CHAPTER 897: CHAPTER 897: THE BIG FISH OF EVERNIGHT HARBOR

The unconscious guy’s name is Niles.

Sand Sculpture found identification documents issued by the Weilante People to the Aliens in his house, bearing this name and a very long surname.

Whether it’s a real name or a fake one is not important to him; that thing is just a code name anyway.

All he needs to know is that the guy tied to the chair is a member of the Enlightenment Society, and this decrepit house hidden in Blackwater Alley is the organization’s base in Evernight Harbor.

That’s already enough.

Niles, waking from unconsciousness, lifted his heavy eyelids, staring at the guy rummaging through his home, and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"...Who are you?"

"Desert Falcon."

Taking a jar from the shelf, Sand Sculpture peeked inside and found several large denomination Dinars, his eyes lighting up instantly as he poured them out and stuffed them into his pocket.

Niles glared at the guy blatantly stealing in front of him, gritting his teeth to squeeze out a sentence.

"...What is that thing?"

"You can think of it as a code name, I’m a resident of Shelter No. 404."

Upon hearing this, Niles squinted his eyes immediately, suddenly grinning.

"A resident of Shelter No. 404... Haha, you guys sure have chased far, reaching even the far south of the Great Desert."

Sand Sculpture chuckled lightly and replied casually.

"Well, what can we do, our hands are pretty long; you have to bear with it a little."

Niles: "..."

Seeing him silent, Sand Sculpture continued speaking.

"What about you guys? Still the same as before? Haven’t even got a settlement of your own by now?"

Niles sneered coldly.

"We don’t need such things."

Sand Sculpture raised his eyebrows, curiously asked.

"Oh? Then what do you need?"

Niles: "You don’t need to know."

Sand Sculpture: "Tsk, you really killed the conversation, huh?"

Seemingly aware that this guy was trying to get words out of him, Niles closed his eyes and didn’t speak any further.

As Sand Sculpture probed a few more questions without any response, he left him aside and refocused on the cabinets before him.

However, to his disappointment, after searching through all the cabinets and drawers in the whole house, he found nothing besides two hundred Dinars.

This base was as shabby as a real slum shed, leading Sand Sculpture to suspect whether it concealed some secret passage or hidden door.

"...Speaking of which, don’t you have a Memory Extractor in your house?" Brushing the dust off his hands, Sand Sculpture couldn’t help but ask.

Hearing this ridiculous question, Niles snorted through his nose, sneered as he spoke.

"That’s a prohibited item from the Era of Prosperity, you think that’s some common stuff?"

Sand Sculpture took an unexpected second glance at him.

"That impressive?"

"There’s plenty of impressive stuff... But alas, I’m just a Guide. And even if I had it, why would I tell you?" Niles stared at the guy wasting effort with a look of disdain, but soon realized he had let something slip, his face turning pale again as he shut his mouth.

Yet Sand Sculpture remained unimpressed, merely shrugged lightly.

He could guess with his toes that this guy was a "Guide," without needing the latter to confess voluntarily.

What he truly wanted to know were other things.

Like that "Mortal Serum."

Or, for instance, the researcher named Martin.

"...I just thought, this would make communication a bit easier. Or do you prefer I use more traditional means to pry out what’s in your mouth?"

Niles tauntingly said.

"You think you got what it takes, give it a try then."

Sand Sculpture didn’t waste words, pulling out a thumb-sized glass vial from his pocket.

Niles’ pupils slightly contracted, a hint of dread flickering through his eyes.

Seeing his tense appearance, Sand Sculpture merely smiled, speaking in a soothing tone.

"Don’t be nervous, I’m a civilized person, though there’re plenty of ways to torture a person online, I avoid resorting to those unless absolutely necessary."

Despite his sincere reassurance, the expression on Niles’ face showed no signs of easing, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

"...What’s that thing in your hand?"

Sand Sculpture did not explain, directly walking up to him, using one hand to grab the horror-stricken head tilted backward, while the other hand uncorked the bottle with his thumb, pushing it directly toward his nostrils.

"...Something that will grant you a pleasant dream, it shows what you desire most deep inside."

"Wait, wait a moment—"

A hint of panic flashed in Niles’ eyes, struggling desperately to evade.

