Duke gazed through the black-tinted windows of the rear Vanguard with melancholy all over his face. Observing the vast wasteland shrouded in darkness with his sapphire-like eyes, he couldn't help but feel somewhat lost in the silence that covered him.
A lot of things happened since the devastation of New Torrington. He lost his friends and managed to survive the disaster. An unknown system-like program was running inside his head known as the Doomsday Base Building Protocol. And he could summon anything with it.
He fought against hundreds of aberrants alone in a house surrounded by the fiery flames of chaos. He also survived the catastrophe and was rewarded with the Sentinels under his command. Duke bought two armored vehicles named Vanguards and went on a journey to the south.
Obviously, the journey wasn't peaceful or calm as they were chased by hordes of aberrants and, unfortunately, entered the territory of a mutated beast. Luckily, they avoided a trap and killed the mutated beast. He was also rewarded for his achievements, and the Sentinels were upgraded.
All of these took no longer than a day.
Because of it, for some reason, his heart felt empty. Where did this emptiness come from? Was it the arrogance of surviving through tragedies? Was he so bored? No... The reason was simple. He lacked a determined goal.
He wanted to meet his family and survive. But this was nothing more than a dream. It wasn't a goal. Every move he had taken had no correlation to it. All the things he had done were mainly to survive.
Ever since the near-death experience, he had been in a trance for a while. It was somewhat of a lucid experience to have death knocking on your front door about to pick you up. If it wasn't for the Sentinel, he would have died with his guts punctured by that root.
'Did the peace of the settlement make me lose it?' Duke quietly thought to himself. What had recently happened wasn't the first time he met with death. In his long journey toward Goshen County from Denver, death was like his hated best friend.
They would always be together, and he would be an inch away from losing his life. But it all changed when he became a member of the New Torrington settlement. Although it was a far cry from his former life before the apocalypse. It was better than the hellhole he had gone through.
After surviving for months, he could finally sleep in relief without worrying about his life. This illusion probably dulled him more so than he could think. Especially when he could feel his heart trembling from the meeting with death.
'It isn't just the lack of determined goals. It's also about the lack of will to live. I might be surviving, but I'm not living.' Such was the realization Duke made to himself. He didn't want to die, but that doesn't mean he wanted to live. It was a strange circumstance of a survivor not wanting to suffer.
Yet not willing to eternally sleep six feet into the ground.
'After returning to the headquarters, I need to gather myself.' He closed his eyelids and thought inside his head. For now, returning was the priority. Whatever mental problems he had with life in the Dark Cataclysmic Era will be dealt with afterward.
No matter how much confusing thoughts raged inside his head. He reached a simple conclusion. And it was to move forward no matter what. Deal with it in the future. Take care of the present first.
With this in mind, Duke felt quite a relief inside his heart. The internal thoughts of his mind and the confusion it brought to him were problematic. It made him seem ungrateful for some reason. Other survivors might have tried punching him for his thoughts.
'Well, it's not like anyone has to know my internal thoughts...'
Before Duke could continue thinking about it, the radio of the rear Vanguard sounded. It appears that the front Vanguard has something to report to him. He raised his eyebrow and carefully listened to the static and the words emerging from it.
"ZZZZZ! Director, a large structure has been detected a dozen kilometers from our current location. I request further orders about what to do." It was a simple report, but Duke furrowed his eyebrows after hearing it.
Unknown structures were dangerous. This was the agreement the survivors of humanity held. Anything that wasn't recorded or built by human civilization was hazardous to people.
Since the beginning of the Dark Cataclysmic Era, or after the sun's disappearance, records of unknown structures appearing out of nowhere have been heard throughout the settlements. No one knew the reason, and it was often told by travelers. Those guys who can't stay in one spot.
He was aware of multiple settlements within the south of Goshen County. On the other hand, the north of Goshen County was unknown since the city of Torrington was divided by a river. The number of aberrants there reached hundreds of thousands.
No one wanted to go through that monster hellscape. Even the infamous travelers would prefer to go south searching for new settlements than enter the small city of Torrington.
In any case, random structures of unknown origin were dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. If someone wants to survive, one must not let their curiosity get the better of them.
But Duke was expecting the Cerberus Headquarters to be nearby. So, it was somewhat possible for the unknown structure to be it. Though, it was better to investigate first than to regret it later.
'it's better to be cautious than becoming a dead corpse. While it may be the Cerberus Headquarters, one can never be so sure.' He glances upward and notices the arrow pointing directly in the direction of the unknown structure.
"Press on until the convoy is only a kilometer from the structure. It might be the Cerberus Headquarters, but I'd rather not risk entering an unknown building." Duke gave his orders through the radio, which the driver of the front Vanguard gladly accepted.
With his orders, the military convoy of two armored vehicles navigated forward towards the unknown structure. The nearer they got to it, the clearer it became. He could see it with his eyes as it had neon lights flickering now and then. It resembled a dome of some sort.
