RTS System in the Apocalypse: New World

"How can you be so sure?" Genevieve doubted Hans’s words.

"Let’s just say," Hans paused, raising a brow. "I have a method to deal with these things efficiently."

His tone turned mysterious.

Everyone who heard him perked up, except Callum.

Johannes had never encountered a hive before. The discussion intrigued him greatly.

Tyrus was interested as well. Wherever Hans was going with this, it should not be as boring as policy and routine agent work discussion earlier.

And Genevieve was the one who was shocked the most.

Fighting against that entity drained her and her subordinates greatly. Approaching it muddled their minds, yet distancing themselves was not a great tactic either.

From her experience, it always spawned infected around it, seemingly endless. And now, this Golden Eagle had a method that dealt against them for good?

"I can accept what I’ve seen from your base and your troops," she frowned, her tone colder than before. "But I have no reason to believe the words from your mouth now."

As expected, Hans wasn’t the least affected. "That means you haven’t seen more of the base then."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You should look deeper than the surface level."

Hans could not physically produce evidence of him obtaining those meteorite shards. They were locked inside the System’s container, and could only be pulled out once he had constructed the Tech Lab.

However, it did not mean his army had left no trace of battle.

The large crater that once housed the previous hive inside this area remained open for everyone to see.

Hans stood up.

"Come."

Genevieve frowned. "Where?"

"You wanted proof, didn’t you?"

"I asked how you can be so sure."

"It is the same thing."

Hans walked toward the door. Callum opened it before Hans even reached the handle.

Johannes observed Genevieve. She remained seated, looking stubborn.

"I have seen the crater myself," Johannes said. "Whether you believe that is up to you."

"How do I know you’re not lying?"

"Suit yourself."

Johannes shrugged. Arguing with her about truthfulness wasn’t worth it. If she didn’t follow, so be it.

Hans had controlled the conversation from the beginning. Whether Genevieve liked it or not, she had already started moving along the path he opened.

She stared back at Johannes. His lack of convincing words annoyed her more.

If he had begged her to follow, she could have refused. But he simply left the choice there, like refusing to see it would only make her look stupid.

Tyrus was the opposite. He stood up as quickly as Hans.

Though he had seen the crater days ago, seeing it again would still answer a few things for him.

Seeing that everyone was about to leave the Command Room, Genevieve finally stood up and followed after them.

She was unsure if Golden Eagle played tricks against her.

That existence had felt almost unkillable even to someone like her, someone who had obtained a rare HELIX ability.

I have to see this for myself, she concluded. If it’s a trick, I’ll make him suffer. If not, heh.

They trailed along the narrow streets and turned along the corners.

Genevieve looked at the base once more.

The power-generating towers vented white gas into the air, breathing electricity into the base. Farther ahead, the massive industrial complex pulled her eyes toward it again.

As she got closer, she realized that this thing was larger than she had thought.

It is that high?!

Hans obviously saw her reaction but left her alone for a moment. "Stop staring at it. Come. Here’s what you’re looking for."

The street narrowed to an open section, or rather, where it once was.

Then Genevieve saw it. For a second, she forgot the industrial complex behind her.

Hans pointed at the large crater. "There."

Impossible! Genevieve’s brows furrowed. The shelling we heard from here did this?!

"You destroyed this?"

"Yes."

"With what?"

"My army."

"Your army?!"

Genevieve scoffed. She could not bring herself to believe it. If shelling worked, why had her powers barely tickled the flesh of that existence?

And worse, she couldn’t even reach the mysterious rock despite her earthen affinity.

"You still don’t believe me?" Hans shook his head. "Check inside. If your description is honest, you’ll see something familiar."

Genevieve scanned his nonchalant expression. He was practically telling her to do whatever she wanted.

"If you try to ambush me down there—"

"I am a person of many things," Hans corrected. "Backstabbing people is not one of them."

"You think I can take your words for it?"

"You can take your team out of here and be done with all this."

She hesitated.

Going down into that crater carried a lot of risks, and being buried alive was the least of her concerns.

"Then you’ll go down with me," she glanced at the others. "The rest will stay here."

