By the time Marcus Monroe gave the signal to leave, Paige Summers had recovered some of her strength. She wasn’t fit for combat, but she could handle simple travel.

She brought Erin Quinn along and caught up with the others.

Martin Warren and Grant Yardley had spent a fair bit of time with her, and both felt that something was off about her expression.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t get any answers out of her.

Soon, they no longer had time to dwell on it.

They left Glimmerlake Base and once again set out on the road back to The Dead City.

This time, the journey was destined to be much harder.

The Flying Eagle team had punched a hole through the city wall to get their vehicles out. Fortunately, the base’s guards were busy with the impending Beast Tide and riots. As a result, they escaped Glimmerlake Base after facing only light attacks.

But that didn’t mean they could rest easy.

No one was chasing them, but they discovered a significant increase in the number of Mutant Beasts near the base. The mutant plants were also unusually active.

The Mutant Beasts were only loitering outside the base’s walls, not gathering or attacking. However, they weren’t so courteous to those who had left the base.

After traveling for less than half a day, the two vehicles nearly found themselves surrounded several times. Just clearing out these obstacles took up a great deal of time. Not to mention, some team members had sustained injuries of varying severity.

The relaxed expressions they’d had upon leaving vanished, replaced by solemn looks.

Just then, Isaac Langley, after pressing his ear to the ground for a long time, gave Marcus Monroe some news.

The Beast Tide... was coming!

Combining observation with deduction, he judged that the Beast Tide’s path included their route back. In other words, if they continued at their current speed, they would run into the Beast Tide’s onslaught even before Glimmerlake Base did. In the worst-case scenario, it would happen within two hours! Conversely, if they turned back, they might still have time to find a place to hide...

Marcus Monroe knew how exceptional Isaac’s abilities were in this regard, so he didn’t question it.

Though he felt their luck was terrible, he had to make a decision immediately for everyone’s survival.

Turn back!

The people from Flying Eagle had more complicated feelings.

Turning back meant a high probability of running into people from Glimmerlake Base. Such a situation would be more than just awkward; it would be dangerous. If Samuel Hughes discovered them, it was highly likely he would take the opportunity to deal with them!

But Forrest Chapman and Claire Chapman were both clear-headed.

Facing off against Samuel Hughes, they might still have a chance. But against the Beast Tide, with just their numbers, there was no chance of survival.

As the vehicles turned around, the leaders of both groups explained the reason to their team members.

Soon, the two vehicles were speeding madly in the opposite direction, one after the other.

Paige Summers seized every spare moment to absorb energy from a Crystal Core. While she had been able to retrieve some of her Crossbow Arrows, she hadn’t had time to collect most of them, so her remaining stock was low. ’It would be too dangerous without my superpower!’

Although they were heading in the direction of Glimmerlake Base, they had no intention of going inside.

According to reports from the team member Forrest Chapman had sent to tail Caleb Yorke, they knew the general direction of the base’s planned evacuation.

Marcus Monroe’s group wasn’t familiar with the terrain, but Forrest Chapman believed the route was reliable.

About five hundred kilometers northwest of Glimmerlake Base was Mount Turol, part of The Argent Peaks.

The temperature in the mountains was very low, and it grew colder the deeper one went. The summit was almost perpetually covered in ice and snow. It had been like this before the apocalypse, but after the apocalypse, the weather patterns changed, making it even colder. The rainfall was also heavy; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it an iceberg now.

Although it was difficult to climb and had numerous mutant plants, the number of Mutant Animals was, by comparison, greatly reduced.

After all, even though they had mutated, it still wasn’t a suitable place for most animals to survive.

For ordinary people, reaching halfway up the mountain would be an achievement. Superpower Users, with their much stronger resistance, probably wouldn’t freeze to death even at the summit, so their safety was relatively assured.

However, to enter the mountains, they needed sufficient supplies.

They would definitely need cold-weather clothing, and plenty of food.

In the cold, people consume more food. They couldn’t hope to subsist on the meat of Mutant Animals there; the quantity would, at best, be enough to satisfy a rare craving.

But for Marcus Monroe and his group, this wasn’t a major problem.

Whether it was the supplies from Dawnbringer Base or the ones they had just acquired, they weren’t short on food. The clothing, on the other hand, was a bit scarce. To save space, they had left most of it for Samuel Hughes.

Fortunately, Marcus Monroe took a look and figured there was roughly one piece for everyone. ’If that’s not enough,’ he thought, ’we’ll just have to "borrow" from someone else we run into...’

So his attitude was still relatively relaxed.

And with a tycoon like him around, Forrest Chapman’s group was also visibly more at ease.

The vehicles headed northwest with even greater determination.

After changing their route, they encountered far fewer Mutant Beasts. The drive was much smoother, and in almost half the time it had taken them before, they had once again bypassed Glimmerlake Base.

The people inside the base had already begun to evacuate.

But due to insufficient preparation, the procession was rather long and drawn out. However, a base guard vehicle followed at intervals to provide protection.

Most people were on foot, but some Hunting Squads were driving their own vehicles, so their two cars didn’t stand out when mixed in with the crowd.

Paige Summers had returned to her normal state by now. Looking out, she felt that Samuel Hughes had at least handled this matter rather well.

’Any base with foresight should protect these common people. After all, how large can a population be if it only consists of Superpower Users? Any kind of production or daily life actually requires more of these ordinary people from all walks of life. What’s more, the disaster will eventually pass. If only Superpower Users are left by then, humanity will probably face extinction!’

’Of course, that’s just a thought. This isn’t something that can be accomplished by one person’s strength alone.’

’The Government is better suited and more capable of doing it.’

Paige thought silently to herself. ’Whether I look at it objectively or subjectively, my time in The Dead City is about up. Perhaps Central City is a good destination; at least it would be easier to find out about the world’s current progress there.’

’Problems have to be solved eventually. I believe humanity won’t just hide away in a corner forever!’