The Vanguards pierced through the darkened, vast field of wasteland. Its gleaming light punctured through the darkness as if not caring about the ones lurking in the dark. It didn't take time for them to arrive at the predetermined location.
The convoy halted, and the Sentinels observed the structure from afar. Duke used the monocles to clearly gaze at the unknown building. After scrutinizing it for a minute, he was confident that the building was none other than the Cerberus Headquarters.
"Looks like we're lucky, Sentinels. We have finally made contact with the headquarters." He uttered as the edges of his lips rose. The Sentinels turned their heads towards him and understood what their Director meant. It appears that the structure was the Cerberus Headquarters.
Seeing its size and intimidating aura, the Sentinels felt excited despite maintaining a calm outward appearance. The Cerberus Headquarters was the bastion of Cerberus and their Director. It was like the grand cathedral of the pope for the priest.
Since the identity of the unknown structure was confirmed, Duke decided to not waste any time and ordered the Sentinels to navigate towards it.
"Let's go and enter the headquarters. It's been a long journey." He felt relieved in his heart. Leaving the clutches of the eternal night was the greatest thing that could ever happen to him. And the opposite was true. Being trapped within its dark grasp was the worst.
At any rate, the appearance of the Cerberus Headquarters was grand and imposing, to say the least. It stood 30 meters tall from the ground like a towering dome and was 200 meters in diameter. It was clad in metallic black with random flickering lights scattered throughout the structure.
It resembled a futuristic dome of a high-tech civilization, which signified the tech superiority the Cerberus had. This realization made Duke wonder about the secrets hidden under the technological extravagance of the Cerberus. Who knows what kind of wonder weapons dwell under it.
Anyway, the military convoy was about a hundred meters from the headquarters. They were heading towards the bulky part of the structure that seemed to be the entrance. However, the Director wasn't in a delighted mood. His eyebrows were furrowed.
The reason for his change of mood was because of a simple problem. He was confused about how to open the gates of the headquarters. And there was no button or warning from the notifications, making him even more baffled. But he soon calmed down and resolved himself.
'The entrance should open on its own, right?' He thought to himself and wonderfully assumed. Fortunately, he was correct in his assumption, and the military convoy wasn't awkwardly halted. When the Vanguards reached 50 meters from the headquarter's entrance.
The metallic gates automatically opened. These gates were gigantic in size as they stood 10 meters high. Two lustrous beacons beside the gargantuan gates flickered in reddish and yellowish light. It took 10 seconds for the gates to entirely open, and the convoy slowed down.
Duke felt the rear Vanguard going over the hump, and the military convoy finally entered the Cerberus Headquarters. The interior of the headquarters was striking in terms of appearance. It was a vast cargo area with towering pillars 15 meters high scattered throughout.
At the center of the heavy cargo area was a bulky, towering building resembling a pentagon. It seemed to be the transportation depot of the headquarters. There were at least dozens of elevators in diverse sizes plastered around it. They appear to lead to the different floors of the headquarters.
The interior of the headquarters looked like an industrial sector of some sort. It could contain hundreds of vehicles and dozens of freight containers. Though for now, it was silent and empty.
The military convoy parked near the Central Pentagon Transportation Tower. Or the transportation building at the center of the headquarters. The engines of the Vanguard stopped rumbling, and the Sentinels got out of the armored vehicles.
The Sentinels investigated the interior cargo area with scrutiny in the crimson lenses of their gas mask. They never dared to leave their cautious state, even with their amazement at the headquarters. The safety of their Director was their grand responsibility, which they upheld.
They mustn't let their emotions distract them from what dwells in front.
Duke calmly stood in the headquarters's interior and barely contained the astonishment plastered on his face. The exterior appearance of the Cerberus Headquarters was already startling. But the interior seems to not lose against it.
After calming himself down, he glances at the Sentinels instinctively surrounding him and utters with pride.
"Welcome to the Cerberus Headquarters, Sentinels. Break off and head to your stations. Await my call in an hour from now." It was a simple order to his fellow Sentinels. The Sentinels glanced at him and soon followed his order. They scattered from the convoy and calmly entered the Central Pentagon Transportation Tower.
These people seemed to know more about the headquarters than him. He must quickly adapt and understand more about the Cerberus Headquarters. Otherwise, the Sentinels might think of their Director as an ignorant young man.
As the Sentinels left the cargo area, Duke was alone in the vast interior of the headquarters. He then noticed the disappearance of the glowing arrow and raised an eyebrow. Before he could question it, multiple digital notifications materialized in front of him.
| Congratulations! The Director has returned to the Cerberus Headquarters with zero casualties from his precious Sentinels! |
| Salvation Mission Complete! |
| The Director has been rewarded 2x H10 Armored Trucks! |
A radiant silver light gleamed in the cargo area and almost blinded Duke through its piercing brilliance. After a couple of seconds, the blinding light faded, and what replaced it were two giant armored trucks. The trucks were clad in black metal and looked incredibly menacing.
Duke gazed at it with bewilderment and muttered.
"Is this love at first sight?"