Free Web NovelChapter 119: Chapter 118 - Relocation
Point-of-View: Neo Cronje
———————————————————————————
"You guys ready yet?" I asked them, as I tapped my foot impatiently.
"You only gave us half an hour to pack all of our stuff up! No, of course we’re not ready yet!" Responded Inoka in exasperation.
Today’s the 1st of July, a couple of days after Dracula had suddenly shown up at this hideout and attacked the Outliers, before retreating out of the blue.
A lot about that incident doesn’t make sense...both Zoraiz and Aurora were certain that Dracula was only toying with them and holding back a fair bit, which he almost paid for, if not the Regeneration ability of Vampires.
Zoraiz said so because he was sure that Dracula attacked him a lot less intensely than he did with Mike, while Aurora could tell because she fought him for a prolonged period of time, and was sure that he wasn’t fighting to kill.
Why hold back against them? Just what exactly was he trying to achieve, anyway?
Another thing, he showed up through a portal...if Chaos wanted to destroy that facility and kill everyone, wouldn’t they have provided him with back up?
Even assuming that he refused any assistance, why haven’t they repeated the dosage on any of our other bases? The Antarctican base is one of the hideouts that’s least known about among Harmony members, only about fifty or so people are aware of it, and anyone who knows about it would definitely know the locations of many of our other bases.
So, why haven’t they attacked any other bases? Why only this one?
Was there even a genuine reason at all? Because from my perspective, the only explanation I can think of is that they wanted to rough up the Outliers a bit, but not kill them...or maybe to test out just how strong each of them are?
Or am I missing something?
Still, I guess that, in the end, it wasn’t a total disaster for us...we now know that Aurora is capable of killing a high level Vampire, regardless of the fact that they weren’t taking her seriously.
If she managed to drive the strongest Vampire in history into a corner, she can probably defeat most other Vampires without too much trouble.
Additionally, Inoka, Zoraiz and Alexis each managed to inflict significant damage onto Dracula...a Vampire’s Regeneration may seem to be unlimited, but that’s only as long as they still have Aura to spare.
In a more drawn out battle, if they could manage to wear down a Vampire’s Aura, they might actually be able to kill one.
And gaining the experience of facing an opponent like Dracula, and surviving, that can only benefit us in the long term. Which is exactly why what happened doesn’t add up.
But there’s also another issue...I had set up Anti-Teleportation Fields over every one of our hidden bases, including this one, of course. And I had skilled Space Skill users posted at each base to maintain those barriers.
I had adjusted those barriers so that I’d be the only person who can portal to and from any of the bases, meaning that it should’ve been impossible for anyone else to teleport or portal into them.
However, the one who’d been responsible for maintaining the barrier around this base had disappeared without a trace. Either he’d been taken out by a spy, or he himself had been a spy.
Anyway, since the location was now compromised, the higher ups decided to move the five Outliers to a different spot. Specifically, a place in Sri Lanka, where Inoka’s from. He didn’t seem to thrilled about going back to his home country though, he looks a bit grouchy and conflicted.
We don’t have a base there, so they’ll be staying in an area deep inside a forest in a city called Matara, with the Dark Skill technique Ward in place to keep away any normal humans, as well as an Anti-Teleportation Field, of course.
I portaled a bunch of recreational vehicles there for them to stay in, while a small base like these ones is built in the meantime, which’ll probably take half a year at the very least.
Aurora seemed excited to return to living outdoors, Zoraiz and Dieter were fine with it too, but the other two were a bit apprehensive about it. But we don’t have a choice, since we have no idea which of our hidden bases are known to Chaos.
Excluding the higher ups and myself, only a couple of other people know about where the Outliers are going to be moved to. So, if something happens this time, we’ll have a much shorter and more accurate suspect list.
"You know, I’m kinda gonna miss this place," Sighed Alexis wistfully, as she set down a box of her stuff.
"Yeah, me too. It wasn’t much longer than a year, but it’s easily the best place I’ve ever lived in. Well, considering that I lived my entire life in a trailer, that’s probably not saying much," Added Zoraiz sheepishly.
"I’ve only been here for a few months, so it’s whatever to me," Shrugged Dieter in response.
"This is really gonna suck...I bet the internet connection will be totally crap," Grumbled Inoka, as he set down the last of his things, packed up in a box.
