The boat stopped in front of an old, yet well-maintained port with a guard post located nearby. As they disembarked, they saw a pair of rugged Sky Realm level fighters emerge from inside. Scars covered their body, and one of them was missing an eye.
From the way they behaved, they weren’t the type to bother with pleasantries.
One went back to the guard post and walked out a few seconds after.
“You may enter!”
Viktor saw what seemed like ruins were actually various buildings from before the apocalypse. Though they may be lacking in paint job, the buildings’ structure looked stable, and he could see that some high-quality metal was used to reinforce the basic shape, ensuring the buildings could withstand anything short of a massive ambush of a horde.
Along the way to the walls, there were a lot of mass-built houses in various states of disrepair. It seemed to be only partially reinforced, just enough to give the guards some time to repel attacks.
When he saw some people were busy hammering on something, he realized the houses were for workers or laborers.
Unlike the dilapidated houses just a few steps away from the wall, the place was so well-maintained, and if he were raised here to never look outside his entire life, he would have believed if he was told that the apocalypse simply never happened.
It was a statue called “The Motherland Calls”, the statue was preserved before the apocalypse started.
However, contrary to the size, the place was not bustling with people. He passed a cafe, a swimming pool, and even a well-stocked bar, yet not too many people were there, and all were dressed in luxurious, well-ironed clothes. From the way they kept laughing, talking, playing various games and enjoying life, they seem to not even care about the outside world at all.
As if he was reading Viktor’s mind, the old butler explained that the city houses the most important government personnel from the Rus Imperial faction along with their families. This zone was maintained to be as close to the situation before the apocalypse, but there was no way to adequately house everyone, and thus only the high-ranking people and their families were allowed within the protection of the wall, while the middle-class workers had to stay outside.
They headed to a government building that stood next to a decently-sized mansion. The building was made of white marble, and the flag of Russia waved in the wind alongside a flag containing the symbol of Rus Imperial. Outside of the building, a lot of armored cars were parked, a sign that a meeting was going on.
That reminded Viktor of something, and he decided to ask.
“I will try to ask about his availability, please wait.”
One hour, two hours passed, and Viktor started to notice that something was strange. The old butler hadn’t come back yet, and every time he asked, he would be dismissed with a simple request to wait even more.
Of course, Viktor was disappointed, and he felt like he had wasted his time here waiting.
“Your sister has taken over as the governor. Well, in a sense, she is the prime minister now. Do see for yourself, young master Viktor.”
She was sitting on a swivel chair in front of a group of politicians, a few of which Viktor managed to recognize as part of the old government before the apocalypse. Although his elder sister was 15 years older than he is, she still looked as composed and beautiful as she was before the apocalypse. If anything, her expression looked downright ruthless, even as she glared and steered the politicians to get her way.
“The problem is, we need more weapons… if we plan to take over Moscow…”
“Thanks to the sudden attack a few months ago, the eastern side of the city is not too well-defended…”
When they were finally finished, he was careful to get out of the way so as to not be seen.
He was almost startled out of his wits when he heard his sister’s voice call for him.
Both saw the other as a threat, and even though they couldn’t kill the other directly, they had always opposed each other in a more subtle way. In a way, they were like a pair of snakes, always on alert for each other and ready to retaliate.
“No, no, of course not. You know me well, sister, I don’t want to bother with such a thing.”
“Hahaha… Of course not, I am just here to see father, nothing more.”
A part of him was confused as to why he was just left to go away like that, but he decided to take it in stride. When he walked outside the building, the old butler was already waiting for him.
Viktor was suddenly reminded other than wasting time doing nothing, he still have the new technique he acquired at the tower, and he decided to ask.
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–𝗶𝗻𝙣r𝑒𝑎𝚍. 𝘤𝑜𝘮