"I’ll talk," Yunera spoke. "Set free, and I’ll talk."
The prison den paused.
Zimr, wide-eyed, stared at her in disbelief. The other prisoners glanced her way, their mouths unfolding to fit an egg.
Hans’s body jerked, slowly cascading into a slow chuckle.
"Is this so kind of a joke?" he gripped the tal bars barring her face. "I can force you to talk now while I ignore your absurd demand."
"The pills," Yunera cut him off. "You have seen them, right?"
She whispered loud enough for Hans to hear, but too faint for the room to ignore.
He frowned, suspicion brewing inside. She knows sothing.
"Uncuff her."
The prisoners, Zimr included, were stunned to speak.
"You-, Yunera!" He looked at her. "What did you say to him?"
"Zimr, you poor thing." Yunera shot a grin at him. "He’s allured of my beauty, hot shot."
"Damn you, whore!" Zimr struggled along the chains, banging them hard against the cold, tallic bars.
A Conscript dashed over and pointed a gun at him.
"Simr it down."
Zimr backed away. A shot of glare was sent to that coy figure, watching her being dragged away.
Back in the Warlord’s War Room—
"Speak." Hans sat at the central chair. Beside him was Arthur, standing in silence.
The soldiers forced Yunera into a seat, binding her limbs securely. She observed the room, her eyes ending at that cold figure.
"You’re a cautious man—"
"I have no ti for complints." Hans’s fingers pushed over three different bottles.
Yunera’s eyes settled on them, shrugging in response.
"Fine, straight to business," she sighed. "The warlord is a volatile man. He’s irritable, rageful, unreasonable at tis."
"So enters these anti-psychotic drugs?" Hans interjected.
"You guessed it," Yunera raised a brow. "Miss a dose and soone gets hurt. Fortunately, I was fast enough to escape his clutches."
Hans fingers tapped the other two unlabeled bottles.
"And these?" He asked.
"You want to beco a superhuman, right?" Yunera chuckled. "Take a single pill from that bottle with the red lid. Lay down in bed for eight hours, feel the power course through your body as you dream of it, and tomorrow, you’ll wake up as a new person."
"And how co you know of these," Hans cut her mid-way. "but that Zimr doesn’t?"
"Because the Warlord trusts more than his n." Yunera responded. "Lady’s charm, if you call it."
She leaned back on the chair, striking a seductive pose. Hans stared over, unable to feel the slightest ripple.
Seeing the indifference on his eyes, Yunera lost the mood to play.
"The process to awaken as a superhuman is that easy," she continued, scrambling back to her seat. "I did not lie to you about that pill’s effects. However, don’t ask where it cos from. Only that madman knew of it. You killed him, so we can never investigate where and why he has it."
"Answer the question," Hans reiterated. "How did you know of all this?"
"He spoke of it once, on a drunken night, as I passed over from a recent patrol," Yunera recalled. "You should be familiar of that guidance talk from the others?"
Hans nodded.
"That’s what they intend you to believe," Yunera shook her head, a long sigh escaping her dry mouth. "The warlord gave us two pills—an awakening pill from the red-capped bottle; a mory pill from the yellow-capped one."
"mory?" Hans grabbed the yellow-capped bottle.
"Alters mories," Yunera’s brows furrowed. "Makes you hallucinate about the awakening. Whoever made this, they’re not human."
Hans frowned. "We’re dealing with sothing magical now?"
"The apocalypse happened," Yunera chuckled. "That, itself, is nothing short of a magical thing."
Hans tapped on the table. "What about George?" He spoke after a while. "Does he use the sa thod?"
"What difference does it make?" Yunera questioned, exposing her neck. "You’ve heard the words from his side. It’s all about that guidance bullshit they’re instilling over. You can make a conclusion of your own from our, and their conversation."
"I take it you are not impressed." Hans took the pills and stored them in the drawer.
"I never wanted to be a henchman of his," Yunera dully answered. "Maybe it’s fate. At least now I’m under your hands now."
"Who said I’m taking you in?" Hans snorted.
"What?" Yunera gazed at his body. "A pretty girl with superhuman powers. One can never—"
"You should know by now that superhuman strength matters not much to ." He flashed cold smile on his face. "I can feed my best soldiers with these pills, and they will be stronger than you could ever be."
"What about the survivors?" Yunera argued. "You can parade your superhuman soldiers all you want but you should know this: an imbalance of power will always result to dissatisfaction."
Hans shifted to Arthur, rembering his previous words and the civilian’s earlier reactions. If I want to take control of the survivors, I need a deterrent. A superhuman on my side.
Kimmy didn’t cut it. She was a sensory type of a superhuman.
Clyde and Zimr were still on the ropes. The imprint of their ssiahs too ingrained to be handled.
His eyes landed on Yunera. She can be molded to be that deterrent, but this will take ti. And a lot of threats.
