Knowing that Noid was determined to leave, Kaular could only wish him luck.
Noid stayed for one last dinner with the people at the church, then left directly into the night.
"Infinity, check my accumulated points."
"The traveler currently possesses 2637 accumulated points."
"It costs that much?"
After deducting the costs for training, points to buy the 'Rage' potion for each battle, and some other miscellaneous items, he remembered having accumulated over 4000 points. Yet, a single raid had burned through nearly 1500 points, mainly from throwing paralysis grenades.
Exchanging for a flying carpet, Noid traveled along the road, heading toward the city.
The ten-kilometer journey didn't take long, especially since the carpet could fly at 200 km/h. Noid soon reached the suburbs, a relatively open area with many houses built close together.
He landed and retracted the flying carpet. Noid's first goal was to find a community and then slowly inquire about the commissioner's whereabouts. He wanted to find a somewhat neutral community, not one of the gangs. According to Kaular, if the neutral factions still existed, he could find them in the suburbs and ask for their help.
However, neutral didn't mean friendly. They just didn't harm others; anyone who trespassed or intentionally entered their territory would be driven away. To join them, he had to show complete sincerity. If he needed help, he just had to state his request.
The suburbs were relatively peaceful, but the inner city was truly terrifying. Death was a common occurrence there.
Noid was worried about the commissioner's life, but he also knew she was a very resilient person, with a mature and intelligent mind. How else could she have become a leader?
After walking for a while, he saw a two-meter-high fence and a brown sliding gate, possibly made of rusted steel. There was also a watchtower behind the fence. These things were set up to keep people out, not the doom. Whenever the doom attacked, the survivors could only hold their breath and hide, waiting for the doom to leave.
Noid felt a bit emotional; the world inside and outside the front line was truly different. One side was a civilization on the brink of destruction, while the other was surviving in a post-apocalyptic environment.
Noid stored his armor away and changed into a regular outfit. Although Kaular had said that people from neutral communities wouldn't casually harm others, being cautious was still necessary. After surviving in the apocalypse for over ten years, how could anyone's hands be clean of blood?
Spotting Noid approaching, the person on the watchtower signaled for him to stop, which he did. A moment later, the gate was pulled open, and a man and a woman appeared.
"I'm just looking for someone; once I find them, I'll leave."
Noid raised his empty hands, showing he had no other intentions. The two people observed him for a while, and when they saw he was truly unarmed, they invited him inside.
Aside from the surrounding fence, the people inside lived in small groups, with some living alone, using a single house as their home. Since there was no electricity, every house had a campfire in front of it for light.
Eyes filled with apprehension, curiosity, and caution were cast toward Noid. He paid them no mind, following the two people to a house at the end of the row.
Sitting in front of the fire was a middle-aged woman with curly chestnut hair and a weathered but calm face.
"Please sit, what can I call you?"
"Noid."
"Natasha. You're here to look for someone, right?"
"Yes, the person I'm looking for is an elderly woman who looks like this. The time would be around two days ago."
"We haven't accepted any new people for three years, and that's still the case. It seems the person you're looking for isn't here."
After a conversation, Natasha agreed to let Noid stay for a while until he found his person.
It was already dark, and he didn't want to bother others any longer. Natasha said there were many unused houses, and he could choose one. As long as he didn't cause trouble, people wouldn't bother him.
Noid also lit a campfire in front of his house like the others. Feeling the warmth from the fire, Noid looked toward the inner city. Unlike the quiet and peaceful suburbs, the inner city was like a hub of crime and slaughter. With no doom looming over them and no worries about survival, these gangs indulged their savage nature and waged war against each other.
"Alright, time to sleep."
Tomorrow, he would ask if any other neutral organizations still existed. If none of them had the commissioner, he thought he should then venture into the city.
...
"Too old, probably no need to put her in the breeding camp, right?"
"Yeah, throw her in the warehouse. Make sure to put her deep inside; the gangs are bringing in new stock today."
The groggy commissioner woke up to find herself lying in a pitch-black place. With no windows or any light source, she could only vaguely make out that it was a warehouse.
It was very spacious, at least the size of a soccer field.
The commissioner wasn't alone; there were many other people in the same situation. Some were still unconscious, some were awake, and some were chatting. The commissioner didn't talk to anyone, but silently observed and eavesdropped on their conversations.
The people here had all been captured, with the capture times being inconsistent. She carefully listened and learned that some people had been living here for seven months. At certain intervals, a type of mixed ground food would flow down into the trenches that divided the room. To survive, they had to eat that.
As for drinking water, many pipes led down to faucets along the walls, with a very large number of them.
The commissioner observed, and indeed, those things existed.
The most important thing was that from time to time, people in hooded clothes with their faces covered would enter the room and take a group of people away. Occasionally, they would bring a new group in.
According to someone's words, these people had guns and came in large numbers. There had been times when resistance was organized, only to be ruthlessly suppressed with bullets.
The longer they stayed here, with no light and nothing else, the more they degenerated and weakened. The chance of escape was practically zero.
The commissioner showed no fear or panic; she curled up in a corner and began to think about the purpose of this place.
The people who brought the survivors here not only had a large number of people but also weapons and equipment, so they must be some kind of organization. They were feeding the people here for some purpose, which is why they would take a certain number of people away at intervals.
But the fact that they directly shot and killed those who resisted showed that the lives of the people here were not important. They wanted people to be alive, but they didn't care if they died.
It wasn't that she wasn't worried, but she wasn't unable to resist or escape.
She clutched an exquisite card in her hand. This thing had been with the commissioner since she woke up. She remembered that when Noid threw this card toward her, an invisible shield had enveloped her, protecting her from the damage of the mortar round.
"I wonder if he's okay?"
Taking the full impact of a mortar shell, even if Noid didn't die, he certainly wouldn't have had an easy time. While she was thinking, a light appeared in the commissioner's vision as the warehouse door creaked open.