"Actually, your phones have strong receptors, so you’ll still be getting some decent coverage. And as I mentioned before, the RVs have electricity generators built-in, so you’ll have stuff like air conditioning and refrigeration, and you can charge your devices too. I’ll also be bringing plenty of fuel for the generators, so there’s nothing to worry about," I assured them.
"What about going to the bathroom?" Inquired Alexis apprehensively.
"Well, each of your RVs have relatively spacious shower stalls and toilets, so you should manage just fine. And don’t worry, we’ll have someone else handle disposing of the waste tanks. There’s also a waterfall and stream nearby, you can use that to refill the water supply in the RVs. It won’t exactly be luxury living, but we’ve made sure there’s an at least basic level of comfort. Mike and Kiyana will also be tagging along as overseers, and myself, Liling and some others might drop by from time to time to help with training," I explained...I really want to get this over with, but I guess I at least owe them an explanation to help ease their worries.
"That’s all still a hell of a lot better than my previous living conditions, so I have no complaints," Said Zoraiz in response.
"What he said," Nodded Dieter in agreement.
"Same here, and I’m actually kinda looking forward to seeing what the place is like," Added Aurora sheepishly.
"Well, if the ones who’ve had much worse lives say so, then I guess I can’t complain either," Sighed Inoka reluctantly.
"Goddammit," Muttered Alexis with a grumble.
"Alright, looks like you’re all ready to leave," I remarked, as I portaled all the boxes of their stuff to the site, before opening up a wide portal for them to walk into, "It’s right through here."
"I wonder what this place looks like...," Speculated Aurora with a look of intrigue, as she went through first, carrying her cheetah in her arms.
"It feels oddly nostalgic to go back to living in something similar to a trailer," Mused Zoraiz wryly, as he went in next.
"See ya," Waved Dieter, as he walked into the portal.
"Goodbye, really nice room," Sighed Alexis wistfully, going in.
"Can’t believe I’m going back...well, at least it’s a spot far away from where I used to live," Muttered Inoka, before I let out a sigh and closed the portal as he entered it.
Suddenly, this place feels super quiet and empty without them. I’ll see them again soon, and pretty frequently too, so it’s kinda weird that I feel this way. Well, whatever, I’ll get over it soon enough... fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
———————————————————————————
Point-of-View: Inoka Fonseka
———————————————————————————
Back in my home country, huh...just great. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate the country I was born and raised in or anything, it’s just that I’ve got a ton of bad memories here.
Oh, well, we’re probably pretty far from civilization out here, so I doubt that I’ll see any people, let alone people whom I know.
After I ended up at Harmony, I deleted all my old social media accounts and whatnot, changed my email, and my new accounts are all anonymous. It was my way of cutting off my past.
But there probably wasn’t any point in doing so, to be honest. I doubt anyone, besides maybe my old landlord and neighbors from that rundown apartment building, has even noticed that I’ve disappeared. I had no friends and my family had disowned me, so yeah.
"Hey, this place is pretty nice. The air is so fresh, and it’s nice and cool," Remarked Aurora, as I emerged from the portal, before it closed behind me.
"Yeah, well, that’s because it’s the rainy season. It can get unbearably hot and humid here when the season changes," I informed her, as I looked around.
There were seven trailers spread out in a circle, and boxed in by a tall, barbed wire fence, probably to keep wild animals out.
There was a waterfall behind the trailers, that fell onto a wide, crystal clear stream. I think Neo said that they’ll be constructing the new hidden base inside the waterfall. There was a huge tent by the waterfall, where the construction crew, along with a Space Skill user to maintain the Anti-Teleportation Field, would be staying in.
With the crew entirely consisting of Terra Skill users, plus with Neo portaling in the materials they need for the construction, the base should be completed pretty quickly, but that’s still going to be several months at the very least.
Guess we’re stuck out here till then. Hope there aren’t too many mosquitoes or other bugs out here.
"I mean, I guess it’s nice and all, but I’d definitely rather be indoors," Sighed Alexis, voicing my thoughts.
"Living indoors was nice and all, but I feel more at home like this. And it feels so peaceful here too," Remarked Dieter with a content sigh.
"Hey, let’s explore the area!" Suggested Zoraiz eagerly, looking around in fascination.
Well, at least some of us are enjoying this...
_____________________________________________
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! Don’t forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!
Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.
Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming Chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:
https://discord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP
