Ronan Kendrick chuckled. "If I bailed on him, his losses would be immeasurable. Just wait for me at home. I’m going to go collect the Gold."
A glint flashed in Evelyn Ford’s eyes. "Collect a little extra. Teach him a lesson about the harsh realities of life."
"Got it, you little money-grubber." Ronan Kendrick changed his clothes and left the villa.
Evelyn Ford entered her space to continue her work. The fourth region was still a hazy gray expanse, as if it were pixelated, making it impossible to see anything inside.
Evelyn Ford checked the seedlings in her paddy fields. After the space had developed a day-night cycle, the crops grew twice as fast as before. The seedlings she had transplanted a while ago were already bearing grain.
Evelyn Ford went to the fishpond, got some fry, and put them all into the paddy fields.
She also needed to test the quality of the base’s water source. After putting on a cumbersome protective suit, Evelyn Ford entered her lab and got to work.
Ronan Kendrick had just arrived at the base’s main gate when Rhys Chase’s assistant, Liam Sterling, came up to greet him.
"Mr. Kendrick, did you walk here? Let me arrange a vehicle for you. It’s quite a long way from Kestrel Villa. Mr. Chase has reserved a house for you over by the base’s villas; you could actually live here at the base."
’Just a moment ago it was all ’Mr. Kendrick’ this and ’Mr. Chase’ that. This guy’s quick to change his tune.’
Rhys Chase had two important teams under his command. According to him, one was for brains and the other for brawn. These people were all selected from the base and included elites from all walks of life as well as special talents with extraordinary skills.
"Kestrel Villa is fine." Ronan Kendrick didn’t take the bait, but Liam Sterling wasn’t embarrassed. He simply led Ronan to Rhys Chase’s residence.
It was less a residence and more of an Undercity. The members of Rhys Chase’s two elite teams all lived here.
This was Ronan Kendrick’s first time setting foot here. The Second Base looked unremarkable—not a single building stood over six stories tall. Yet, beneath it all lay an incredibly luxurious underground fortress.
"The Undercity was built with special materials. It can remain completely intact in the face of any natural disaster."
"Not even earthquakes?"
Liam Sterling nodded. "The Undercity is actually more like a protective sphere. Not only can it withstand high temperatures, but it will also activate its self-defense mechanisms if a natural disaster occurs. As far as I know, many bases have this kind of Undercity. They’re shelters built specifically for high-level personnel and leaders."
A gleam flashed in Ronan Kendrick’s eyes, but he didn’t respond. They arrived at the first door to the Undercity. It had a dual-lock system, requiring a simultaneous iris scan and fingerprint to open.
Liam Sterling registered Ronan Kendrick’s fingerprint and iris scan, granting him free access to the Undercity.
"Mr. Chase doesn’t have many people under him—including me, there are only eighteen of us. Now, with you joining us, Mr. Kendrick, our team will be unstoppable."
The corner of Ronan Kendrick’s mouth twitched. The place was full of high-tech equipment straight out of a Hollywood movie. It was as if they had stepped into a space station. The walls were covered with computer screens displaying strings of code, various detected images, and data analyses.
Liam Sterling led Ronan Kendrick into a large hall. In the very center of the hall was a raised-relief globe the size of a wok.
A few people were chatting, and when they saw Liam Sterling enter with Ronan Kendrick, they all stood up to greet them.
"Mr. Sterling, is this the new captain Mr. Chase was talking about?"
Liam Sterling nodded and then explained to Ronan Kendrick, "The previous captain had an accident during a mission, and his position has been vacant ever since. Mr. Chase wants you to be the new captain. All team members will be at your disposal."
Ronan Kendrick had no interest in being a captain, so he refused outright.
"My relationship with Rhys Chase is purely transactional. I haven’t joined your team."
Liam Sterling was taken aback for a moment but didn’t say anything more. "Understood."
Leaving the hall, the two took an elevator straight to the top floor. The Undercity was quite large, with twenty floors in total. Each floor had dozens of rooms, and it could accommodate tens of thousands of people.
"Mr. Kendrick, once the Undercity’s self-defense system is activated, it can not only withstand temperatures of over a thousand degrees but also resist nuclear radiation. If you’re willing, you can move in with your family."
Seeing that Ronan Kendrick was completely impervious to persuasion, Liam Sterling had no choice but to shut his mouth.
Just as the two of them arrived at the door to Rhys Chase’s office, it suddenly opened. A long-haired woman with red, swollen eyes walked out. When she saw Ronan Kendrick and Liam Sterling, she lowered her head in embarrassment and quickly hurried away.
"That’s Lynn Pierce. She’s brilliant. Before the apocalypse, she worked at a hospital in Meridia. Now, she’s our team’s medical expert. She developed and produced some of the medicines from the base’s pharmaceutical factory. She’s known Mr. Chase for over ten years. Everyone knows she has feelings for him, but he just won’t accept her. I guess that man’s heart is made of stone. Lynn Pierce is already thirty-seven."
Ronan Kendrick raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t interested in this gossip, but he figured he could tell Evelyn about it when he got home.
Liam Sterling tapped the transparent screen nearby. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. The door opened automatically, and they walked in one after the other.
"Mr. Chase, Mr. Kendrick is here."
With a wave of his hand, Rhys Chase dismissed him, and Liam Sterling respectfully departed.
The door closed again, and Rhys Chase stood up, walking over to Ronan Kendrick.
"Just you?"
"Who else would there be?"
"And Mrs. Kendrick?"
Hearing this form of address, Ronan Kendrick’s expression softened slightly. "She’s at home."
"If the sun doesn’t reappear within six months, there won’t be enough oxygen left outside for humans. I agreed to your demand to reform the refugee camps, but... how long can those people survive, really?"
Ronan Kendrick walked over to a nearby sofa and sat down. On the coffee table was a plate of cherries. They were huge, their color so deep a red it was almost black. A fresh, sweet fragrance wafted into his nostrils.
"You talk too much. When does the reform start?"
Rhys Chase sat down opposite Ronan. "It’s going to take some time. I don’t have superpowers. Reforming the refugee camps is no simple task."
"And the Gold?"
The corner of Rhys Chase’s mouth twitched. "It’s not like I’m not giving it to you. What’s the rush? Let’s go collect the medicine first. There are several tons in the old warehouse. How long will it take you to move it all?"
Ronan Kendrick looked up at him. "Bring me the Gold first."
Rhys Chase was speechless.
"Otherwise, this conversation is over. If you want this Undercity of yours to remain intact, you’d better cooperate."
Rhys Chase felt like he was letting a wolf in the door. But then again, he probably couldn’t find another uniquely talented individual in the entire world capable of making dozens of tons of supplies vanish.
"The Gold is in another storage room. I’ll take you there."
Rhys Chase stood up and looked at Ronan Kendrick. "I never would have guessed you’d be interested in Gold. Is it Mrs. Kendrick who likes it?"
Ronan Kendrick nodded. "She likes shiny, golden things."
"To think you’re with an ordinary human. Ronan Kendrick, that will become your weakness. If I may be so bold... do you two have any children?"
Ronan Kendrick sneered.
’Evelyn had never been his weakness. On the contrary, she was his pillar of support.’
’Rhys Chase might be a genetically engineered human, but his combat effectiveness was declining with age. Right now, it was barely at a passing level. What right did he have to look down on ordinary humans?’
Ronan Kendrick looked at Rhys Chase in disgust. "What? You want to call me ’daddy’?"
Rhys Chase nearly coughed up blood. He was old enough to be Ronan Kendrick’s father, yet this guy had the audacity to turn the tables on him.
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