However, against a Level 30+ Awakener, his meager resistance didn’t even amount to entertainment.

After pouring a bit into both of the guy’s nostrils, Sand Sculpture covered his mouth for a while, ensuring he’d inhaled enough before pocketing the empty vial.

This Snake Oil was something he got from the Black Market, who would’ve guessed it would come in handy so soon.

"This should knock him out for five or six hours... Let me think, what should I do next..."

While Sand Sculpture was pondering, a gentle knock came from the door.

The knocking rhythm was peculiar, three long and two short, resembling some sort of code.

Sand Sculpture immediately perked up, quietly walked to the door, gripping the doorknob with his hand while his right hand reached for the silenced pistol tucked in his waist.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Andrew leaned his raincoat-draped face near the gap, speaking in a raspy voice.

"...My cover may be blown; some guy named Morse found me. That guy is the leader of the Hyena Gang, he saw through my role as a Disciple, I suspect we slipped up during contact, this area seems to be their turf."

"But fortunately, that trash seems to have misunderstood something, taking the Enlightenment Society for something else... Something the Guards made him believe."

"I don’t know what other Vellante people want to do, but in any case, that guy is a troublemaker. Before things get out of control, we need to find a way to shut him up... preferably forever."

After saying these words, Andrew quietly waited for the Guide’s response.

After a brief wait, a hoarse voice came from behind the door.

"Come in and talk."

Hearing this, Andrew was slightly taken aback, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.

He had always passed messages at the door, and the number of times Niles invited him in could be counted on one hand, usually during some secret gatherings.

He couldn’t make up his mind.

Just then, the door that usually never opened suddenly opened a crack.

A pitch-black gun muzzle was pointed at his forehead, causing him to involuntarily hold his breath.

"You, you are..."

Well, it’s like the Calabash Brothers saving Grandpa—no, wait, it’s more like getting a pillow when you’re sleepy.

The Sand Sculpture wasted no words, grinning viciously as he grabbed the "pillow" by the collar and yanked him in from outside.

"Get in here."

...

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

Just when most people were discussing the situation in Poluo Province, a post about Evernight Harbor suddenly appeared in the eyes of the onlookers.

The poster was naturally the one who laughed last, [Desert Falcon], and the title of the post was quite eye-catching—

[Big News! The Big Fish in Evernight Harbor has been Found!]

Desert Falcon: "...I discovered the Enlightenment Society’s base in Evernight Harbor in Blackwater Alley! The person in charge of the base is called Niles, with the title or position of ’Guide,’ equivalent to a mid-level officer of the Enlightenment Society!"

"This guy’s tight-lipped and refused to admit anything. I fed him snake oil, planning to keep him hanging for two days to see the situation. Fortunately, not long after, a Disciple who came to make contact delivered himself to my door."

"Based on the clues he provided, I found a movable tile under the waterless tank in the bathroom, with a ladder leading down to a basement. In the basement, there was an elevator going down five to six hundred meters underground!"

"Even more astonishing is what’s behind this! Underneath this settlement, there’s actually a subway tunnel from the Human Alliance Era! Maybe it isn’t called a subway, but it’s something similar."

"I speculate that the Enlightenment Society uses this tunnel to transport personnel and equipment to Evernight Harbor, so I kept pushing that Andrew guy forward... It’s interesting to mention that this guy’s cowardice is ridiculous, sobbing and begging for mercy. If not for his nose, I wouldn’t believe he was a Vellante person."

"We encountered a few mutant scorpions on the way, but there weren’t many, probably spread from the Great Desert. Anyway, after dealing with them, we arrived at a relatively spacious area that seems to be a waiting room."

"According to that Disciple, the Disciples of Evernight Harbor regularly hold gatherings here, and the timing of the gatherings is mainly decided by the Guide, with the next one yet to be determined."

"I’m considering if I should send out a false message in Niles’ name, then catch the entire Enlightenment Society in Evernight Harbor, maybe even find that Martin guy... But given that it’s a critical time and Niles is still unconscious, this matter might need long-term planning."

"Leaving this aside first, the bigger surprise is what’s behind. I found a pile of documents at the base. There are personnel files, inventory lists, and even some professional documents I can’t understand."

