39 Camp Hope

We returned to camp without encountering any inhibitors. As a matter of fact, given that we had already tread past that route it was a much easier and safer trip.

Once there it was time for lunch which was more bread.

"How's Colt doing?" Seamus sat down on a foldable chair and asked Jimmy who had stayed behind.

"It looks like his arm wasn't maimed… Layton thinks it's due to the crystals" Jimmy responded as while glancing around for an empty chair. He had only then come out of Colt's tent to socialize.

"That's good. Everyone else is also at grade two now." Seamus added before stuffing his mouth with bread. He also took a sip of water.

"Aah, refreshing" Seamus said as the walk had taken a toll on him.

I kept to myself and listened in on other conversations while slouched on my chair. There wasn't anything of importance being talked about making me almost fall asleep from boredom.

***

It was a military camp near Lake Gloom. Camp hope. As per the agreement of the prosperity council, the camp would be allocated more resources and be taken over by the inquisitive party.

Camp hope's original purpose was to restore Lake Gloom and was made by the initiative of the planetal party. Regardless, that purpose was long forgotten.

"Colonel Wright, More swamp creatures have been found near Lake Gloom." A soldier came bursting into an army tent with a new report.

It was Ross, alias Rook. His position in the army allowed him access to a lot of information. It was convenient for the organization.

"More of them? Death Bog is miles north... " The colonel inside muttered curiously as he placed down a stack of papers on his desk. It was related to the new resources giving him quite a headache.

"Keep on observing them for the time being. I'll pass your report higher up" The colonel thus dismissed Ross.

Reporting to the higher-ups would be mighty simple in this instance. They would be coming over themselves after all.

"I better tidy things up…" The colonel muttered with a dismayed expression. There were so many papers!

But once he got everything set up he waited outside the camp. A military vehicle of the latest model could soon be seen approaching from the horizon. The colonel waited anxiously for the arriving VIPs.

The military vehicle stopped at the entrance of the camp and Colonel Wright instantly walked over to greet them.

"Welcome, Sir Stryker. It is a pleasure to see you visit the camp" The colonel spoke as soon as he saw Calean get out of the vehicle.

Judith and Lot, members of the disquisitive party, exited the vehicle after him. Colonel Wright naturally greeted them with just as much fawn. After that was over he guided the guests around the camp under the sound of construction.

"As you can see this is where the armory will be built." Wright was explaining each location's functions as well as the plans that they would carry out with them in the future.

The explanations were wordy yet concise. They hit all the right points. It was as though Colonel Wright had been practicing for this moment his whole life. Time flew by and he had eventually shown them around the entire camp.

"Is the explanation satisfactory?" Wright asked hiding his unease as Calean oversaw everything with a sharp look.

"What do you all think?" Calean decided to ask Judith and Lot before offering an opinion. He was still a bit pissed that he wasn't able to acquire a new camp and was instead given one to renovate. To top it off it was the abandoned camp Hope, that camp was as hopeless as they came.

The location of Lake Gloom was extremely dangerous. Vile surfers habituated the vile water and acted as apex predators. Rightfully so, those snakes could grow to be as large as 9.14 meters or 45 feet and were ranked as an irradiate threat at the least.

There was a famous explorer by the name of Rad. In reality, He was a biologist interested in observing mutants or traces of them, exploring was only a result of that. He noted all his findings in his book of mutants and created Rad's scale.

It wasn't a number scale, there was Risk, Hazard, Danger, Menace, Cataclysm. Most mutants especially those at the altered stage would have no rank or in special cases pose a risk.

The Vile Surfer was listed as a danger. It meant that things near it would be in potential danger. Luckily that mainly applied to Vile surfers above the irradiate level. It takes decades to achieve such a thing.

"I think it's alright. The mutant materials in the area can boost the power of our members." Lot spoke. He was thirty-one years old just like Calean.

"Appropriate at most. Those materials are too hard to acquire." Judith said in a harsh tone. She was often rather mean spirited. Compliments or agreements were rare for her.

Calean didn't disagree with either assessment. Given the circumstances, it was indeed acceptable. Lake Gloom did contain hidden treasures. There was only a chance you would pay the price for obtaining them.

"Colonel Wright, your work so far has been satisfactory. I would appreciate it if you could lead us to our lodgings." Calean didn't answer the colonel's question and asked to be taken to their quarters. He was trying to look at the positives but he couldn't help but feel irked.

Wright nodded with a subservient smile and rapidly let the trio to the only finished and renovated building.

"We allocated all our manpower here to prepare you with the best accommodations." It had brought him a lot of headaches too. As it meant delaying other projects. Large collaborations were also troublesome to properly manage.

The building wasn't fancy. But as it was new, it looked clean. Calean and the other two bid farewell to the colonel and entered the building. The furniture was gaudy, it was entirely tasteless.

"They must have bought these last-minute…" Calean grumbled inwardly as he went to find a room for himself.

Camp Hope had a lot of issues. They weren't visible on the surface but he had been rather keen on the details. Fortunately, they could easily resolve most matters, even if it was through brute strength.