After the soldier left, Maxwell fell into thought.

He genuinely couldn’t figure out what the Yamato Empire was trying to do.

Everyone was barely holding on, living on edge—and yet they were still willing to take a massive risk, cross the ocean, and sail straight into Atlas Federation territory. For what?

He turned it over in his head for a long time and still came up empty. In the end, he could only drop it.

When the time came, he’d just capture one of them alive and interrogate them. That would tell him everything.

Just then, someone knocked on his office door again.

"Come in!"

A different soldier hurried inside.

"General—something happened at the Silverlake City compound!"

Maxwell’s expression changed instantly. "What happened?"

The Silverlake City compound had originally been founded by the nearby Joint Base. Under military command, it had grown into one of the largest survivor compounds in the region.

Aside from Atlas City, it was the biggest major safe zone around—over two million survivors.

If something happened to a major compound like that, of course it would hit Maxwell hard.

"This morning, Silverlake City called in and reported that the Riverton City compound suddenly launched an attack on them."

"At first we didn’t think much of it," the soldier continued. "Riverton City is only a large compound. Their scale doesn’t even compare to Silverlake’s."

"But when our people tried to contact Silverlake to get an update... we couldn’t reach them anymore."

"Couldn’t reach them?" Maxwell frowned. "Could they have just been too busy fighting to pick up?"

"That’s what we thought too. But just now, our people received a call from over there. The caller said Silverlake City compound is under his control now."

"Under his control?" Maxwell’s temper flared. "A major compound established by the military—without my authorization, who the hell gave him the right to take over?"

"I remember Riverton City’s leader is Garrett Knox, right?"

"Yes, sir. It’s him."

Maxwell’s face darkened. "Last time he came by, I didn’t get the impression he was anything special. How did he go from that to being strong enough to break Silverlake in such a short time?"

"We’re confused too," the soldier said. "And it happened fast. From the time we got the first call this morning to now... it’s only been two hours."

"Taking a major compound in two hours isn’t just ’strong.’" Maxwell’s eyes sharpened. "There has to be something going on behind the scenes."

"Yes, sir—that’s what we think too."

Maxwell didn’t hesitate. "Arrange a team to go to Silverlake City immediately. I want the full truth—no matter what it takes."

"Yes, sir!"

After the soldier left, Maxwell sank back into silence again.

Two major pieces of news in a row—and both of them stank.

A heavy unease settled in his chest, like something terrifying was about to break loose.

After thinking for a while, Maxwell pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

On the other side...

It only took Ethan and the others a little over half an hour to fly back from Grace’s compound to Fallen Star City.

They were all in Golden Valley State, not far apart—just a bit over 250 miles. At the speed of flying mounts, it was nothing.

The moment they arrived back in Fallen Star City, everyone relaxed like they’d finally come home.

Not long after, Miles came rushing over.

In Fallen Star City, news traveled fast—and most of it reached Miles first.

Something as big as Ethan’s squad returning? There was no way he wouldn’t hear about it immediately.

"Miles, man, I missed you!" Chris and the others lit up and surged forward, each of them going in for a hug.

Last time, only Ethan had come back. The rest of them hadn’t.

Doing the math, it had been about a month since they’d seen Miles.

"Bang bang bang—"

"Pff!"

Big Mike got too excited and slapped Miles on the back a few times.

Miles immediately coughed up blood.

"Stop—STOP!" Miles lurched out of Big Mike’s arms, staring at him like he’d just been hit by a truck.

"Your strength..."

"Uh... sorry," Big Mike said awkwardly. "I forgot you’re just a tier 11 little scrub."

"Tier 11... little scrub?" Miles’s mouth twitched.

Tier 11 was basically the ceiling in the current world, and this guy was calling it "little scrub"?

"Miles, we got a lot out of this trip," Ethan said with a grin. "You’ll level up fast too. When you do, you can hit him back."

Judging by the way Ethan’s lips kept trying to curl upward, Miles squinted at him. "From the look on your face, ’a lot’ doesn’t sound like it even covers it."

