Ian and Rayne traveled all the way, finally arriving at the hidden stronghold of the Resistance at dusk. However, the scene in front of them shocked the two.
This stronghold that was supposed to be hidden and safe was now full of devastation, ruins everywhere, collapsed tents and scorched earth everywhere, and the air was filled with a strong odor of blood.
Rayne's gaze was frozen, incredulously muttering, "Impossible ... how could this be ..."
Ian frowned and gently patted Rayne's shoulder, "Calm down first, let's go over and take a closer look, there might still be survivors."
Rayne came back to his senses and quickly nodded his head, eagerly running towards the center of the ruins. The two carefully searched every corner, but only found miserable corpses, not any survivors.
Rayne anxiously rummaged around, panic gradually penetrating his eyes, "What's going on, how come there's not a single living person?"
Ian calmly reminded from the side, "Don't rush first, look carefully, there are many corpses here, first see if there is anyone you recognize."
Hearing these words, Rayne immediately quieted down and began to search the ruins more carefully. After a few moments, he finally revealed a hint of relief, "There are no corpses of high-ranking personnel here, they should have all fled. "
Ian nodded lightly, "In that case, do you have any idea where they might have gone?"
Rayne nodded in response, "This stronghold is important, but it's not our only stronghold, they should have gone to another stronghold where Mia is."
The two quickly left the ruins and traveled through the night, soon arriving at another hidden stronghold where Mia was. This stronghold was located on top of a canyon, with treacherous terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.
By the time they arrived at the stronghold, night had completely fallen. From afar, Ian could see the faint lights coming out of the stronghold, and his heart was slightly stabilized.
When they walked into the stronghold, several guards immediately greeted them alertly, however, after seeing Rayne's face, they immediately shouted in surprise, "Rayne is back! Rayne is still alive!"
The news quickly spread throughout the stronghold, Mia was in the middle of a meeting and quickly walked out of the meeting room after hearing the news, seeing Lei En, a delighted smile immediately appeared on her originally serious face. Mia was a beautiful young girl with blonde hair, her skin was so white that it seemed like it could reflect light, but her delicate features revealed a bit of fatigue, it looked like she was also bearing a lot of pressure.
"Lei En, it's great that you came back alive!" Mia walked forward with large strides and gently patted Rayne's shoulder.
Rayne smiled and responded, "I made you guys worry, I'm fine, thanks to this friend, Ian, who saved me. However, I'm sorry that I wasn't able to get reinforcements."
Mia turned her head to look at Ian, her gaze sharp, "Thank you for saving Rayne. I am Mia, and I welcome you to our stronghold."
Ian responded calmly, "It was just a show of hands, and I admire you for the bravery of your fight."
Mia nodded her head in appreciation, "We're not in the best of shape at the moment, but by all means, get some rest tonight and we'll talk about anything tomorrow."
Mia then ordered someone to arrange a quiet room for Ian.
In the dead of night, Ian lay down on his bed, but he didn't really sleep, he just closed his eyes to recuperate his spirit, and it wasn't long before he noticed a trace of an abnormal aura entering the room.
Almost at the same instant, he quickly leapt up from the bed, his fists wrapped in the power of lightning, and swiftly attacked towards the doorway. However, the strike was blocked by a bright energy shield.
Ian took a closer look and realized that the one standing in the doorway was actually Mia, who was gazing calmly at him, "No need to be so nervous, it's me."
Ian withdrew his attack and stared at her with a wary gaze, "What's so special about coming to me in the middle of the night?"
Mia said calmly, "There is indeed an important matter that I need your help with, and I wanted to come and have a good talk with you."
Ian was silent for a moment and nodded slightly, "Then come in and sit down." Mia entered the room and sat aside, Ian spoke first, "Let me make it clear, if it's for me to help you fight against the Storm Council, don't say anything, I won't get involved, in my opinion, this behavior you're doing right now is indeed courageous but not wise, sooner or later you'll fail, and I have more important things to do, I don't have much time. "
For Ian's refusal, Mia was not surprised at all: "I heard from Rayne that you are the one who will represent the City of Ashes in the selection this time, I will not involve you in the matter of the Storm City, this is our war, and it has nothing to do with you, I do hope that you will help me to find out the matter of the attack on the stronghold. "
Hearing this, Ian had already roughly understood Mia's meaning, "I see, you are thinking that there are traitors within the team, betraying your information, which caused the attack on the stronghold, those of your comrades are reluctant to investigate their own people, and they are all too familiar with each other, even if they investigate, they probably won't find out much, that's why you want to ask me, an outsider, to help you. "
Mia revealed an appreciative look, "I had thought that you were only extraordinary in strength, but I didn't realize that your intelligence was equally extraordinary, I have more confidence now. "
"Thanks for your recognition, but I'm sorry, I ... "Just when Ian was about to refuse, the system's voice rang out at the right time
[Side Quest Release: Knowing the People (Find out the traitor in Mia's team)]
[Failure Condition: Mia's death]]
[Mission Reward: Talent Enhancement Points X20]
[Failure Penalty: None]
"I... I... I... I agree to help you, but I don't have much time, if I don't find it within a week, I will leave. "Ian quickly shifted his words and silently spat in his heart, "System, can you not release the mission so suddenly, I almost refused. "
Mia's original disappointed expression quickly changed to one of elation, "Then I'll thank you in advance, if you find out the traitor, you can pick and choose as many resources as you want from the entire resistance, I'll announce that you're joining us first thing in the morning, don't worry, it's just pretense, you'll only be able to investigate better if you join in. "