The convoy came to a stop in front of Fortress Alpha. The motorcycles and the SUV made their way to a spot at the trenches where they could see a metal, extendable bridge over the trenches that would allow entrance.

They should feel lucky because the Phasewalkers had all the landmines they put across the field disarmed for the moment. If that wasn’t the case, everyone except the Mutants in the convoy would be dead already, blown to bits by the precautions of the Phasewalkers.

One of the motorcyclists dismounted and shouted something at the Phasewalker sentries on the other side of the trenches.

“We are representatives of Camp York, here to talk to your leader! Please let us through!”

Aryan watched from inside the SUV as the sentries responded to them and told them to wait. Only after a few minutes did Aryan finally feel the sentries grant them passage and the vehicle he was in started driving across the extended bridge.

“Design the entrenchment to make sure there are limited entrances so it’s easier to defend against most Mutated Animals, which only have melee combat capabilities. These people are really organized.” Aryan said to himself as the vehicle moved. Beside him, Jacob just sat there quietly like the mindless brute he was.

A few of the sentries of the Phasewlakers approached the convoy and started guiding it deeper and deeper into the camp. Gradually, Aryan could see multiple concrete bunkers and watchtowers, all of whom were filled with vigilant soldiers armed with some sort of weird rifle the Mutant didn't believe he recognized. All of them were equipped with helmets and a type of green uniform that Aryan has never seen before either.

These weren’t the standard Guardian IV armors and Defender series Gauss Rifles that were standard issue for the UEC Troopers. These were...something else.

Weird.

Despite the confusing equipment, Aryan could sense a special scent from all of these troopers, given off by the details of how they moved and acted outside of combat. They didn't quite have the fierceness of survivor cutthroats, nor the confidence of UEC troopers. What they did have was a strange purpose of order and determination. The way the sentries stood in vigilance, the way the patrols moved efficiently...these soldiers were levels above most of the York Troopers. Perhaps only his own personal bodyguards could challenge them in terms of the ability to follow orders.

Finally, the convoy came to a stop. Aryan and Jacob got off and found themself facing a tall man. Followed by four other armed troopers, this man was also in the same green uniform as those outside. In fact, only a small insignia on his shoulder differentiated him from all the patrols and sentries outside. It was an insignia Aryan didn't quite recognize.

“Guests, welcome to Fortress Alpha.” The man held out his hand for a handshake. “I am Lieutenant Eric Hemingway. Colonel Hunter has sent me to welcome you and bring you inside.”

The trip Eric and Caity took back to Earth was two days ago. After that, the Phasewalkers have been exploring the surroundings with Companies as units. During that time, they managed to hunt down several other groups of Mutated Animals that survived the onslaught or were never involved in the first place. They even came across a forest made up of Mutated Trees that posed a deadly threat.

Thankfully, it was nothing a few incendiary rounds couldn't solve.

With the recent cleansing, the Phasewalkers carved out a safe area around Fortress Alpha. As a price, 12 more Phasewalkers would never return to their Motherland.

12 more casualties. 12 more grieving families. 12 more names in the Hall of Martyrs.

Jacob, the cocky son of a bitch that he was, ignored Eric’s hand. Perhaps in his mind, only fellow Mutants deserved to as much as touch him. Aryan, however, reacted much more maturely. He gave the Phasewalker Lieutenant a polite smile and shook his hand. Before he followed Eric, he turned to the rest of the convoy. These York Troopers were all ordinary people. Well, ordinary people armed with Gauss Rifles and forged into deadly warriors in this apocalyptic world that wouldn't hesitate to slay any in their way.

“Stay here.”

“Yes sir.”

Aryan's bodyguards answered obediently.

The two Mutants followed this self-proclaimed Lieutenant into one of the many concrete buildings in the settlement. The building they entered was especially well guarded as, unknown to Aryan, it was actually the Phasewalkers' Command Center where the entire Phasewalker High Command resided.

Even so, as he moved, Aryan spotted at least two squads of patrols and half a dozen sentries across the perimeter. All fully armed and vigilant. Right behind the doors of the building was an open hall, an intersection of many hallways. Jacob glanced around curiously, but Eric politely guided the two Mutants down one of the many halls.

Cold air blew over Aryan's face, and the Mutant found himself enjoying the breath. Energy wasn't exactly something Camp York had plenty of, and a large portion of that limited energy was spent on the air conditioning system in Lord Apollo's dwelling, the Sun Throne. Even Aryan could only turn on his air-conditioning so many hours a week.

Huge arsenal, air-conditioning systems, elite troopers...who were these people?

Finally, the two Mutants found who they were here to see. Opening another well-guarded door and walking inside, the two found themselves facing a seated woman. No, a Colonel. Seeing the two Mutants, the woman stood up politely.

Lieutenant Hemingway made the introduction.

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"Guests, may I introduce to you, Colonel Caity Hunter of Fortress Alpha."

The first thing Aryan noticed about Caity was how young she looked. He heard from the two Camp York scouts that the leader of Fortress Alpha was no older than 20, but come on! She looked like she was only 16 or something! For a moment, Aryan thought he was being made a fool of, but he quickly realized there was something interesting about this young girl.

For one thing, she wasn't dead serious, but it was obvious she didn't put everything she felt out in the open like Jacob. She was polite, but not to a point of sounding like she was eager to please the Mutants. She wasn't hostile or aggressive, but her hand never deviated far from her handgun holster. In fact, she felt like a perfect balance. That was what confused Aryan he was truly facing the leader of this Fortress Alpha.

“Welcome. Welcome to Fortress Alpha.” Colonel Hunter said politely.

