Chapter 24

Sera Westbrook's POV

The water station's pump was still running. In the apocalypse, it was nothing short of a source of life.

The tanks stretched from the main pool all the way to the entrance, arranged in neat rows. Two men carried one tank between them, lifting it over the fence, the iron body banging against the railing with a clang.

Rena sent one man to help Jax move water, and Jax's steps were light. Cole could carry two tanks at once, his pace never changing. Vera crouched in the back of the truck, continuing to change the dressing on the man with the torn shoulder; when the cotton ball went on, he sucked in a breath, and Vera started chatting about something else, trying to draw his attention away from the wound.

I moved water with them. On my fifth pass by the equipment area, I noticed a man standing beside Rena with a puzzled expression. He was in his early twenties, very thin, standing beside the truck, hands empty, his gaze equally empty, fixed straight on my face as if studying me.

I found it very strange.

Just then, Vera finished the bandaging, walked up beside me, and blocked the man's line of sight. "What are you looking at?"

The man lowered his head nervously. "Nothing."

Vera raised an eyebrow and gave a long "Oh." "Really? Where are you from?"

He hesitated for two seconds. "The east. The outskirts of the Citadel."

"The Citadel? Aren't outsiders forbidden from entering?"

"That's right. Outsiders are indeed forbidden," the man said. "But there are rules there too. As long as you submit crystal cores and resources on time, you can live there. The Citadel provides safe housing. After all, there aren't many safe places left in the world now—it's all contaminated."

Vera nodded. "Then how did you get out? Do you want to go back now? I remember the environment there isn't great."

He didn't answer right away. He looked down at his boots and said, "My sister is there. She didn't go willingly—she was forced."

Vera raised an eyebrow. "All right. So you're planning to go find your sister?"

The man said, "I want to get my sister out."

Vera nodded. "Good luck."

We carried the tanks onto the Titan, connected the hoses, and poured the purified water into the Titan's own large tank. By then, the sun had already set. Rena's crew had finished moving their tanks too and were getting ready to leave.

Compared to us, they didn't have a survival base like the Titan—just a modified RV, which barely counted as safe.

Rena looked up at the sky and said goodbye to us. "You've got your share of the water, and you know where the pipeline is. We can part ways here."

I asked, "Where are you going?"

Rena said, "East. Back to our own territory."

Vera asked, "The outskirts of the Citadel?"

Rena asked, "How did you know?"

Vera said, "Your teammate told us."

Rena was silent for a moment, then looked back at the RV. "He's not my teammate. I ran into him on the road. His sister is in the Citadel, and he's saving crystal cores to buy her out. I tried to talk him out of it—the Citadel will never let anyone go—but he won't listen."

Vera said, "Good luck to you both."

I looked at Rena. "You live near the Citadel too… won't the Citadel scheme against you?"

Rena waved her hand. "Not for now. Actually, we're pretty far from the Citadel, so don't worry. I'm not stupid enough to get close to it. It's just that the terrain and natural environment near the Citadel are better."

Vera nodded thoughtfully. Rena sighed. "Your squad is more formal—you've got a doctor, you've got fighters… Anyway, if you're going east, you have to be careful of the Citadel's people. They're not easy to deal with."

I said, "Thanks."

On the way back, Jax counted the tanks and read out the numbers. When he got to the last one, he couldn't help it and laughed out loud. "Great—this'll last us a while."

Dorian came down the stairs. "The water samples passed inspection. Our water crisis is temporarily resolved."

On the fourth deck, Kyle input the patrol plan into Odysseus's system, then asked, "How much do you know about the Citadel?"

"A little," Dorian said. "They trade crystal cores for medicine and passage permits. If you don't meet the quota, you get thrown out. Lots of rules, very strict management."

I said quietly, "That man's sister is in the Citadel. He said he wants to get her out. Is there much chance of that?"

Dorian paused, then shook his head. "The Citadel won't let anyone go easily until they've used up all their value. And the Citadel doesn't keep its word—there's no such agreement between them at all. His efforts will probably come to nothing."

My mood inevitably grew a little heavy. Thinking about it carefully, my original route seemed to have been in the same direction as the Citadel. Did that mean that if I'd gone a little further east, I would have entered the Citadel? The Citadel had so many demands… if I'd used my abilities repeatedly, my GCI would have definitely gone out of control. If I hadn't met Kyle, I really couldn't imagine how I would have ended up.

Fortunately, we had finally met.

Maybe I still didn't understand my past, really didn't understand it—but I believed time would prove everything. Dorian had already developed the inhibitor, and as long as I injected it, my condition would improve a lot. So one day, I would completely return to normal. I looked at Kyle's back, and a surge of complicated emotion rose in me.

I really wanted to become an ordinary person and stand beside Kyle without any worries—at least without making him bear the pain for me.