As soon as Ethan and the others stepped into Clearford’s compound, they were imdiately struck by what they saw.
The place was impressively organized—not just residential zones, but also a hospital, a school, and other essential buildings.
Patrol teams moved steadily along the main road, suggesting that security here was tight and well-maintained.
They hadn’t been inside long when two staff mbers approached.
After verifying their identities, the staff led them toward an office building.
There, they were issued ID cards.
These cards stored personal information and were required for moving around the compound or accessing any services. Clearly, the managent had carried over so pre-apocalypse systems—and judging by how smoothly things ran, those systems still worked. With over 300,000 residents, the place was impressively well-managed.
After getting their IDs, they were taken to collect supplies—basic necessities like food, water, blankets, and clothes.
Then the staff brought them to a residential complex and assigned them an apartnt on the third floor. It had four bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. The place was clean and comfortable.
Before leaving, one of the staff mbers assured Henry that if there was any news about his parents, they’d be notified imdiately.
All in all, the compound’s environnt, service, and efficiency were top-notch. Whether that was because of the newcors’ strength or just standard treatnt for everyone, it was hard to say.
But one thing was clear: people here seed to be living pretty well.
"What do you think?" Ethan asked once the staff had left.
"Honestly? Pretty damn good," Garrick said. "If I had to guess, the person running this place actually puts civilian safety first."
"I agree," Mia added. "It’s been less than two months since the apocalypse started, and they’ve already built all this? That’s seriously impressive."
Ethan nodded. "Too bad Miles isn’t here. He could’ve learned a lot from this."
"Let’s go take a look around," he said, turning toward the door. "Keep an eye out for anything worth learning from. We’ll report back to Miles later."
"Sure, we’re strong, but when it cos to building and managing a compound, there’s a lot we can pick up here. Miles isn’t a miracle worker—he can’t think of everything. We should help fill in the gaps."
Everyone agreed. They dropped off their supplies in the apartnt and headed back out.
Construction was still ongoing throughout the compound. It was clear this wasn’t sothing built in a day—many buildings were still being worked on, slowly taking shape.
The residential area they were in had a unique layout. Each building was spaced about thirty feet apart, but instead of green spaces in between, there were open, flat grounds—more like training fields than courtyards.
Sure enough, several squads of Enhanced were down there, running drills and training hard.
Train hard now, so you don’t bleed later.
In the apocalypse, every day could bring a fight. For these Enhanced, every trip outside the walls was a gamble. No one could say for sure if they’d make it back.
The only thing they could do was train—train hard enough to give themselves a better shot at surviving.
Watching the sweat-drenched Enhanced below, Chris let out a low whistle. "Our compound’s Enhanced don’t train this hard."
"It’s different," Ethan said seriously. "Back ho, Miles sends our Enhanced straight into real combat—clearing out zombies. But here, the military’s already cleaned up most of the undead. These guys probably only go out to scavenge, so they don’t get as many chances to fight. That’s why they train more."
"Training helps, sure. But nothing beats real combat when it cos to leveling up."
That was sothing they all knew firsthand.
They’d started out as college students with zero combat experience. But after countless battles, they’d picked up techniques and instincts the hard way.
Even if their raw power wasn’t the highest, their real-world experience put them ahead of most. They’d fought their way through every step of this apocalypse.
They didn’t interrupt the training below and kept walking.
Soon, they reached a bustling area.
It looked like a free market—almost like a pedestrian street.
People had laid out all kinds of goods on the ground: clothes, books, toothpaste, toothbrushes, kids’ toys—you na it.
After asking around, they learned that most of this stuff ca from military scavenging runs. After clearing out zombies and collecting food, the military left behind anything they didn’t need. So Awakened would go back, pick up the leftovers, and bring them here to sell for a bit of cash.
Turns out, Enhanced actually needed money more than regular folks.
Why? Because they had to buy crystal cores from the military—and the higher the Tier, the more expensive it got.
After taking it all in, Ethan couldn’t help but admire the compound’s leadership.
The person in charge clearly knew what they were doing.
Instead of pulling every Enhanced into their ranks, they gave them space—freedom to operate on their own.
If they’d tried to recruit them all directly, they’d have to feed and manage them too. But by giving them autonomy and controlling just one key resource—the crystal cores—they’d created a system where the Enhanced had to fend for themselves.
And they did, going out every day to scavenge supplies and bring them back to the compound. That alone saved the leadership a ton of effort.
"Smart," Ethan muttered, impressed. "Really smart."
They kept walking.
When they reached the hospital, they found a long line stretching out the door.
No surprise there. In this world, hospitals were always packed. Not every team had a Healer.
In fact, Ethan had only ever seen one—Henry. No one else they’d t had a healing-type ability.
Which ant those powers were insanely rare.
After asking around, they learned that the hospital wasn’t entirely free. Regular civilians got treatnt at no cost, but Enhanced had to pay. Still, the fees weren’t outrageous—most could afford it.
That detail helped Ethan piece together the bigger picture.
The compound gave Enhanced a lot of freedom, sure—but they were still very much part of the system.
It was a mutual arrangent. The Enhanced needed the compound for crystal cores and dical care. The compound needed them to bring in supplies.
With over 300,000 people living here, and no way to restart full-scale production yet, the military alone couldn’t et everyone’s daily needs.
That’s where the Enhanced ca in.
Tens of thousands of them, scavenging every day, hauling back everything from essentials to oddities. Those goods eventually made their way to the people who needed them most.
It was a self-sustaining loop—a healthy cycle.
As for food, the compound wasn’t hurting. The military had recently secured a massive regional food distribution warehouse on the outskirts of Clearford and hauled everything back. The supplies they’d recovered were enough to feed the entire population for a year or two.
All in all, the compound’s leadership had done an incredible job.
So much so that Ethan was starting to feel a real urge to et the person behind it all.
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