Two Hours Later

  It has been two hours, and that was how long it took to go through all the photos and recordings. Fifty people at the campsite's command center worked together to filter out the irrelevancy. Out of the Terabytes' worth of photos and videos, most agreed to keep about two hundred high quality photos and fifteen videos.

  Sunset happened, and the moon was ascending into the dimming sky. Julius felt his stomach was grumbling, so he pulled his phone out. He checked the map app and searched for certain restaurants. After filtering things out, he had twenty pinpoints.

  As Julius was scrolling through each of them, Lian dropped onto his shoulder. "We are starving."

  "I know, I'm looking at a list of restaurants on the map," Julius said, then looked and head-counted everyone in the tent, who were either relaxing or working. "Ah, this one looks nice." He clicked at a Japanese restaurant located on the southeastern side of Colemond. A Hibachi restaurant. Fair prices and quality appeared to be consistent based on reviews. Julius heard about this place before, but never got the opportunity to go. It was about a mile away from the Indian restaurant where he had recently had a plate of chicken biryani.

  Julius eyed around the command center, looking for Mizuhana. "Mizuhana!"

  Mizuhana was outside and heard his call. She dashed into the command center. "Yes? Is something wrong?"

  "No, nothing's wrong. I want to call you because of this." Julius showed a picture of the menu. "What do you think?"

  Mizuhana grabbed the phone and took a look. "Hibachi? This exists here, too?" When she saw Julius nod, she dived deep into the menu, taking a seat. She selected the foods that would be appetizing in her opinion.

  Julius noted what she selected. Afterward, he gave the restaurant a phone call. Luckily, they still had party tray orders, so he went through the list and asked others for suggestions. The order was completed over the phone. Three thousand dollars out of pocket. Sounded expensive, but relatively fair for feeding more than sixty people at the command center campsite.

  Mother Elaine teleported to the restaurant.

  She came back a few minutes later with stacks of party trays and levitated containers filled with soup. Julius, Mizuhana, Lian, and a few present helped out. Telekinesis presented itself, directing all the contents to a spare table. Someone in the tent manipulated it into a big U-shaped table. He brought it outside while keeping the filled party trays and soup containers steady.

  Daiyu, who was at Julius' residence, arrived at the entrance with a stash of pots in her grip. She tossed like throwing cards. "Let me handle the soups, thanks," she muttered, then activated her telekinesis with both arms. Everyone went outside and stayed still, watching Daiyu open the lids of all the soup containers. The steam from the heat exited into the air. Quickly, she poured into the pots.

  Daiyu did the last-minute preparations. Julius saw her using her magic performance while tying her hair. It got faster and faster that he couldn't keep up. In a quick few seconds, it was done. Daiyu announced it was ready to serve. Everyone convened to get good food.

  Julius had adapted to a diet of seven thousand calories. It was his minimum daily take. A price to pay for having magic and a constantly growing capacity of qi.

  Mother Elaine ate more than he could ever eat. The same could be said about Lian, and Julius wasn't interested in competing over food intake. He only wanted to be filled, and that was it. No bullshit or plays.

  Despite the food tasting so exquisite and delicious, Julius finished first as he was busy.

  After at least ten minutes, he threw his empty plastic plate and bowl into the recycling bin. Julius headed back into the command center tent. Some stayed inside, multitasking their work while eating a good plate of rice.

  "Got any lines from Washington?"

  "Congress is quiet. All offices on Capitol Hill are silent."

  "Spectate for the next half an hour. If we don't hear anything, it could be either that they are trying to be smart or just really dead silent."

  "Yes, sir."

  Julius looked at the guy's co-worker. "How's the airspace?"

  She clicked on a button on the keyboard, sending her view to the big screen. "All passenger planes are steering away from the city's airspace. The federal government closed all airspaces in our area. Colemond International Airport will have to close operations indefinitely."

  Julius shook his head. "No, we're going to keep it open. Two airbases are better than one. I'm going to send new assignment orders for fifty deployed mages to be redirected there…Anything else?"

  "There's a possibility that fighter jets might come back and fly within a sixty-mile radius of downtown."

  "In that case, then we need to reallocate the mages to different parts of the airspace. And not only that, I want them to claim as much technology as they can. One is better than none. Anything else?"

  The guy shook his head. "No, sir. That's all we have for now. Do you want me to send this to all accounts?"

  Julius went to the guy's draft email. He guided on what to edit and revise. Afterward, the email was sent. Everyone should know within an hour of time.

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  He went off to various parts of the city. Lian caught him leaving and decided to follow him while taking a big scoop of pho. Julius stopped midair until she finished, displeasing her.

  When she finished, the two continued their flight. Julius had a few places planned to stop by, but he changed his mind mid-flight. Instead, he was going to one in the north. The area was about fifteen miles away from his neighborhood.

  Lian's new headquarters of her former school did a lot to protect the neighborhood and many of the pupils' new homes. Julius thanked her for the new support. She didn't mind, as it was like an offer.

