Chapter 354: Chapter 354: Base Commander
Inside the bathroom, Ronan Kendrick clutched his chest and spat out another mouthful of black blood. Exhausted, he leaned back in the tub and let out a soft sigh.
"Ronan, are you done?"
Evelyn Ford knocked on the door. "It’s been an hour. The water must be cold by now."
’He never used to be so slow in the shower.’
"I’m done. I’ll be right out."
Ronan sauntered out, and Evelyn already had the hair dye mixed. "I chose natural black. Sit down, I’ll dye it for you."
"Give me a hug."
Evelyn, holding the bowl, stepped back. "What for? We’re dyeing your hair first. I still need to take a shower, and we have to go find that person later."
Ronan coughed, startling Evelyn. "Where does it hurt?"
"My chest hurts."
Evelyn put down the bowl, about to check on him, but Ronan pulled her into his arms. "Got my hug."
"You’re so childish."
Ronan raised an eyebrow. "I can be even more childish. Want to see?"
"Can I say no?"
Ronan clutched his chest and started coughing, and Evelyn quickly surrendered.
"I want to see."
A triumphant smile spread across Ronan’s face as he lowered his head and kissed her red lips.
***
"Leave the dye in for half an hour. I’m going to take a shower, and then we’ll head out to find that person."
Ronan held up a mirror, staring at his hair for a long time. "It kind of stinks."
"Hair dye always has a bit of a smell. It won’t stink after you wash it out." Evelyn filled the tub with hot water and then went into the bathroom.
Ronan looked at his reflection. ’Good, my face hasn’t gotten ugly. Evelyn still likes me.’ After metabolizing the bad blood, he could feel his abilities improving, but his biggest worry was still his face.
’After all, Evelyn has a thing for good-looking people.’
After coming out of the bathroom, Evelyn had Ronan wash out the dye. Ronan’s skin was very fair, and the black hair made him look even more youthful.
They’d been busy all day and hadn’t even had time to eat. Once Ronan had dried his hair, Evelyn took out boxed meals and hot soup.
"I had a feeling something was off with you yesterday, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I just thought you were tired from driving."
Ronan sat down next to Evelyn. After today’s events, he had become incredibly clingy, as if he wished they could be joined at the hip.
"Do you think I’m a lot of trouble?"
Evelyn glanced at him. "Why are you suddenly being so melodramatic?"
Ronan wore a thoughtful expression. "Well, you’ve always hated trouble, and it seems I’ve become trouble now."
"It’s not like I can just throw you away," Evelyn said helplessly. "You little troublemaker, just hurry up and eat. Stop overthinking things."
’It’s usually the woman who overthinks things. Why is it the complete opposite with us?’
After dinner, it was already 6:30 PM. Evelyn changed into a coat, packed up the folding bed and other items, and they left the apartment building.
On the street, residents hurried along with their heads down, rushing home. A patrol team came around the corner; anyone caught lingering would be dealt with by them.
Evelyn and Ronan blended into the crowd. After nightfall, Tarr City once again became a lifeless cage where any sign of disturbance would have nowhere to hide.
"Where do you think that person is?"
Ronan looked down the road ahead and curled his lip into a smile. "The base."
"To the base it is, then."
Tarr Base was located in the suburbs of Tarr City. The area had once been planned for a park, but the project was shelved due to a lack of funding. After the apocalypse, it was requisitioned and turned into a base.
Tarr Base was three times the size of Wyrmrest Base, housing millions of survivors. Aside from a few "pigeon coop" apartment buildings for technicians and administrators, the rest was all large, open dormitories where men and women lived together.
Entering the base and seeing the sealed windows on the tall buildings, Evelyn was certain they were defending against insects. The base was livelier than the city, with its factories running twenty-four hours a day.
Seeing the words "Base School" on a sign, Evelyn was a little surprised. ’To be able to run a school in the base... it seems like it’s being managed pretty well.’
"The supplies brought in from outside are all sent to the base. It seems the base’s leaders have more say, or rather, more weapons."
Evelyn agreed. "You can tell a few things from the base’s geography, too. It’s behind Tarr City, with mountains at its back and the city in front. The entire base is sandwiched in the middle, more like a protected zone. No wonder I heard some drivers complaining that getting into Tarr City is easy, but getting into the base is harder than climbing to heaven."
Ronan planned to go straight to the base commander. Rather than investigating slowly, it was better to start directly with the highest authority.
The people in the base seemed to be living quite well. There was even a music plaza where many people were line dancing, and others were playing basketball. It was like a different world compared to the outside.
"The base has achieved stability. If something unexpected happens, like refugees from outside breaking in, that stability will be shattered."
By driving away the refugees, the base residents were free from that potential threat, and they would obey any arrangement the base made.
The signs along the road listed a hospital, school, clothing factory, food processing plant, heavy industry zone, livestock farm, forestry area, fish ponds...
"The ecosystem here is so complete," Evelyn couldn’t help but remark.
But none of this had anything to do with Evelyn, nor did she care to investigate it. Right now, she just wanted to find that person.
Evelyn glanced at the time. It was eleven o’clock, and most residents had gone home. Ronan had swiped a keycard from somewhere and used it to lead her directly into a villa district.
"There are a lot of houses here. I wonder which one he lives in."
Ronan smiled. "Whichever one is the most luxurious, that’s where we’ll go."
Upon entering the villa district, they could see rows of snowmobiles parked outside. The villas’ windows were all sealed with steel plates, a more thorough defense than the high-rises outside.
Ronan led Evelyn to a villa that stood out from the rest. While the others were only three stories high, this one had five.
Ronan took the Smoke Bomb from Evelyn. As soon as the villa’s main door opened, he immediately tossed one inside.
Ronan flipped the circuit breaker, and the brightly lit villa was instantly plunged into darkness.
The people inside the villa passed out the moment they smelled the Smoke Bomb. Evelyn closed the door. Ronan had already searched the entire villa, inside and out. The two of them went to the study on the fourth floor, where a middle-aged man was slumped over a desk. Evelyn picked up a document and glanced at it. It was a plan for population reduction at the base.
Evelyn and Ronan put on skull masks. After waking the man up with some medicated oil, Evelyn sat in his chair, toying with a pistol she found in the drawer.
The man slowly came to. When he saw the skull mask on Evelyn’s face, his own face turned deathly pale.
"Base Commander Shane Landry, hello there."
Evelyn altered her voice, making it hoarse and sharp. Paired with the mask, she was the very image of a terrifying demon.
"Who are you?" Shane Landry quickly composed himself. He looked at the two of them and immediately began trying to play for time.
"Who we are isn’t important. What’s important is who *you* are."
