After a few hours… in front of the base gate.
"I'm worried, if the privileges offered by the base weren't good, I would have already resigned," said soldier A.
"Why?! The jobs offered by the base are the most coveted because of the privileges. What other better option do you have? Tell me I'm also interested," said soldier B.
"It's not about having a better job, but about the danger we run."
"Compared to having to leave the base and fight the zombies, this job is safer, however…" Soldier A continued, suddenly falling silent.
"But what? What do you know that I don't?" said soldier B.
"You, your tongue is going to cost you your life one of these days, you know? If the superiors find out…" said the squad captain, who had arrived to supervise the work.
"What are you going to do if other survivors hear you?"
"Sorry, captain, this won't happen again," said soldier A fearfully.
After hearing the conversation, soldier B also trembled. After the captain's warning, what else did he not understand? It was obvious that this information was confidential and that it was something very serious. Since his level was low and he was a newcomer to the squad, he had no right to know.
Soldier B was worried. He had joined the squad because he was a newcomer to the base, and after several fights with zombies along the way, he was lucky enough to awaken the superpower of wind.
Through tears and sweat, he managed to evolve to be able to throw blades of wind at the enemy.
However, his power was not strong enough to fight alone.
When the group that had arrived at his base disbanded, soldier B felt conflicted. He felt happy to have arrived safely, but this happiness soon disappeared because he realized that the base was not paradise and he needed zombie cores as currency for accommodation and food.
After he saw one of his companions start to accumulate core crystals in secret, it didn't take long for him to realize that this member was the one who got the least tired in the group and was the one who could use his superpowers longer than the rest and protect himself.
After some time, this member became the leader of the group and ordered everyone to collect the core crystals from the zombies and give them to him, because according to him, since he was part of the zombies, he would try to exchange them for supplies with the base laboratory for research when they arrived at the base.
The captain of the group would keep them with him and would divide the supplies he got equally with the members until they reached the base.
Soldier B was always suspicious and didn't believe that the leader would divide the supplies equally, but since his power was low, he superficially agreed and secretly kept some low-level core crystals with him.
At first, he was afraid of being discovered, but that same day, after fighting zombies when his power was almost exhausted, he felt a warm wave spread through his body, and even though his superpower was exhausted, he managed to continue fighting and survived.
That same night, when he realized that the core crystals he had hidden in place of his amulet were tied around his neck, he remembered the warm current he felt during the day in his body and how the new team leader had improved his physique more and more.
At first, everyone thought it was because of the battles, because after months of fighting, they were all able to deal with zombies better, and, over time, they were able to handle their superpowers more easily.
Remembering how the member who had a much worse physique than him improved a lot after awakening his superpowers until he became Soldier B, he realized that it must be because of the core crystals.
Thinking about how the leader had kept this information a secret from everyone... he decided to remain silent.
He was the member with the weakest superpower on the team, and if he went against his boss, he could be kicked out or even killed in revenge. He couldn't survive on his own.
Soldier B made a decision.