The Apocalypse Took Everything, This Time I Hoard It All First

Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Setting Off

The voice paused, and the steady, powerful tone grew even more impassioned. "Therefore, we must go! Even if the road ahead is covered in thorns, even if we have to overcome countless trials and tribulations, we must bring our compatriots back safely!

"We were born in Celestia and raised in Celestia. We must remember one thing: only when the people exist can the nation exist!

"Today, I wish all the warriors participating in this operation: may your journey be smooth, and may every one of you return safely!"

The moment the broadcast ended, the blood of everyone in the plaza was ignited by these words. An intense will to fight surged in their hearts, and their faces were etched with absolute determination.

Meanwhile, backstage in the command building, the smile on Kieran Keith’s face instantly froze. He tightly gripped the mobilization speech cue cards in his hand.

"Damn it!" he thought. "They actually cut off my mobilization speech! That muscle-headed old fool is so afraid I’ll win the people’s hearts that he’s shamelessly playing these dirty tricks!"

He stared at the screen showing the convoy doing an orderly headcount. Anger welled up in him as he forcefully flicked his sleeves, his teeth grinding audibly.

In this rescue and escort mission, Luna Dawson was considered the most precious asset. Francis Grant had sent her three consecutive messages to remind her that no danger along the way was more important than her safety. He repeatedly urged her to lay low and survive at all costs. This was because ninety percent of the rations, tents, medicines, and weapons for nearly ten thousand people were stored in her space.

Francis Grant’s exact words were: "I hope Captain Dawson can just be a quiet, obedient mobile warehouse."

A total of six Space Superpower Users were departing with the convoy this time. Among them was the legendary dual-ability user—Skylar Quinn from the Quinn Family. According to Francis Grant, she had also advanced to the Third Rank, and her space was currently about one hundred and fifty square meters large. They intended to transport as many supplies from the Corbin Safe Zone back as possible. After all, anything left behind would essentially go to waste.

Luna Dawson was curious as to why Francis Grant trusted her so much. Wasn’t he afraid she would abscond with the supplies?

Francis Grant had stated that her Sunset Squad held permanent residency rights for two top-tier villas in the base and possessed several million points in savings. With such substantial net worth, he implicitly trusted Captain Dawson and her family’s loyalty.

Aside from Luna Dawson, who was stationed in the middle section of the convoy with Kyle Keith, three of the Space Superpower Users were positioned at the front. Skylar Quinn even rode in the same vehicle as Kyle Keith, literally never leaving his side. The other two Space Superpower Users and Dylan DuPont were in charge of the supplies at the rear of the convoy.

Luna didn’t know many people. While they were assembling, she looked around and spotted Susan Vaughn sitting in the second vehicle of Kyle Keith’s fleet. Somewhat strangely, she didn’t see the loyal Thunder System lapdog who usually followed Susan around everywhere.

Susan Vaughn’s attention was constantly fixated on Vanessa Stone, who was beside Kyle Keith. She completely failed to notice Luna Dawson’s creepy, lingering smile aimed in her direction.

As Luna glanced around, she was somewhat surprised to see a female captain from the Special Operations Team whom she had met at the command center. Her name was Yvonne Ford. Yvonne’s squad, along with a formation of soldiers, had just filled up a military transport truck. Seeing Luna looking her way, Yvonne waved and smiled in greeting. Luna smiled back and nodded in acknowledgment.

Many other Superpower Users who weren’t participating in this mission stood around the plaza, watching the spectacle. In their eyes, all that talk of national duty was absolute bullshit. They only needed to look out for their own lives. Luna completely understood. In such extreme conditions, only the well-prepared government still had the capacity to care for the masses.

With their whole family mobilized this time, Aaron Palmer and Wayne Dawson had specifically brought two boxes of self-heating rice to bribe Finn Pierce’s squad and Owen Quinn’s family, asking them to help look after their villas. The two men had initially refused to accept the gifts no matter what. It was only after Wayne and Aaron made some forceful remarks that they reluctantly took them. After all, there were still official squads carrying out small-scale rescues outside, and their two empty villas were quite eye-catching. Luna didn’t want anyone getting ideas about her houses.

What she didn’t know, however, was that right after they left, a sleek, glossy White Cat cheerfully moved into the adjacent Villa 102, dragging along an Aberrant Beast it had hunted.

