With both sides in agreement, the trade itself went smoothly.
Ethan reached into his pocket and casually began pulling out crystal cores by the handful. In just a few moments, over two hundred Tier 6 crystal cores were stacked neatly on the table.
These were the spoils from their journeyâcores taken from Tier 6 zombies theyâd killed along the way, including those taken down during the battle with the Tier 9. Most of their stash was still with Miles, so this was just what Ethan had on him.
But to General Cross and the others, the scene was borderline surreal.
He just kept pulling them out of his pocket? Like that? No storage case, no protective containerâjust loose in his pants?
And how deep was that pocket, anyway? It didnât even look bulky. Where the hell was he keeping all that?
Ethan didnât bother explaining. He simply looked up and said, "I donât have that many on me right nowâletâs just trade two hundred for now."
"..."
General Cross stared at the pile of Tier 6 cores on the table, speechless.
Two hundred Tier 6 cores. Just like that. And the guy had the nerve to say he didnât bring much?
He couldnât even pull that many from the entire compoundâs reserves if he tried.
This guyâs flexing so hard it hurts,
Cross thought, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
Still, he turned to Michael Harper, the man in charge of logistics and civilian affairs. "Michael, take a team to the warehouse and bring back two hundred thousand Tier 1 crystal cores."
"Yes, sir," Michael nodded and quickly left the room.
Two hundred thousand was no small number. Just counting them would take a whileâheâd definitely need extra hands. Fortunately, Tier 1 cores were only the size of a grain of rice. A medium duffel bag would be enough to carry the whole batch.
Once Michael was gone, Cross turned back to Ethan.
"Ethan, Iâve got to askâwhy are you only trading for Tier 1 crystal cores? Most zombies these days start at Tier 5. Tier 1 Enhanced are barely stronger than regular civilians."
Ethan shrugged. "They were slow to react early on, didnât collect enough Tier 1 cores. Weâve got plenty of Tier 2s and 3s, but Tier 1s are in short supply. So weâre just stocking up for now. If we need higher-tier ones later, weâll come back and trade again."
He kept his tone casual, but of course, he wasnât about to reveal the real reasonâlike the fact that they had the Energy Absorption Technique. That was the foundation of their compoundâs rise, and there was no way heâd let that slip.
After seeing how this place operated, Ethan had already figured it out: when it came to compound strength, unless there were special circumstances, civilian-built compounds couldnât hold a candle to government-backed ones.
And if Clearford was already this well-developed, then the capitalâs compoundâAtlas Cityâhad to be on another level entirely.
Cross nodded slowly.
He was smart enough to know Ethan wasnât telling the whole truth, but he didnât press. Pushing too hard would only sour the relationship.
And with how absurdly strong this group was, making allies was far better than making enemies.
"Youâve probably built your own compound by now, havenât you?" Cross asked, testing the waters.
"Yeah," Ethan said with a nod. "Just a small one. In this world, if you want to survive, youâve got to stick together. Otherwise, the zombies will tear you apart."
Ethan didnât deny it. In fact, he was curious to see how the government viewed independent survivor groups building their own compounds.
General Cross nodded. "Youâre right. In the face of disaster, unity is survival. I fully support capable people establishing their own compounds. It helps protect survivors faster and more efficiently. If we relied solely on the government, too many people would miss their best chance at rescue. Zombie outbreaks are completely unpredictableâsome of our top officials turned overnight, and the resulting chaos crippled our response. Organizing a rescue effort was the last thing anyone could manage."
"Youâre not worried about things spiraling into uncontrollable chaos?" Ethan asked.
"Uncontrollable chaos?" Cross shook his head, then gave a wry smile. "Honestly, before meeting you, I wasnât worried at all. Ordinary people, no matter how tough, canât compare to the military. But after seeing what youâre capable of... yeah, Iâm a little concerned now."
He leaned back slightly, voice calm but firm. "Still, thatâs a problem for later. Right now, the priority is surviving this apocalypse. If humanity gets wiped out, whatâs the point of worrying about anything else?"
He paused, then added, "And with the rise of the Enhanced and the decline of traditional firepower, thereâs no going back to the old world. A new era is comingâmaybe even an age of warlords and power struggles. Not just civiliansâeven local governments... how many of them will stay true to their ideals?"
Ethan glanced at him, a bit surprised.
No wonder this man had managed to build such a massive compound so quickly. He saw things clearlyâsharply.
Cross continued, "So, are you planning to head back once you find your people?"
"Yeah," Ethan nodded. "This tripâs mainly to find family. Once we do, weâll bring them back. After that, weâll keep searching for the rest of our squadâs families. In the apocalypse, nothing weighs heavier than not knowing if your loved ones are alive or dead. No matter the outcome, we have to find out."
Ethan himself didnât have many relatives leftâhis parents had died in a car crashâbut the other members of Fallen Star Squad still had family out there. And since they came from all over, tracking them down would be a long, difficult task.
But it had to be done.
Fallen Star Squad was the core of their compound. Only by giving every member peace of mind could they move forward without hesitation.
"I respect that," General Cross said sincerely. "Not many people still put family first in times like this."
That made him relax a little.
People who still cared about family usually werenât the reckless, power-drunk types he feared. His biggest concern had been that these powerful individuals might abuse their strength and cause chaos. But now... maybe heâd been overthinking it.
After a moment, Cross spoke again. "Ethan, if things arenât too urgent back at your compound, Iâd suggest staying here a bit longer."
"Oh?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Whyâs that?"
"Weâve established contact with Atlas Cityâs compound. Theyâve regained control of a satellite ground station and restored satellite communications. It wonât be long before all major compounds can start using satellite calls. Once thatâs up, youâll be able to ask other compounds for help locating distant relatives."
"Thatâs great news," Ethan said, eyes lighting up. "If we can actually make calls again, we wonât have to blindly search anymore. At least weâll know where to look. Sounds like Atlas Cityâs compound is developing fast."
Cross nodded. "Of course. Itâs the capital. Theyâve got the most advanced weapons, the strongest military units, and some of the most capable leaders."
He leaned forward slightly, his tone filled with anticipation. "Atlas City is already mostly stabilized. Theyâve restarted production and launched research into zombies, crystal cores, mutant beasts, and special energy types. I expect weâll see results soon."
Ethan nodded thoughtfully. Just as heâd expectedâAtlas City wasnât just the political center, it was a powerhouse. The speed of their recovery was impressive.
With a pre-apocalypse population of over seven million, Atlas City likely had more than six million zombies. For them to stabilize and resume production, they mustâve wiped out at least four million of them.
That meant theyâd harvested a massive number of crystal coresâmore than enough to cultivate a huge force of Enhanced. High-tier ones, too.
But there was one thing Ethan was sure of: unless theyâd discovered the Energy Absorption Technique or the Body Refinement Technique, no matter how many Enhanced they had, their top-tier strength wouldnât surpass Fallen Star City.
By his estimate, the ten thousand Tier 5 peak Enhanced in Fallen Star City were already starting to break through to Tier 6. Soon, theyâd have a force of ten thousand Tier 6 Enhanced.
That kind of power would shake any compound to its core.
And with the Energy Absorption Technique accelerating their growth, Fallen Star Cityâs development speed would soon outpace every other compound.
Maybe they couldnât match the sheer numbers of other cities, but in terms of overall strength?
They wouldnât be second to anyone.