Handling a superhuman with offensive power was a first to him. If Yunera chose to wreak chaos within, the damage might be substantial into ceasing his progress.
"What’s with the long face, Commander?" Yunera teased. "You and I know this cannot wait all day."
"You shall be placed in surveillance and grounded within these walls." Hans concluded. "Behave properly, and I might reconsider my hesitations. Gamble on my patience and you’ll see your head hanging on the walls with that ex-leader of yours."
"Scary," Yunera chuckled. "Can I have my cuffs on broken down now?"
Hans gestured to the soldiers.
As the ropes fell off her reddened skin, Yunera rose from her seat and shook off the dullness from her body.
"Satisfied?" Hans spoke.
"Very much, Commander." Yunera caught her wrists and rubbed on it absent-mindedly. "You should not worry. I will behave properly until you are satisfied."
"That would be for the best," he waved his hands. "Alexei, escort her out of here. I’ll have you and Selene guard her for a while."
"As you command, Sir!" Alexei and Selene saluted.
"You two are a nice pair," Yunera didn’t stop. "Are you sure you’re not lovey doveys?"
Hans fanned himself, listening to their fading voices out of the warlord’s War Room.
"You can speak now."
Arthur’s tense body slowly relaxed. "I am very grateful to you, Commander."
"Don’t ntion it. She earned it by herself." Hans bent over and grabbed his backpack, taking out his bluebook and several pens from the storage space.
"Yes." Arthur sighed.
"You seem to want to say sothing?" Hans started writing. "Is it about the pills?"
"That life is not for , Commander," Arthur scratched his cheek. "One full of violence and ambition—I have long withdrawn from it."
"You held a gun once?"
"I was drafted before, nothing special." Arthur chuckled. "The others got wind of it, but I... rejected the warlord’s invitation just as you did."
"I’m surprised he didn’t smack you to the ground." Hans looked at him, startled.
"The warlord was modest at tis, cruel at most." Arthur rubbed his arms. "I suppose I was the lucky guy."
"You sure are," Hans shifted back to his notebook. "If the pills are not for the likes of you, whom do you think it should go to?"
"Your soldiers could be blessed by your generosity, Commander." Arthur advised.
"Really?" Hans’s eyes pivoted to the visual panel in front him. His muscles twitched in excitent, silently cald by the system’s efforts.
------
[ Commander, system-based troops cannot be ingested with such pills. The Superhuman Phenona on your troops can be triggered once the Tech Lab is built. ]
------
"You trust her words that much?" He rebutted.
"I believe Yunera wouldn’t lie about these." Arthur affird.
"My troops need no enhancents for the mont," Hans argued. "Whether it’s true or not, I will not impose such benefits to my soldiers."
"But why, Commander?" Arthur was confused. "They could beco superhumans... even the Commander could take it too."
"The pills are limited," Hans disagreed. "Even if I ingest one, what about them? What about those who covet it? If the fortress’s civilians knew of this superhuman process, soone out there will use any ans to reason out for an opportunity."
He stopped writing and put the pen down.
"Not everyone is as withdrawn as you are," He shook his head. "Let the warlord’s superhuman mystery start and end with him."
The room was filled with silence.
Arthur realized the consequences of publicizing the pills’ existence and their potency. Indeed, greed could drive anyone insane—especially on a path that leads to an extraordinary world.
Who would want to remain normal in this apocalyptic era?
"This subordinate understands." he withdrew from the discussion. If he insisted any further, he might get his head hanged on the gallows outside by next morning.
"Let us not speak of this matter, Arthur," Hans advised. "We should focus on improving the fortress first."
"Then I will offer my advice, Commander."
Arthur pulled a chair over and sat opposite of Hans.
In that short afternoon, the two exchanged discussions of welfare, policies, and other things important to the future of Hans’s small enclave.
With the passing of ti, the fortress’s inhabitants experienced rapid changes—all leading to a better path in the future.
Zombies were driven out of the urban fringe.
The apartnt complex repurposed to be his secondary base.
Houses beca available to the growing mass of civilians.
And George and his group were nowhere to be found.
After an entire month of laying the groundwork, Hans exhaled on his desk. On his hand was a scheduled eting with his troops.
The subject of the letter read as, Northern Mall Assault Briefing.
"It is ti," he muttered, reviewing his soldier panel.
------
Commander: Hans Flemns
Rank: 2 - Platoon Leader
Soldiers: 80 Conscripts, 30 Army Soldiers, 10 Attack Dogs, 10 Scouts, 4 Snipers, 2 Engineers, 5 dics, 2 Machine Gunners, 2 Guardian GIs
...
------
"Troop count increased," he said while shifting to another one. "And the star promotions are steadily improving."
He grabbed a cup full of cread coffee and laid back on his chair.
"Nothing beats this feeling," he closed his eyes. "One step closer into the War Factory. This operation is going to be loud."
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