Return (6)

After not having any real food for almost a week, having some instant food was nice for a change. Arnold have selected the MRE with beef stew and a chocolate chip cookie. He opened the packet of the MRE to find a plastic bag inside. He placed the bag of beef stew into the plastic bag and poured water within it. The heat packs from within the plastic bag reacted with the water and started heating up the beef stew. Arnold placed the heating beef stew on the table and waited, taking a peek at the boy.

The boy was already eating. He had chicken noodle stew along with some crackers. He dipped the crackers with the stew to mix the flavors together, smiling as he ate. "Mhmm..." he unconsciously gave out a hum after eating actual food for the first time in a few days. He was too focused on his food to notice Arnold looking at him.

The beef stew gave off quite a fresh smell as he ripped open the packet. The fully hot liquid inside looked quite savoury, much better than the bland nutrition bars he has been eating the past few days. Arnold took a plastic spoon from within the MRE packet and dived in. The hot stew slightly burned Arnold's tongue, but gave him a sense of warmth he hasn't felt in a while. Although the food was not that palatable, it was edible. It also tasted much better than the food he had back home in recent years.

The chocolate chip cookie was also not bad. Although the chocolate tasted quite artificial, and there was a lack in milk content from the cookie, it still stuffed Arnold full along with the beef stew.

After finishing their food, Arnold asked the boy to move away while he moved the dining table and the chairs to the side in order to reach for the trap door below. He opened the trap door with a single pull. The basement below was completely dark, so Arnold had to turn on his infrared vision again. He walked down the stairs to find a rather large operation room. There was a long table in front of him, with many chairs placed on each side. Arnold turned on the light bulb dangling in the middle of the operation room by pulling down the string next to the light bulb. He then found a large topographical map of the surrounding area placed on top of the table.

The solar panels located on top of the barracks made sure the lights would be on for quite a while. As he took a look at the map, he found a red-colored symbol plastered all over the map, representing the safehouses in the area. Their current location was in the safehouse somewhere close to the bottom of the map. Since their safehouse was the furthest away from the base, there were no more red symbols beyond their base. Instead, around a kilometer away from their base, the terrain indications changed from green to blue, signaling the change in danger levels between the two zones.

The map in front of him was almost identical to the map within his head, except that the levels in danger were not highlighted within the AI's map. He had to use his memory to remember the danger levels of the place he's going. Luckily, it is mandatory for everyone leaving the base to memorize the map before leaving to ensure their safe return, allowing Arnold to insert the danger levels into the Andy's map before leaving the laboratory a few days ago.

After finishing their food, the boy had nothing to do, so he came down to the operation room as well. As he looked at the map, he became confused. "Where are we now?" He asked with a naive expression.

Arnold pointed at their location.

"Where's the base?"

Arnold did not know whether he was joking. He pointed at the location of the base anyways. The base was a massive black area located at the very center of the map, completely illustrating its vastness.

"Did you not memorize this when you left? I thought this was standard Day 1 training within the military." Arnold said disdainfully.

"I-I didn't know." The boy lowered his head, muttering with shame. He wanted to defend himself but could think of nothing to say, as he did not even know how to read a normal map, much less a topographical map.

"How were you able to get in the military with your lack in martial talents and esper powers?" Arnold asked. Although he was not that interested, he thought that knowing this information would be better than not knowing.

"My father forced me into the military." The boy whimpered. "He said I needed to man up if I were to head the family in the future. 'Go out and kill some zombies, you twat.' He said."

The boy's eyes started to become wet, he looked like a pitiful abandoned dog with his expression. Arnold wanted to smack his idiotic father for sending such a troublesome person his way. "I did not know such people still exist in this world." He thought in his heart.

Arnold walked to a corner of the room and started groping around. Then, after a while, he found a place within the walls that was softer than the rest. He pressed the part of the wall inwards. Suddenly, a slight tremor occured with the epicenter right in front of him. The walls seemed to move inwards, showing a hidden corridor. Arnold gestured for the boy to come with him before entering the corridor.

At the end of the corridor was a very old corridor was a dusty radio transmitting device. In front of the device was a table and a chair. There were some pieces of paper on the table and a ballpoint pen placed on top of the paper. "Sit down." Arnold commanded the boy, moving the chair backwards for him to sit. The boy squirmed, sitting on the chair uncomfortably.

Arnold reached his hand forwards and turned on the transmitter. Then, he said, "Change the frequency to contact your superiors. Tell them you're alive and well." After saying that, Arnold turned around. The frequencies of communication within the military were classified, so Arnold had to look away if he did not want to suddenly find himself speaking before a tribunal. As Arnold waited, the boy suddenly asked in a slightly embarassed tone.

"Um... how do you switch the frequencies?"

Arnold faced towards the boy. He was done getting angry and disdainful at him so he just sighed. "Here. Do this to change..." As he explained the procedures, the boy nodded vehemently in order to prove that he understand. "Ok. Ok! Yes! I understand! Thank you so much!" The boy yelled excitedly. He then turned some of the switches and put on a pair of headphones. Then, he spoke in the microphone. "This is Seargent Benjamin Young of the 12th platoon, 5th Batallion, here reporting from Base S-4. Over."

Arnold, who was looking away, showed a face of surprise as he heard the boy's name. "Young... the Young Family..." He muttered under his breath.

Since Benjamin had his headphones on, Arnold could not hear the voice from the other side. However, he was able to hear from this side of the confirmation.

"We have encountered a Level 3 zombie in Section JS-9. Passcode: Alpha. Charlie. 108923. Yes, that's correct. That is correct. I could only confirm the death of the Captain and the First Lieutenant. The survival of the others are unknown. Yes. Acknowledged. No, I'm not alone. I'm with a civilian. Yes. Understood. Um...." Benjamin stopped. He turned his head and asked, "Um... What's your name, Mr.?"

"Eli. Eli Wright." Arnold lied through his teeth. He did not want to get involved with the military yet. After all, he had too many secrets within him.

"Eli Wright." Benjamin repeated. "Yes, I will inform him. Thank you."

After that, Benjamin turned off the radio transmitter and stood up. "My commanding officer wants to reward you for saving me. He told me to tell you that you should head to the 5th Batallion to retrieve your reward when you get back to base."

Arnold nodded. "Fine." Although he would not be able to take the reward since the 5th Batallion was located underground.

Benjamin seemed slightly cheerful. Perhaps finally being able to talk to someone he was familiar with had given him some hope. Also, he seemed to be staring at Arnold with a grateful look from time to time.

After the two headed back up and closed the trap door, Arnold said, "We should both find a room and do some cultivation. Although the rest of the way is of minimal danger, we still need to be vigilant and replenish some of our spiritual reserves before leaving. We can head out tomorrow."

Benjamin nodded.

Both of them took the first room on the left and on the right respectively. "I'll see you tomorrow." Benjamin said softly as he closed the door. Arnold nodded and closed his door as well.

Arnold took a look at his room. There were 2 bunk beds. One to his left, one to his right. He decided to sit in the lotus position on the lower bed to the left. Then, he started his breathing exercises.

Benjamin wanted to start cultivating as well, but since he was quite an impatient person, compounded with the fact that he was a teenager, he quickly got bored. He opened the door and headed back to the living room. Although he could not enter Arnold's room since it was strightly forbidden to spy on someone while they were doing closed-door cultivation, he could still find something to do in the living room.