C12 Gain Day 2
In the silence of the canning factory, two shadows—one gray, one white—flashed by in an instant.
A mutated mouse dozing on the ground took notice. The shadows darted behind a container, and soon after, a peculiar scent wafted into the mouse's nostrils.
Oh... This wretched stench was akin to a mutated cockroach left to bake in the sun for three days... mingled with an unfamiliar grease odor... Huh? Wait...
It was the scent of a human!
The mouse was startled. At long last, food had arrived after such a long wait!
Memories of the last time it feasted on human remains flooded its mind—the tender brain matter mixed with the succulent taste of pork... The mere thought made it salivate.
No! This midnight snack was mine for the taking; no one else would snatch it away!
Without alerting its kin, the mouse scurried to the back of the container.
But there was nothing there.
Suddenly, the mouse felt a warmth above its head. Before it could look up, it sensed someone mounting its back. Before a squeak could escape, the intruder's left hand clamped down on its throat, silencing it. Then, a blade sprang from the right wrist of the assailant, plunging straight into the mouse's right eye.
The kill was effortless, clean, and decisive.
Ashes rose from the mouse's body, deftly wiping the blood from his sleeve sword. He then signaled to Moorer and Meow, concealed in the rafters, to continue forward. Moorer landed softly on the ground, while Meow utilized its night vision to navigate and survey from above.
The building was a three-story structure, including a rooftop warehouse, measuring 50 meters in length and 10 meters in width. Moorer and the team had entered from the second floor on the building's southern side, yet the stash Ashes referred to was on the ground floor to the north.
Despite the late hour, the area teemed with roaming monsters.
To reach the stash point undetected, Ashes would need to revert to his expertise in stealth operations.
Ashes and Meow, adept at infiltration, contrasted sharply with Moorer, who was a complete novice in such tactics. He could only watch as Ashes and Meow nimbly maneuvered across the beams, while he himself inched forward on the ground, ever vigilant not to rouse the dreadful creatures.
Atop the beam, Meow and Ashes worked together flawlessly. Meow indicated the presence of monsters that could threaten the trio, and with a swift flick of his sleeve sword, Ashes would leap into action. He dispatched the creatures before they had a chance to react. Moorer's primary role had become catching the carcasses that Ashes and Meow tossed down from the beam, doing his best to prevent them from hitting the ground and making noise.
Eventually, they arrived at the second-floor stairwell. Climbing the beams was no longer an option. Ashes and Meow descended silently from above.
"Odd, where's Moorer?" Ashes inquired.
Moorer was actually quite close, just a few meters away, but the darkness was so thick that Ashes couldn't see clearly.
Meow, on the other hand, had no trouble seeing in the pitch black. It quickly located Moorer and let out a chuckle.
Now, without the guidance of Meow and Ashes, Moorer had to navigate the last few meters on his own. Hunched over with a tense expression, he resembled someone on the brink of disaster, akin to a hapless soul who had unwittingly wandered into a minefield.
After a tense minute, Moorer safely reached the stairwell. Ashes mentioned that they had cleared the first floor a while back, but for safety's sake, Moorer sent Meow ahead to scout the area.
Within a minute, Moorer and Ashes spotted a pair of glowing green eyes on the staircase to the first floor. It was Meow, signaling that the coast was clear.
As they passed an office, Ashes abruptly stopped Moorer and Meow from proceeding and gestured towards the room. It appeared they had found their hideout.
Beneath a cardboard box, Meow discovered a door resembling a basement entrance. Once Ashes and Moorer lifted the door, they were stunned by the sight of the supplies before them.
A half-meter-deep cellar was filled with at least four stacks of assorted canned goods, too many for Moorer to count in a single glance.
"We've hit the jackpot!" Moorer whispered excitedly. He set down his shoulder bag, unzipped it fully, and began eagerly gathering the cans.
Ashes propped open the backpack, and by the light of the moon, he noticed a sky-blue children's dress inside Moorer's pack.
Moorer appeared indifferent to Ashes' discovery, his hands working feverishly to pack cans into the backpack. After stuffing in about 20 cans, Ashes intervened, signaling that it was enough; any more would be too heavy and slow them down during the evacuation.
Now on the ground floor, Moorer and the team opted against retracing their steps, instead jumping out of an office window to make their way back to the six-wheeled pickup.
The entire infiltration had taken less than 20 minutes, but for Payson, who had been on high alert in the vehicle, it had felt like an eternity.
Once everyone was aboard, Payson floored it, leaving the canning factory behind. Following Ashes' directions, he drove around the district, eventually stopping at a secluded grass hut on the outskirts of the city.
"Oh, right, Payson, here, I found this and won't be using it. Consider it a gift..." Ashes offered.
