Inside the Joint Operations Conference Room of the compound...
Ethan and his team took their seats one by one, facing General Cross and the other senior officers.
Despite sitting across from the former Joint Base Commanderânow the leader of a compound with over 300,000 survivorsânone of them looked the least bit tense.
General Cross had the kind of commanding presence that came from years in power and a lifetime in the military. Most people couldnât help but feel the pressure when facing him.
But not these eight.
They sat calm, composed, completely unfazed.
That kind of ease didnât come from arroganceâit came from strength.
General Cross studied them for a moment, a flicker of emotion in his eyes. Maybe awe. Maybe respect.
It had been years since heâd seen young people who could sit across from him like this and not flinch. Heâd had his doubts before, but now? He was almost certain.
No one could sit through his presence like that without serious power backing them up.
"Ethan," General Cross began, his tone polite, even apologetic. "I want to say sorry for what happened earlier. If any of my people crossed a line, Iâll take responsibility."
He didnât lower his head, but his posture was open, his tone sincere. Whether before or after the apocalypse, heâd always been a man in powerâbut unlike many, he knew how to read the room.
And if these people really had taken down a Tier 9 zombie, then they had the power to flip this entire compound upside down.
That wasnât someone you made an enemy of.
Ethan smiled. "No need to apologize, General Cross. We were the ones who went overboard. We broke the compoundâs rulesâcanât blame your people for doing their job."
"Youâre being too modest," Cross said with a chuckle. "If you hadnât held back, the Enforcement Division wouldâve been a bloodbath. I should be thanking you for showing restraint."
"Haha, then letâs call it even," Ethan said easily. "You mentioned earlier you had some questions for us?"
Cross nodded, his expression turning serious. "Iâm sure youâve already guessed. I want to ask about the Tier 9 zombie. I have my suspicions, but Iâd like to hear it from you directly. That thing was a massive threat to the compound."
Ethan leaned back slightly, still smiling. "No need to worry about the Tier 9 anymore. Itâs not a threat to your compoundâor anyone elseâever again."
The room went still.
The compoundâs leadership all felt a chill run down their spines.
So it was true.
General Cross exhaled slowly, nodding. "I figured as much. Still hard to believe. We always thought the militaryâs firepower and tactical edge would keep us ahead of the curve. But you... just a handful of people, and youâve already left us in the dust. I guess Iâve been living in a bubble."
"Donât sell yourself short, General," Ethan said sincerely. "Weâve just been lucky. Ordinary people canât compare to the militaryâs organization and resources. Honestly, this compound is the most well-run and powerful one weâve seen so far. Thatâs a credit to your leadership."
"Oh?" Cross raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like youâve seen quite a few compounds."
"Yeah, you could say that," Ethan replied. "We came from Starlight City. Ran into a lot of compounds along the wayâsome big, some small."
"Starlight City!?"
The room stirred again. Several officers looked shocked.
"Thatâs over 600 miles from here!" Colonel Mitchell said, eyes wide. "You crossed that distance in this apocalypse?!"
Ethan shrugged. "Didnât have much choice. My buddy hereâhis parents are in Clearford. With no internet or phones, we had to come check in person." He patted Henry on the shoulder. "By the way, General Cross, do you think you could help us find out if his parents are in the compound?"
"No problem." Cross turned to a middle-aged man seated nearby. "Director Vaughn, I want you to handle this personally. Can you get results by tomorrow?"
"Absolutely!" Vaughn said, thumping his chest. "Consider it done."
"Haha, guess some things never change," Ethan joked. "Still gotta know the right people to get things done."
Vaughn chuckled awkwardly. "To be honest, we were already looking into it. But things arenât like they used to beâtakes manpower to dig through the records. Itâs slow going. But donât worry, Iâll have my team work through the night if we have to."
"Appreciate it, Director Vaughn," Ethan said with a nod.
"No trouble at all!" Vaughn replied quickly, almost flustered by the gratitude.
Then General Cross leaned forward slightly. "Right, Ethanâyou mentioned wanting to make a trade with us. What kind of trade are we talking about?"
"Oh, right." Ethan reached into his bag. "I wanted to ask if you have any Tier 1 crystal cores in storage?"
"Tier 1 crystal cores?" Cross exchanged a glance with the others, a bit puzzled. "Weâve got some, yeah. But youâre looking for Tier 1s?"
"Yeah," Ethan nodded. "Starlight Cityâs fallen. There are a lot of survivors there who are still just ordinary people. Without Tier 1 cores, they canât awaken. And without that, theyâve got no way to defend themselves. But we missed the best window to hunt Tier 1 zombiesânow theyâre basically gone. So weâre hoping to get some cores to help them out."
"I see..." Crossâs expression turned heavy. "Didnât expect Starlight City to fall so fast."
He paused, then said, "In that case, forget the trade. Iâll just give you some of our low-tier cores. No need to exchange anything."
"Uhâno, no," Ethan said quickly, waving his hands. "A tradeâs a trade. I canât just take them for free."
He wasnât afraid of people treating him badly. What he hated was when people were too good to him. Debts like that were the hardest to repay.
"Itâs fine," Cross said. "Theyâre just low-tier cores. If they can help the survivors in Starlight, itâs worth it."
"Youâre not even going to ask what weâre offering in return?" Ethan smiled, then pulled out a few Tier 6 crystal cores and placed them on the table. "I was thinking of trading these for some Tier 1s. What do you think?"
When Ethan laid the Tier 6 crystal cores on the table, General Cross and the others couldnât take their eyes off them.
Even Cross himself dropped the whole "just take them for free" act. What Ethan had just pulled out was too tempting to ignore.
Tier 6 crystal cores were the rarest and most coveted resource in the entire compound.
Once someone reached Tier 6, they could advance on their own without needing more cores. In other words, Tier 6 was the graduation pointâafter that, crystal cores werenât essential anymore.
Right now, 99% of the militaryâs Enhanced were stuck at the peak of Tier 5. Every single Tier 6 core was a potential breakthrough. Even someone with Crossâs authority and resources couldnât afford to pass that up.
"How many Tier 6 crystal cores do you have?" Cross asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
"A few hundred, give or take," Ethan said casually.
"A few hundred?!" Cross and the others nearly choked.
Their entire compound had only a few hundred Tier 6 Enhanced totalâand this guy had that many cores just lying around?
That was insane.
"What kind of exchange rate are you thinking?" Cross asked quickly.
"Hmm... how about one to a thousand?" Ethan offered.
"One Tier 6 core for a thousand Tier 1s?" Cross repeated, stunned.
"Yeah." Ethan nodded.
Honestly, that was already a generous deal. Heâd originally planned to ask for a 1:2000 ratio, but Cross had left a good impressionâso he was giving him a friendlier price.
Cross frowned slightly. The rate was fair, but the volume...
If Ethan had a few hundred Tier 6 cores, that meant heâd be asking for hundreds of thousands of Tier 1s in return. That was a massive number.
The compound still had tens of thousands of unawakened civilians. Cross had planned to distribute Tier 1 cores to them gradually, based on their contributions to the compound. They needed a steady supply to make that work.
But Tier 1 zombies were practically extinct now. Which meant Tier 1 cores were a non-renewable resourceâevery one they gave away was one they couldnât replace.
Still... Tier 6 cores were even more critical right now. They were the key to pushing the militaryâs strength to the next level.
Cross thought it over for a long moment.
Then he clenched his jaw, made his decision, and slapped the table.
"Deal."