Chapter 27: Resources
Mad Dog was initially feeling triumphant, but he didn't anticipate such an event suddenly occurring. He was a bit slow to react, and by the time he realized it, the bomb was about to crawl to his feet.
It was too late to run, so he directly fired his gun, using the laser to detonate the bomb.
"Bang!" A muffled explosion occurred! Mad Dog fell to the ground, blood streaming from his right leg, fortunately, not broken.
"I will take your life for sure!"
At this point, the entire store was filled with flying dust. Clark was thinking of taking advantage of the chaos to escape when a hand grabbed his shoulder.
"Don't make a sound, follow me!" a somewhat familiar voice whispered behind Clark.
Following the stranger, Clark escaped through the back door. Once outside, Clark could finally see the person's identity - surprisingly, it was Joseph.
"Why did you come to save me?" Clark asked with some suspicion. What was really going on in this fortress? Everyone seemed to have multiple identities. Joseph was clearly an Alliance member, yet he ran over to save Clark at a time like this. Could he be disloyal to the Alliance, and if so, what were his intentions?
"You did well!" Joseph smiled, his expression unchanged from before. "Since you arrived here, you've caused quite a stir with two significant incidents. I think everyone here knows about it!"
"Are you here to arrest me?" Clark took a step back, maintaining a distance.
"No!" Joseph quickly raised his hand. "I'm not like Mad Dog. I'm not anyone's dog. I have my principles when doing things!"
"What's your relationship with Big Beard?" Clark couldn't believe that Joseph appeared here for no reason.
"We both do similar things, trying to make life better for the people here. The difference is that you didn't believe in me from the beginning and chose to trust him." Joseph said seriously.
After saying this, Joseph continued walking with Clark, reaching a location near a well. He opened it, went down first, and when Clark followed, the well cover automatically closed. Joseph pressed a button, and the entire passage lit up. It turned out to be a modified and abandoned sewer system.
Leading the way, Joseph occasionally saw some wounded and sick people being treated. The number of people gradually increased, and it became more lively.
"These patients are either injured in resisting the Alliance or are sick due to other reasons without proper treatment." Joseph casually mentioned, as if these things were ordinary to him.
"People injured in resisting, we won't discuss that. As for others falling ill, why doesn't the Alliance provide treatment?" Clark was puzzled. The impression the Alliance gave him was contradictory.
People like Emma Kensington, James, belonged to the more upright types, willing to sacrifice for others, while Michael was more worldly and selfish. Mad Dog, on the other hand, had no principles, and one could even say, lacked humanity. How could one organization have so many conflicting aspects simultaneously?
"Why not provide treatment?" Joseph laughed coldly at the question. "You've been here for quite a few days. This is a closed environment; resources are constantly depleting without production, and medicines are scarce. How could they waste precious drugs on those without any utility? In reality, everyone living here is just a form of resource."
"Isn't the purpose of the Alliance to save the surviving humans?"
"Yes and no." Joseph sighed. "The Alliance is actually quite loose. I don't know the exact situation at the top, but at least here, it's under the control of someone. Everything belongs to him."
The two walked to the innermost area, guarded by someone.
"Thomas wants to see him," Joseph told the guard.
The guard allowed them to pass, and they entered a room where a man, around forty or fifty years old, was sitting. He wore plain clothes, and if encountered outside, Clark might not have given him a second glance. However, his spirit seemed exceptionally good, his eyes sharp, seemingly catching every move Clark made.
"Well done, young man!" Thomas walked over, lightly patting Clark's shoulder. Clark initially wanted to avoid it but didn't.
"Regardless of your initial stance, your actions have shown that you are in agreement with us, both wanting to rescue the people here," Thomas said with a smile.
"Don't talk about morals. First, tell me where my friend is, and what's going on with those women in the city!" Clark directly asked the most concerning questions.
Thomas fell silent for a moment.
"They've been treated as resources, controlled."
"Resources? They are clearly human beings, not resources!"
"Thomas didn't lie to you. This is the most sinister part of this place. On the way here, I already told you, there are no resources being generated here.
To obtain supplies, we have to exchange with the outside world. And for the surviving humans to multiply, the key is women!" Joseph spoke with a serious expression.
At this point, Clark could not be more aware of what fate awaited Olivia Turner and the women inside the fortress. Treated as commodities, sold and bought, stripped of their human dignity.
"Where are they?" Clark asked loudly.
Thomas and Joseph exchanged a glance, and Thomas nodded.
"At the lowest level of the Alliance base, I initially believed in the Alliance. But when I discovered these things, I wanted to rescue people. Unfortunately, I, alone, couldn't do it. I had to unite all the forces possible," Joseph clenched his fist and said.
"I used to be a captain in the Alliance, but resistance was futile. So, I left and came here, secretly organizing a resistance force. This fortress might be a microcosm of this world; humanity has become like this, but evil people are still plenty!" Thomas said with some regret.
"Do we have an action plan?" Clark didn't want to lament; he just wanted to know how to proceed.
"Let's start with the situation in the Alliance. The overall captain is named Charles, the one controlling this fortress. He is a stubborn and obstinate guy who won't listen to any opinions. However, he holds the power of the Alliance here. Under him, there are ten captains, four of them absolutely loyal.
You just met Mad Dog, who is one of them. There are two or three others who have objections, but we're not sure if they dare to act like we do, and there are those with unclear stances!" Joseph explained.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone