Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 591: Risks for property.

The Command Center smelled of fresh baked donuts and coffee. Lisha was slouched in the high-backed swivel chair, her thumbs flying across her phone screen. The rhythmic bloop-beep of her game was the loudest sound in the room.

"Status?" Hades asked as he walked in.

Lisha didn’t look up, but she did grin. "The world is still dead but resurrecting on our end. How is Nimo?"

Hades sighed leaning over the console. "Happy that she awakened and she cannot wait for our next confrontation with whatever is stupid enough to attack us. Of course, she is greatly disappointed that she did not awaken the ability to turn her blood into acid."

"Well, we can’t win them all. I am happy for her, and I am waiting for my turn. I do hope that I won’t need to rabid mutated bunny to sink its teeth into my hand for that happen." She sighed. "Why can’t these mutations be transmitted sexually?"

A comms officer dropped his donut.

Others maintained silence, waiting to hear more. Or just waiting for the awkwardness to pass.

Lisha chuckled and looked at Hades curiously. "What about you? Do you want to awaken?"

Hades arched an eyebrow. "I am a cyborg and I am too busy with other duties to worry about that. Anything new?"

Lisha took her eyes back to her game. "Oh, Zulu says Hector..."

Hades paused, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Hold up...who is Hector or which Hector are you talking about? We have at least thirty of them."

"Mrs. Tuchi’s mutated frog," Lisha said, finally locking her phone and spinning the chair around. "Keep up, Cousin. He’s the only Hector we ever talk about. Anyway, Zulu, who is lead investigator of the animal spy group, says Hector claims the ’Watchers’ are not so happy again."

Hades frowned. "The Watchers? What do they have to be disappointed about?"

"Apparently," Lisha leaned forward, her expression turning serious, "they’re annoyed we aren’t playing with their toys. You know, those orange devices they dropped like confetti? Hector says the Watchers think we’re being dumb and ’boring.’"

Hades let out a sharp, cynical laugh. "Boring? Good. I want to be the most boring thing in the galaxy to them. Suni found out that those devices are basically beacons. You turn one on, and every nightmare creature within fifty miles gets a GPS coordinate to your front door. Or at least that is how it works, I can’t be sure because she was in a hurry. We will have to wait for her to return and explain." He paced the room, his boots heavy on the metal floor. "Spread the word. New rule: possession of an orange device is a Class A violation. If you are found with one, it’s a death penalty." He paused and thought. "That will make people think twice about messing with them."

"For real. Death?" Lisha asked.

"People can be stupid. Tell them there’s a reward_ extra rations, cash or gold, maybe even some luxuries_ for anyone who brings a device." He tapped his fingers on the edge of the console. "That ought to sweeten the pot compared to a death threat."

"Got it," Lisha nodded, scribbling a note. "Bribes over threats. Works every time. Heading to King’s Bridge now?"

"Yeah." Hades said, walking out. "Keep an eye on Zulu’s broadcast, I don’t need my private business blasted all over the base like last time."

The parrot had narrated his confrontation with Amber very clearly. It was almost as though she witnessed it in person. And when she was finished, she compared divorce among the bird species to divorce in the human species.

Naturally, birds won!

Hades carried those thoughts to the main gate, and they were still circulating when Day suddenly stopped the car.

There was a squad team standing in a semi-circle around, a group of twenty men and women who looked like they had been teleported from the pre-apocalyptic world and dragged through a hedge backwards.

They wore designer hiking gear that had never seen dirt until a week ago, and they were currently arguing about property rights.

"Hades!" Jin shouted, knocking frantically on the window. "My estate is on the north side of the river. I have documents_"

Hades lowered the window slowly, with a deep frown on his face. Whatever had brought the rich folks out of the woods was not good--for him at least.

Sheldon stepped forward. "What he is saying is that we all have property in King’s Bridge. If they have been occupied by imposters, we will not let that stand."

"We hope that you stand with us." Kris said. "Being that you yourself have property there."

"Everyone, " Hades interrupted, stepping out of the car so that he could address them properly. "I think it is a little too early for all this. The only thing that matters out there is whether or not you can run faster than a six-legged wolf. You have been warned about going out of these walls.....you may not return."

"The issue is about claims on our property!" Tracy said. "We have hired private security to escort us too."

"I have a right to reclaim my assets," Olandria Morrinson added, adjusting her silk scarf. "That vineyard is a heritage site that belongs to my family. We have kept it for five centuries. I will not allow some beggars to continue shitting and sleeping there."

"It’s most likely full of mutated vines and mutants now, ma’am," a soldier pitched in, earning a smirk from Hades.

The rich folks just shouted more, anxious to follow Hades outside. He tried to calm them down and realized that it was a waste of time.

"Alright, let us go!" Hades barked. "Stay in the middle of the convoy. If we stop, stay inside. If something jumps on the roof, definitely stay inside."

Within ten minutes, the nineteen-vehicle convoy rolled out of the massive gates of Fortress Four. Within the hour, they were outside Westbrook. The calm of the base was replaced by the eerie, suffocating silence of the wasteland that Ferry Island had become.

The journey was rough and tense, the road to King’s Bridge was a cracked ribbon of asphalt struggling to exist amidst aggressive, mutated flora that made the road even more rough.

But it wasn’t the plants that bothered Hades.

He sat in the passenger seat of the lead SUV, staring out the window.

High above, the Watchers were hovering and following the convoy.

"Not a good sign." Jax, muttered. He gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white.

"They do this all the time. Nothing to fear here." Commander Grayson said through the comms.

"Commander Grayson is right," Hades said, though his hand drifted to the holster on his hip. "If they want a show. We will give them one."

Sheldon’s voice came through the radio. "I don’t like being entertainment,"

"You can still turn around." O’Toole told him. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The billionaires started arguing, with some advocating that they go back but the majority was determined to go visit their property. Some were already thinking of moving back there, after all King’s Bridge would still be under Fortress four.

As the jagged skyline of King’s Bridge appeared in the distance, the Watchers overhead swerved in unison, hovering directly over the path ahead. It was a silent invitation_ or a warning.

Hades took a deep breath. "What have they planned?" he whispered to himself. "They wouldn’t be following us like this if it was nothing."