"Although I’d love to post the content of these documents here, unfortunately, many technical terms can’t be translated, and the VM’s offline language library doesn’t have adequate resources. Typing it out one by one would probably take till the year after next. However, from some snippets, I can see words like ’experiment’ and ’virus,’ which are likely related to the ’Mortal Serum’."

"Making an immature assumption, perhaps the Enlightenment Society realized that rebooting the world through neutron annihilation was unfeasible, thus changing their previous strategy, intending to use genetically modified viruses to achieve their purpose... However, what’s puzzling is that this method is clearly risky for them as well."

"Or could it be that they’ve made a breakthrough in the field of biology, and this breakthrough has endowed them with some technology we’re unaware of? I don’t know, and Andrew is also clueless. He candidly admitted that he joined the Enlightenment Society just for women and money."

"A person like this should be easily bought, so I pulled his file from the archive, memorized his home address in front of him, and let him go."

"Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that in the reports I found in the archive room, the keyword ’Apocalypse’ appeared multiple times. I tried searching for related terms in the terminal, but didn’t find much valuable information."

"I can only try to interpret it... That Apocalypse should be a high-level figure in the Enlightenment Society. For some reason, their leader ’Gui Xu’s’ leadership has been weakened, or perhaps with Gui Xu’s consent, this Apocalypse’s opinion became the guiding principle for some Enlightenment Society’s grassroots task execution."

"I’ve already copied the electronic documents stored on the terminal to the VM and can share them at any time. However, Evernight Harbor is currently in a special period, with Vellante forces locking down the entire settlement. It might be difficult to sneak out. I plan to stay in the area to observe for a while... Maybe I can find an exit to the outside of the settlement from that collapsed tunnel."

"Above is the intelligence I’ve gathered in Evernight Harbor. If anyone can give me a lift back to Jinjaron Harbor to report back, I’d be very grateful!"

After the post was sent out, dozens of replies quickly popped up.

Among them were those rushing for more, some cheering on, and, of course, a few more shouting angrily with "Holy shit."

Tarlan Raider: "Holy shit! Wait, how did you also get the quest?!"

Emichiru Junichiro: "Surprised or not? (funny)"

Medical Miracle: "That’s not playing fair, you guys!"

Sauerkraut Fish: "MMP! Boss! Our mission got snatched! (stunned)"

Medical Miracle: "Boss, are you capable or not."

Angry Fatty Liver: "Ah, I sacrificed in vain."

Tarlan Raider: "?? What’s going on, maybe you aimed at the wrong person with your guns, we’re on the same team! (angry)"

Emichiru Junichiro: "So damn real. (funny)"

Fang Chang: "Actually, you guys don’t need to get excited. Generally, as long as the task is eventually completed, whoever completes it and in whatever way, the person who received the task will get rewards. It’s just that the proportion of the reward will vary based on each one’s progress in advancing the task. (smirking)"

Spring Water Commander: "+1, also, you haven’t completed the task, right? It’s at most a stage achievement now, it’s too early to celebrate. By the way, how about forming a team? You guys seem to cooperate quite well. (funny)"

Tarlan Raider: "What cooperation, dammit. I was sweating blood in front, while this guy hides in the back taking advantage."

Desert Falcon: "Tsk, you dare say you sweat blood, isn’t it fun to be led around by the NPC? (roll eyes)"

Tarlan Raider: "MMP! Not gonna argue with you... Send me your base coordinates, Vellante people started searching the city, let the brothers hide."

Desert Falcon: "Sent you a private message, I just happen to need someone to switch shifts here. If possible, bring some snake oil over, I’m thinking about how to pry open that Niles’ mouth."

Tarlan Raider: "I’ll find a way... Oh, by the way, what about Morse, did you see him?"

Desert Falcon: "Dead."

Sitting at the computer, Tarlan paused slightly, his hand resting on the keyboard stopped.

Dead...

Although it was expected, hearing about the guy’s end left him feeling somewhat empty inside.

There’s a chance that just like Comte, he went off to some star to become a governor...

...

(Thanks to "CaptPaterno" for the support. I was surprised how fast the comments came in. I’ll be taking half a day off to reunite. Wrote 8,000 words the day before yesterday, today’s Chapter is a transition, so just taking half a day off to reunite a bit.)