“I have a question.” Milo suddenly asked, “Did y’all really discover Julius’ nuclear test site?”
Miriam looked at him. “No, I was just bluffing Julius… His people had been in contact with several particle physicists. But soon after their meeting, those physicists all went missing, including their family members. However, the Panaqua Consortium has never made any foray into this field of research, so we suspect it’s Julius’ own private dealings. He must have his own private nuclear test site.”
“Isn’t favonovel.com part of the Panaqua Consortium? Why does favonovel.com have to defend against his own people in that case? He even set up an independent base of his own?” Milo did not understand.
Miriam explained, “Because favonovel.com knows very well that in the past hundred years or so, almost none of the Panaqua Consortium’s Shadows have come to a good end. A Shadow… A Shadow will always remain as just a Shadow.”
“Oh…” Milo nodded.
So, Julius was probably doing this for self-preservation?
Miriam said, “When we explain it to the others, we’d better say it was Raphael who saved us both. Otherwise, your superpower will get revealed very easily. I’m seriously advising you this time. You must not let anyone know you have the ability to copy someone else’s powers. It’d be too dangerous if anyone found out.”
Milo was taken aback. “Wait, but don’t the Saboteurs already know that Raphael isn’t at Stronghold 109 anymore? So how are we supposed to say it was favonovel.com who saved us?”
Miriam said, “Well, that was a bluff as well.”
“Ha! Hahaha!” In reality, Milo had many unanswered questions on his mind and was slowly answering them with Miriam. “Is Jamie also a member of the Saboteurs? I saw you providing favonovel.com with cover earlier.”
“He’s not a member of the Saboteurs.” Miriam said, “He’s from the Radianz Consortium. The Radianz Consortium and the Skyfort Consortium have been carrying out research and development on nanotech all this while, because they believe nanotech will provide a breakthrough in terms of individual combat prowess. Actually, Julius was right. The Radianz Consortium is also planning to use nanotech to prepare for war.”
“Then how are the Saboteurs and the Radianz Consortium related?” Milo wondered.
“The Saboteurs were created by the first supernatural being of the Radianz Consortium.” Miriam explained, “Actually, the Saboteurs have a complicated relationship with the Radianz Consortium. Currently, the Saboteurs and the Radianz Consortium do not agree on their ideals and have gradually started moving in their own directions. It’s just that the relationship between both parties is a little difficult to make clear. Actually, the Saboteurs were not called such in the beginning. But since that was what everyone called us, we just went with it and took up that role in this chaotic world.”
Milo did not probe too much into the current relationship between the Saboteurs and the Radianz Consortium. After all, it seemed like that was Miriam’s family affairs. However, favonovel.com suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. After all, favonovel.com was just a refugee.
Miriam came to a stop in front of a rock that had a strange symbol etched into it. From favonovel.com pocket, favonovel.com took out a finger-length metal stick and activated one end of it, shooting a flare into the sky.
Milo quietly watched and thought that Miriam must’ve discovered a sign that favonovel.com fellow Saboteurs had left for favonovel.com to send them a signal.
Suddenly, an off-road vehicle rushed out of a narrow pathway with Lilian waving out of the window from the backseat. “Miriam, I’m so glad you’re fine!”
The off-road vehicle, being driven by Jamie, came to a stop in front of Milo and Miriam.
Jamie got out of the vehicle and said to Miriam, “Let’s go back home. This mission was a failure. The hard drive Lilian managed to procure was taken from favonovel.com by that Fatty Eastwood.”
Miriam took the hard drive out of favonovel.com pocket. “Julius’ giving it to the Radianz Consortium, but I think he’s just trying to deepen the conflict between the Radianz Consortium and the Skyfort Consortium. Doesn’t really matter anyway. It’s not like our two families had a good relationship in the first place.”
Lilian cheered. However, they were both more concerned about how Miriam had managed to get out of trouble.
Miriam explained, “Raphael and Milo teamed up and saved me. Raphael is very powerful now, so we had better keep a close eye on him.”
Lilian was startled. “I went to the site of the battle and looked around. How did the two of them combined manage to become such a lethal force?”
“It’s mainly Raphael’s credit. But he’s already heading to Stronghold 178,” Miriam said calmly.
“Oh, we can return home then.” Lilian quipped at Milo, “Hey, Milo, do you want to come with us to Stronghold 88?”.
Milo was stunned before shaking his head and saying, “No, it’s fine. I still have to search for my brother.”
Miriam looked at him. “I’ve got to go now.”
Milo made a noise in acknowledgment.
Miriam said, “After you find Donti and the others, come to Stronghold 88. I’ll wait for you there.”
“Alright…”
Then Miriam hopped into the off-road vehicle. Jamie stepped on the accelerator and the off-road vehicle roared into the distance.
In fact, Milo knew the two of them would eventually have to bid each other farewell. But when adults parted ways, it was always an easy thing to do. Sorrowful goodbyes were only reserved for poets. If they wanted to meet again, they’d definitely be able to.
Milo watched as the vehicle got further and further away. He suddenly remembered and shouted, “Hey, give me a ride if y’all’re going north!”
However, the off-road vehicle was too far away.
Snowflakes suddenly drifted down from the sky. This was the first snow of winter this year and it looked heavier than usual. The snowflakes fluttering down from the sky seemed almost like they were here to clean off the bloodstains from this wasteland.
***
There were already quite a few campfires burning at a campsite in the north. Thousands and thousands of people were shivering in the cold wilderness. The campfires in front of these people were the only thing that provided them some warmth. Even though the Experimentals had broken into the city and gone on a killing spree, there were still only slightly over a 1,000 of them.
Meanwhile, the number of residents living in the stronghold was in the hundreds of thousands, so there were quite a lot of people who managed to escape the siege. Furthermore, the little girl next to Kenneth had also participated in the battle and opened up a path of escape for a group of residents.
Kenneth and that little girl named Julia had gone off to someplace unknown. The escapees had begged for the two to bring them along, so Kenneth told them to head north and find a group of people who rode on bicycles so that their survival would be ensured.
From the sounds of it, Kenneth was playing a little joke on Milo.
The escapees revered Kenneth like a god who had saved them, but they didn’t know favonovel.com was actually one of those who had brought this disaster upon them.
After getting his revenge on the Skyfort Consortium in Stronghold 109, Kenneth did not make any further moves there. Instead, favonovel.com headed off to the other stronghold cities that were under the control of the Skyfort Consortium. He seemed to be planning on bringing down the entire Skyfort Consortium all on his own.
Eventually, the escapees located the cycling group, who happened to be fixing their bicycles after heading north. Compared to Donti and the others who were riding on bicycles and carrying backpacks, the escapees appeared to be in a much more miserable state.
At this moment, Old Bane said mysteriously, “Donti, I found something good that might be of great use.”
Donti looked at Old Bane and asked, “Uncle Bane, what’d you find?”
Old Bane carefully took out a deck of cards. “See this? It’s a pack of explosives!”
