Empire Building With Infinite Warehouse-Chapter 101: Republic Camp Gate Seven

Julien stared at the screen, dumbfounded.

[Zero Point Drain]

[Ability to suck all of a person’s mana upon physical contact.]

He finally understood exactly how Eric knocked that stall owner out earlier yesterday. It was not some crazy high-tier spell or a hidden weapon.

The creepy priest just casually touched her shoulder and instantly drained her entire mana pool dry.

In this ruined world, sudden mana depletion caused immediate unconsciousness. It was basically a cheat code for winning any fight before it even started.

And now, Julien had the chance to steal it.

His unique commission skill allowed him to copy one ability from a person after a successful trade.

He quickly opened his character window to check his status.

[Current Skills: Phantom Step (A-Rank), Spatial Lock (A-Rank), Kinetic Displacement (A-Rank), Examiner, Streetwise]

Julien let out a quiet breath of relief.

He still had exactly one empty slot left in his system matrix so there isn’t a need to make any hard choices or throw a useful skill in the trash to make room.

He mentally selected the empty space and locked it in.

[Acquire Zero Point Drain?]

[Yes / No]

’Yes.’

A rush of energy flowed through his chest as the new skill settled perfectly into his system.

"Is everything alright?" Eric asked softly.

Julien blinked and looked up.

The market boss was still standing right in front of him, holding the small blue potion he just bought.

Eric tilted his head, his creepy smile stretching across his face. He probably noticed Julien zoning out for a few seconds.

"Yeah, everything is perfect," Julien replied, slipping his hands into his pockets.

Julien knew that although he copied the skill, it still will not match the level of original since his rank is low but he decided to test the waters.

He knew exactly what Eric was capable of now, so he wanted to show the creepy boss that he was not an easy target.

Julien took a step forward, pulled his right hand out of his pocket, and confidently held it out.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Eric," Julien said loudly.

Eric looked down at the offered hand.

A look of genuine surprise flashed across his pale face. Almost nobody in this entire underground market ever touched him willingly.

They were all completely terrified of his power and actively moved out of his way when he walked down the street.

But here was this random merchant, just casually offering a firm handshake.

Eric hesitated for a split second then reached out and grabbed Julien’s hand.

Julien gripped it firmly and shook it twice.

He did not flinch nor pull away.

He just looked right into Eric’s dark eyes and smiled back.

’I know exactly what you are, buddy,’ Julien thought, keeping his grip strong.

’And I just stole your best trick.’

Eric slowly let go of his hand.

The market boss actually looked a little unsettled by the complete lack of fear.

His usual intimidation tactics were clearly not working on this guy at all.

"Indeed," Eric finally said, his polite voice sounding just a tiny bit strained.

"I look forward to seeing what else you bring to our little community. Have a good night, merchant."

Eric turned around and quickly walked out of the dusty concrete shop, disappearing into the dark tunnels of the stadium.

"That guy gives me the creeps," Kyle muttered from the doorway, leaning heavily against the shop walls.

"You have no idea," Julien sighed, rubbing his right hand on his jacket just in case Eric left any weird residue behind.

They did not get much sleep after that.

Julien spent the next few hours sitting on the floor, running through his crazy prison break plan for the morning.

He double-checked the twenty garbage potions he set aside for Lena’s inspection and had to make sure they looked official enough to pass a basic visual check but weak enough to keep him off the military draft list.

The sun finally came up, casting a depressing light over the ruined city.

It was time to go.

Kyle grabbed the long wooden handles of the cart and started pulling.

Julien walked right beside him.

They left the underground stadium market behind and walked through the destroyed streets toward the military base.

The thugs had already disappeared and Julien didn’t care enough to look for them.

Maya was absolutely right about the outer perimeter.

The closer they got to the camp, the more strict things became.

The military base was built directly into the rotting ruins of an old commercial town.

It was a proper post-apocalyptic fortress with concrete barriers with reinforced with rusted rebar and thick steel plates salvaged from broken shipping containers.

The watchtowers were not built from fresh wood.

They were hollowed-out city buses stacked on top of each other, wrapped in razor wire and sandbags that were slowly spilling dirt onto the cracked street below.

They passed multiple heavily armed patrols. The soldiers were wearing mismatched dark uniforms patched together with tough monster leather, and they carried high-grade assault rifles modified with whatever scrap they could find and finally reached Gate Seven.

It was a blockade built out of rusted cars.

At least twenty guards were stationed at the front entrance alone, standing behind heavy machine guns mounted on old truck beds.

But the most distracting thing was sitting right in the middle of the checkpoint.

It was the twisted statue Maya warned him about.

The thing was absolutely hideous.

It looked like a tangled mass of stone tentacles and screaming faces, ripped straight out of a nightmare dungeon.

Several soldiers were actually kneeling in the dirt right in front of it, whispering prayers with their eyes closed tight.

’These guys are completely brainwashed,’ Julien thought, watching the fanatics pray to a literal rock in the middle of a heavily guarded checkpoint.

’One wrong word, and they will probably just shoot us for heresy.’

A tall guard wearing body armour stepped forward and blocked their path. He pointed a long rifle directly at Julien’s chest.

"Halt," the guard ordered gruffly.

"State your business."

Julien put his hands up slowly to show he was not reaching for a weapon.

He pasted his best, most harmless customer service smile on his face.

"Good morning," Julien said cheerfully.

"I am a merchant. Commander Lena told me to bring my cart here for a product inspection."

The guard frowned deeply.

He looked at Julien, then looked up at the giant, intimidating mercenary pulling the wooden cart.

"The Commander does not invite random street rats to the front gates," the guard sneered, keeping his finger resting dangerously close to the trigger.

"Turn around and walk away before I put a bullet in your head."

Julien did not drop his smile.

"I highly suggest you go radio your boss before you do that," Julien replied calmly, keeping his voice totally level.

"Because if you shoot the guy she specifically invited, she is going to be very unhappy with you."

The guard glared at him, clearly debating whether to just shoot him anyway and deal with the paperwork later.

"Hey," another voice called out from the tall watchtower above the gate, leaning out of a broken bus window.

"The Commander just sent a runner. She said to let the merchant through. Send him to Camp Five."

The guard clicked his tongue in pure annoyance and slowly lowered his rifle. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

He stepped to the side, pointing a heavy finger at the thick steel gates.

"Move," the guard barked.

"And keep your hands where I can clearly see them."

Julien and Kyle pushed the cart forward.

They stepped past the creepy screaming statue, walked through the steel barricades, and stepped right into the belly of the beast.