Chapter 67: The Ambushers

"Master, you should put on a hat to cover your face. The Radiant Path has a bounty on you—someone might come looking for trouble," Olivia suggested in a low voice.

Finn nodded and searched through his storage space with his divine sense.

There weren’t many hats in his storage space. All he had were brand-new top hats, baseball caps, and a wide-brimmed Mexican sombrero. None of them fit the wasteland at all. Wearing any of them wouldn’t help him keep a low profile; it would only make him stand out more.

Olivia reached into the off-road vehicle’s compartment and pulled out a slightly worn peaked cap. She had prepared it in advance. She really was considerate.

In this scorching summer heat, wrapping his face in cloth would only make him look more suspicious. Finn put on the peaked cap and tugged the brim low. Together with Olivia and Penny, he walked deeper into Antonio Refuge City.

They stopped a few passersby at random to ask for information. A couple of young men who didn’t know better tried to flirt with Olivia and grope her, but before Finn needed to lift a finger, Olivia had already knocked them flat. They ended up sprawled on the ground, spitting out teeth.

Nearby, several seasoned middle-aged men burst out laughing and mocked the unlucky fools for not knowing who they could and couldn’t mess with. A fully armed woman like Olivia—slender, with an innocent-looking face—was clearly not someone to provoke.

After asking around, they learned that although the city was a chaotic mix of all kinds of people, with an enormous transient population and countless travelers passing through every day, the purified-water trade was controlled entirely by a single merchant.

The merchant’s name was Tom Walker, nicknamed “Old Tom.” Any caravan or group that wanted to buy large quantities of purified water had to deal with Old Tom.

Water was the source of life and the most precious resource in the wasteland. Most armed caravans stopped here to replenish their water supplies, and nearly all of them had some dealings with Old Tom. That was why he was also the best-informed person in the area.

Antonio was small, barely a quarter the size of Black Mountain, with roads crisscrossing through it. It was a minor refuge city.

The three of them found Old Tom’s water station without any trouble. The front of the station was crowded and noisy. All kinds of people stood in long lines under the brutal heat, clutching bottles and jars—some even carried metal oil drums.

It was finally Finn and Olivia’s turn. A freckle-faced young man clutching a long rubber hose was in charge of dispensing water. He had been busy all morning and looked drained, his whole body listless. Next to him, a burly armed man with a gun collected the money.

The moment he saw the beautiful Olivia, the young man instantly perked up. He wiped his greasy hair and straightened his back until he was standing ramrod-straight.

Olivia simply produced the Black Mountain insignia and held it right in front of his face. “I’m a special envoy from Black Mountain. I need to see Old Tom!”

The freckled youth understood the urgency. He dropped his lovestruck expression, hurried into the water station, and came back out a moment later to say that Old Tom was willing to meet them.

The water station was a cluster of low buildings, many of them made from corrugated iron. Finn and the others walked inside and met Old Tom.

Old Tom looked to be in his forties or fifties. He had a long, narrow face, thinning hair, and a prominent hooked nose. His gaze was sharp, and his brown eyes kept darting around, giving him a shrewd and calculating air.

Old Tom sighed. “My deepest condolences for Black Mountain’s city lord. The explosion at Black Mountain was a tragedy—not only for you, but for the human race as a whole.”

Olivia hadn’t expected Old Tom to be so well-informed. He already knew about the Black Mountain explosion. Surprised as she was, she still replied in a low voice, “Thank you.”

Old Tom glanced at Finn and Penny. “Who are they? Why bring a little girl along?”

“He’s…” Olivia hesitated. She was concerned about overstepping the master-servant line and didn’t know how to introduce him.

Finn spoke up first. “I’m Jimmy. I’m her friend.”

Penny put on a serious little face and said earnestly, “Don’t underestimate me! I’m a mutant too!”

“By the Holy Radiance above, even a child this young has to run around worrying about the survival of her home.” Old Tom traced the Radiant Path symbol across his chest. “If you hadn’t relied on nuclear energy, perhaps this disaster could have been avoided. The Holy Pontiff’s warnings were truly…”

Finn felt a flicker of caution. Old Tom was a follower of the Radiant Path. He probably listened to their radio broadcasts regularly. No wonder he had learned about the nuclear explosion at Black Mountain so quickly.

Olivia’s expression darkened. She cut off Old Tom’s rambling and asked, “Black Mountain needs to trace the Wilderness Rhino caravan’s movements. I’ve heard you’re well-informed, so I was hoping you could help.”

Old Tom’s eyes shifted. The corners of his mouth twitched into a smile. “Of course. People come to me for information every day, and none of them leave empty-handed. I keep records of every caravan that buys water here.”

His tone shifted. “But business is business. Information has a price too.”

“How much?” Olivia asked without hesitation.

“Thirty dollars. No more, no less.”

Olivia was decisive as ever. “Fine. But give me the information first. I’ll pay once I’ve verified it. Don’t worry, this is your territory. We won’t default.”

“No one defaults on me,” Old Tom said flatly. “Those who don’t pay get every drop of blood squeezed out of them. Then I distill the purified water from that blood to cover the fee.”

Old Tom motioned for the three of them to follow. He led them into the cluster of corrugated-iron buildings behind the water station, saying he needed to check the records from a few days ago.

As he stepped over a threshold, he suddenly twisted his ankle. Luckily, he grabbed a nearby pull rope in time and avoided falling.

Olivia subconsciously activated her X-ray vision. Whenever she entered an unfamiliar place or met strangers, she used it to observe her surroundings.

As they went deeper into the iron building complex, Olivia suddenly slowed her pace and whispered in Finn’s ear:

“Master, there’s an ambush. Several people are hiding behind the iron buildings, and more are closing in from the sides. They’re carrying heavy weapons—machine guns, rocket launchers…”

Finn nodded slightly. “You two leave right now. I’ll stay and get the information out of Old Tom.”

Instinctively, Olivia grabbed Finn’s hand in alarm, then quickly let go. “Master, be careful.”

She stopped walking and said loudly, “Sorry, I just remembered my money is back in the car. I need to go get it.”

With that, she took Penny’s hand and pulled the girl straight out of the water station.

“Don’t tell me the once-prosperous Black Mountain can’t even scrape together thirty dollars now,” Old Tom said with a hint of mockery in his voice.

He watched Olivia leave but made no move to stop her. Instead, he turned to Finn. “Then let’s keep going.”

Finn nodded. “Alright.”

The two of them walked deeper into the area behind the water station.

This was a cluster of corrugated-iron buildings erected on the desert. The low structures stood in a messy sprawl, with rusted iron sheets creaking softly in the wind. Occasionally, a scorpion would scuttle across the yellow sand, leaving a crooked trail of marks behind it.

Five men in bulletproof vests stepped out from behind a latrine shack. They carried rifles and grenade launchers, cutting off Finn’s way back. From the surrounding low iron buildings, eight or nine dark gun barrels poked out of windows, covering Finn from every angle.

The ambushers stopped hiding their presence. Their footsteps thudded and scraped like a rising tide. More sturdy men poured out from all directions, completely surrounding Finn.

“Stand right there, and don’t try anything!”