Inside The Black Mist

Chapter 6 - It's Good To Be Back

|Lighthouse Base|

This was one of the few outposts in the 127th Inverse Universe, and the Lighthouse Base was built for the exploration of three Inverse Universe cities and dozens of towns within five hundred kilometers.

It was built for the convenience of personnel to rest, treat, and supplement supplies.

The base was built under a dam, which was fifty meters higher than the base. The dam was equipped with a large-scale water treatment device, which could provide daily water for the base.

Also, in the event of a large-scale attack, an artificial flood could be created by detonating the floodgate of the dam.

Fortunately, in the ten years since the Lighthouse Base was built, this suicidal defense method hadn’t yet been used.

Behind the heavy explosion-proof door at the entrance of the base stood two defensive towers on each side. The high-powered searchlights on the tower swept through the defense trenches day and night.

With the assistance of intelligent electronic systems, only one soldier was needed in each defensive tower.

At this time, a warrior in black full-body armor in the left defensive tower yawned. Since the defense tower has a filtering and purification system that could prevent black mist from penetrating, soldiers could work without helmets.

This was one of the few advantages of working in the defense tower.

The built-in communicator of the armor flashed, and a message was received in the private channel, “How about it, Wei Bo? You didn't fall asleep, did you?”

The soldier named Wei Bo smiled and replied, “I took a nap just ten minutes ago. Oh my God, the work in the defense tower is boring. If I had known earlier, I should have applied to join the Night Walker exploration corps.”

"Forget about it. You are an upper-class citizen. Your father wouldn't want you to take risks. Apart from the lower class and lunatics, who would voluntarily join the Night Walker?"

Wei Bo was about to say something when suddenly the computer prompted the detection of an alert signal, indicating that the dark creatures were approaching the base.

"Damn it!"

Wei Bo jumped up, and his ten fingers danced quickly on the virtual keyboard. A holographic window opened in front of him.

The window depicted an open area in front of the base entrance, where a few stumbling figures appeared.

Although the soldier couldn't see the specific appearance due to the lack of light, from the twisted limbs and the gray-white light flames floating in front of their chest, it was not difficult to judge that they were a few prowlers.

The soldier breathed a sigh of relief. Several prowlers were not threatening at all. After the base was put into service, dark creatures hardly ever came to this area, though sometimes they did.

But Wei Bo suddenly tightened his whole body again because he saw a car after those few prowlers.

The car was not equipped with any weapons, only four tires with a thin shell. And it looked like some of the tires were flat.

This was obviously a vehicle that could be seen everywhere in the Inverse Universe city. The design inspiration for the first wheeled vehicle was rumored to come from the junk in the Inverse Universe city.

The soldier rubbed his eyes, thinking that he was dazzled. After all, those vehicles shouldn’t have enough power to drive.

Soon, he found out why.

It was the prowler!

Someone tied thick iron chains to these ugly creatures. The other end of the iron chains was tied to the bumper of the car, so these prowlers played the role of labor and pulled the car forward.

Prowlers were not livestock, and they couldn’t be driven with whips. So, there was a lampshade hanging on both sides of the car.

There was Star Grass in the transparent lampshade. The light emitted by Star Grass made prowlers stay away instinctively, thus creating the scene in the holographic window.

Wei Bo couldn't help but let out a heartfelt exclamation for this ingenious idea. Then the defense tower received a message, "Defense tower, can you hear me? I am Tianyang, a member of the fourth squad of the Collection Team, with a soldier code of 1507. I request to enter the base. Oh, by the way, please inform the experimental department that I have a few living specimens of prowlers here; please send someone to receive them."

With a standard communicator in his hand, Tianyang repeated what he had just said.

A slightly panicked voice sounded in the communicator, "Defense tower received, identity verification in process, please wait..."

After a while, the explosion-proof gate opened, and several base vehicles drove over. Among them were two experimental department specimen transport vehicles.

The prowlers were received, and Tianyang handed over the Star Grass he had collected. As for the Pillar of Star in the tunnel, he couldn’t take it back by himself, but he marked the location of the Pillar of Star on the map.

Later, handing in this map would also be a great credit.

Prowlers, Star Grass, Pillar of Star map. These three things were enough to give Tianyang 4000 contribution points.

In the fortress, 1,000 contribution points could sustain a family of three for a year leisurely.

So, after registering for Tianyang, the officer looked at the young man with some envy in his eyes.

"Your left eye was injured, and I suggest you go to the medical center. Moreover, you just came back; according to the regulations, you must undergo a full-body examination and then report to the higher officers."

After uploading Tianyang's information to the base system, the officer suggested.

Tianyang made a request, "Commander, I want to see the Night Walker Commander."

The base officer was surprised. "I'm afraid the Commander won't make a special trip for a Collection Team member, even if you bring back a lot of things."

"Maybe you noticed that I’m not wearing a helmet. Yes, I’m already an Ascender. Furthermore, my level was not in the information published by the fortress. Perhaps the Commander will be interested in this," Tianyang said, pointing to himself.

"You mean a brand-new level? Damn... ahem, sorry."

The officer finally agreed. "Well, let me have a soldier send you to the hospital. As for your request, I will report it to the Night Walker headquarters. As for whether the Commander will see you, that is not for me to decide."

"That's good, thank you."

A base vehicle took Tianyang away and entered the explosion-proof door. Looking out from the car window, the young man saw several supply trucks drive to the storage room.

Two Falcon high-speed vehicles passed nearby, preparing to leave the base. These were Night Walker's standard vehicles, and a squad was embarking on a new exploration mission.

In the distance, on the base's parade ground, several armed humanoid units engaged in combat training. They were developed to compensate for the numerical disadvantage of the Ascenders.

The base remained as vibrant as ever, with its personnel exploring the world like a diligent colony, working efficiently and tirelessly.

"It's good to be back!"