Chapter 479: He Is Very Much Like My OriginalBody Elder Brother – Beehive City, Girls and Boys

Heh~!

After listening to Bruce Wayne's account, Sarah couldn't help but let out a sigh, and she raised her hands and clapped, saying: "I thought you were just an ordinary mortal, but I didn't expect you to be this capable? Not bad, not bad."

"Because I'm Batman." Bruce replied calmly, and said in a low voice: "Alright, now it's my turn to ask questions. Who are you, and why do you possess such technology?"

"Well..." Sarah spread her hands, "Introducing my battalion is fine, but if you want me to explain the whole story, I'll have to get someone else to clarify things for you."

"You come from another universe." Bruce pointed out in one sentence.

"As expected of Batman." Sarah clapped her hands again, then rose from the metal chair and looked down at him, saying: "Given your intellect and wisdom, my superiors have classified you as 'valuable'."

The upcoming battles can be left to us, and you… we will also arrange for you to continue psychological therapy; if your recovery goes well, perhaps…

"I don't need any psychological therapy." Bruce interrupted.

From his appearance, one could tell Bruce Wayne was still in a state of extreme rage.

Upon hearing the news that Diana had survived, Bruce indeed felt somewhat stirred and was willing to share his past of wandering through space.

But Bruce wouldn't, just because of Sarah's few words, willingly stay here; after all, Diana was merely a comrade and friend, not enough to make him abandon his suicidal, revenge-driven actions.

The butler who was like a teacher and father, the adopted son with high hopes, the son of his own blood—Bruce hoped these close ones could survive, but that hope was slim.

"Alright, no more talk—your mental state is clearly off; give yourself a break." Sarah said, waving her left hand.

"I… uh…"

Bruce Wayne still wanted to say something more, but his eyes rolled up, his eyelids closed, and he promptly slumped onto the metal table, falling into a deep sleep.

Moreover, this was Bruce's first "good" sleep since the Doomsday Battle.

At that moment, as the interrogation room's gate opened, Fogrem entered together with four technicians wearing white coats, but whose eyes, arms, and even entire bodies had undergone considerable cybernetic surgery.

The technicians, with the aid of mechanical tentacles, carried away the comatose Bruce Wayne, who showed no response to the outside world.

Fogrem, meanwhile, watched the technicians leave and heard Sarah, who had risen from the metal chair and stood at his side, ask in a teasing tone: "What? Did you come here personally to ask for a favor? If you're willing to call me 'sister,' I might just help you out, hahaha~!"

"Indeed there is." Fogrem didn't hide anything, looking at Sarah and saying: "According to my father's request, I can temporarily command your 13th Battalion, but essentially, the spoils your battalion gains are still allocated by yourselves, and have nothing to do with me."

"So what?" Sarah asked again.

"So, I hope that when I build my legion, I can borrow some personnel from you." Fogrem stated frankly.

"Borrow some personnel… you mean those so-called superheroes?" Sarah raised an eyebrow lightly.

"Mainly Batman Bruce Wayne; I always feel… he resembles my OriginalBody elder brother. If he were here, I think I and my legion could avoid many detours." Fogrem explained.

"Hmm…" Sarah pondered for a moment, neither refusing nor giving an immediate answer, but said: "Bruce Wayne is indeed our prisoner, but I don't have the authority to arbitrarily move prisoners; we should wait for Battalion Commander Westgate to return and discuss it then, though he probably won't object."

"Thanks." Fogrem finally showed a slight smile.

"Hey, what's there to thank for? If I really had to thank…" Sarah walked toward the interrogation room's exit, and as she brushed past Fogrem, she didn't forget to tap the gilded armor, laughing:

"Send more good liquor to our battalion, then join us for a proper drink! Haha~!"

"." Fogrem's expression instantly reverted to a poker face.

But in the end, he could only give a self‑mocking smile and then turn and leave the interrogation room.

Currently, brother Rus has mobilized more engineering departments to help them temporarily reinforce the frontline base, so as to accommodate more incoming survivors.

