Ronan nodded, and with that, Medeia and Lucian stepped out of the room, heading toward the cafeteria to check on the soldiers.
Most of them still looked a little out of it, but at least they weren’t panicking anymore. Some even managed small conversations, slowly settling into their new surroundings. Even the soldier who had turned into the Lost showed no signs of slipping into despair again.
Medeia let out a sharp sigh. "Men will always be men." She clicked her tongue. "Just look at those morons, grinning like fools the moment they’re surrounded by women, but the second they woke up and saw another guy, they nearly lost their damn minds."
Lucian let out a quiet chuckle. "Maybe it’s because most of the bastards they’ve dealt with before were men. So now, they’re naturally on edge around them."
His voice turned thoughtful. "But women ... I’m not saying they’re incapable of cruelty, but in a world , they’ve always been the ones who suffer the most."
He glanced at the soldiers again before continuing. "That’s why, when they see the women here looking well-fed and genuinely happy ... their first instinct is to think, maybe this place isn’t so bad after all."
Medeia, "Well, as long as they’re not harassing anyone, I guess it’s fine." She smiled wickedly. "But if any of them do try something, I’ll break their dick and castrate them on the spot."
Lucian let out a low chuckle. "No need to dirty your hands. I’ll handle that."
"Oh? Just admit it—you don’t want me touching another man’s dick."
Medeia blinked, caught off guard by how fast he answered. But instead of pressing the topic further, she let it go. They had more important things to deal with.
"Where did you keep the heads?" she asked. "Let’s deliver the gifts now."
Medeia didn’t even need to open the sack in front of her to know what was inside. The thick, red liquid seeping through the fabric was more than enough proof that Lucian had done an excellent job.
"Should we scatter them around their base?" Lucian asked casually.
Medeia shot him a look of pure disbelief. Was he seriously suggesting they spread severed heads everywhere? She didn’t even want to touch them.
"Let’s just leave the sack in front of their base," she said flatly.
Pulling the Mystic Compass from her inventory, she activated it. "Teleport to ..." She paused, realizing she didn’t actually know the name of their base.
"... Ethan Callaway’s military base."
[Activating Mystical Compass: Teleport to Ethan Callaway’s military base.]
Medeia’s eye twitched. She hadn’t expected the system to use that name too.
[Everyone, please hold on tight.]
Without hesitation, she grabbed Lucian’s hand. In just seconds, they had teleported from the Red Canyon to what looked like a vast desert.
Half-buried buildings dotted the sandy landscape, their remains jutting out like gravestones of a long-forgotten city.
A fallen street sign lay nearby, covered in dust, its letters barely legible. Even so, Medeia could tell, this used to be a populated area before it was swallowed by sand.
Lucian wasted no time pulling her behind the ruins, his sharp gaze locked onto a massive military base in the distance.
The base looked impenetrable, like a fortress carved out of concrete and steel. Massive walls loomed over the landscape, their surfaces reinforced with thick metal plates.
Guard towers stood tall at every corner, each one occupied by soldiers gripping their rifles, eyes scanning the horizon with focus.
Barbed wire curled along the top like a nest of steel thorns, a silent warning to anyone foolish enough to try their luck.
At the front, a massive steel gate stood as the only way in or out, its sheer size making it clear that nothing short of a tank could break through.
Beyond it, soldiers moved in tight formations, their disciplined steps kicking up dust as they patrolled. Some stood watch from above, others inspected incoming vehicles with the efficiency of men who had done this a hundred times before.
The steady hum of generators rumbled from within the base. Even from a distance, Medeia could see the armored transport trucks parked near the entrance, their hulking forms proof that supply runs and scouting missions were a regular necessity.
"So this is where they’ve been hiding," Lucian murmured, his voice low. "Z City... This place was one of the first to fall when the world ended."
It wasn’t just monsters that had destroyed it, the land itself had turned against them. The soil became barren, and relentless sandstorms devoured everything in their path, swallowing the city whole.
"This is part of the X-Zone. Specifically, X-23," Lucian added, his expression dark. "I never thought they’d set up a base here of all places."
Medeia scanned the area, her brows furrowing. Despite the ominous atmosphere, something felt off.
"But... I don’t see any monsters," she noted.
Lucian lowered his head slightly, then gestured toward the sand. At first glance, it seemed still. But if she looked closer—really looked—she noticed it.
The ground was moving.
"They’re hiding underneath," he explained. "Most of the creatures here are insects. They’re small, but if they latch onto your skin..." His voice dropped. "They burrow into your muscles and bones."
The second he said that, Medeia bolted onto him, throwing her arms around his neck and climbing him like a terrified cat.
"Honey, I hate this place," she hissed. "And I really, really hate tiny bugs."
Lucian let out a soft chuckle, easily supporting her weight as if she were nothing more than a feather. "Noted," he murmured, his tone teasing yet gentle. "No tiny bugs for my wife."
Medeia shot him a glare. "This isn’t funny. Do you know how disturbing it is to think about insects crawling under your skin?"
Lucian smiled. "I do. That’s why I’m not standing on the sand." He lifted one foot and tapped the surface beneath him—a flat slab of broken concrete jutting out from the ruins. "We’re safe as long as we don’t step on loose ground."
Medeia let out a long breath. "Great. So we’re playing ’the floor is lava’ with flesh-eating bugs."