Chapter 148: Are You Creating A Shelter?
April’s dark eyes tracked the text being displayed by the system, floating perfectly above the glass surface:
[Future Reading: Nat Collins (Apocalypse Timeline)]
Sector Status: Overlord of a colossal, heavily fortified city sector, ruling with an absolute iron fist.
Infrastructure: Organized as a massive, highly efficient business hub rather than a crude, desperate refugee camp—functioning as a mega-shelter. Inner circle subordinates actively oversee different high-security circles, keeping the undead completely at bay.
Operational Policy: Strictly zero-charity. Entry into the Collins territory requires a steep, unforgiving price. Those unable to pay are left to the monsters outside the gates; any internal threats or nuisances are executed without a second thought.
[Behavioral Anomaly Detected]
Observation: Even during the chaotic peak of the global apocalypse, the subject is frequently observed standing on a high, fortified balcony, his wild eyes constantly drifting toward a distant, looming hill.
Recorded Log: Frequently demands the exact current date from his subordinates, acting as though he is actively waiting for a highly specific timeline to arrive so he can depart for that location.
April read through the rolling lines of text, her brows knitting together slightly before she let the system windows fade out. She looked up, her eyes locking onto the man staring at her with bated breath.
"Well?" Nat asked, leaning his chin on his hand. "What does your fancy glowing orb say, sweetheart?"
"Nat..." April spoke up, her voice quiet. "Are you creating a shelter?"
Nat paused. For the first time all night, his smug grin faltered, replaced by a look of genuine, sharp surprise. He stared at her for a few seconds, and then a low, raspy chuckle escaped his throat.
"Ah, my ever-seeing seer," he murmured, shaking his head in disbelief. "I was literally just about to get started on the foundation layouts this week, and you already saw it? You really do know everything before I even make it up."
April pressed her lips together, her expression entirely neutral, though her mind was spinning with calculations.
So that’s his play. Clearing out the Scorpion Gang wasn’t just to simply have enough space to build his own playground with his boys. He was systematically securing their entire territory because he was intending to merge his sectors with theirs to create a massive, impenetrable survival hub.
It was brilliant, but she couldn’t comprehend why a man like Nat was building a shelter in the first place. She had clearly warned him before about what would happen and the pure desperation that came with taking in too many people who wanted to survive.
At the thought of that, she instantly put two and two together. Nat liked chaos and he was looking forward to the apocalypse because of all the gore and chaos that would follow.
So, if he was taking in so many people...
Is he doing this for the pure, unhinged fun of it? she wondered. Given his chaotic character, the thrill of building an empire in a lawless wasteland was probably the ultimate game to him. The desperate, scared people are no more than dolls that he could break whenever their mouths got too wide and their voices too loud.
"Is that all?" Nat suddenly asked, breaking her train of thought. He tapped the side of the glass counter. "What else did you see?"
April looked down at the calm glow of her orb. "Well... the rest of the details aren’t of note."
"Just tell me," Nat pressed, his voice dropping into a low, commanding rumble.
April hesitated for a split second. "Well, it says that in the future, you will be constantly looking up towards the hill. And... you’ll be waiting. I don’t know what you’re waiting for, but I can look into that if you want me to."
Hearing those words, Nat’s grin suddenly returned, splitting his face so wide it exposed his sharp teeth.
The manic, dangerous intensity in his eyes flared to an absolute peak. He didn’t need her to look into it. He already knew exactly what was resting on top of that hill. And to hear that he was waiting... Now he had some clarity about what he was going to do.
"It’s fine," Nat said, his voice dripping with a dark, triumphant satisfaction.
He finally leaned back into his own seat, releasing her from his suffocating proximity.
The tension in the cabin eased, and April let the crystalline orb dissolve back into her storage space, the light vanishing into the shadows of the car.
The quiet of the G-Wagon’s cabin didn’t last. A shadow fell across the passenger window, followed by a light, polite knock against the glass.
Through the dark tint, the sharp, elegant silhouette of Xavier Reed appeared. He had been waiting in the courtyard for a while, but they didn’t even notice he was standing up ahead this whole time, so he was done waiting.
Without pausing for permission, Xavier reached down and opened the passenger door himself. It opened because Nat undid the master lock from his side at the same time.
"Miss April," Xavier said, his deep, smooth voice cutting through the cool night air. He offered her a steady hand, his eyes scanning her face with quiet intensity. "I’m glad you had a safe outing."
His gaze then drifted over her shoulder, locking onto the red-haired man in the driver’s seat.
The atmosphere between the two men turned instantly frigid before he turned his gaze back to April.
"Are you coming down now?" Xavier asked her, his tone leaving no doubt that the visit was officially over.
"Yes," April said calmly.
"Oh, no goodbye kiss or anything?" Nat drawled from the driver’s seat, his hands resting lazily on the steering wheel as he pouted with mock hurt. "You’re so cruel, sweetheart."
April narrowed her eyes at his shameless banter. Ignoring his comment, she took Xavier’s offered hand, and stepped down from the high cabin of the G-Wagon.
Without a single word of farewell, she swung the door shut, the heavy door closing with a solid, echoing thud but she could still somehow hear the deep rumbling of his chuckle.
Xavier stood beside her, his presence calm and grounding as they both watched the G-Wagon shift into reverse, turn, and tear down the long driveway of the estate.
The red taillights eventually vanished past the outer security gates, leaving nothing but the quiet rustle of the night wind in the trees.
"I’ll be heading up to my room now," April said, turning her quiet face toward Xavier.
Xavier didn’t let her walk away immediately. He looked down at her, his brows furrowing slightly as he studied her posture in the courtyard lights, noticing the faint traces of metallic tang floating in the air. Blood? He wondered. "Miss April, your eyes... you look incredibly tired. What happened?"