"Haha, it was okay." Ethan didn’t bother acting humble. "Right now, I’m tier 16. Those guys are all tier 14."

"...!"

Even though Miles had braced himself, his eyes still went wide.

If he didn’t know Ethan wouldn’t lie to him, he never would’ve believed it. It was insane.

The last time Ethan came back, he’d only been tier 12.

In just a few days, he’d jumped four tiers. That was brutal.

Wasn’t it supposed to get harder and harder to climb the higher you went?

What the hell was this?

"We stumbled onto something incredible out there—and I managed to bring it back. Once we set it up, you can raise your own strength too. After that, you can set up a contribution ranking. Anyone who meets the requirements can use it."

"Seriously?" Miles’s eyes lit up.

"Yeah."

"That’s huge." Miles leaned in. "What do we need to do?"

Miles knew Ethan’s style. If something was ready to go, Ethan never hoarded it.

So if Ethan hadn’t just shown it outright, there had to be some kind of condition.

Ethan actually liked talking with Miles—no extra fluff, no pointless ceremony.

He pulled out his phone, opened the photo album, and held it out. "Have them build a stone staircase exactly like this. Same size, same dimensions. Use the best materials you’ve got."

He didn’t fully understand ritual circles himself, so the only thing he could do was copy it one-to-one.

"Got it." Miles didn’t hesitate for a second. He immediately turned and started giving orders.

"Oh, right." Miles looked back. "Captain—there’s a guy here who says he knows you. Want to meet him?"

"Knows us?" Ethan frowned, confused. "Bring him in. Let’s see."

"Sure."

A moment later, a security team member escorted someone inside.

A young man—gaunt, worn-down, with a dead look in his eyes.

And missing an arm.

Ethan stared at him for two seconds and still didn’t recognize him.

The young man forced a bitter smile. "Ethan. Long time no see. Never thought we’d meet again like this."

"You are...?"

Chris squinted, then snapped his fingers. "Ethan, I remember now. That’s Calvin Shaw!"

"Calvin Shaw?" Ethan froze—then it clicked. "The Calvin Shaw from Starlight City? What the hell happened to you?"

Calvin let out a long sigh. "It’s... a long story."

Then he started from the beginning and told them everything.

By the time he finished, the room went quiet—until Chris rolled his eyes.

"Dude, you literally did this to yourself."

It was the apocalypse, and this guy still did something that stupid—letting himself get taken just to protect his compound’s people?

No wonder Ethan had said back then that Calvin’s personality wasn’t suited for the Fallen Star Squad. Looking at him now... he really wasn’t wrong.

With that kind of temperament, he’d definitely clash with everyone sooner or later.

Calvin gave a helpless, self-mocking laugh. The inhuman days he’d spent in Stonebridge City’s compound had finally beaten the naivety out of him.

In the apocalypse, nothing mattered more than your own life.

The cruelest joke of all was this: the very people he’d risked his life to save had watched him get tortured day after day in Stonebridge City... and not a single one of them had stepped forward for him.

If Fallen Star City’s people hadn’t suddenly stormed Stonebridge City’s compound, he probably would’ve died in that place.

Ethan didn’t pile on.

He’d seen Calvin’s weakness in his character a long time ago. So Calvin ending up like this didn’t surprise him.

Calvin took a breath, then looked at Ethan with naked hope. "Ethan. I remember you said... if there ever came a day I couldn’t make it anymore, I could come find you. Does that still count?"

"If I said it, it counts." Ethan nodded.

"From today on, you’re one of Fallen Star City’s people." Ethan’s voice stayed calm, but there was steel in it. "But I’m saying this up front—once you’re here, put away your old way of doing things. Fallen Star City has its own rules."

"I understand." Calvin’s reply was firm.

"Good." Ethan held out his hand. "Then welcome to Fallen Star City."

"Thank you." Calvin’s eyes went wet, his voice rough.

Some lessons you don’t understand until they’ve hurt you.