As for why the Zero Seven compatriots aren't allowed to go to Fenris, there are many reasons; mainly, nothing is stable now, and a hasty transfer would surely invite numerous problems.

Aside from the Shadow Wolves squad stationed at the advance base, part of the wild wolves and the auxiliary forces of four regiments, the rest of the 13th Battalion's entire strength has been thrown into search‑and‑rescue operations.

Although the Doomsday Battle reduced the human population of Zero Seven Earth by more than half, a large number of survivors still hide beneath the surfaces of old cities—for example, the shelter that unintentionally rescued Diana.

There are also groups that have established surface bases in remote mountains and deserts, attempting to restore productivity, rebuild order, armies, and market trade; these larger organizations and forces range from tens of thousands to millions in population.

In contrast, the traitor government and the Apocalypse Star forces pay no heed to these; if any organization or faction dares to overstep, like the rebel army led by Diana that frequently attacks and harasses, they will incur the Doom Demon's "attention."

Gen Luo·Westgate is currently leading the first combat company of the second battalion, aboard an airborne mobile fortress that is over a hundred meters long and about fifty meters wide.

Together with six large transport craft and two escorting pirate warplanes forming a flight squadron, they have activated optical camouflage at a point 1,000 kilometers southwest of the advance base, and continue to speed southwestward.

According to the information relayed by the earliest batch of scout sentinels, after traveling another two hundred kilometers southwest, they will encounter a force inhabited by three million people.

———————

…

Meanwhile.

Gen Luo·Westgate's target lies in a force gathering place over a thousand kilometers from Philadelphia and the advance base.

Gazing into the night sky, one can only see endless mountain ranges, yet here there is considerable coverage of cold‑ and drought‑resistant vegetation, and even faint signs of animal movement can be spotted, making the living environment far better than that near Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, a scout sentinel in stealth mode is drifting away from this mountain range, heading southward to gather more information.

Because this scout sentinel had already infiltrated the interior of the "city" inhabited by three million people, gathering sufficient intel, its program judged that there was no further reconnaissance value here, so it continued to speed southward.

On the surface, this area appears to be mountains, forests, and wasteland, but if one penetrates the outer soil and bedrock, the interior reveals another world entirely.

In fact, the surface appearance is a façade; actually, the vast majority of the mountain peaks in this region have been hollowed out and constructed by the former United States government over nearly half a century, with the aim of preparing for nuclear war.

From the mid‑ to late twentieth century, the United States and the Soviet Union stood opposed, the shadow of nuclear war looming over all humanity, and within their respective domains there existed many similar underground or subterranean structures.

But after the Soviet Union dissolved, these structures were either abandoned or turned into tourist attractions, although some still serve to store strategic materiel.

And this nuclear‑war shelter located in Virginia happened to be used by the U. S. Army to store supplies.

After the Doomsday Battle, the command headquarters was likewise situated in the Virginia Marine Corps, coordinating with the National Guard, Army, and Special Operations Brigade to promptly reopen this shelter, using it as a hub to search for and rescue as many residents as possible in the early aftermath.

With more people, more troops, more weapons and resources, survival odds would indeed rise significantly—especially since this place is inherently a nuclear fallout shelter—but many complicated problems also arise.

In the early days after the apocalypse it was fine, but within just three months, the military high‑ranking officials responsible for the shelter's safety erupted in a small‑scale bloody clash.

Because contact with the outside world was lost, judging that government, military, and social order had collapsed, the original wealthy merchants, politicians, and special classes ceased to exist, which stirred the ambition deep within officers who held military power.

After the conflict, the then‑Marine Corps Commandant, Hogart H. David, became the shelter's outright ruler.

After all, Virginia is the headquarters of the Marine Corps, and this commandant's rank is a four‑star general, giving him considerable prestige in the military.

From then on, this shelter under Marine Corps jurisdiction began to use supplies to rebuild production lines, achieving a certain degree of self‑sufficiency, and even dispatched convoys to negotiate and trade with other forces.

Yet, for the majority of ordinary residents who manage to obtain food and shelter and survive after the apocalypse, who holds power seems less important than it was before the catastrophe.

