The group travelled north towards Bolin's demolished cabin. They passed by rivers and lakes as they walked over mountainous terrain. Several hours later, they arrived.
The group climbed down from the mechs. Ed headed for the collapsed wooden cabin and began melting the materials and reforming them back into a functional cabin. It only took a few minutes before they had a habitable dwelling.
"Alright. Listen up." Ed crossed his arms and said towards the group. "This forest is full of mutants and each one has a light mutant core. They shouldn't be that dangerous when wearing an exo suit. Over the next week, we're going to stock up on as many mana-cores as the mechs can carry. Things should die down enough by then for us to take railroads to Florida."
"What are you going to do with me?" The blond soldier questioned, a slight hint of fear in his eyes.
He smiled, "I'm going to make you my week-long experiment while we're stuck here. Lucky you."
Bolin led Terra and Gunther to hunt the rabbits, as he had some prior experience hunting them. Gunther and Terra would likely have to rely on the steam rifles to kill the rabbits, as they were too slow to get close to them. Especially since the exo suit's skates didn't work here.
Ed left the hunting to the others as he created a small basement beneath the cabin. The dark brick walls and dirty floor gave a menacing vibe to those that entered.
The blond soldier was chained to a wall within the basement. He trembled with fear but refused to beg for mercy.
A series of flexible tubes were created from glass by Ed. They were attached to a glass vial for holding blood. He pressed a hypodermic needle into the blond soldier's arm, causing the soldier to grimace. Then he carefully inserted the tube, causing blood to travel towards the vial. The red blood contrasted sharply with the dark surroundings of the room.
A brief moment later, he removed the tubing and frowned. 'The human body takes nearly two months to fully recover after giving blood. That is, if you include the lost elements of the erythrocytes and platelets. If you exclude those, then it only takes a couple days.' He rubbed his chin in thought. 'The mana-powder blood dissolution method made no mention of whether I need those elements or not... I'll proceed with just collecting blood every two days and see if it works or not.'
The days quickly passed. Each day, the other three returned with piles of light mana-cores. Ed occasionally joined them but chose to instead relax within the cabin most days. He occasionally drew blood from his prisoner. The rest of his time was spent reading various types of books or cultivating the mortal dragon technique. Soon, an entire week had passed.
Ed stared at the vials of blood he had managed to collect, dissatisfaction visible on his face. '4 pints. It isn't anywhere near enough. I'll likely need between 36 to 48 pints of blood to dissolve a single grain of mana-powder. Then I can start transfusing it into compatible blood types.' He sighed and decided to just bring the blond soldier back with him. 'I suppose he can have the honor of becoming the 1st official member of our future blood farm.'
It was almost time to leave. The mechs were stuffed full of light mana-cores. They had to be extremely careful to make sure they didn't come in contact with the manullium ingots. It was a ticking time bomb having so many mana-cores near manullium.
The mechs began moving south as they left the forest behind.
"World Walker." Ed's voice rang out over the mana-radio.
"Hmm?" A voice replied back.
"How's the rabbit population now that we're leaving?" He questioned.
"We collected thousands of mana-cores. The population was damaged heavily, but I wouldn't worry too much. Those rabbits grow and breed quickly. I imagine it'll only be a few months before they fully recover to their former numbers."
"Good." He replied. "Next time we come probably won't be until after the war is finished. At that point, we'll build an actual compound and station soldiers there permanently. It'll likely be our biggest source of income in the future."
It took them several days to travel by railroad to Florida. They ran into plenty of mutants along the way, but the mechs slammed straight through them like the trains did. Typically, only weaker mutants would come near the railroad tracks or cities. Most stronger mutants held their own territory within the wastelands. They had no need to risk their lives by coming near human settlements in search of food.
Soon, they returned to the base. It had been nearly two weeks since they left. Gunther returned to guard duty. Bolin immediately began working to teleport in food supplies from Georgia. Ed got to work distributing the mana-cores. Most went towards manufacturing mana-ammunition. However, he saved some for his experiments and a few other projects. Terra followed behind him for some reason, seemingly hesitant to return to her dark room.
Ed headed for the engineering department. Men and women ran around like ants, rushing to complete their various projects. Steam mechs and steam tanks existed in long rows within several warehouses. There were also two of Rupert's odd-looking Hell Bull 2.0 drilling machines. He'd likely only be able to produce a few more before the war began.
