Pagoda

When they returned to the study room, everybody started scribbling, typing, and some were discussing. Dean left with Bella and Adelle. They walked at the back of the villa, heading towards the pagoda.

It's a five roofed pagoda, mixed with ancient and modern design. Surrounding it are colorful chrysanthemum flowers. When they arrived at the door, there's an electronic box on the right side. Dean Placed his palm, and the door opened. They were stupefied! So many antiques!

Every floor has a variety of antique collections.

Dean brought them to a room where antique weapons were stored. He pushed something, and the wall opened, leading to a staircase downward. The light lit up when they went down and the wall behind them closed on its own. They arrived at the bottom that has a white room filled with paintings and antiques placed in glasses. Dean stopped in front of a human-sized white dragon in the sky painting. He placed both his index fingers on its eyes.

It shocked the ladies, there's a hidden door behind the painting. They followed him inside another white room with paintings. The door behind them closed on its own again. Dean stopped in front of another painting. But this time it's a golden dragon. He moved his face near its eyes and "Click", then behind it opened.

They were surprised when they saw two men in black uniforms saluting Dean together. Bella looked around and saw cameras on corners and some holes on the wall. Dean saluted back and stopped at the silver door between these men. He moved his face near the door and it opened upward. It leads to a white corridor with holes in the walls. At the end of the corridor, there's another silver door similar to the one they just saw. Dean placed his palm on the electronic box, and face near the door, and it opened.

There's a room with a reception desk. The woman behind it saluted and placed two ids on top. Dean took it and gave it to them, and they entered an elevator. From Bella's observation, the elevator is descending. When it opened, they walked in a corridor with many doors. There were men and women in black who were walking everywhere.

When the three of them passed by, they couldn't help but stop for a while and admire the gorgeous ladies. But Dean's gaze alerted them, so they escaped like they're running for their lives. The girls didn't notice this because they're still absorbing everything they saw.

He brought them to a vast area, the size of five basketball courts. There are still those who are training at this hour. When they walked inside, everybody stopped, there were soldiers who were wall climbing but fell on the foam when they saw the ladies. When Dean looked at them, they woke up from their trance and continued with their activities. Their backs were sweating when they saw Dean's dark face. Looks like they won't be sleeping tonight….

There's also a large area where they practice shooting guns. Dean started teaching Bella the basics about shooting guns, while Adelle's with another instructor. Along with the changes that happened to her body, her memory becomes sharper, so she learns pretty quickly. After an hour, they continued the tour.

He showed them around and together with Dean they entered another room with two metal gates at the right and a window with a glass on the left side. Dean saluted the man behind the window, he pressed his palm on the box at the side, then the gate on the right opened.

The room is full of weapons! Guns, bazookas, grenades, machine guns, etc. Bella and Adelle's eyes sparkled. Dean chuckled. He needs to record the weapons he wanted to bring outside, so he took a pen and a paper hanging at the entrance and only wrote everything Bella wanted to put in space. They couldn't make these disappear and arouse suspicion. Then they went out and entered the gate on the left.

It's another room full of weapons, but with ancient designs and made with modern materials. Swords, bows, spears, sabers, katanas, more samurai, etc. Adelle fell in love with the spear that has a curved double blade at the end. Bella didn't want to put down the samurai that has a pink and black handle. Dean wrote down everything, he left the paper to the man behind the window then he brought them to his room.

Using his palm, the door opened. A small living room with a kitchen and dining table. While the ladies looked around, Dean started brewing tea.

"Welcome to Battalion Base." Dean grinned.

"!!!!!!!!!" Dean pulled Bella to his lap.

"That's why I asked you to tell grandpa early because this place can be our home base."

"I understand, you don't need to explain." Bella chuckled.

"No, I want to. I can show you this even without his permission, but I can't make changes here without him. I'm sorry I pushed you too hard."

"No, that's not true, although you treat me like your family, there are things you must keep secret for everybody's safety. I really don't mind."

"Thank you, baby." he kissed her without minding Adelle eating dog food. Bella blushed, but she didn't resist. Dean sat up when the water started boiling. Bella seated beside Adelle, who was looking at her teasingly. She pinched her side, and they giggled.

A sound was heard, then Dean opened the door. Men carrying weapons entered and placed everything on the dining table. After they went out, the ladies checked them. There are the samurai and the spear they wanted. Bows, arrows, katanas, armbands with concealed knives, leg straps that hold knives and blades. But Bella seemed confused, there were no guns and bullets.

She looked at Dean, he chuckled because he understood what they were searching for. He waved at them to follow him, in the other room, there's a double-sized bed. In the corner, there's a gigantic screen and four smaller computer monitors at the sides. Under it, a study table with a rotating chair, a keyboard, mouse, phone, an electronic device with lights going on and off.

There's a full-size mirror with two ancient paintings with the same sizes on both sides. He placed his palm in the mirror and the hidden door opened. Inside were a lot of weapons, similar to the weapons room.

"You can move everything here, this is my private collection. Next time, I'll fill this room again so you can move them without a problem." Bella jumped, embraced, and gave Dean a long kiss. Adelle coughed, Bella giggled.

She selected two small guns similar to what they used in the practice room and placed them in two leg straps. One for her and one for Adelle. She happily moved everything in space.

They drank tea and continued exploring.

He showed them another enormous area, about three basketball courts. For now, it's empty, but they would use this space for hydroponics farming. Half would be vertical farming and the other half would include fish cultivation. In the corner, they could see ten enormous water tanks that haven't been installed yet, pipes, hundreds of fluorescent lights in boxes, generators, solar panels, etc. It hasn't been long since Dean informed them, but this is how fast they moved. Bella thinks she really made the right decision telling Dean and his family in advance.

He brought them to the mess hall, barracks, laboratory, and to the central control room. They were scanned from head to foot and their information is now recorded in the main computer. They can enter anytime they want.

He also explained some precautions about bringing outsiders. It shocked them to know that the holes they saw on the walls were gun nozzles that can shoot intruders. The long corridor also has infrared sensors that trigger poisons. Both of them shruddled imaging the outcome. But it is also a good thing, making the base more safe.

The primary base will still be exclusive to family members and selected people. The base also has an extension at the south, but the entrance would be at the other end of the property. Giving it an impression of being an independent underground base, but significantly different from the truth.

It is now under construction when Dean informed his Grandpa about the Apocalypse. That side will be open to the public. There will be rooms for the family's loyal subordinates, their families, friends, and other refugees. Zhang's property is very huge, so there will be enough space. This family has overflowing resources, so money is not a problem. Bella feels lucky to have this second chance to live. Although the chaos can't be prevented, she met so many people that could help improve their lives and save more people at the same time.

Bella remembers the rumors about the Battalion base, maybe this time would be different. Plus Grandpa also considered the possibility of assassination, so separating them may change the events.

What she didn't know is that her decision also changed the structure of all military bases in the country, saving thousands of lives….