Chapter 211: Chapter 211 Let’s move!
The next day arrived swiftly. Ivy and Darren were forced to wake up early, along with Erick and all the soldiers assigned to the Eastern Grain Reserve Warehouse mission.
Everyone soon assembled in a convoy headed for the warehouse. The mission was estimated to take three days for a round trip, and the plan was for all the participating bases to travel together and camp overnight on the highway just outside the city before continuing the following morning.
"We’ll be meeting the other bases’ soldiers soon," Erick said as he stood beside Ivy, checking that everyone was ready before departure. "We’ve all agreed to gather at a designated assembly point first."
He turned to Ivy and Darren.
"Are you both ready, Captain Ivy... Darren?"
"Sure," Ivy replied without hesitation, a determined expression settling on her face.
Erick nodded approvingly.
"Good. Let’s move."
With that, he climbed into the armored command vehicle as well as Ivy, Darren, Albert. All Erick close comrade.
The remaining soldiers quickly boarded their respective armored trucks. Within moments, engines roared to life, and the entire convoy rolled out of Fierce Hunter Base, disappearing onto the ruined streets of the apocalypse.
Every soldier remained alert, rifles tightly gripped in their hands as their sharp eyes constantly scanned both sides of the road for monsters.
Although the ordinary firearms were ineffective against higher-level mutated monsters, they were still more than enough to deal with weaker low level monsters. As for Ivy and Darren, they weren’t worried in the slightest. Even if a monster survives the hail of bullets, they could simply finish it off with their Bomb Gun or their abilities.
The Fierce Hunter Base convoy rumbled steadily along the cracked highway, the endless road stretching toward the horizon.
The smell of decay lingered heavily in the air.
Rotting human corpses, mangled monster carcasses, abandoned vehicles, and collapsed buildings littered both sides of the road, serving as grim reminders of just how dangerous the apocalypse truly was.
No one dared lower their guard.
After nearly seven hours of travel, the convoy gradually slowed.
"We’re here," Erick announced as he looked through the windshield.
Ahead lay a wide-open area that had once served as a highway service station. It had now become the designated assembly point where several survivor bases would gather before jointly carrying out the warehouse mission they had agreed upon.
Numerous armored vehicles and heavily modified trucks were already parked throughout the area.
"Alright, everyone," Erick called out after bringing the vehicle to a stop. "Let’s get down."
One after another, the soldiers climbed out of their trucks.
Ivy was the last to step down from the vehicle and the moment her boots touched the ground, countless pairs of eyes immediately turned toward her.
Most of those gazes were filled with curiosity.
"So... that’s the woman Commander Erick was talking about?"
"Is she really the leader of Hope Base?"
"I heard Hope Base was only established recently. It doesn’t look that impressive."
"Wait... where are her soldiers?It looks like she only came with Commander Erick’s people."
Whispers spread through the crowd almost instantly.
Unlike the famous survivor bases, Hope Base had little to no reputation. Very few people had even heard of it, and even fewer believed a newly established base possessed any remarkable strength but then Ivy paid no attention to the murmurs.
Instead, she calmly surveyed the surroundings while Darren quietly stood beside her, equally observant.
Just then four small base leaders gathered around Erick, greeting him with warm smiles ignoring Ivy like she doesn’t exist.
"Commander Erick! It’s been a while."
"We’re honored to cooperate with Fierce Hunter Base once again."
"We’ve heard a lot about this operation."
Erick smiled politely as he shook hands with each of them.
Darren on the other hand leaned slightly toward Ivy before lowering his voice.
"Don’t even think about what they’re saying." A faint chuckle escaped him. "If they knew how powerful you really are, they’d probably be lining up to worship you instead of questioning you."
Albert laughed in agreement.
"Exactly!" He folded his arms confidently. "Just ignore them, Captain. Once the battle starts, every single one of them will regret underestimating you."
Just before Ivy could respond.....
"Hello." A gentle feminine voice interrupted them promting everyone to turn toward the source.
Standing a few steps away was a beautiful young woman dressed in fitted black combat gear. A red scarf rested around her neck, while her long ponytail swayed gently in the breeze. There was confidence in her posture, but warmth in her smile.
"My name is Anya." She extended a hand toward Ivy. "I’m from Dawn Base."
I’m not the only woman afterall. Ivy thought inwardly as she reached forward and shook Anya’s hand.
"I’m Ivy."
Anya’s eyes sparkled with interest. "So... you’re the leader of Hope Base? The one Commander Erick has been talking about?"
Ivy nodded while Anya couldn’t help but smile wider.
"Honestly, every one of us assumed Hope Base had been founded by a man." She laughed softly. "We only found out this morning that its leader is actually a woman. Commander Erick finally told everyone."
Her expression became animated as she continued.
"You have no idea how shocked everyone was." She glanced toward Erick, who was still chatting with the other base leaders. "He couldn’t stop praising you. He talked about your achievements, your leadership, your abilities... honestly, I started wondering whether he was exaggerating."
She looked back at Ivy with obvious admiration.
"Female base leaders are incredibly rare these days. I’m not a base leader myself," Anya admitted. "I’m just Dawn Base’s assistant."
She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly before smiling again.
"I honestly thought I’d be the only woman participating in this operation. Imagine my surprise when Commander Erick announced that not only was Hope Base’s leader a woman......but that she was personally joining the mission."
Her excitement was impossible to hide.
"You wouldn’t believe how happy I was." She tilted her head curiously. "So...what kind of ability do you have?"
Without waiting for Ivy to ask the same question, Anya answered first.
"I’m a fire-type ability user."
As soon as the words left her lips, a small red flame danced above her fingertip while heat immediately spread through the surrounding air.
Ivy glanced at the flame before calmly raising her own hand.
"Water."
A small sphere of crystal-clear water floated gently above her palm.
Anya’s eyes widened as she couldn’t hide her surprise"A water-type ability? That’s pretty rare."
"I guess we’re complete opposites. Fire and water."
With a slight flick of her wrist, Ivy dispersed the floating sphere into countless droplets before replying calmly,
"Abilities don’t determine everything. They’re only tools. What matters is how you use them."
Anya nodded thoughtfully.
The two women soon found themselves chatting naturally.
Darren, Albert and the rest could only leave them alone.
Just then, the distant rumble of heavy engines echoed across the highway.
The sound was far louder than any convoy that had arrived so far making everyone turn toward the approaching noise.
A massive convoy slowly emerged from the horizon. Its armored trucks greatly outnumbered those of every other base present, moving in perfect formation like a disciplined military force.
At the front of the convoy, a large flag fluttered proudly in the wind.
Antelope Base.
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