He walked past all of these weapons and went into Flair's private workshop. Production of the rail gun hadn't actually begun yet, as several drafts and small prototypes had to be built and tested first.
"How close are we to beginning actual production?" Ed questioned.
Flair bit her thumb, "Soon. It's going to be a tight schedule. A really tight schedule. Also, I'm going to need to build the actual thing in its own warehouse due to the sheer size of it. It's going to weigh thousands of tons. We'll need railroads to even move the thing. Do you really think it's worth it?"
"Yes." He nodded. "It won't be particularly useful during the war, but it's essential for the final battle. It's okay if it falls a bit behind schedule as long as it's finished by then, so keep working on it. I'll drop by to help if you have any particularly difficult sections that need my powers to melt and form into shape."
"Sure." She nodded. "By the way, who's the tag-along?"
Ed glanced behind himself and looked at Terra. "An esper. Not quite sure what to do with her yet..."
Terra fumbled with her hands at being mentioned but continued to follow behind Ed as he left the warehouse.
Next, he swung by the training field. Ray was dressed in full military attire. The black and green colors of Harmony suited military clothing well. Camouflage clothing was already their colors by default. The soldiers wore camo pants, dark boots, and dark green shirts. Each solider also had a Harmony mask, though they were seldom worn. They would be intimidating when worn in mass at the start of the war. They also made for convenient tools. The sturdy mask could deflect weaker bullets. The eyeholes had small pieces of glass but didn't obstruct vision. The mask even had a small filter built in around the mouth and nose for blocking poison gas, though it likely wouldn't be as effective as a real gas mask.
"Yo! Forge!" Ray waved at him. "What do you think?"
Ed watched as the soldiers dropped to the ground, did a pushup, clapped their hands, and repeated the process. They were mostly in sync with each other, though there were still a few stragglers.
"Impressive." He nodded. "I didn't think you could do this much in these short few weeks."
"Heh, this isn't anything to brag about yet." Ray turned around with his back held straight. "LISTEN UP MAGGOTS! Forge has personally come to see our training! Do you think we can show him this embarrassing horseshit?! Get to the obstacle course, now! Anyone who's late is running an extra 10 laps!"
"SIR!" A chorus of voices responded. It felt as if the ground was shaking as the thudding of their marching rang out against the ground. Ed and Ray followed behind the large group of men.
"Will they be ready in time?" Ed questioned.
"It depends on what you mean by ready." Ray responded. "Truthfully, no one can really be ready for war. This is also a newbie army with almost nobody having prior experience. We'll likely suffer high casualties in the earlier stages."
"I see." Ed nodded. "I hate to ask this when they're in the middle of training, but I have plans to create mana-infused human soldiers. Ask for volunteers, but only those that are already a cut above the rest may apply. They'll be missing a month of training as I collect their blood needed for the process."
"Alright." He nodded. "I'll send over the volunteers tomorrow. Dupe already pre-selected some for the limb surgery. Want those ones as well?"
"Oh, right." Ed responded. "Send them over as well. However, I'll send those ones back to you in a couple days. You'll need to provide separate training for them to learn to control their new abilities afterwards."
"Sounds good." He agreed while glancing back at the soldiers running an obstacle course. "RECRUIT!" He yelled at a man that had fallen into some mud. "What in the HELL was that?! Are you trying to embarrass me and the last 7 generations of your ancestors?! GET YOUR ASS UP THAT WALL! NOW! GO, GO, GO!!!"
Ed left the screaming Ray behind, a slight smile on his face. 'I didn't think Ray would be that good. Guess I'll check up on Husky next.' Suddenly, he felt a tug on his sleeve. Terra stared into his eyes. "What... What should. I do to help?" She questioned.
"You want to help?"
"Mm." She nodded timidly.
"Hmm." Ed rubbed his chin in thought. "If you really want to help, then go join Ray's training. You need proper training if you want a more active role here. Otherwise, you'll just get yourself killed."
Terra glanced back towards the training field, hesitation visible on her face. Then, she nodded. "I'll. Do my best." She turned and slowly jogged away from him, her white dress fluttering in the breeze.
'Odd girl.' Ed stared as she left. 'Does she like me or something? Perhaps it's the suspension bridge effect from when I saved her? Or Stockholm syndrome since she's basically been trapped here ever since? Well, whatever. I've got more important things to worry about.'
