Chapter 52: First Fortress 4 Part 2

The show of force startled the Scavengers. Then fury boiled—someone snatched nearby rebar, aiming for the officer’s head.

The front woman seized the moment, shoving the officer and grabbing her collar, livid: “Holster that gun! This your idea of ‘resources for soldiers, soldiers guard the fortress’?”

The officer ignored the rant, eyes skipping over the group, scanning the room.

The haughty silence enraged them further. More lunged, shoving to let others flee.

In the tussle, the officer’s uniform twisted.

Fed up, she flipped the front woman, pinning three Scavengers with expert grapples beyond the norm. Gun to their heads, she growled through gritted teeth: “The Saint Lord warned—no entering District 21. You don’t value your lives, fine. But don’t make trouble for us.”

The officer’s use of “please” came out sounding unnaturally grating. The Scavenger tried to resist, but the officer pinned them down with her towering frame.

The officer was furious too. She hated running into these rule-breakers the most—always stirring up needless trouble, inciting riots, and disrupting their missions.

With the gun pressed against them, the Scavenger finally fell silent for a moment.

Wild Dog barked twice and circled the office. The place reeked of thick human scents. These Scavengers had even lit fires here to scavenge copper wire, and the acrid smell of burning plastic completely threw off Wild Dog’s search. It found no one.

During its search, the girl who had been standing at the back kept her eyes on the ground. She inched along the wall and slipped away from her spot.

…

An He spotted something rolling to the foot of the table where she was hiding—an oval metal badge, shiny and eye-catching. Even in the darkness, she noticed it immediately.

It was the badge from the young officer’s uniform, accidentally knocked loose in the earlier scuffle. It bore an engraving of forked rivers, with some indistinct numbering below, resembling the Heroic Spirits Society’s emblem.

An He decided to pick it up right away.

This thing likely marked the young officer’s identity. Someone who could stand at the Patrol Squad commander’s position had an immeasurable future ahead.

She might even cross paths with this person again someday.

And that wouldn’t be good. The officer’s nestsoul had already caught her scent—it might recognize her later.

An He reached out at once.

But at that moment, another cool fingertip pressed down on the badge too.

The sudden contact startled them both. In the darkness, they snapped their heads up, their gazes locking in an instant.

An He saw the girl.

More precisely, she saw the girl’s eyes—black as polished ink, devoid of any impurities or emotions.

An He’s heart pounded wildly. She hadn’t noticed anyone approaching at all. The girl moved without a sound.

And now, she’d found them.

Lola whipped out her small knife from behind without hesitation. An He’s first instinct was to press a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture. She kept her hand on the badge and slowly shook her head at the girl, signaling her not to make a sound.

Lola frowned in speechless exasperation. Too naive!

An He had no clue about the temperament of Lower City folk. Here, everyone wore their malice on their sleeve. They survived by being selfish, combative, and ruthless—amplifying their worst traits to seize resources.

Only absolute dominance, like from the young officer, could shut them up and force a moment of quiet.

Lola knew exactly how to intimidate the girl—to keep her from betraying them.

Worst case, the girl might leap up and shout, gleefully summoning Wild Dog. Then these Scavengers could strike a backroom deal with the young officer, trading her out for leniency on their illegal entry.

But An He seemed oblivious to all that.

Lola didn’t put the knife away. That intricately patterned blade hailed from the Lower City and had drunk plenty of enemy blood. One more wouldn’t hurt.

Yet the girl didn’t budge. She kept her finger on the metal badge, watching An He’s face with quiet curiosity.

An He quickly realized the girl wasn’t giving up this shiny prize easily. It looked rare—probably worth a fortune in trades for good stuff.

An He thought for a second, then yanked a thin chain from around her neck and offered it to the girl—Heidi’s gift, the Raven.

From her observations earlier, the girl’s mind didn’t match her sixteen years. She lacked normal emotions, moved with a sluggish stiffness in lookout or flight. Maybe malnutrition’s aftereffects.

Teens like her would perk up more for novel trinkets they’d never seen.

An He trusted Heidi’s craftsmanship. Nothing like it existed elsewhere.

Sure enough, the girl’s gaze shifted to the lifelike Raven. She opened her palm, and An He gently laid the chain down. The Raven settled into the girl’s hand.

After a hesitant moment, the girl’s index finger finally slid away from the badge.

An He shushed her again, forcing the friendliest smile she could muster.

In truth, cold sweat drenched her back. She dreaded the girl suddenly crying out. Blame it on Ninth Fortress habits lingering—she hated killing innocents dragged into this unless absolutely necessary. And this was a mentally stunted kid.

