Five days later, the cleanup force heading north formally set off.

Before dawn, trucks began rolling through the city gates, one after another. Each vehicle carried over twenty Superpower Users. A dozen or so of these trucks passed through, followed by several modified military-issue jeeps and two vehicles dispatched by The Government.

Half of these trucks carried members of Sheldon Reid’s Power Corps, while the other half held Superpower Users recruited by The Government.

The convoy followed the cleared road, heading straight due north.

Paige Summers, Lucian Chapman, ten Bloodfall team members, and two of Marcus Monroe’s subordinates were all riding in the same truck.

The region near Central City was still relatively safe. All the mutant plants had been cleared, and though some small Mutant Beasts approached, they weren’t very dangerous. The military trucks faced even less risk, often just plowing straight through them.

As a result, the first day went quite smoothly.

But even so, Paige Summers didn’t let her guard down.

They were in the third truck, and she had chosen a spot at the very back. The protective tarp wasn’t down, so she had a clear view of the outside. Whenever the truck made a turn, she would gaze back at the military jeeps at the end of the convoy.

It wasn’t out of curiosity, but suspicion.

Before they left the city, she had unintentionally glanced toward a half-open window in one of the jeeps, and the face she saw in a flash seemed familiar.

’Sheldon Reid...?’

Honestly, it had only been a glimpse; she couldn’t be sure. Besides, neither Military Command nor The Government had mentioned in their brief announcements that he would be coming in person.

But she still couldn’t shake the feeling.

’If it really was him, why would a man of his rank be accompanying the mission so discreetly?’

Perhaps because she kept looking, the others in the truck couldn’t help but pay more attention to the rear of the convoy as well.

"Who’s riding in those?"

Paige’s group wasn’t alone in the military truck; they were sharing it with another group, the Storm Hunters. There were fewer of them, however, as only six had been selected for the mission. The one who had spoken was Maxim Wendell, the most hot-tempered of the six.

His leader, Storm Captain Connor Grant, replied in surprise, "You seriously don’t know? I heard it’s Orville Yates, the Deputy Commander of The Power Corps."

This was common knowledge, so for a moment, no one refuted it.

After a moment of silence, however, Connor Grant suddenly turned to Lucian Chapman. "Captain Chapman, what do you think?"

Lucian Chapman laughed. "If that’s what they say, then that’s what we’ll hear! To be honest, I don’t know who it is either. All those bigwigs from Military Command have the same grim expression. Once they put on their caps, they all look alike. Who can tell the difference?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the people in the truck burst out laughing.

That’s how it usually was.

The relationship between the Hunting Parties and the military, while not exactly bad, was by no means good. They did undertake missions together, but complaints were even more common. So, whenever they had the chance, people loved to poke fun at the military types as a way of letting off steam.

Clearly, Lucian Chapman knew exactly how to position himself among his fellow Superpower Users. The atmosphere inside the truck grew even friendlier, and even Connor Grant, who had seemed weighed down by his thoughts, cracked a slight smile.

Paige Summers watched from the side, vaguely sensing that Connor Grant’s expression became just a bit unnatural whenever The Power Corps was mentioned.

The events that followed seemed to confirm her observation.

Connor Grant began to use the opportunity to strike up a conversation with Lucian Chapman and the others. He talked about things he’d encountered during his usual hunts, which naturally led to unavoidable mentions of The Power Corps, either from joint missions or chance encounters. At critical points in his stories, he would always try to subtly and tracelessly disparage The Power Corps...

’He must hold a grudge against them...’ Paige could only think.

After listening for a while, she grew impatient.

She didn’t like this sort of thing.

’If he has such a grudge, why cooperate at all? The mission isn’t mandatory. He could have simply not come! Since he’s here, he’s either in it for the high pay, or he has an ulterior motive.’

Not that she was interested in finding out.

Of course, that didn’t mean others shared her disinterest. Lucian Chapman, at least, was listening with great relish.

That night, as they made camp, Lucian Chapman said to her, "This trip out of the city might be more complicated than we imagined. Be extra careful." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"How so?"

The corner of Lucian Chapman’s mouth curled up. "That Connor Grant... Don’t you find the way he talks interesting?"

Paige immediately understood his meaning. "You’re saying he’s doing it on purpose?"

"Definitely. There’s something fishy going on. I’m not sure about the specifics, so let’s just wait and see. I have a feeling things won’t stay quiet for long."

Paige Summers frowned slightly.

Regardless, the first night at camp was peaceful.

The military assigned people to patrol, and so did the hunting party Superpower Users, who had been given the title of "Government Mercenaries."

Among the officials sent by The Government, the leader was a middle-aged man named Sidney Warren. He was said to be a high-ranking executive from the Superpower User Management Office, and his attitude toward Superpower Users was both polite and respectful. For ease of management, the hundred-plus Superpower Users had been divided into five squads before departure, organized by their truck assignments. Each squad had at least one captain. Some, like the one Paige Summers was in, had two: Lucian Chapman was the main captain, and Connor Grant was the vice-captain. Sidney Warren naturally issued his orders, such as the arrangements for the night patrol, through these captains.

Because his attitude was so good and he consulted with the captains, each squad was very cooperative when arranging their rosters.

That’s just how people are. Sometimes, all it takes is a little respect for them to do a job quickly and well. Conversely, without that respect, they grow lazy and lose all motivation.

This showed that Sidney Warren was a man who knew how to handle people.

All in all, the atmosphere among the government Mercenaries was quite harmonious.

Even those with past frictions wouldn’t choose this moment to settle personal problems. To do otherwise would be to make themselves a laughingstock for the other Hunting Parties.

As for The Power Corps, their camp was utterly silent.

They were famous for their strict military discipline.

The night passed just like that.

By the afternoon of the second day, the northbound convoy had left the Central City region, and Mutant Beasts started to become more numerous. They no longer appeared alone, but in small groups, with occasional attacks from large Mutant Beasts.

Here, the battles slowly began to unfold.

At first, there were no problems. It was mostly the Mercenaries who stepped up to clear out these Mutant Beasts. Everyone followed the orders from their superiors; whichever squad was told to fight was the one to fight. Occasionally, there were situations where everyone had to work together. The Power Corps did not intervene.

Evidently, the Mercenaries were quite enthusiastic about these battles.

They could get Crystal Cores without having to turn them in, and as long as they were careful, there was usually no danger. Who wouldn’t be happy with a deal like that?

But gradually, as they traveled farther and farther, the Mutant Beasts’ Levels grew higher, and their numbers increased. To save time, The Power Corps would inevitably have to join the battle.

That was when the conflicts began to surface.