Next, he headed for the Commerce and Supply division. This was actually his first time coming here. Normally, this division would be responsible for raising funds and making trade-deals with other cities and states. However, they were currently embargoed by the other cities, leaving it as just the supply division for now.
A slightly slimmer and buffer Husky was ordering men around, his face flushed red. Most of the Commerce and Supply division consisted of older men and women who had previously run businesses. From the looks of things, Husky had only managed to bring about half of the division under his command so far.
'Troublesome...' Ed sighed. He didn't have time for internal squabbles. "What seems to be the problem here?" He questioned, interrupting an argument between the two sides.
"Forge!" An older gentleman yelled excitedly. "This is unbearable! This little upstart is trying to take full control of everything! He has no idea what he's doing. I fear that if things continue like this, then our supplies will soon bleed completely dry."
"Nonsense!" Husky yelled. "I know exactly what I'm doing! If you would stop sabotaging me for five damn minutes!"
"Enough!" Ed interrupted. "I have a new department I'm starting up anyways. Those that do not wish to follow Husky's orders may follow me. I assure you, this department is of equal importance to the Commerce and Supply division. It's in dire need of men and women of your talents."
"Really?!" The older gentleman stepped forward excitedly. "I'll join. I've had enough of listening to that trash!"
"Me too!" Another stepped forward.
"Same goes for me." Another joined.
The entire half that had followed the older gentleman's orders followed behind Ed. There were even a couple from Husky's division that left.
Husky looked around at the now depleted division with mixed feelings. On one hand, he now had complete control. On the other, they were now understaffed and would need to do more than twice the work per person.
"Good luck." Ed waved as he walked away. 'If he still can't manage it with this, then I overestimated him. At that point, I'll find a more suitable replacement even if I have to scour the entire country for one.'
Ed led the group to a steam bus. He drove it to the complete opposite side of town, revealing a desolate looking hospital. The windows were broken, and the grass overgrown. Cracks snaked up and down the yellowish walls. It looked straight out of a horror film. He led the group inside.
"What... What are we doing here?!" The older gentleman questioned.
"We'll get to that in a second." Ed replied. "Does anyone here have prior experience working in healthcare?"
"I do!" A slightly plump woman stepped forward. She appeared to be of Latino descent. "I used to work as a nurse. I have a lot of experience."
"Mm. Good." Ed nodded towards her while eyeing the 20-odd people surrounding her. His powers snaked out, causing the walls to melt and form prison bars around them. There was no longer any chance for them to escape.
"What is this?!" The older gentleman backed up in fear. Several others gathered closer to him, prepared to fight if the need arose.
"What's your name?" Ed questioned the Latino woman.
"Mary." She replied, appearing slightly nervous.
"Alright, Mary." He smiled. "Congratulations. You're the head of the new division. The blood slave division!"
"Blood slave?!" Several people repeated in a mix of shock and fear.
Ed calmly walked forward. A tiny surge of mana shot into each individual's brain and knocked them out, causing them to fall to the floor unconscious. Only he and Mary remained. He spoke, "From now on, you'll be collecting blood from these people as often as possible. Classify them by blood type. I'll have someone from the supply division send over rations and other essential tools. I'll also arrange for some loyal soldiers to guard the place."
"That..." The nurse looked back-and-forth at the unconscious bodies and Ed, her body trembling from fear.
"No need to be afraid." Ed placed a hand on her shoulder, attempting to comfort her. "You're not like these useless wastes. You're better than them. They're mere slaves that give you blood, but you're the blood taker, the master of their fates. As long as you continue doing your job, then you'll always be superior compared to them."
"This... This isn't right!" She protested.
"Power." Ed whispered. "Don't you want it? The power of an esper? I can give it to you, but I need a lot of blood to do so. Everything in this world has its price, and your value is so much higher than theirs." He reached his hand forward, gently brushing her long black hair aside, while staring directly into her eyes, "You're practically already an esper. A superior human. Why compare yourself to these slaves and bring yourself down to their level?"
Mary trembled heavily but appeared deep in thought. Plenty of those that joined Harmony had done so in hopes of gaining the power that was promised to them, and she was no exception. She slowly nodded her head in agreement.
"Good." Ed smiled. He fumbled with a small object in his hands. It sunk into Mary's skull, embedding itself within it. He brought his head near hers and whispered into her ear, "I've implanted a mana-battery within your head. Should the blood slaves ever be exposed to be connected to me, then you'll die. But in exchange for keeping this secret, I will soon give you power beyond your wildest dreams."