CHAPTER 268: RETURNING BACK TO THE BASE!

’If they’re able to find my location, that means...’ His eyes widened slightly. ’They probably know my base location as well.’

The frown on Gabriel’s face deepened, and he subconsciously glanced at Damian, who was still unconscious. He wanted to leave immediately and head back to his camp to see how things were, but at the same time, he couldn’t just abandon Damian alone.

At present, Damian didn’t have anyone to look after him. If the Graves family found out about his current condition, they would probably gloat—or worse, try to get rid of him as quickly as they could.

In the end, Gabriel decided to wait until Damian was discharged.

Calmly, he walked to the balcony of the room and looked outside. Damian was kept in a private room near the top floor of the forty-five-story building. From such a high vantage point, Gabriel had a clear view of Stellar City.

He could even see the never-ending wilderness beyond the walls. His gaze narrowed on the spot where the blast had occurred.

He lifted his hand and tried to trace where the missile had been launched from.

To Gabriel’s knowledge, Edgeburne—although close to the Valerian Kingdom—was still about a few hundred miles away.

’In this current era, a normal missile shouldn’t be able to travel that distance... if it was a nuke, then it would’ve been a different case,’ he thought inwardly. ’Which means they have a base nearby in the wilderness—specifically toward the northern direction.’

The Aleveron Range wasn’t just a military stronghold for the Valerian Kingdom; it was stocked with several ammo depots and missile silos. The reason for this was to eliminate any perceived threats to the kingdom from afar.

It was also in close proximity to several neighboring kingdoms.

If Gabriel’s calculations were correct, there was a similar base located close to the Valerian Kingdom as well.

’If it’s in the northern direction, then it’s close to my base. And unlike the capital, they wouldn’t hesitate to launch dozens of missiles at it. To them, it’s nothing but a bandit camp.’

The easiest way for Gabriel to find out if something had truly happened to his base was through the forum.

He opened the player forums. Most of the news was about the recent explosion in the city, with players speculating wildly, but there was nothing mentioning his base.

Gabriel was relieved—yet confused at the same time. Why hadn’t they attacked yet? Were they waiting for something? Or could it be that they were concerned about the refugees?

He strongly doubted the latter. General Everett was someone who had witnessed and slaughtered many of the good and innocent alike.

If he was fearless enough to launch a missile right into the capital of a neighboring kingdom, then he wouldn’t mind getting rid of a few more people in the wilderness.

Whatever the reason, Gabriel knew he needed to hasten his plans.

Beep! Beep!

Suddenly, the monitor beeped. Gabriel quickly turned around, just in time to see Damian’s eyelids flutter before they opened gradually.

Damian’s gaze was at first blurry; he blinked multiple times, adjusting his vision.

"How are you?" Gabriel asked in a neutral tone.

"Feel slightly better," Damian coughed. "At least I’m no longer feeling as if my ribs are being squeezed."

At that, Gabriel knew he was referring to the radiation from the blast.

"That’s better." He nodded afterward and spoke with more seriousness. "There’s something you need to know."

"What is it?" Damian laughed weakly, trying to hide the anxiety gripping him.

Something that could put that kind of expression on Broken Heaven’s face could definitely kill a normal person.

"You no longer have one arm."

Silence.

After a few moments, Damian exhaled. "I knew something was wrong when I survived that hit... a weakling like me should’ve died, so my hand was the price."

’You would’ve indeed died if I wasn’t protecting you.’

That was what Gabriel wanted to say but wisely kept quiet.

Damian hadn’t awakened a combat class like the adventurers. Instead, he had awakened the class Merchant. He excelled in buying and selling rather than physical fighting.

Even his stats were in a disgracefully terrible state. That was why he felt something was off when he survived.

"But the good news is, we can get you a mechanical arm," Gabriel continued.

Immediately, Damian’s eyes lit up.

"Or would you prefer a normal hand?"

"Normal, boring hand? No, I’ll pass!" he said excitedly. "When will you get it? In fact, how much is it? I have some funds stashed away."

Damian’s excitement reminded Gabriel a lot about the past. He recalled watching a movie where the main character had a mechanical arm—and how he’d once joked about wanting to lose an arm just to get one himself.

Damian was just like that.

"It’s decided then. That way, it’ll be easier for you to protect yourself as well."

Some moments later, the doctors walked in. After a few check-ups, Damian was given the option to rest longer at the hospital or leave.

Thanks to the advent of the System Mutation, doctors had found rare herbs and potions that could hasten the healing process of any patient.

Naturally, Gabriel opted for the latter.

Some time later, they were on the drive back to Edgar’s place.

"Sir Broken," Logan—who was wearing his goggles—exclaimed in slight shock upon seeing them.

"Pack your stuff, we’re leaving," Gabriel ordered and walked past him, heading upstairs to meet Edgar.

Logan was left staring at his master’s half-torn shirt and couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been close to the explosion site as well.

When he shifted his gaze to Damian and saw his bandaged arm, he became even more certain.

After Logan gathered some of his work materials and the units of the Hellfire Turret, and Damian made some calls to keep his business running in the black market while he was away, they boarded an extremely sturdy truck and slowly made their way out of Stellar City.

It was time to return to the base.

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AN:

Thanks to all those who support Extraction Talent with their valuable Golden Tickets and Power Stones—I really appreciate it!!!