Chapter 183

  Jake kept staring at Johnny, unimpressed. What the survivor had just told him seemed impusible. He couldn’t help but wonder how Johnny and the ur survivors knew what was happening ihe gang’s main base. After all, none of the regur survivors—nor even the gang’s ordinary soldiers—had any idea where Los Demonios’ main base was even located.

  “It's just a rumor, though,” Johnny added, firming Jake’s suspis. “But it isn’t something we just made up. One of the workers actually heard it from the guards’ versation. They were saying that survivors who really pissed off any of the gang’s leaders were sent to the main base, where they were turned into hideous monsters. The worker who overheard the versation said that the guards talked in whispers, trying to keep their voices down. But it was a heated discussion, and they iently raised their voices enough for him to hear while he worked on a nearby mae. He told us that the guards weren’t gloating but seemed genuinely scared. They feared that if they ever disappoiheir leaders, they could also be sent to the main base to beonsters.”

  Jake tio stare at the human before him. Johnny fell silent for a moment, as if to let what he had just said sink in.

  “And those guards must have gotten that information from somewhere tht?” he said in clusion. “Likely, someone overheard one of the leaders mention it, and that must be how they learned about these evil matters.”

  Jake remained skeptical but sidered that there might be some truth to the story. The question was: if it were true, to what end did the gang leaders transform survivors who ahem into monsters?

  Johnny seemed to realize what was going on in Jake’s head, because he added, “If you’re w why the gang leaders turn survivors into monsters, we don’t really know. However, we’ve specuted quite a bit and reached the clusion that it’s for XP. They turn people into monsters, kill them, earn XP, and level up. Perhaps they could even resurrect them somehow to kill again. That might expin why the leaders are so much higher-leveled pared to the other survivors, right?”

  Jake khat Johnny had it all wrong. Based on the versation he had overheard among the three sub-bosses in the security trol room, he khat the inal members of the gang were brought back from stasis by the System somewhat earlier than the survivors in this city. And sihey began their journey as survivors in this mutant-ied world before this city’s inhabitants, they naturally had higher levels thahers now. The gang leaders also provided the regur members with special spells that increased their gained XP so they could level up faster. Where the gang leaders got the magic scrolls from, which were the rarest items in this world, was an altogether different question.

  “So, Samantha has been taken to the main base,” Johnny said, snapping Jake back to reality. “I need you to save her. Will you promise me that?”

  Now that he khe details, Jake felt very skeptical. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since Samantha was taken to the main base, but the ces of her still being alive—or not haviransformed into a monster—were slim to none.

  “I know what you must be thinking,” Johnny said, staring at him ily. “You think Sam is beyond saving. But that’s not the case! She’s a fighter! Always has been, and she won’t give in without a fight. I believe she’s still alive—I just know it! Don’t ask me how, I just feel it!”

  It seemed clear that Johnny likely knew Samantha was likely dead by now. Still, he was clearly trying to suppress those thoughts. He o hold on to the belief that his girlfriend was still alive, even if it seemed unlikely. It felt as though he was more trying to vince himself rather than Jake that Samantha was still alive.

  “Will you promise that you’ll find her and help her?”

  Jake nodded. He khat saving Samantha was likely a lost cause, but what else could he do?

  “Thank you, my friend,” Johnny replied, his voice filled with genuine gratitude.

  Being called a friend was definitely a first in his life as a mutant.

  There was something in Johnny’s eyes that made Jake feel unfortable. There was hope, yes, but there was something else lurkih the surfaow that he had Jake’s promise to find and rescue Samantha from Los Demonios main base, Johnny seemed ready to do something reckless—stupid, even. It felt as if Johnny no longer cared about the sequences for himself. Jake didn’t like the possible implications of that at all.

  “I know you’ll find Sam a her out of that terrible pce. I just know it!”

  Johnny fshed a grin and added, “Maybe you two will even team up to wipe out what’s left of this gang by then! She would love to help y ao Los Demonin!”

  Jake kept staring at him. It was clear that Johnny needed something to hold on to—a glimmer of hope that his girlfriend was still alive and could be saved.

  Johnny looked at him with gratitude in his eyes. He then reached out and pced a hand on Jake’s shoulder but quickly recoiled, grimag as though he had touched a scalding pan.

  “Geez, man, your body’s so cold. Are you okay?”

  Jake just kept staring at him.

  “Alright then,” Johnny said, regaining his posure. “Let’s focus oing you out of here. The key is to stay uhe radar, right?”

  Jake nodded.

  “Those turrets are capable of deteg almost anything,” Johnny remarked, stating what Jake already knew. “There’s no way I sneak you past them unnoticed. But your disguising ability was able to keep you off their radar, right? The only reason you ’t use it now is that you’re low on energy, correct?”

  Jake nodded.

  “Great,” Johnny said. “I definitely help with that.”

  Jake remained silent, waiting for the pn to unfold.

  “Everything in the base runs on mana ables,” Johnny expined, once again stating what Jake already knew. “There’s a mae that produces ammo not too far from here. I’m going to grab a mana crystal from that mae and bring it to you, which should recharge your disguising ability. Simple, right? The best solutions are often the simplest.”

  Jake didn’t like it. The moment Johnny removed the mana crystal from the ammo-produg traption, it would cease funing. One of the guards would surely notice—if nht away, then soon after. Even if Johnny wasn’t caught i, the bandits would still know it was him who took the mana crystal from the mae. All they would o do is check the recorded feed from the turrets. And they would want to know why he he mana crystal. Sure, Johnny could keep Jake out of it by simply g he had extracted the mana for himself, and there would be no way for the bandits to verify how much mana was inside his body before and after the act.

  However, if they chose to torture Johnny, Jake doubted that the man would be able to keep the secret for long. Jake he fact that he had infiltrated the bandit base to stay hidden for as long as possible. So far, his presence had gone ued by both the guards and the turrets. He had also deleted all recorded feeds from the surveilnce cameras inside HQ. As for the turrets, he had been spotted once when he approached the perimeter wall of the base. However, his Cloak was active, and other than a slight disturban the air, the turret hadn’t detected anything else—Jake khis for sure, as he had checked the recorded feed from that turret while inside HQ. The turret had even dismissed the sighting as a non-threat. Later, when his Cloak turned off, Jake dashed into this tent. Fortunately, he mao enter just before he became visible, so no turrets caught sight of him.

  So, he had mao avoid dete up to this point, and he really wao keep it that way.

  “Don’t worry,” Johnny reassured him, as if he had once again tapped into Jake’s thoughts. “I won’t get caught. You promised to save Sam, and I promise to do whatever it takes to keep it a secret that you were here.”

  Once again, Jake noticed something uling in Johnny’s eyes. Although Johnny seemed genuinely eager to assist Jake, he also appeared indifferent to his own fate and what might happen to him afterward. However, Jake had no other ideas for sneaking out of the base unnoticed, so he nodded.

  “Alright,” Johnny instructed. “Stand back from the entrance. We don’t want anyone spotting you when I go outside.”

  Jake stepped aside from the entrance of the tent, positioning himself out of sight from the outside.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be quick,” Johnny assured him as he approached the fp that covered the tent’s entrance. He pulled it bad swiftly stepped outside, vanishing from sight.