The news spread through the base faster than Marcus expected.

Not the part about the forest.

Not the flying monsters.

Not even the damaged Black Hawk sitting on the landing pad with claw marks carved into its side.

No.

The number spread first.

One hundred million kinah.

By the time Marcus finished giving a short operational report inside the command building, people were already whispering about it outside.

Some didn’t believe it.

Others thought the crew exaggerated.

A few assumed the entire helicopter team had finally gone insane from flying over cursed forests.

But then Marcus summoned the M939 truck into the main storage hangar.

And the moment the rear cargo bed opened—

Nobody doubted it anymore.

Chest after chest of gold sat secured in the truck bed beneath heavy straps, the lantern lights reflecting off polished coins packed tightly together.

Silence filled the hangar for several seconds.

Then one mechanic quietly muttered:

"...Holy shit."

The co-pilot immediately pointed at him.

"That was literally my exact reaction."

The pilot leaned against the side of the truck and laughed tiredly.

"Yeah, except ours happened while we were getting attacked by flying vultures."

Several personnel gathered around the truck now, staring openly at the gold.

Not greedily.

Just trying to process the scale.

Marcus crossed his arms lightly while watching them.

The amount honestly looked absurd even to him.

One hundred million kinah.

Enough to buy entire districts in some kingdoms.

Enough to fund armies.

Enough to build something much larger than Atlas currently was.

Elaina stood beside him quietly, her eyes still moving over the gold chests.

"...You really did it," she said softly.

Marcus nodded once.

"We did."

The co-pilot immediately corrected him.

"We survived. That’s a more accurate description."

"That too."

One of the younger guards near the truck looked completely overwhelmed.

"Sir... what do we even do with this much money?"

The pilot answered before Marcus could.

"Probably buy more ammo after whatever the hell attacked us in that forest."

"That’s actually not a bad idea," Marcus admitted.

Several of the crew immediately agreed.

"More ammo."

"More rockets."

"More helicopters."

"Flamethrowers," one of them added.

Everyone looked at him.

The crewman shrugged.

"What? You saw the tree monsters."

Fair point.

Marcus shook his head slightly before looking toward the gathered personnel.

"Secure the payment inside Vault Two."

The guards immediately straightened.

"Yes, sir."

Workers began carefully unloading the chests while armed personnel formed a perimeter around the operation. Even inside the base, nobody treated this amount of money casually.

Marcus watched the operation for another minute before the pilot suddenly spoke beside him.

"So."

Marcus glanced at him.

"So?"

The pilot grinned.

"We just crossed the Forest of No Return twice, got attacked by giant killer trees, almost lost the helicopter, fought flying vultures, and came home with one hundred million kinah."

Marcus already knew where this was going.

The pilot spread his arms slightly.

"I think we earned beer."

The co-pilot immediately raised a hand.

"Seconded."

One of the mechanics shouted from near the truck:

"Thirded!"

Another guard joined in.

"Fourth!"

Within seconds, half the hangar agreed.

Marcus looked toward Elaina.

She smiled faintly.

"...Honestly, I agree with them."

Marcus let out a small breath through his nose.

Fair enough.

Night fell over the base several hours later.

The atmosphere had changed completely compared to earlier.

The tension from the mission was gone now, replaced by something lighter.

Relief.

Exhaustion.

And disbelief.

A large section near the mess hall had been turned into an impromptu celebration area. Wooden tables were dragged together while crates became makeshift chairs. Lanterns hung from poles around the open area, casting warm orange light across the gathering.

Someone had even managed to bring out actual music.

Not professional.

Just one of the mechanics playing an old string instrument badly while everyone pretended it sounded good.

The pilot raised his bottle toward the man.

"You suck!"

The mechanic pointed back.

"I know!"

Laughter spread through the area immediately.

Marcus sat near the center table with the helicopter crew while several bottles of beer sat scattered across the wood between them.

The co-pilot leaned back in his chair heavily.

"I still can’t believe we made it out."

"You already said that three times," the pilot replied.

"Because I still can’t believe it."

One of the crew took a long drink before speaking.

"Those flying things were the worst part."

Another immediately shook his head.

"No way. The giant tree with a face was worse."

"The forest healing itself was worse," someone added.

Marcus stayed quiet while listening to them argue.

Honestly—

All of it was bad.

The pilot pointed his bottle toward Marcus.

"Boss."

Marcus looked at him.

"You know what the worst part is?"

"What?"

"You’re definitely gonna make us go back there someday."

The entire table immediately groaned.

Marcus took a sip from his beer before answering calmly.

"Probably."

"Goddammit."

Laughter spread across the table again.

Elaina sat beside Marcus quietly, occasionally smiling at the conversation while the crew exaggerated parts of the mission more and more with each drink.

"At one point I swear there were twenty vultures chasing us," the co-pilot said.

"There were not twenty."

"Fifteen then."

"Still too many."

One of the crew pointed toward the helicopter parked nearby under floodlights.

The damage along the side was still visible even from here.

"Honestly, the Black Hawk held up better than I expected."

The pilot nodded immediately.

"That bird’s a tank."

Marcus looked toward the helicopter too.

The claw marks still bothered him.

Not because of the damage itself.

Because the creatures managed to get that close in the first place.

That mission exposed weaknesses.

They needed better defensive systems.

More mounted weapons.

Possibly dedicated escort aircraft for dangerous routes.

Marcus’s thoughts drifted toward upgrades almost automatically.

Elaina noticed immediately.

"...You’re thinking about equipment already, aren’t you?"

Marcus glanced at her.

"A little."

The co-pilot overheard that and pointed dramatically.

"See? That’s exactly what I’m talking about."

The pilot laughed.

"We’re celebrating surviving and he’s already planning the next mission."

Marcus shrugged lightly.

"That’s how people stay alive."

"...Annoyingly fair point."

One of the guards approached the table carrying another crate of beer bottles.

"From the mechanics," he said.

The pilot immediately grabbed one.

"I love those guys."

The guard grinned slightly before walking away.

The atmosphere around the base continued growing louder as the night went on.

People laughed.

Talked.

Retold parts of the mission.

Some exaggerated the story already.

One mechanic claimed the A-10 "split the sky open."

Another swore the flying vultures were larger than horses.

The co-pilot leaned toward Marcus slightly.

"...By tomorrow, they’re gonna turn that forest into a mythical death zone."

Marcus took another drink.

"After what we saw?"

He glanced toward the distant darkness beyond the base walls.

"...Maybe it already is."

That answer quieted the table slightly.

Because underneath the celebration, everyone there knew the truth.

The Forest of No Return was not normal.

And they had barely survived crossing it.

The pilot finally broke the silence.

"Well."

He lifted his beer bottle slightly.

"We’re alive."

The others slowly raised theirs too.

One by one.

Marcus looked around the table.

The helicopter crew.

The guards.

The mechanics.

Elaina sitting quietly beside him.

People who trusted him enough to follow him through impossible situations.

People who almost died during that mission.

Then Marcus raised his bottle too.

"To surviving."