Chapter 172

Chapter 172

Jake sprouted claws from the fingers of his right hand and made contact with the wall along which he was falling. The tips of his talons scraped against the surface, slowing his descent. The weathered wall bore the marks of his fall, with small fragments of concrete flying in every direction like tiny shrapnel.

The rough surface of the ground met his feet with a soft thud. The impact was light, and he quickly transitioned into a low crouch, scanning his surroundings. There were no signs of movement anywhere nearby. All the bandits were inside the compound, and Jake could still hear the distant sounds of the gang’s celebration echoing from the base.

Jake knew time was of the essence, and he had to act quickly so as not to lose sight of the Skeleton Key. At the same time, he needed to move quietly to avoid detection, making sure the base’s inhabitants did not catch wind of his presence or intentions.

He made his way toward the bandit base, crossing the street overgrown with vegetation that sprouted through the cracks in the asphalt. He moved so carefully and stealthily that hardly any clumps of tall grass were disturbed as he passed through. While he made sure he remained as stealthy as possible, he moved at a pretty swift pace.

As he neared the perimeter walls of the compound, Jake thought that the death knight had made his infiltration into the bandit base much simpler. Instead of using

Gravity Leap

to vault over the walls or

Adhesive Secretion

to scale them, he could simply slip through the gates that the death knight had broken down, creating a gaping opening.

With his

Cloak

raised and his movements quiet and stealthy, he was nearly impossible to detect. As it turned out, he was only partially correct. While his approach would have gone unnoticed by the human eye, the technologically advanced turrets on the watchtowers were able to sense him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted one of the machine gun turrets suddenly pivot in his direction, its barrel seemingly aimed directly at him. He instantly froze, watching the turret intently and prepared to bolt away the moment it opened fire. However, the turret remained silent for the moment. He noticed a small orange light glowing on its front.

Jake realized what it meant. Although he was completely invisible, the turret’s 360-degree scanner must be extremely sensitive, allowing it to detect the slightest air distortions caused by his movements. However, the turret wasn’t yet convinced it had identified an enemy. It seemed to be assessing whether he was a threat or something harmless. He hoped it would lose interest in him if he stayed perfectly still.

For several tense seconds, the machine gun turret kept its barrel aimed at him, the alert light still glowing orange. Then, it switched to green, and the turret pivoted its barrel away from him, returning to its standard position to survey the outside area. Jake watched the turret for just a moment longer.

Getting past those turrets turned out to be much more difficult than he had initially thought. He now realized that the scanners on those turrets were extremely sensitive, capable of detecting him even with his

Cloak

activated. But what if he moved very slowly? Could he avoid alerting the turrets if he slowed down even more? Jake decided it was worth a try.

He continued to advance toward the base, moving much slower than before, stealthily approaching the opening where the gates had once been. This time, he made sure not only to avoid creating noise and disturbing the tall grass he moved through but also to prevent any disruptions in the surrounding air. Moving so slowly was frustrating, but there was nothing he could do about it. Remaining undetected was his priority.

It worked. None of the machine gun turrets managed to spot him this time. He moved so slowly that his

Cloak

instantly adjusted to his movements, keeping him completely concealed. No disturbances in the air were created by his cautious pace, and the alert lights on all the turrets remained green.

Finally, he slipped through the opening into the bandit base. He took a moment to survey the area before heading toward the center of the compound, where Miller and several other bandits were engaged in a discussion. They were far away, but his enhanced hearing allowed him to easily catch every word they uttered. Stealthily advancing across the base, he focused on their conversation, inching closer to them.

“By the time I return, you gotta have it done,” Miller said, sweeping his arm around the base.

The three bandits standing before the gang leader—clearly his closest subordinates—glanced at the shattered contraptions and structures that had been destroyed by the death knight.

“What if we find that we don’t have enough resources to repair everything?” one of the bandits questioned.

“The fuck you say?” the gang leader snarled, stepping closer to the speaker, who instantly began to tremble in fear. “I warned you about the attack a long time ago. I told you to stock up on resources so we could quickly repair anything that might be damaged. If we don’t have enough resources to fix everything today, I’ll be so fucking angry with you.”

The three bandits remained silent in front of him, eyes cast downward. As Jake crept closer, a thought struck him: he could launch an attack on the base right then. Miller was at level 195, but that didn’t hold much weight on its own.

While Jake was no longer human, he still remembered how the system worked for regular survivors. He was sure that Miller had allocated plenty of skill points into his Constitution, making his body much more resistant to damage than that of an ordinary person from before the Collapse. Still, Miller was merely human, and Jake was pretty confident he wouldn’t have much trouble tearing him apart with

Claws

or beating him into a pulp with

Smashfists

.

However, the weapons Miller wielded must have been extremely powerful, as was his power suit. He wasn’t wearing the suit at that moment, and Jake was sure that a sudden attack could allow him to disarm Miller without any trouble. Many other bandits had survived the attack, but unlike Miller, their levels were significantly lower. Jake was confident he wouldn’t have much difficulty dealing with them after taking care of Miller.

What held him back from initiating the attack, however, was the machine gun turrets guarding the base. He had recently learned that they were extremely dangerous. If he launched an attack, he would need to move quickly. It would cause visible distortions in the air, which would be easily detected by the turrets. They were powerful, and if they opened fire on him simultaneously, he wouldn’t stand a chance. Therefore, before launching an assault on the base, he needed to come up with a plan to neutralize those turrets first.

Another significant factor was the lack of mana in his body. At the moment, he didn’t have sufficient mana to engage in a tough fight.

“Don’t worry, boss,” one of the three bandits said, finally breaking the silence. “We’ll have everything fixed by the time you get back.”

“I’m not worried, you dumbass,” Miller shot back. “It’s you who should be worried if you fail to fix everything.”

“We’ll get it done, boss,” another chimed in, exchanging glances with his two companions.

“Good.”

“What about the key?” one of them asked nervously. “The whole point of doing this mission was to secure the Skeleton Key, right, boss?”

Miller glanced at the key he was still holding in one hand. He looked at it with an expression as if he had completely forgotten about it by that point. Suddenly, he tossed it to one of his men, who managed to snatch it out of the air, albeit clumsily and almost letting it drop to the ground.

“We don’t need it right now,” Miller said. “So keep a close watch on it, will you? Or better yet, put it in the safe. Make sure no one touches it. If it goes missing, I’ll make you regret it, got it?”

“I’ll keep it safe,” the bandit replied, clutching the Skeleton Key tightly in his fist.

“Good. That’s what I want to hear.”

Miller then wheeled around and started across the base, striding toward the parking area. He motioned for a couple of bandits to follow him, and they immediately joined him without asking where they were going or what they were needed for. The three of them got into a pickup truck, and the large vehicle drove toward the exit. It slowed down as it rumbled over the debris of the gates strewn across the ground. A few seconds later, the pickup truck pulled out of the compound and disappeared from sight.

The bandit clutching the Skeleton Key and his two companions watched the pickup truck as it drove away. After a brief moment, the trio turned and made their way toward the HQ. Gliding silently, Jake trailed behind like a shadow, eluding the attention of both the bandits and the turrets stationed around the base. None of the three bandits he was following were aware of the latent danger lurking just a few feet away.