He pulled a 42-model revolving pistol from his robe. It was chambered for 10mm rounds with a six-round capacity. Despite its worn appearance, the pistol was still remarkably accurate and powerful.
Payson examined the vintage firearm. His discerning taste usually wouldn't allow for such an outdated weapon, but as it was a gift from a comrade, he begrudgingly accepted it with a curt "Thank you."
After Moorer and Meow tallied the cans they'd brought back, their initial excitement waned. The haul consisted entirely of dry meat and biscuit cans, not a single can of liquid food among them.
"Ashes, Payson, we've managed to solve our food issue, but now we're facing a shortage of liquid sustenance..." Moorer observed.
"I'm aware, and that's precisely our next mission," Ashes responded, unfolding a map and gathering the group. "Look, we're here. Not far from our location is an old water storage facility. We can forget about the barrels, but there's bound to be water in the three massive towers there... If we can find containers, we'll secure a substantial supply of drinking water!"
"Let's just go for it and take down that water tower," Moorer said with excitement.
"No!" Payson shook his head. "Drinking water is such a vital resource. The Dimensional Organization will surely send heavy troops to protect it. Attacking now would be a suicide mission!"
"Payson's got a point," Ashes chimed in. "This water tower isn't some canned food factory. It was already under the protection of the Survivor Center back when we were in charge. With so many people in the Dimensional Organization, I doubt they'd give up such a valuable resource spot."
"So... what's your plan?" Moorer inquired.
"Here's what I'm thinking: we wait. As soon as the sun rises and the sky starts to lighten, we sneak in and steal the water. That's when the enemy is most relaxed, making it much safer to steal the water then than any other time!"
"Alright, we'll go with your plan. For now, let's rest here. We'll head out at around four in the morning!"
"Got it, understood!"
Moorer and his group settled into a brief rest. Unbeknownst to them, about two kilometers away atop the ruins of a high-rise building, someone clad in a professional scouting suit was monitoring them through night vision goggles.
Once the scout confirmed that Moorer and his team were resting, she picked up the walkie-talkie. Her voice, unmistakably that of a young woman, crackled through the device.
"Command center! This is Scout 6-5, codename 'Night Ray'. Be advised, the Little Fish has taken the bait..."
Currently, the information that can be disclosed is as follows:
1. Dimensional Organization
The Dimensional Organization, also known as DS, is a high-tech group based in the northern continent's Ji Province. It appears to have preserved a wealth of technological artifacts from the Golden Era.
The organization's objectives are unknown, but it is speculated that they aim to establish a fortress city centered around Bear City.
The extent of the organization's military power is not fully known, but it is confirmed that they have a complete division of power armor troops and have incorporated the armed survivors who surrendered during the Battle of Bear City.
The total number of combatants is estimated to be around 2,000.
2. Shadow Corps
The Shadow Corps is a mercenary assassin group with no more than 100 members, primarily operating within Bear City.
The main force of the team was stationed at the Bear City Central Hospital, which doubled as the Survivor Center. The leadership core of the entire team was concealed there. Unfortunately, they suffered an indiscriminate attack by the Dimensional Organization, resulting in the annihilation of the leadership core, with only five members narrowly escaping.
The other bases of the Shadow Corps also sustained varying degrees of damage. It is currently estimated that fewer than ten members of the Shadow Corps have survived.
North Federation Power Armor Corps Configuration:
According to intelligence from the Antathira United Government, a standard Power Armor Corps typically consists of:
- 20 units of NFPA-45-L Lightweight Power Armor
- 10 units of NFPA-45-M Medium Power Armor
- 5 units of NFPA-45-H Heavy Power Armor
- Two regular infantry companies
- One mortar platoon
- Two to four light armored vehicles equipped with heavy machine guns and anti-tank rockets
- One Kirov Airship with two 122 caliber grenade launchers, one 320 caliber machine gun, and three 12.7 caliber anti-aircraft machine guns.
Bear City and the Survivor Center:
Bear City, located in the central region of Ji Province, is a small fourth-tier city without a space elevator or an Underground City. The newly constructed subway line was only 50% complete when the apocalypse struck, and it was forcibly taken over by construction workers and nearby residents, who transformed it into a shelter.
Prior to the Dimensional Organization's invasion, the main survivor bases were:
- Bear City Central Hospital "Survivor Rescue Center" Status: Occupied
- Bear City Central Commercial Plaza "Heaven" Status: Occupied
- Bear City High-Tech District, Lotus Community "Salvation Army" Status: Occupied
- Bear City Subway Line 1 "Mole's Den" Status: Unknown
Bear City's Survivor Population: 5,023
Bear City's Pre-Apocalypse Population: 750,000