A few hours earlier, the scout sentinel, using a returning trade convoy, successfully slipped into the heavily guarded secret entrance, passing through layers of tunnels and firepower points, and arrived at Zone 01, which simultaneously houses a population of 600,000.

They gazed into the distance.

It felt like this was a 'honeycomb' city built beneath the mountain, with all the buildings intricately stacked together, and the hollowed-out zones even had aerial cable cars for transporting goods and personnel.

Upon arriving here, if one were an ordinary person from the main universe, they would feel oppressed and short of breath, as the space utilization seemed higher than that of some asteroid mines; but as a native of the 07th universe, one would instead possess an extremely strong sense of security.

Moreover, there were five similar honeycomb cities situated beneath this expansive mountain range.

At this moment.

In the easternmost residential area.

Rather than calling it a residential area, it would be more apt to describe it as a 'dwelling cave', for here there are not only simple houses but also dugouts carved into the mountain walls.

After a day's labor, people dragged their weary bodies, crowding into alleys and streets about three meters wide on average, then used steep stairs and ladders to return to their respective homes.

Among them was a slender girl dressed in a dirty, wrinkled black robe that covered most of her beautiful features.

She carried an old, patched-up backpack to the end of the residential area, climbed a ladder to a slightly higher spot, followed a narrow path only one person could pass, then opened the door of one of the rooms and went inside.

She closed the door and locked it.

Only then did the girl lift her hand to pull back the hood, revealing her full appearance.

Her skin was a sickly white, she had long black hair, and her face, aside from being strikingly beautiful, bore pronounced dark circles.

When the girl took off her backpack and removed the black robe, one could also see the diamond-shaped 'ruby' necklace she wore around her neck.

Moreover, for some unknown reason, the 'ruby' suddenly flickered with a faint light, causing the girl to furrow her brows in pain.

"Shut up, I'm not in the mood to argue with you right now, Father!"

The girl muttered to herself, and the 'ruby' gradually dimmed, also easing her expression of pain.

Immediately afterward, the girl picked up her backpack again and walked toward a folding cot.

But upon looking at the bed, she saw a boy asleep.

She sat beside the bed, first taking out a yellowed package of medicine from her backpack and placing it at her side, then taking out a bottle of water and two cans of cooked corn kernels.

After she used a can opener to open the two cans, carefully placing them on a makeshift nightstand made from a broken wooden crate, she forced a natural smile, gently stroked the boy's cheek, and softly said:

"Damian, wake up, it's time to eat and take your medicine."

"Ugh..."

Hearing the call, the boy gradually woke up, and as he opened his eyes, the girl also saw his dark green pupils.

To be honest, the boy not only had sharp features and a handsome appearance, but also bore a hint... of Bruce Wayne's likeness.

Together with the name Damian, it's not hard to guess that the boy is none other than Bruce Wayne's biological son, Damian Wayne.

After fully waking, Damian tried to struggle upright, but only with the girl's help did he manage to lean against the wooden plank wall, half-sitting, half-lying on the bed.

Only after the girl lifted the blanket Damian used to keep warm did she finally understand why even a half-sitting, half-lying position required assistance: both his legs and arms were completely missing.

"Today has been tough... Rui Wen, if I..." Damian said with an apologetic expression.

"It's fine; as long as you can keep living, that's more important than anything."

The girl called Rui Wen interrupted Damian's self-reproach, smiled, picked up a can, and while feeding him with a plastic spoon, continued:

"Today seems a bit strange; there are far fewer soldiers patrolling the city."

?

Chewing and swallowing a bite of corn, Damian pondered for a few seconds and guessed: "It's probably due to overly frequent trade, possibly exposing this place."

"Don't jinx it." Rui Wen retorted angrily: "If this place also falls, then we truly have nowhere to live."

"..." Damian didn't respond, merely accepting the feeding in silence.

But the gaze of this 'little bat' revealed reluctance, as well as a kind of self-loathing.

After all, he who was once agile has now become a 'human stick'; no one would accept that.

Fortunately, he still has Rui Wen by his side.

But this brief warmth...

"Boom..." was interrupted by a faint explosion sound.

(End of chapter)