At the end of one tunnel lay an empty chamber, about 3,000 square ters. Not a grain of food or a hidden pit to be seen - just bare concrete.
Another path led to a slightly smaller space, roughly 2,400 square ters. Also clean and empty, but different. Inside were three large cent pools, each about 500 square ters. No pipes ran in or out. No drainage, no signs of spring water being funneled in. Obviously not built to hold water or for bathing - left only one conclusion: sothing about them wasn’t adding up.
The last corridor ran straight through the heart of the entire underground complex. Here was the nerve center - power systems, air circulation, pipelines. Complete with its own generators and temperature control. A few pieces of gear Magnus didn’t even recognize.
It hit him all at once - this wasn’t just a storage bunker. The whole place might’ve been a fallback military base, a warti ops post. But those three pools and that huge empty room... they still didn’t make sense.
By 6 p.m., every Ice Regint mber had settled in. More than 300 modified vehicles lined the tunnel network. Evan got to have dinner with twenty of his people, then made his goodbyes. Chloe and Isabel were assigned as liaisons to maintain future contact.
Inside the RV lounge, Liana - who’d been running around all day - laid it out: "Magnus, let’s just rest tonight. We’ll sleep in the vehicles. Co morning, we’ll get everyone to clean the place up."
"Works for ," Magnus said, standing up. "Charlotte, handle the night shifts. Get a watch up. We rest tonight, clean tomorrow."
*****
At dawn, on the 27th day since they’d left Ironvale County’s air defense shelter - and three months into the apocalypse - the Ice Regint completed its full move-in.
Magnus took a long pause, letting it all sink in. A force like theirs, after just three months? Even with a second shot at life, even he wouldn’t have believed it. Still felt damn unreal.
Liana spent the whole day working through vehicle inventories. Magnus stayed holed up in the RV’s bedroom, laying out long-term plans - for trade, for logistics, for how to organize tasks and living conditions for his people.
That evening, after dinner, all officers ranked captain and above gathered in the RV lounge. As usual, Liana opened with the numbers:
Headcount:
1,123 people. 911 were Awakened. 652 were capable drivers. 24 could handle infantry carriers. Between 18 to 35 years old, there were 977 won.
Crystal reserves totaled 942 units, including 211 Fire Crystals, 576 Water Crystals, and 155 tal Crystals.
Weapons stock included 1,233 automatic rifles, 1,421 magazines, 1,731 pistols, and 3,317 pistol magazines. There were also 711 grenades and 1,321 combat knives.
Heavy weaponry consisted of 20 shoulder-fired rocket launchers with 19 rockets, 29 Type 02C flathrowers supported by 43 fuel bottles, along with 2 mortars and 45 shells.
Vehicle assets numbered 384 in total: 51 box trucks, 12 fire trucks, 21 sleeper buses, 37 fuel tankers, 21 refrigerated trucks, 1 RV, and 241 assorted others.
Supplies, food stockpiles, survival essentials, equipnt - they had it all. The Ice Regint’s inventory list was growing thicker by the day. Magnus didn’t have the ti to pore over it anymore. He stuffed the notebook away, planning to look at it later, then settled into a single-seat chair and tossed out the topic at hand - grain trade.
"We ca here to do exactly that - sell grain. Don’t think anyone’s got a problem with it. The key is how we go about it now..." Sophia was the first to speak, straight to the point.
Liana chid in, "We did well selling water last ti. I say we tweak the prices tomorrow and follow the sa model. Set up at a crossroads."
Charlotte frowned, thinking. "Crossroads are risky. Folks out there don’t even know what we’re doing yet. I say we start with spreading the word - build the na first."
"I agree," added Emily, calmly. "We need a set of rules first."
After the won gave their takes, they all turned toward Magnus. He glanced over at the squad captains outside the group discussion. "You’ve got thoughts? Spit ’em out. We’re all in this."
They looked at one another until Chloe spoke up. "No objections on our side. We’re just pumped we locked down that underground grain depot. Morale’s skyrocketed. Not worrying about food anymore - it’s a big deal."
"Hell yeah!" Margaret grinned. "The girls are over the moon. Still haven’t fully cald down yet! Honestly, Magnus, we’re good letting you call the shots."
That got the rest of the female mbers in the vehicle chattering excitedly. Magnus glanced down at his watch just as a knock ca at the door. Right on ti, Abigail walked in with Evan and two of his n.
Magnus stood and offered them seats, handing over cigarettes with a smirk. "We were just waiting on you."
Evan shot him a cold glare and grumbled, "Barely made it."
Magnus raised a brow. "What happened?"
"What happened?" Evan growled. "Hell, we just handed over the whole damn grain depot to you guys! What do you expect?"
"You didn’t explain the terms?" Magnus still seed confused.
"Terms? My n asked one thing I couldn’t answer: Why isn’t this a joint operation? Why are we getting kicked out instead of rging the units? Tell - how the hell am I supposed to explain that?"
Sophia cut in without hesitation, "What’s so hard? Just say it like it is - we don’t accept male squad mbers in Ice Regint."
"That again?" Evan snapped, "That policy of yours is driving my few female soldiers to the edge - they’re about ready to jump ship!"
"Then let them. We’ve got a spot waiting for the won."
"Oh, I bet you’d be thrilled."
Seeing things heat up between Evan and Sophia, Magnus quickly stepped in. "Enough, Evan. Look - about your guys..." He flipped open the list Liana had just given him, scanning it. "We’ll allocate more supplies. Ten pigs. Tomorrow, send soone over. Also, twenty cases of liquor, ten cartons of smokes. Take them. Calm your people down."
Magnus didn’t really have a choice. It was a small price to pay - because for his next move in the grain business, Evan’s squad was going to be essential.
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