  The two arrived at the location. Many mages were scavenging and working around the clock through the massive leftovers from the National Guard and the US Army.

  A few mages were already ahead, carrying a few aircraft from the US Air Force that had been left behind. They saw Julius, and he gave them a thumbs up, which meant they could continue transporting them.

  "They got the aircraft," Lian muttered, looking at an F-35A Lightning II, two F-15EX Eagle II, and an A-10 Thunderbolt II being carried away.

  "Yeah, I'm surprised it's still in good shape," Julius said, while observing for any cosmetic damage. At most was cockpit damage and minor frame issues. "Now, let's take a look at the ground vehicles."

  Julius and Lian assisted the mages in cleaning up the debris. This part was the most bizarre hotspot of all. The majority of lives were lost in this area.

  One mage saw Julius at the scene and teleported up to him. "Commander."

  "Hilde. What you got?"

  Hilde reverted to her usual appearance and pointed to a spot a mile away. "Twenty vehicles in good condition. Ready to be extracted."

  "How long until the scavenging is completed?" Lian asked.

  "If things go as they should, I would say an hour, including going through the crates and anything useful in each of these vehicles."

  "We'll help along the way."

  Hilde nodded, and the two followed her. They moved among the wreckage. Julius, from prior experience, knew these vehicles and various equipment were wildly expensive. Most of the Humvees that were on site were armored up. Not the 1980s models, so about two hundred thousand dollars minimum. Hilde earlier said twenty were saved. Julius hoped the number would reach thirty.

  Even with mages, the scavenging and collection process was slow. Most didn't have time to process every single 'new' information, despite Raal humans having biologically superior capabilities versus Earth's. Many of the experts and assistants were also at the site to help them with information and the decision-making on whether a certain find was reasonable to save.

  One area caught Julius' attention. Two HEMTTs ahead were surrounded by a few technicians and mages. He teleported to the scene, and his ears heard a glimpse of an argument. They went silent after he appeared.

  Julius looked at one of the HEMTTs. Scrapes and bullet holes on the large shipping container. He felt one of the openings. Afterward, he opened the cargo doors. The rumbling and echoing sound as the door opened.

  He thought for a moment, staring at what was stored in the container.

  "What's inside the—"

  Whoosh!

  Julius fired a burst of invisible qi, dispersing any particles and filtering the shipping container's interior.

  [Skill Count: 24] +1

  "There are a few goldmines in here. Plenty of resources to play." Julius articulated his right index finger upward. A few clanks erupted behind him. The sounds of the buckles unlocked, followed by the metal vibrating. Julius walked out of the container and pointed to an empty spot ahead.

  An ISU container flew over him and landed on the flat ground as if someone hammered the table. He forced the locks to open. With one gesture, the double door opened, revealing multiple weapons racks stocked with a variety of rifles. Julius went inside. There's a tall cabinet with multiple drawers. Pistols and ammunition.

  There was another ISU container in the shipping container. Julius guided the metal box out with the control of his palm. He made the second ISU container and placed it next to the other. The mages and the few technicians walked up. They wanted to open the second ISU container, so Julius let them. He watched them open the cargo door.

  Inside revealed a completely different vibe. It was messy and unorganized. The items spilled out of the container because it was so packed.

  Julius pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just ammo…Could've fooled me."

  Lian forced all the ammo mess back inside the container and closed both doors. She told Julius to close the first ISU container. Afterward, she turned to the mages and technicans. "What were you guys arguing about?"

  They were silent.

  "You three are mages. Just try to listen to the opinions and then decide after. Yinhai," Lian said with a disappointing tone.

  Julius watched her raise both arms, causing the two ISU containers to levitate. She guided them back into the shipping container and made the mages fix up the damage.

  The first HEMTT was checked. Now it was the second one. Julius dashed right next to it.

  It also carried a long shipping container. He opened the cargo doors and immediately closed them.

  "What?!" Lian asked.

  "The essentials. Where's Hilde?"

  "Do you want me to go get her?"

  Julius nodded. "Yes, please."

  He then pulled out his phone. A missed phone call, but it was directed to a message. Simon had sent an important message. "The world has awoken to the news. There's no turning back. We must move forward on independence and fight. We need an official public name."

  Julius responded with a name he thought of for a while. He added another message, ordering Simon to tell others of their opinions and make it quick.

  Lian came with Hilde.

  "You called me?"

  "Yes, we need someone to review these two Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks. The second one is the most significant."

  "Did you look?"

  "Only briefly. I know what it is after opening the cargo door. It's the essentials. Like food, fuel, and mechanical equipment. WE can't lose that shipment container."

  Hilde viewed the two HEMTTs. "I assume these two are still operable."

  The technicians, who hadn't left yet, overheard the conversation, answering positively.

  "I'll keep watch of them. When you two are done, I think you and Lian should carry it back to the airfield. Now go. The scavenging is speeding up now."

  "Thank you," Julius and Lian said.

  The two went to other parts of the area, joining with other mages doing their own scavenging.