Chapter 126: supplie
Seeing the security around the depot loosen, Leo made his move.
The military base sat on the outskirts of Rendell City. Unlike the standard supply warehouses within the city limits, this depot wasn’t a traditional building. It was a sprawling steel structure erected by the military, looking more like a massive industrial shed.
Even with many soldiers drawn away to handle the disturbance at the command center, the main gates remained heavily guarded. Armed personnel stood at attention. Surveillance cameras tracked every angle of the entrance, and motion sensors lined the surrounding fence. From nearby watchtowers, guards kept a relentless watch over the grounds below. Slipping in through the front would be a suicide mission.
Fortunately, Leo had no intention of trying.
Melting into the darkness, he crept around the perimeter of the steel structure. Once he found a blind spot hidden from the guards, he stopped beside the cold outer wall and closed his eyes.
Void Sense.
The world around him shifted as his awareness expanded. The lingering darkness of the Void allowed him to feel the space around him, pushing his perception through the thick metal wall and into the building. A few heartbeats passed before he opened his eyes.
"No life signs."
The depot was empty. That made things a lot easier. Pressing his palm flat against the cold steel, he used his Void Sense to pinpoint a clear landing spot inside.
Void Walk.
A strange, weightless sensation washed over him. The shadows beneath his boots rippled like water, and his figure dissolved.
Inside the massive shed, a faint distortion warped the empty space. Leo stepped out of the Void, crossing the impenetrable barrier with a single stride. His gaze swept over the surroundings. Rows of boxes and wooden crates filled the massive space. There were no weapons in sight. Instead, the depot seemed dedicated entirely to basic supplies.
Food.
Approaching the nearest stack, he pried open a cardboard lid and raised an eyebrow. Cans of fish. He picked one up, turning it over to check the expiration date. His eyes narrowed.
"This..."
The tin felt brand new. Tearing into a few more boxes, he found canned meat, vegetables, and dried goods. Even the heavy bags of rice bore recent production dates. Nothing had expired.
Leo frowned. The apocalypse had plunged the world into chaos almost a year ago. Unspoiled provisions like these should have been near impossible to find. Yet, the military sat on a mountain of fresh food. Where were they getting all of this?
He pushed the mystery aside. The distraction at the command center wouldn’t last forever. He needed to move.
With a thought, he began storing the supplies. A box of canned fish vanished into thin air, followed by another, until he had taken five. He grabbed five boxes of meat to match. He wanted to clear the whole shelf, but he still had other targets tonight, and the space inside his Void Pocket was limited. His primary goal was securing weapons. Food was something he could always acquire through his cards and the system store.
Shifting his focus to the rice, he began stowing the heavy bags. One. Two. Three. In a matter of seconds, thirty bulky sacks vanished into his pocket dimension.
Satisfied, Leo resumed his search. He navigated the narrow aisles between towering crates, glancing at the labels. Most of the remaining boxes held standard logistics gear: bottled water, military rations, spare uniforms, and fuel.
His frown deepened. Where were the weapons? Rex had explicitly mentioned firearms and ammunition. Was the information bad, or had he just broken into the wrong shed?
He turned to leave, but a glint of metal caught his eye. Sitting at the far end of the depot, a row of large military trunks rested against the back wall.
Leo paused. Unlike the flimsy cardboard and simple wooden crates, these trunks were forged from heavy-duty steel. Padlocks secured every latch. Stepping closer, he gripped the handle of the nearest trunk and pulled. Heavy. The sheer weight alone promised something valuable inside.
Focusing on the thick padlock, Leo let a faint layer of energy gather around his fingers.
Zen.
He wrapped his hand around the steel lock and squeezed. A sharp crunch echoed as the reinforced metal crumpled under his grip. With a final, violent crack, the mechanism shattered entirely, raining metallic dust onto the concrete floor.
Gripping the heavy lid, Leo threw it open.
A soft glow spilled out, reflecting in his eyes. Nestled inside reinforced protective foam were nucleus crystals. Hundreds of them. Maybe even thousands. The faint, pulsing light bathed the interior of the trunk in an eerie hum.
"Jackpot."
Wasting no time, he stashed the entire first trunk into his Void Pocket. Next, he drew his Origin Card. As the pitch-black surface materialized in his palm, he willed it to absorb the contents of the remaining trunks.
The raw crystals vanished from their padded containers, flowing directly into the card. The glowing digits engraved on its surface began to climb in a blur.
52,316...
61,942...
73,108...
The count finally came to a halt at a clean 80,000.
Leo stared at the black surface. "Eighty thousand crystals..."
A satisfied smirk touched his lips as he tucked the card away. The depot might not have held the firearms he came for, but the detour was worth it. He swept his gaze across the towering shelves one last time. Food, basic supplies, and a small fortune in nucleus crystals. Not a bad haul.
Still, he had pressing targets. He needed heavy firepower, and he had to secure it before the Freedom Convoy’s distraction ran out.
Stepping back to the metal wall, Leo cast his Void Sense outward, sweeping the exterior. The coast was clear.
Void Walk.
The shadows wrapped around him, warping the air, and he vanished from the storage shed. A heartbeat later, his boots touched down on the damp grass outside.
Melting back into the night, Leo set his sights on the next location marked on Rex’s map. He could only hope the military had left something with a little more firepower waiting for him.