Johannes and Tyrus were dumbfounded. It was as if she was taking Hans as a hostage inside the crater.

Is she not the guest here? Such forceful demands!

"No problem."

Hans did not mind. He had already brought her to the water. Whether she drank or not was her problem.

Johannes and Tyrus shifted to Callum, wondering what his expression was like.

The bodyguard remained silent, even disregarding Genevieve’s subtle threats.

She frowned at Callum’s silence.

If Golden Eagle was in danger, this man should have reacted. No, he should have at least have a small reaction!

While she was formulating in her mind, Hans had already stepped down.

The slope into the crater was ugly. It was not a clean path. Broken concrete, steel bars, and old industrial flooring bent inward as if the ground had swallowed itself then regretted it later.

Genevieve followed several steps behind him.

Her eyes moved across the walls.

At first, she saw the obvious marks.

Burns that blackened the earth. Cracks along the surface. And layers that collapsed into nowhere.

The she saw the rest.

Dark stains clung to the lower walls. Some looked like dried blood. Some looked like flesh that had burned, shriveled, then hardened against the concrete. Several exposed pipes hung from the broken sides, twisted by something mysterious.

Genevieve’s steps slowed. She realized that the crater indeed housed something, and it was anything but ordinary.

Hans glanced back. "Find it familiar yet?"

Genevieve did not answer immediately.

She stepped closer to one side of the crater and crouched near a blackened patch. Her fingers hovered above it but did not touch.

The surface was dead now. It felt dry, brittle, and hollow.

But she remembered that smell. Or rather, that feeling.

Hers had been alive, squirming like a parasite. This one was dead, old, and withering, yet the ominous aura was too similar.

"Did the shelling blast it apart?"

"It did," Hans answered.

"But that should not have killed it."

"Correct."

"What killed it then?"

"Me."

Hans smiled faintly.

Genevieve looked at this man once more. For some reason, the fog gathering around him became thicker than before.

"Are you... an Elemental HELIX too?"

"Take a guess," Hans’s expression remained neutral.

"Still not telling it out loud?" Genevieve faced him. "And here you are, forcing me to lay out my cards."

"Knowing the cards in my hand will not help our partnership much," Hans said.

"What?" Genevieve raised a brow. "Are you a spy?"

"No."

"Are you an alien?"

"No."

"Then why keep your cards hidden from play?" Genevieve snorted. "You should know that the same could be said to you."

"No," Hans corrected. "Even without your help, my army and I can continue no different."

"What are you up to here?"

"I’m giving you a chance."

"A chance for what?"

"To work with me."

Genevieve paused. "You already said that three times."

Hans cleared his ear. "Important things should be repeated three times."

"What makes you think you are important?" She laughed. "Your saving grace helped our Cell survive, but it does not mean it’s a ticket to our loyalty."

"The old world has fallen into shambles. New factions will rise once more, whether it is human or those infected out there."

"And I thought you were here to save the city?" Genevieve mocked.

"Saving the city is one of them," Hans looked at her. "Assimilating civilians and groups is another."

"Do you think we don’t have a group of our own?"

"Sure you do," Hans chuckled. "That’s why I’m giving you a chance to join, not giving you an ultimatum to join."

"The SAS is larger than you think," Genevieve warned. "Colluding with you—I don’t see much point other than us being your dogs."

"Dogs follow orders with limited understanding. I need people who can tell me the ropes of the world before it collapsed."

"Then I cannot help you with that," Genevieve objected.

Loyalty to the service was one reason. Hans’s mysterious background was the second one.

A powerful entity that seemingly looked too generous on the outside—there was no warmth she had felt from that.

Hans shrugged. "If that’s the case, then it’s a shame."

"Are you going to kill me now?"

"No," he shook his head. "You can leave on your own terms. I’ll take it we’ve never had this conversation. Nor had met here."

Genevieve wanted to laugh at that.

Leave?

With what safehouse? With what medical supply? With what route that had not already been touched by the infected?

Golden Eagle was not threatening her. He had simply placed the door in front of her and let the city stand behind it.

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