213 You Knew

On the side, Artemis stared at the base with wide eyes. It looked extremely different than before. The walls that were thin and weak before had transformed into fortified cement walls. The people who were outside begging and pleading were long gone and even the trash they threw out had been cleaned up. On the wall, there were groups of sentry walking along with alert expressions. Was this even the same Green Base he had survived in since the outbreak?!

Lucifer was also calmly observing the wall. He hadn't seen the previous state of the base, but he had heard rumors and stories from the troops on what state the base had been in. He secretly gave a nod of approval towards Light who he presumed had taken the lead on reforming the base. It was very impressive the number of changes he had succeeded in making to the base over such a short duration. Lucifer couldn't help but speculate if he and his brothers would have fared a better fate if Light had been their leader.

Right then, they heard a shout coming from the newly erected wall which brought Lucifer out of his musings. Shaking his head to get rid of those stray thoughts, he observed as the guards at the wall gathered and pointed their guns at the group. Secretly nodding his head in approval again, he told everyone else to stay put as he walked up with his arms raised.

Despite being unarmed, the guards were extremely nervous. One of them shouted, "N-not any closer! O-or we'll shoot!"

Lucifer nodded as he kept his arms raised and said in a calm and powerful voice, "I won't come any closer. I've come to enter Green Base and talk to your leader."

Another guard snorted derisively, "Yeah, doesn't everyone want to talk to our leader?"

A third guard had been staring quietly at Lucifer, scrutinizing him. Then, realization dawned upon him and he began to jump up and down in excitement. Patting his colleagues enthusiastically, he said, "Guys! Put your guns down!! That's Lucifer. THE Lucifer! He is one of boss' companions!"

Stupefied, the guards stared at him more closely and said, "Yeah… he does kind of look like our commander…"

Despite their recognition, they were still cautious. Lucifer and the others had been travelling for quite some time and hadn't taken a shower. Their faces were filled with grime and their clothes were in terrible condition. It was surprising that anyone could recognize them in this state. Rather than letting them in, one of the guards sent someone to contact their base leader's companion to help recognize Lucifer and the others.

Yet again, Lucifer nodded secretly in appreciation. He had been wracking his brain on how to keep the base safe from the government only to struggle due to the lack of unity but this short period had shown him that there was hope yet.

Waiting a little while longer, Light came running out with Rose, the twins and Little White. They dashed out with great expectation when they heard that someone had spotted Lucifer at the entrance of the gate. Seeing their faces, Lucifer couldn't help but break into a smile. Although they had only been separated for a short duration, it felt like a millennia for each of them.

Light and Little White immediately recognized Lucifer through his aura. Little White flashed right in front of Lucifer and tackled him to the ground with a hug. Surprised but please, Lucifer reciprocated the hug and patted his head. Following that, the twins and Rose also came up to him. The twins both tackled him and kept him on the floor while Rose stood on the side while casting a blaming expression towards him.

Light waved away the guards and walked composedly towards Lucifer. Standing over him, he also cast a blaming look towards him. "You knew."

Lucifer looked up at Light from the ground and responded, "I suspected."

Pausing a moment, Light thought about his response then nodded. He reached a hand out to help him up. The others already began searching for Aida and Ace to no avail.

Rose stared intently at Lucifer with a questioning look. Feeling the piercing stare, Lucifer felt that he had let them down and couldn't return the look. Instead, he evasively said, "Let's go inside, I can tell you everything there."

Light noticed the change but chose not to comment. He simply nodded.

"These people are the ones that tried to sneak into City M but got caught. Just reintegrate them," said Lucifer.

He then gestured to Artemis to join them and then followed the children as they got dragged in. Light signaled the guards to handle the others and then followed them in as well.

On the way, the children wanted to question Lucifer about Aida, Xiao Ai and Ace, and also wanted to ask who Artemis was, but were stopped with a gesture from Light. They all suppressed their questions and concerns as they made their way to the penthouse.

Entering, they all sat down. There was a moment of silence when no one spoke or knew where to begin. Just as Lucifer was about to talk about what occurred, the doors suddenly burst open.