The girl stood, backing away slowly. She clutched the Raven tight, stuffing it into her pockets to hide. She glided silently back to her spot, pressing against the wall again.

She really did move without a sound. With the Scavengers squaring off against the officer, no one noticed her absence.

An He’s heart, which had nearly leaped from her throat, finally settled.

The standoff outside dragged on. The young officer stood at the office door, scanning twice, but missed An He and Lola.

Just then, a Scavenger started wailing loudly nearby, muddling her focus and fraying her patience.

These Scavengers pressed their advantage without mercy, claiming the officer had snapped their arm and twisted their ankle for no reason. They demanded compensation—at least ten pounds of rice to make up for the pain.

The young officer snapped in fury, “Shut up! One more word, and I’ll charge you with illegal entry right now—throw you all in prison!”

The Dyed-Hair Lady cradled her foot and let out a mocking “Oh?” “If we shut up, you won’t pursue it? Give us your word, and we’ll zip it.”

Shameless!

The young officer shot her a glare, taking a deep breath to rein in her rage. Her finger even brushed the trigger.

At that moment, her shoulder comms crackled: “Captain Min He, the Bone Eaters have retreated injured. Do we pursue this time?”

“Hold position—wait for my return!”

Min He left with Wild Dog, wordless. She had bigger priorities than dealing with these cockroach-like Scavengers. Toss them in a cell for two days, and they’d come out just as brazen, cursing Heroic Spirits Society for eating without working. If they didn’t work, this place would’ve been Bone Eater fodder long ago.

The instant Min He’s figure vanished, the Scavengers—who’d claimed broken arms and legs—sprang up. Their faces transformed; the feigned outrage and unreasonable howling melted away.

The lead woman, her expression grave, barked orders: “Move out! Patrol Squad might send more soon. Call it for tonight—withdraw!”

Her tone had flipped entirely, swiftly assigning tasks—who hauled heavy gear, who grabbed sundries—like a true boss.

The Dyed-Hair Lady headed straight for the girl: “You hurt?”

She remembered the damned officer firing at the windowsill.

The girl shook her head and scooped up scattered clothes, trailing the group.

Before leaving, she glanced back toward An He’s hiding spot, lips pursing. In the end, she said nothing and hurried off with the others.

…

“You think she’ll rat us out?”

On the way back to the square building, Lola still fretted. She couldn’t fathom how An He dared trust a stranger.

“Probably not.” An He kept her head down, silent since the Scavengers left.

Part of it was witnessing First Fortress’s irreconcilable class divides—these people surviving in the cracks left her momentarily speechless with helplessness. The two sides couldn’t understand each other; years of rifts had killed communication, leaving fists instead.

The other part: that girl weighed on her mind.

Black-haired, round-faced, Eastern-looking. Her actions screamed an eleven- or twelve-year-old’s mind—less savvy than even Little Bit in Gu Xianqing’s crew. Normally, someone like that couldn’t survive First Fortress.

If the Scavengers were shielding the kid, it clashed with An He’s read on them. None resembled her—no blood ties. Weird. Scavengers scraping by on trash still dragged a “child” along?

“Why not? Got reasons?” Lola pressed.

“Dunno. Just feels like she won’t.” An He recalled those eyes. For a moment, their eerie calm seemed born of ignorance—fearless in innocence?

An He paused, then told Lola: “While you’re recovering in Lower City, keep an eye out for this crew—who they are.”

“You’re that curious about them?”

“Very. Their survival… it’s tenacious.” An He said. “Plus, they’ll notice two outfits missing soon. Better to scout ahead.”

An He hadn’t shed her scavenged coat. They’d need another Lower City run—these clothes lent local flavor.

The pair hustled back to Tina’s square building.

Opening the cabinet, An He found Tina unchanged—stuffed in as before, eyes fixed in the same direction.

Lola, though, acted off since entering: darting glances, words on the tip of her tongue.

After helping extract Tina, she posted up warily by the other pair of cylindrical barrels, scrutinizing their electronic locks.

The locks were dead.

“What’s up?” An He asked, puzzled. “Something wrong?” Wasn’t this just a looted office building by Scavengers?

Lola’s expression turned bizarre, her brows furrowing in that rare inverted V. After a beat, she asked something odd: “Before we left, did you check if those had anything inside?”

An He’s hackles rose instantly. She whipped her head toward the cylindrical tanks.

What? Were they supposed to?