Base

"Where are we going?" Clark asked.

"To the Company Brown's base in this city," Isabella replied succinctly.

After a while, a faint light appeared ahead, and the Earth Bull emerged from the tunnel into a plaza.

The semi-circular plaza was connected to numerous underground rivers. Above, there was a cliff wall, and the place seemed to be transformed from a natural deep pit.

There was some ambient light, but it wasn't too bright, making it difficult to notice from the outside.

On the left side of the plaza, a larger airship was parked, even bigger than the one Matthew piloted earlier.

In the plaza, small transport vehicles occasionally moved around, efficiently transporting various resources.

"We're here!" Isabella looked at everything and sighed with relief. It was the first time she showed such a relaxed expression in front of Clark.

"Isabella, you're back!" A shout, in such an environment, sounded particularly piercing.

A young man with high facial aesthetics, black hair, and dressed in all black, rode a dark motorcycle, speeding towards them. The motorcycle's wheels left a long mark on the ground due to its high speed.

"Anthony is here!" Mia said nonchalantly, steering the Earth Bull to a designated location and then opening the hatch.

"Miss, why are all men so annoying?" Mia glanced at Anthony outside the hatch, then at Clark, her expression changed, not as unfriendly as before but still not friendly.

"Isabella, sister, I did receive the distress signal you sent earlier, but the signal was too weak, and I couldn't locate you. I could only worry," Anthony explained with a smile, welcoming Isabella.

"Hmph, men's words are as deceitful as ghosts. If you really wanted to help, wouldn't you find a way?" Mia muttered.

"Mia!" Isabella warned, clearly not pleased with Mia's words.

Mia sighed but kept her mouth shut.

Clark watched everything quietly, holding Sophia tightly. The girl remained unconscious, causing him great concern.

"Who's this friend?" Anthony looked at Clark, his face still wearing a smile and being quite polite.

"I'm Clark."

"Thanks to him, we're safe now!" Isabella spoke, briefly recounting how Clark saved them.

"Since he's the one who saved Isabella, we must treat him well!" Anthony said with a smile. Although he wasn't particularly grateful, his attitude became warmer.

The four of them chatted in the plaza for a while. Anthony then called a valet and took them to a building.

The building looked somewhat like a command tower, lavishly decorated. Clark stepped on the soft carpet, feeling like he had entered a star-rated hotel. It was much grander than Charles's place.

"Isabella, this time was a bit of a scare, although we lost supplies, as long as you're safe, it's not a big deal!" Anthony poured a few glasses of red wine, handed one to each of them, and took the lead in drinking.

"Thank you!" Isabella blushed slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed, and took a sip of the wine.

Mia, on the other hand, emptied her glass in one go without saying a word.

Clark also drank the wine but felt a strange sensation toward Anthony. Was this guy too enthusiastic?

"Ah-choo!" Just then, Sophia, who had been placed on the side and was still sleeping, suddenly woke up and began complaining, "What's this place? It stinks!"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Clark was a bit embarrassed and quickly walked to Sophia, patting her shoulder gently to signal her to be quiet.

"Hmph, even if you don't let me say, I want to say. It stinks here, really stinks!" Sophia not only didn't listen to Clark but yelled even louder, like a high-pitched trumpet.

Isabella took a deep breath and didn't notice anything unusual, considering it as Sophia acting like a child. She didn't take it seriously.

"Ha ha, Anthony, I told you this guy is annoying. Look, even the kid says it stinks here!" Mia laughed, seizing the opportunity to tease Anthony.

"Children speak without restraint. It's okay. Maybe the cleaning wasn't done properly, or this little friend has allergies!" Anthony seemed quite relaxed, not bothered at all.

Clark felt a bit awkward and took Sophia away.

Clark and Sophia were assigned to a small guest room. Although it was small, the facilities inside were complete.

"He has the smell of a corpse on him, so disgusting!" Sophia, after Clark closed the door, began to take deep breaths. Her voice was not loud, but Clark could hear it clearly.

"You're talking nonsense. There's no corpse smell here!" Clark really thought Sophia was causing trouble.

"It's not the smell of zombies, it's something even more disgusting!" Sophia pouted and spoke with a face full of grievances. Then, she took deep breaths again, refusing to speak any further.

However, what Clark didn't expect was that in the first basement, Anthony had his legs propped up on a table, and in front of him was a screen playing the conversation between Clark and Sophia just now.

"This little girl in the red dress is quite interesting!" Anthony laughed and said, his eyes fixed on Sophia as if trying to see through her. Even while watching, Anthony unconsciously stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, as if he had seen something delicious.

Not only Clark and Sophia, but every move of Isabella and Mia was also under Anthony's surveillance. However, he deliberately skipped over any private moments, seemingly uninterested in such matters.

Days passed quietly, and Anthony remained attentive and enthusiastic towards Isabella, like a persistent pursuer. His actions were meticulous, and Isabella, touched by his gestures, always greeted Anthony with a smile.

One day, an alarm suddenly sounded across the entire plaza.

This stronghold was heavily guarded, so how could the alarm suddenly go off? Clark, accompanied by Sophia, walked outside and joined Isabella and others at the observation platform.

The entire plaza was devoid of transport vehicles, and all the lights were turned on. Several small dots were moving slowly.

Under the spotlight, Clark could see clearly—it was a few ordinary zombies, seemingly coming from nowhere, aimlessly wandering around.