Chapter 574: The Third Base
The Third Base and the Fourth Base were both in Frelia, but they were separated by six hundred kilometers. Forty minutes later, the plane was preparing to land on the Third Base’s airfield. The reception party was already waiting. Ronan Kendrick and Ryan Rowe went to the cargo hold, and by the time they returned, the plane had come to a complete stop.
"Mr. Kendrick, Dr. Ford, we’ll be staying at the Third Base for several hours. Do you need oxygen tanks?"
"Yes, we do," Evelyn said. "Assistant Rowe, how many residents does the Third Base have?"
"Over two million. The Third Base has eight hundred thousand original inhabitants, and Frelia’s largest city, Lyra, is here. The Third Base is managed by the Frelian government, and the class divide is pretty severe. Refugees who have fled here in recent years are not allowed to enter Lyra or the Third Base proper. In the refugee camps outside Lyra, there are an estimated three hundred thousand refugees who go hungry and barely have clothes on their backs."
The Third Base was even larger than she’d imagined. Thanks to its large population, strategic location, and the considerable amount of grain they had stored in recent years, plus their pre-apocalypse reserves, the upper-class residents of the Third Base had a relatively comfortable life compared to all the other bases in Frelia.
The Third Base also distributed relief supplies to the refugees in the camps. Children received two *jin* a month, and adults three. The relief food was mostly mud cakes made from a mixture of wheat bran, corn bran, rice husks, crushed corncobs, edible wood shavings, and Famine Clay Soil. These cakes would expand when soaked in water, and three *jin* of them were enough to feed an adult for a month.
However, the Famine Clay Soil was difficult to digest. Even when mixed with coarse grains, it still damaged the digestive system. After eating the mud cakes for a long time, the refugees would develop thin limbs, bloated faces, and distended stomachs, and they often passed blood in their stool.
After disembarking from the plane, Evelyn Ford felt the temperature at the Third Base was a bit lower. She pulled her jacket tighter around herself and hung the oxygen bag in front of her.
Six people from the Third Base came to meet them. Ryan Rowe knew them, and after exchanging a few words, they suggested inspecting the grain in the warehouse first. Ryan agreed.
"We’ll go inspect the grain and coal first," Ryan said. "I’ve already told them that besides the originally agreed-upon supplies, we also want some jade and gold ore this time. They agreed and will have it ready before we leave. After we finish inspecting the grain and coal, we’ll come back to inspect the weapons. The weapons are already in the plane’s cargo hold."
The plane they were on was a military transport, with the cargo hold at the rear. Aside from Ryan Rowe, everyone else, including the two pilots, assumed the plane was already loaded with cargo.
The transport plane could carry 200 tons of cargo. The weapons to be traded at the Third Base this time weighed about thirty-five tons.
Just before they disembarked, Ronan Kendrick had already placed the weapons in the cargo hold. Other than Ryan Rowe, Ronan, and Evelyn Ford, the rest of the personnel were to remain on guard at the plane. After their team finished inspecting the grain and coal, the Third Base would send people over to transport all the weapons.
The Third Base had already placed the grain, coal, and other supplies for the trade in a warehouse next to the airfield. The trio followed them to inspect the goods. White sugar, brown sugar, cotton, corn, and potatoes were all in one warehouse. The coal was behind the warehouse—fifteen hundred tons of it.
There were many mines within Lyra’s territory. In previous years, the Second Base and other bases would come to trade for several thousand tons of ore annually.
The three of them put on gloves and began spot-checking the quality of the grain. The cotton was new, and the white and brown sugar had been vacuum-sealed. Ryan Rowe opened a vacuum-sealed bag, took out a piece of brown sugar, and tasted it.
The coal was high-quality, black as ink. There was very little loose dust; most of it was in large chunks.
Ryan Rowe completed the handover with the other party. The Third Base would have a convoy transport the fifteen hundred tons of coal directly to the Second Base. As for the cotton, sugar, and grain, workers would deliver all of it to the airfield after the inspection to be flown back.
After inspecting the Third Base’s supplies, Ryan Rowe led everyone back to the airfield. The personnel stood guard with their guns drawn while Ryan opened the cargo hold door, revealing neat rows of black boxes inside. Two men from the other party walked over and began their inspection. It took them two hours to go through the weapons, which included a full assortment of long guns and other firearms. The Third Base immediately sent people to transport the weapons away. It was clear they were very satisfied with the shipment.
Once all the weapons were moved, workers from the Third Base loaded the cotton and other supplies into the cargo hold. Although the trade was complete, the group wasn’t in a hurry to leave. After all, the jade and gold ore hadn’t been delivered yet, and it was still early. Ryan Rowe had other business to attend to, so Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick made an excuse about wanting to walk around the Third Base’s commercial street and parted ways with him.
Lyra and the base were integrated, about the size of a third-tier city. Solar Lamps had also been installed here. People stood around in groups chatting, and children played on skateboards nearby.
Evelyn Ford took out the piece of paper with the Hooper Family’s address on it. She and Ronan Kendrick exchanged a look and headed directly for their destination.
The Hooper Family was still at the same address. Kevin Holloway had said they owned a food factory in the Third Base. Even after coming to Frelia from Wyrmrest Base, they were still able to live a life above others.
Ronan Kendrick went ahead to scout the Hooper Family’s villa. The family had grown; besides the original members, there were now several more children in the house.
Their villa had a large courtyard. The house itself was five stories tall and covered a considerable area. Five cars were parked in the yard.
It was now 1:30 in the afternoon, and for once, the whole Hooper Family was home. Ronan Kendrick tossed two Smoke Bombs inside.
The two of them slipped in through the back door. Seeing a few children passed out on the sofa, Evelyn Ford ignored them, closed the main door, and took a coil of rope from her storage space.
’Every grievance has its source, every debt its debtor.’ Evelyn only intended to deal with the members of the Hooper Family who had committed evil deeds back at Wyrmrest Base.
Ronan Kendrick took the rope. He would be responsible for tying them up, while Evelyn Ford would be in charge of collecting the goods. ’With the heads of the Hooper Family gone, their food factory will naturally fall into the hands of the base. After all these years, it’s impossible to get back what they took from Wyrmrest Base. Everything in this villa will be the interest. I have to strip it clean.’
Doors, windows, curtains, glass, chandeliers, railings, tables, chairs, sofas, floor tiles... Evelyn Ford left nothing that could be pried loose. By the time Ronan Kendrick had tied up all the Hooper men, forced poison down their throats, and tossed them into the space, Evelyn had finished stripping the first floor bare.
The second, third, and fourth floors were all bedrooms. The fifth floor had a study and a storage room. Ronan Kendrick violently kicked open the storage room door, and Evelyn Ford saw neat stacks of boxes inside.
"It’s all weapons."
Evelyn Ford’s brow twitched. "The Hooper Family actually has this many guns and ammunition. What a haul. Even an army might not have this many weapons."
After stowing all the weapons in her space, the two of them went to the study and began a new round of plundering.
Ronan Kendrick searched the entire villa and finally found a secret door in a first-floor bathroom.
The secret door was made of a special material and would be difficult to open with brute force.
Ronan Kendrick pulled Mr. Hooper out of the space, slapped him awake, and directly used hypnotism to ask for the secret door’s password.