Jacob snickered, but a glare from Aryan told him to be quiet. Returning the politeness, Aryan greeted Caity before sitting down in one of the seats around the table. Jacob sat down right beside him in another chair. His legs were crossed and placed right on the table, an action that was likely taken by the Tier 1 Mutant to show Caity his lack of respect. Eric walked over and stood beside Caity, who sat down as well and ignored Jacob.

Aryan was the first to start.

“Colonel Hunter. The leader, savior, and hero of Camp York, the almighty Lord Apollo, has heard your message. You seem to be offering an alliance?”

“Indeed.” Caity keenly noticed how Aryan referred to Apollo as Lord Apollo. It seemed like even with his fellow Mutants, Apollo didn't exactly completely consider them as his equal. A potential opportunity of the Phasewalkers. “This is a dangerous world. By ourselves, we can survive, but unless both our factions want to spend the rest of our lives hiding behind our walls, we must seek change.”

She waved her hand, and a Phasewalker sentry moved forward and set down a carefully wrapped object on the table. Caity pulled the wrappings off, revealing a hot dog.

Yep. The food hot dog. A piece of sausage placed between two pieces of bun.

Before Aryan could say anything, Jacob leaped up from his seat, his legs almost knocking the piece of food over. Eric and the two Phasewalker sentries in the room took a step forward in caution, but instead of striking Caity down or something, Jacob went ahead and grabbed onto the piece of hot dog. “This...is this a hot dog?”

“Indeed.” Caity nodded slowly, following the plan Section X analysts came up with. “Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, I can’t give any details, but our faction has a system of food manufacturing still intact today, as well as a way to transport them to this location. We have more food than we can eat, and we are willing to provide them to you.”

“And what do you want in exchange?” The older and more mature Mutant frowned. Even before the apocalypse, there weren’t free lunches.

“Information.” Caity finally showed her intentions.

“Information? What type of information?” The Mutant tapped his chin thoughtfully.

“The location and intel on local military bases, warehouses, armories, labs, and anything else in the region that we may use, hopefully on a map. In exchange for that, we will provide you with a full convoy of, well, anything you and your lord may want that we are capable of providing. If things go well for the first time, we may come up with a long-term trade deal.”

The Phasewalkers had resources. Camp York, on the other hand, didn't. When Liam turned and spilled everything, he described how even the most powerful individuals in Camp York, the Mutants, were running out of food. At the beginning of the apocalypse, they could still track down food warehouses or steal whatever food the survivors had. But a year later, this was no longer plausible. No amount of oppression could make food appear out of nowhere.

If the lords and ladies were in such a position, then one could only imagine what was going on with the 8,000 survivors of Camp York.

The promise of food, even if it was just a single convoy, was something Camp York couldn’t afford to refuse. At this point, the Mutants were already forced to kill the Mutated beasts for food, but it was not only dangerous, but whatever beasts they managed to hunt were quickly devoured by the thousands of needy mouths.

Thankfully, the Alpha Virus didn't seem to be capable of passing onto ordinary survivors via consumption. Otherwise, all would be over. The Mutants would live, but they would be all isolated and alone.

Now, to a normal faction, weapons should be as important as food, but Camp York wasn’t just any ordinary faction. It was dominated by Mutants, and to Mutants, advanced weapons were as many threats as they were assets. Liam himself has never heard of any operation Camp York made after local military bases to help arm the York Troopers. The weapons that York Troopers did have their hands on were gathered from all over the place, most of them from the former military base that Camp York was established on.

Chances were, Camp York would be willing to concede. Trade something they had no need of for something that could fill their empty stomachs.

Aryan sat back, deep in thoughts. It should be a no-brainer, but he saw further than what was on the surface. These people were organized. They had enough weapons and food to potentially be a serious threat. If Camp York indeed provided them what they needed to get more advanced weapons, then they could come back and pose a risk in the near future.

It was a trade-off.

But Jacob wasn’t as patient. The smell of the hot dog made his lips water. As a Tier 1 Mutant, he wasn’t at the bottom of the social pyramid, but he wasn’t that much on top either. He hasn’t had anything this delicious for weeks. This, combined with his mocking view for non-Mutants, prompted him to act in a foolish manner.

“Tell me, girl.” He tilted his head and leaned forward menacingly. “What’s preventing us from killing all of you in this so-called fortress and taking your food? For free!” A vicious smile was on his cheeks, suggesting that he was hardly joking.

Aryan looked up at Caity, curious at what her response would be. Despite the politeness he harbored, the man made no attempt to stop his rash underling. As a matter of fact, he has had this all planned out. If Caity was indeed proven to be weak enough to be intimidated by a single threat, then he might just go for the quickest path to settle things. Why do business when you could just take everything for yourself?

Caity didn't buckle. She knew she couldn’t. Confronting these Mutants was like confronting beasts. Show fear first and you'll die first. “Life is a precious thing.” She said slowly, her tone not much warmer than that of Jacob. “It would be a shame to lose it all of a sudden, for a piece of food.”

Jacob’s eyes turned red at the threat from who he saw as a mere bug. “You bitch…”

“That’s enough!” Aryan suddenly snapped, not because he was a fair person, but because he saw the determination in Caity’s eyes. If they fought, chances were they would meet heavy resistance. There would be a lot of risks. Like Caity said, dying for a piece of food was damn stupid when, as a Tier 2 Mutant, he had so much to live for. Aryan turned to Jacob. “I would go out and cool my head if I were you.”

It wasn’t a request. It was an order. As a Tier 2 Mutant, Aryan had absolute domination over Jacob. He could end Jacob the same way Jacob could end a York Trooper.

Jacob groaned and stood up and walked out of the room as Aryan and Caity continued to exchange words. Neither of them paid any attention to the Tier 1 Mutant, but what neither of them realized was that Jacob would do something that almost destroyed them both.