As they were preparing to depart, Francis Grant and Kyle Keith came over one after another to greet Luna. When the two men ran into each other, their interaction was harmonious and warm. They didn’t show the slightest hint of the rumored ideological conflict and power struggle between Elder Grant and Elder Kessler. Watching them, Luna wanted to hand them both an Oscar on the spot.

After a lengthy period of organization, they finally set out around nine o’clock.

The convoy officially merged onto the mission route. Through the windows, everyone saw a road that had been cleared in advance, wide enough for four or five trucks to travel side by side. They couldn’t help but marvel, "Damn, the state apparatus is incredible!"

Even though everyone was sitting safely inside the vehicles, the howling wind still felt like a pervasive ghost, seeping in through the cracks in the bodywork. It carried a biting chill that pierced right down to their bones, causing many to instinctively wrap their clothes tighter around themselves.

The branches and leaves of the giant trees lining the road were blown lopsided by the wind. Some bizarre creeping vines wrapped tightly around the trunks, forcibly shaped into fixed curves by the gales. Occasionally, shards of ice and icicles that had formed on the branches would fall, hitting the roofs of the cars with a heavy THUD. In the silent journey, the sounds were exceptionally clear.

Due to the slippery, snow-covered roads, combined with the potholes left by previous battles, the convoy had to maintain a tight formation throughout the trip. They also had to stop from time to time to collectively dispatch ambushing mutated animals and zombies, making their progress incredibly slow.

"Fuck me! At this speed, when are we ever going to reach Corbin?" Aaron Palmer exclaimed, looking at their crawling pace of barely twenty miles an hour.

Lynn Shelby frowned. "At this rate, it’ll take about a week."

"Just treat it as collecting Crystal Cores. We’re just passing time anyway," Kevin Keane chimed in. He had recently upgraded his flight ability to the Second Order.

Right now, their squad was in dire need of Crystal Cores, especially High-level Crystal Cores. Only by obtaining Fourth-stage Crystal Cores could they continue to push for advancements. The gap between the Third Rank and Fourth Rank was an incredibly difficult chasm to cross.

"I feel like these few Crystal Cores in my hand are a bit different," Luna spoke up at this moment. Six Crystal Cores lay quietly in the palm of her hand—four Second Order ones and two Fourth Rank ones. The transparent crystals contained hair-thin, cyan-blue streaks that resembled rutilated quartz.

The group picked them up and held them against the sunlight to get a better look.

"I’m guessing these are Crystal Cores with corrosive acid properties. You can try absorbing them," Kevin said, looking down at the focused Luna beside him.

"That’s my guess, too. Once my superpower mastery becomes fully proficient and reaches the Third-stage Peak, I’ll give it a try." Luna stored the Crystal Cores away as if they were precious treasures.

"Boss, why don’t you brainwash the leaders a bit? They definitely have Fourth-stage Crystal Cores over there. After all, Third and Fourth Rank beings can still be injured by heavy firearms," Lynn Shelby said, looking at a forum post which featured several reports about the bombing of no man’s lands that had already been fully evacuated.

Aaron Palmer was very excited. "Yeah, I saw that those two second-generation young masters were taking pretty good care of us."

Luna said helplessly, "Even if we sold you guys, or sold me, let’s see if they’d be willing to trade. Such precious items? It’ll probably be tough."

Everyone was speechless.

"A lot of important supplies need to be transferred into the base. We can take on this kind of major mission and use it as leverage to negotiate with the higher-ups." Kevin’s words were slightly more reliable.

Luna thought about it and agreed. "Let’s perform exceptionally well on this mission, then. That way, we’ll have grounds to negotiate with them later."

"Understood."

Along the way, the group didn’t even get a chance to make a move. The reality was a far cry from their adrenaline-pumping fantasies of slaughtering enemies in all directions.

Just as they were passing through a large town, they encountered a small zombie horde, but it was completely mowed down by the military’s heavy machine guns. Fortunately, Little Sweet Potato’s vines were incredibly fast. Various vines shot outwards with a SWISH, frantically snatching zombie heads amidst the barrage of machine-gun fire. Only then did they manage to bring back over a hundred Crystal Cores.