Free Web NovelChapter 43: Chapter 43
Lucien remained standing while Evelyn stayed seated beside him.
"You seem to know a lot about these things even though the Black Water disappeared only recently."
The observation made Damien chuckle.
"Oh? Quite an observant one, aren’t you?"
He leaned back slightly.
"The flood didn’t stop information from moving around, at most, it only made gathering it slightly difficult."
"But how?"
"Networking."
Damien snirked before gesturing toward the papers scattered on the desk.
"Not everyone is suited for combat. Some are better at observing, remembering routes, and identifying dangers and returning alive. But before the flood disappeared, all we could rely on was other people."
His finger tapped several locations marked across the city.
"Every piece of information we obtain is from connections the survivors have. Creature sightings, survivor settlements, faction movements and not to mention Mystic Lands."
"And people simply report everything to you without expecting anything in return?" Evelyn asked.
"Not all of them, though some do."
Damien didn’t explain, yet Lucien immediately understood what he was trying to hide.
Influencer.
The talent itself wasn’t responsible for all of this, but the man who used it was.
The settlement, the patrol routes. Even the information network and those survivors below who are willing to listen.
None of those things had appeared because of combat strength.
Surely not because of his E++ combat power.
Lucien scoffed silently in his mind.
But he had to admit, Damien had a specific trait too that allowed him to achieve what he had now.
Leadership.
The talent gave him an opportunity, and the rest had been built through his own ability and his alone.
Raw strength wasn’t the only path to influence, some people could shape the world without using it directly.
Damien, oblivious to his thoughts, noticed the shift in his expression and chuckled slightly, "Looks like you have formed an opinion of me."
Lucien didn’t deny it.
"I underestimated you. You have outstanding skills."
Damien didn’t answer and instead opened a drawer, retrieved a small notebook, and continued from where he left.
"Let’s move to the reason why I needed you here."
He tossed it onto the table.
Lucien picked it up, only to find it filled with supply records, patrol schedules, names, and resource allocations. Everything that was happening and going to happen was mentioned in it precisely.
"We’re a small settlement, fighting ourselves against those factions is nothing more than a pipe dream. So what I want is a temporary partnership."
Evelyn frowned. "You expect that adding us to the group is gonna change the outcome?"
"Who knows? But we can’t stop resisting, right? A man ought to have passion."
Damien folded his hands.
"The plan is simple. You help us when you’re around by working according to what we plan. Information, shelter, supplies will be provided when possible with access to everything we know of in exchange for your power."
Lucien considered the proposal, for even the reason he was standing here was due to the battle that he had survived last time.
Just surviving alone increased my value this much?
He considered the proposal, it wasn’t unreasonable.
Information alone carried enormous value during the early apocalypse and more importantly, he had no intention of remaining in one place permanently from the very start.
Lucien gave a small nod.
"Alright, we’ll join."
The agreement was formalized, though neither of them trusted the other enough for them to completely lower their guard.
But it was more than enough for now.
Damien’s expression relaxed slightly.
"Good."
For a moment, silence settled inside the room before Damien stood up slowly from his chair.
"Come with me, I should show you directly instead of explaining through words."
Evelyn looked confused while Lucien simply nodded and followed behind. The three of them left the office and returned downstairs shortly.
Though unlike before, Damien didn’t lead them toward the entrance of the shopping mall but instead, he headed deeper inside the settlement until they arrived at a quiet corner occupied by several makeshift sleeping areas for the survivors.
People glanced at Damien as he passed, some greeting him with a hopeful smile while others nodded to show respect.
Eventually, he stopped.
A woman sat alone near a wall, looking to be in her late twenties. Her clothes were clean, and so were her eyes.
They were clean, completely devoid of any emotion, and only the emptiness of despair remained in them.
Damien stopped some metres away from her, enough so that she couldn’t hear his words.
"Her name is Sarah and three days ago, her brother joined one of our scouting teams." freēwebnovel.com
Evelyn’s expression changed slightly, realizing it was about the scouts.
"He hasn’t come back. To be precise, not even a single member of that group returned."
"The area wasn’t particularly dangerous either." Damien continued quietly. "And they were only supposed to investigate a section of the northeastern route before returning... but they never did."
Evelyn’s fingers tightened slightly as she looked at the woman with concern and pity in her eyes, though Lucien had entirely different thoughts.
His gaze shifted between the woman before returning to Damien.
Is he trying to manipulate with... compassion?
Damien possessed a talent capable of influencing others, and the living proof of that was this settlement, yet he hadn’t used it even once during their conversation.
Lucien almost laughed.
He’s cautious enough to avoid using his talent directly on me, so he resorted to this instead?
His eyes moved toward Evelyn.
The concern on her face was obvious, and suddenly, the method didn’t seem that foolish. Because unlike simple numbers, people were difficult to ignore.
Damien eventually turned around.
"She isn’t the only one, there are others too."
Only then did both of them notice several nearby survivors watching them from a distance. Some were anxious, others were waiting with something close to a request in their eyes.
Damien folded his arms.
"And this is the actual problem for us now. Because if we don’t identify and neutralize the threat, not to mention bring those people back if we can, we might be facing an enemy we know nothing about."
His gaze settled on Lucien at last as his lips curved upward.
"I was planning to investigate personally with a group of people but then someone as powerful as you arrived, with a team at that."
---
The following morning arrived quicker than he realized.
The settlement had barely begun stirring when several figures gathered near the barricaded entrance of the shopping mall, fully prepared and ready to venture out.
Andrew looked concerned and so did Mark and Emily.
Though Evelyn looked completely ready with a determined look on her face.
"Let’s go." With that, the group of seven moved deeper into the city without any idea of what they might encounter.
