Information

### Chapter 13: Information

The morning light filtered softly through the ventilation grilles, casting a gentle glow on the underground shelter's interior. Sun Han sat across from the girl he had rescued, who was now fully awake and seemingly much stronger. Her green eyes were sharp with intelligence and edged with a mix of determination and sorrow. Sun Han felt a sense of urgency emanating from her, a need to communicate something crucial.

She took a deep breath, steadying herself before speaking. "My name is Mia," she began, her voice steady but carrying the weight of her experiences. "Thank you for saving me. I owe you my life."

Sun Han nodded, his gaze encouraging her to continue. "You're safe here, Mia. Take your time. What happened to you?"

Mia's eyes darkened with the memories she was about to recount. "It's a long story, but you need to hear it. There are three men – we call them the Demons of the East Base. They're pure evil, Sun Han. They control the region with fear and violence, exploiting anyone they come across."

She paused, gathering her thoughts before continuing. "The leader is a middle-aged man with jet-black hair. He has an ability called the Wind Blade. He can cut someone in two just by waving his hand. His precision and brutality are terrifying."

Sun Han's eyes widened slightly, his mind racing with the implications of such a power. "And the others?"

"The second one is a white-haired boy who seems to be around 17 years old," Mia continued. "He has the ability to turn anything he wants into ice. I've seen him freeze people solid with just a glance. His control over ice is absolute."

Sun Han felt a shiver run down his spine despite the warmth of the shelter. The thought of such power in the hands of someone so young was chilling.

"And the third?" he asked, bracing himself.

"The third is a middle-aged bald man with the strength of a superhuman. He can punch a hole through a giant rock with ease," Mia said, her voice trembling slightly at the memory. "His brute strength is unmatched, and he's used it to crush anyone who dares to oppose him."

Sun Han absorbed the information, understanding the gravity of the situation. "What do they want?" he asked quietly.

"Gold coins," Mia replied bitterly. "They've been capturing other survivors, taking their gold coins, and forcing them to work all day, killing monsters for more coins. They barely feed them, keeping them weak and subservient. My brother and I tried to escape, but..."

Her voice broke, and she took a moment to compose herself. "We came up with a plan to get away, but they caught up to us while we were running through the forest. We reached a cliff with a massive drop into deep water below. My brother... he told me to jump, but they caught him. The man with the Wind Blade threw me off the cliff into the water."

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them away, her jaw set with determination. "I don't know what happened to my brother. I just remember falling and hitting the water hard. I must have blacked out, and when I woke up, I was alone. I wandered for days until I collapsed and... you found me."

Sun Han felt a surge of anger and pity for Mia. Her story resonated deeply with him, stirring a fierce protective instinct. "We have to do something about them," he said firmly. "We can't let them continue their reign of terror."

Mia nodded, her expression resolute. "I want to help, but we need a plan. They're too powerful to confront head-on without a strategy."

Sun Han agreed. "First, we need to gather more information and resources. We can't fight them unprepared."

As he said this, a realization struck him. The descriptions Mia had given matched the three men he had seen at the very beginning of the apocalypse. He remembered their ominous presence, their air of authority and menace. It all made sense now – these were the men who had started it all, the ones who had set the tone for the chaos that followed.

He looked at Mia, a newfound determination in his eyes. "I've seen them before," he said quietly. "At the start of all this. They were there, orchestrating things."

Mia's eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed in anger. "Then we have even more reason to stop them."

Sun Han nodded, feeling a sense of fate intertwining their paths. They had a shared enemy, and together, they would find a way to bring them down.