make out the contours of the cases.

’Not that seeing them clearly would do any good, though.’

’After all, I don’t have X-ray vision; there’s no way to know what’s actually inside them.’

The black cases were quickly loaded onto a few of the larger, modified motorcycles.

A few of the men pulled out some explosives and began planting them on the Steel Brotherhood’s vehicles.

"They’re going to blow up the convoy," Zhou Mei said in a low voice, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

Bena stared intently at their movements, weighing his options.

"Captain Bena, they’re about to destroy the convoy. Should we stop them?" Hawke asked in a low voice, his eyes glinting with a desire to fight.

Bena frowned slightly, hesitating.

’If we move now, we’ll definitely attract their attention. But if we don’t, the Steel Brotherhood’s convoy will be completely destroyed.’

"No. The Manager’s orders are to remain hidden," Bena said gravely.

"With our current strength, we couldn’t beat them even with a sneak attack. We absolutely cannot take that risk."

Bena knew, of course, that those black cases they had gone to such lengths to get must contain something valuable.

The convoy likely had plenty of supplies as well, but none of it was worth dying for.

The rest of the team nodded, showing they understood.

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