Chapter 188Â
The powered humans from the Highland Base didn’t buy what William said.Â
They just figured he was hiding Elise somewhere.Â
“Come on, Major York. That’s not cool. Our space–powered human can show up openly. What are you hiding?” one of them said.Â
“Yeah, Major York. This is your turf. You don’t really think we’d try to assassinate your powered human, do you?” another. chimed in.Â
There was mockery in their eyes, and their tone grew mo seriously at all.Â
and more disrespectful. Clearly, they didn’t take WilliamÂ
After all, their squad had a level–four powered human. Having someone that strong drop by Bluehaven Base was already giving them face.Â
Not having the base chief come out to greet them was straight–up disrespect.Â
William knew these powered humans were pretty arrogant, but as long as they didn’t cross the line, he didn’t bother arguing.Â
“Seriously, I’m not making this up. If you don’t believe me, just check the radio in the villa,” William insisted.Â
Ever since the world ended, TVs stopped working, phones were dead, and now the radio was the only lifeline to the outside world.Â
Hearing that, the powered humans looked at each other, stunned.Â
Everyone looked genuinely shocked.Â
After all, space–powered humans were like unicorns, almost impossible to find.Â
Even if someone went on a killing spree or did something unforgivable, no base would powered human.Â
everÂ
actually get rid of a space-Â
At worst, they’d just keep them locked away and use them as a human cargo hold for moving supplies.Â
But that shock faded fast. They’d probably already heard all the dirt on Elise from the broadcasts.Â
Maybe she took out someone with real status, and with two big groups at each other’s throats in the base, wiping her out completely wasn’t out of the question.Â
“Guess that’s how it went down. Too bad about Elise’s space powers,” one of them snorted.Â
Everyone just sighed, thinking what a waste it was.Â
Bluehaven was loaded, and with her space powers, she could single–handedly move all the supplies into the base.Â
Soon, their eyes were glued to the table full of mouthwatering dishes.Â
They all tried to act cool, but honestly, they were seconds away from drooling.Â
The Highland Base had plenty of oil, but the soil was lousy and nothing really grew there. So when the apocalypse hit, they ran out of supplies in no time.Â
Unless they were truly at the end of their rope, nobody would ever trade away their last drops of oil.Â
Chapter 188Â
Soon enough, everyone tossed aside the earlier tension and started devouring their meals like starving wolves.Â
William called over a few more people to join them, including James and some of the old base chief’s former subordinates.Â
Their strength was second only to Chloe’s Blaze Squad, all at the late stage of level three, barely making the cut to sit at theÂ
same table.Â
Nowadays, strength was the only thing that mattered.Â
As the squad of powered humans passed by, Chloe and Graham lowered their binoculars.Â
Frank, standing nearby, said casually, “That flashy red–haired guy is a level–four powered human. There are over thirty more at late level three, and the rest just barely scraped into level three”Â
More than fifty people, and every single one of them was a level–three powered human. That was pretty scary.Â
Graham’s voice was heavy, his brows furrowed. “Captain Yates, what do you think the Highland Base is planning, sending so many powered humans for a simple trade?”Â
Chloe shook her head. “No clue. Let’s just watch and see.”Â
“Still, you can’t underestimate the Highland Base. They’re not even worried their powered humans might end up dead on the road and never make it back,” Graham muttered.Â
After all, the Highland Base was several cities away. Even before the apocalypse, it would’ve taken seven or eight hours to drive here on the highway.Â
Just then, Frank lowered his binoculars.Â
He said, “Captain, there’s a woman next to that red–haired guy. She might be a space–powered human.Â
“But I’m not totally sure. We’ll have to wait for Molly to get back and see what she thinks.”Â
Frank knew he wasn’t much good at perception powers. When it came to that stuff, everyone trusted Molly way more.Â
A slow, deliberate knock sounded from outside.Â
“Come in,” Chloe called out.Â
Peyton strode in, tall and upright, his posture ramrod straight. When he saw Chloe, a flicker of something crossed his chiseled face, but he quickly masked it.Â
No one else noticed, but Noah, who’d been quiet the whole time, frowned slightly.Â
His instincts told him–he just flat–out hated Peyton.Â
As Peyton got close to Chloe, Noah vanished in a flash, and then popped up right between them, cutting off their eyeÂ
contact.Â
Chloe was about to speak when a tall, broad figure planted himself in front of her, his frosty, aloof face looking even more annoyed.Â
“What’s wrong?” Chloe asked.Â
Noah shook his head, but Chloe just shoved him aside with her hand, making him look even moreÂ
grumpy.Â
He shot Peyton a warning look, just to make sure he got the message.Â
‘Mess with my woman and I’ll end you,‘ he warned with his eyes.Â
Peyton gave Noah a cool look and then composed himself. “Captain Yates, I’ve heard the resistance in the refugee camp in getting louder. Everyone’s talking about heading to the Highland Base.”Â
As he spoke, a flicker of disdain crossed his eyes.Â
‘What a bunch of short–sighted fools. Life’s even tougher over at the Highland Base. They barely have any supplies, he thought.Â
They didn’t even bother handing out rations to refugees on any kind of schedule. If they were not exploiting them, that was already considered generous.Â
From what they’d picked up on the radio, Bluchaven Base was the only base that actually handed out supplies to refugees.Â
Everywhere else, it was a dog–eat–dog world, and only the strong survived.Â
“Got it,” Chloe replied.Â
Graham turned to Chloe. “Captain Yates, should we take any action?”Â
Chloe smirked. “You actually want to keep those refugees around?”Â
Graham shook his head in a hurry.Â
Those refugees were his biggest headache. Every day, over a hundred thousand of them just lazed around, living off the handouts they got.Â
They were basically just leeches.Â
He didn’t have the heart to kill them, but he sure as hell didn’t want to keep supporting them for nothing.Â
Whenever someone stirred up the crowd to rebel, it was always those lazy refugees behind it.Â
“So let them leave. It’ll lighten our load and make things easier for the base,” Chloe said with a shrug.Â
Chloe didn’t get involved in the whole supply exchange. Instead, she headed back to the villa and immersed herself in herÂ
research.Â
She held the core that once belonged to Elise in her hand, and the mechanical voice of the Spiritual Space System echoed in her mind.Â
The System intoned, “Chloe, the spiritual space can combine the mutant flowers and this core, then add some rare herbs to turn it into a mutagenic liquid.Â
“Anyone who drinks the mutagenic liquid will unlock their full potential for powers, and there’s a ninety percent chance they’ll end up as space–powered humans.”Â
Chloe froze, her breath catching. “You mean it’s possible to create space–powered humans?” she asked, stunned.Â