Chapter 246 Stay inside!
The next day arrived swiftly, and Ivy was already awake early in the morning, just like Darren.
"Are you sure about this?" Darren raised an eyebrow, curiosity evident in his eyes. "About this mission?"
"Why not? Are you scared?" Ivy replied with a light chuckle.
"Nope! I can’t be scared. I’m just asking because you look tired. I was thinking you’d want to take some days off and rest properly. I never expected a new mission to pop up immediately." Darren replied with a heavy sigh. "At least I was able to rest properly last night, but as for you..." His gaze swept over Ivy’s face before he continued, "I’m sure you went to bed late because you were preparing for the mission."
"I’ll rest properly once the mission is completed, Darren. That’s not a big deal." Ivy replied immediately, a warm smile appearing on her face. Afterward, she climbed into the passenger seat of the truck. "Hurry up and let’s go. I don’t want my children to wake up and see me here. I wouldn’t be able to go anywhere after that."
"If you say so." Darren sighed before getting into the driver’s seat. A moment later, he started the engine and drove the truck out of Hope Base, heading toward Urban Star Field.
After driving for what seemed like forever and dealing with different types of monsters along the way, with Darren constantly running them over with the truck whenever they appeared in their path, they finally reached the area surrounding their exact destination. The closer they got, the more monsters rushed toward them, drawn by the noise of the approaching vehicle. Ivy immediately took care of those that came too close, raising her gun and blowing their heads off with precise shots.
"Fuck! Here we go again!" Darren muttered under his breath, his nose wrinkling as he struggled to deal with the terrible stench of the monsters. His gaze kept drifting toward the gruesome remains scattered along the road....half-eaten human bodies, carcasses of animals, broken vehicles, and all kinds of other debris that had been left behind by the disaster.
"Keep driving at full speed toward the Technology Park. We’re not here to deal with every monster in this area." Ivy’s voice remained calm despite the horrifying surroundings.
Darren nodded in response and pressed harder on the accelerator. The truck surged forward, running over several monsters that failed to get out of the way in time. Whenever a monster was too large for the truck to handle, Ivy immediately raised her gun and blew its head apart before it could get close enough to attack them.
The journey became increasingly dangerous as they approached the Technology Park. The number of monsters seemed to increase with every passing minute, but neither of them stopped.
"How much farther?" Darren asked after a while, keeping both hands firmly on the steering wheel as he continued driving at full speed.
"We’re almost there," Ivy replied without taking her eyes off the road. "Once we reach the Technology Park, don’t get out until I tell you to."
Darren nodded immediately.
"Understood."
After several more minutes, the tall buildings surrounding the Technology Park finally appeared ahead of them. Unlike the surrounding streets, the area was surprisingly quiet. A few abandoned vehicles were scattered around the entrance, their doors hanging open as though their owners had fled in a hurry, but there were far fewer low-level monsters than Ivy had expected.
She immediately understood why.
The disaster had broken out in the early hours of the morning, when most of the researchers and employees at the Technology Park had not yet arrived. Many people were probably still at home when everything began, while those who had already been inside the research institute had a better chance of surviving the initial outbreak. Of course, there was no guarantee that they had actually survived. The silence surrounding the place could just as easily mean that the monsters had already gotten to them.
Either way, if the research institute’s equipment and personnel had been preserved, the place could provide them with resources. The research facilities alone could contain equipment, materials, information, and technology that would prove extremely useful to Hope Base in the future. More importantly, if there were still researchers alive inside, Ivy couldn’t afford to leave them behind.
The truck finally reached the main gate but then the compound gate was locked, and there was no sign of anyone guarding the entrance.
Darren slowly brought the truck to a stop.
"Stay inside," Ivy instructed as she quickly opened the passenger door and climbed down from the vehicle.
Darren immediately watched her carefully through the windshield as she approached the gate. Ivy kept her weapon ready while examining the surroundings, her eyes sweeping across the empty entrance and the nearby buildings. She didn’t see any immediate threats, but she didn’t allow herself to become careless. The quietness of the Technology Park was almost more unsettling than the monsters outside.
After confirming that there were no immediate threats nearby, Ivy moved toward the control panel beside the gate.
Fortunately, the emergency power system was still functioning.
She leaned closer to the panel and entered the access code she had obtained earlier from Professor Thomas.
Beep.
The panel flashed green and a moment later, the heavy compound gate began to move, slowly sliding open with a loud mechanical rumble that echoed through the otherwise silent area.
Ivy immediately turned around and hurried back toward the truck.
"Drive in."