Mo Chen ordered the Nikke troops brought by Syuen to be disarmed and temporarily confined in the dormitory.
The outpost's prison had been destroyed during the earlier battle against the Raptures, leaving only the dilapidated dormitory where Anis and the others used to live before they moved out.
Mo Chen didn't give harsh punishment, merely detaining them for the time being.
After all, they were following Syuen's orders, and Mo Chen didn't want to kill the innocent indiscriminately.
"Bang!"
The door to the operations command room was violently flung open.
Eunhwa strode in with firm steps.
Her icy expression looked as if she had gone from being owed millions to losing everything in one stroke.
The Nikke guards outside dared not intervene, much less try to stop her.
She marched straight up to Mo Chen, her cold eyes boring into him.
"You owe me a favor."
She dropped that frosty statement and turned to leave.
Everyone was dumbfounded, exchanging confused glances.
"Huh?"
Anis jumped, startled, her face filled with indignation. She was clearly unhappy about someone barging into the command room uninvited.
"She's so full of herself! What's with that attitude? She's living here and eating our supplies!"
Mo Chen coughed lightly twice.
"Keep your voice down. It's us who owe her."
After all, without Eunhwa's presence, things would've been much harder for him.
"Us? Who's 'us'...?"
Still fuming, Anis froze for a moment, then turned to Mo Chen, blinking.
"Commander, does that mean... you're going to help me pay off my mortgage?"
"...Absolutely not."
"Pfft! Some friend you are."
"Good friends settle their accounts clearly."
"That's not what you were saying earlier."
As the sky darkened, the sun set behind the scorched hills.
The sun cast its last rays over the charred mountains before sinking below the horizon. The light at the edge of the sky gradually faded, and night enveloped the land. The clouds dissolved into the evening gloom.
Silence returned to the earth.
Mo Chen checked the time—it was about right.
He declined the Nikkes' request to escort him and stepped out of the outpost.
Seeing no one around, he quickened his pace. Moving like a shadow, he vanished into the twilight after a few quick strides.
Meanwhile, ten kilometers away from the outpost, among the ruins...
A petite figure darted between the broken walls, trying to hide.
Covered in dust and grime, her clothes were tattered, her body was riddled with wounds, and she had lost one of her shoes. Her hair tie was missing, leaving her hair a disheveled mess.
Her eyes were lifeless, and she stumbled forward like a walking corpse.
This person was none other than Syuen, CEO of Missilis, one of the three major Ark manufacturers, and the Ark's most prominent and beautiful Chief Executive Officer—an idol to many.
Now, her mind seemed to have stopped functioning, with only one thought echoing in her head: hunger.
She was starving. Desperately so.
Her stomach burned with an unbearable fire.
And she was also parched.
The physical pain was nothing compared to the nightmare-like grip of hunger that clung to her relentlessly.
As a CEO, she was accustomed to the finest luxuries.
Her food came from specially designated plantations and farms. Her clothes were custom-made by the best tailors using the most luxurious materials. Even her water cost tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, per bottle—pristine, natural spring water.
She hadn't eaten or drunk anything for days now.
Syuen regretted everything. Why had she been so wasteful before?
If she had known this day would come, she would have savored every meal, eaten every dish she once discarded with disdain. Memories of the luxurious feasts she used to take a bite of before tossing away a plate made her dry lips twitch unconsciously.
Now, even a bowl of bland porridge would feel like a heavenly delicacy.
But she no longer even had the energy to salivate. Her cracked lips were dry and peeling.
Still, she clung tightly to the empty gun in her arms as if it was the only thing offering her a shred of safety. Huddled in the corner of a half-collapsed wall, she was too weak to move.
Without her title as CEO, stripped of her former status, power, and wealth, she had nothing left. Even the ability to demand the bare essentials of life had been taken from her.
Everything she had relied on was gone. She had never felt so helpless before.
Fear clawed its way through her heart.
Would she die here?
Her thoughts blurred.
Vaguely, she heard the faint hum of Raptures approaching.
But she was too weak to stand.
This was the end, wasn't it?
Suddenly, the sharp drone of approaching Raptures pulled her from her stupor.
"Bzzzzzzz—!"
The sound hit her like a shockwave, jolting her body upright in a panic. She turned her head, terror flashing through her wide-open eyes.
Behind her, countless pairs of glowing red eyes emerged from the shadows.
Raptures!
Somehow, in a surge of adrenaline, Syuen summoned strength from nowhere. With a leap that defied her exhaustion, she bolted forward.
Not only did she run, but she also managed to snatch up the gun she had dropped earlier.
She ran with everything she had, stumbling and falling countless times.
Finally, in the distance, she saw silhouettes against the darkness.
Her heart leaped.
Reinforcements?
Hope surged within her, and she stumbled toward them.
People! She was saved!
Falling to her knees mid-sprint, she collapsed onto the ground, overwhelmed. Days of fear and torment erupted as sobs racked her body.
She was finally saved.
Then a voice rang out, cutting through her despair.
"Tsk tsk, Miss Syuen. I knew you admired me, but I never imagined you'd cry like a baby for me."
The familiar voice froze her in place.
Raising her head, she locked eyes with a man's smirking expression and gleaming white teeth.
It was Mo Chen.
Her body stiffened in disbelief.
Behind him stood two figures.
Her breath caught in her throat.
It was Yuni and Mihara.
Her own subordinates. Now aligned with Mo Chen.
Yuni held a whip in her hands, her expression alight with excitement, her eyes gleaming as she stared at Syuen like a predator cornering its prey.
"Miss Syuen," Yuni cooed, her voice dripping with mockery. "We meet again. I'm so happy. Are you happy too?"
The sheer glee on Yuni's face sent a shiver down Syuen's spine, a deep chill of dread rising unbidden within her.
"She's all yours now," Mo Chen said, waving Yuni off before turning to leave.
"Understood, Commander!" Yuni responded eagerly.
She crouched down beside Syuen, who was sprawled on the ground, and smiled sweetly.
"Miss Syuen, would you like to play a game with me?"
In the dim, oppressive confines of the prison, the air was damp, the floor marked with dark stains of dried blood. The metallic tang of iron mixed with the pungent smell of decay, clinging to the cold walls. Blades, scissors, and axes lined the racks, their edges dulled and stained with the dark rust of blood long dried. The faint echoes of past anguish seemed to linger in the air, a whisper of torment etched into the very walls.
And now, this place had welcomed a new guest.
That night, Nikkes stationed close to the facility reported strange sounds echoing from within.