The Eternal Winter - Book 2 - Chapter 6.2 - The Councilman Part II (Patreon)

                                                     Alexander North

“Please tell me where this base is,” I state, only barely noticing the fact that my armor is starting to frost over for some reason.

Cynthia tenses slightly before answering, “The base is north of the city. But please don’t do anything rash. Not only did you just wake up after a six month long coma, but the base has over three dozen Tier 2 Symbiont Hosts defending it.”

I blink at that, the frost slowly coating my armor suddenly fading as I ask, “Three dozen? Where did he get so many?”

“From the other bases closest to the capital, along with the soldiers stationed in the capital itself,” Cynthia answers before repeating herself, “Please don’t do anything rash.”

“Well, I should be fine even if they have over three dozen Tier 2s,” I tell her while looking down at the table in front of me, beginning to contemplate what I should do. “I’m stronger than a Tier 3 now after all.”

Silence fills the room, and after several seconds, I finally look up to find both Cynthia and Alexia gaping at me in shock.

Oh. Right. I forgot to mention that.

“You remember how the frozen ones absorb energy from that frozen sun?” I ask before continuing after seeing them both nod, “Well yeah. Throughout the entire time I was asleep, I was still absorbing energy from the sun every single time it came out. And apparently after I reached a certain energy level, the cold energy in my body assimilated into me better, making me far stronger than before. Stronger than a Tier 3 Symbiont Host.”

The two gape at me for a little bit before Cynthia recovers and mutters, “Well, I guess I don’t have as much to worry about as I thought I did…”

I nod at that, only to glance at Alexia when she walks over and grabs a bag of popcorn. Then she goes to the microwave and puts it inside, surprising me when the thing actually works.

“Did you really get one of those energy source replacements for the microwave?” I ask, an incredulous look on my face. And when the two girls nod, I let out a sign of exasperation. “Even though she doesn’t need to eat food?”

Alexia just nods, not taking her eyes off of the popcorn as it pops in the microwave.

I don’t know what to say to that.

A few seconds pass before I decide that not saying anything might just be the best choice and I turn my focus back to Cynthia to ask, “Do you know if there’s any specific way the human bases treat frost infused?”

Cynthia glances at me, and so does Alexia, but neither of them say anything for a moment. Then Cynthia answers, “Alex, you and Alexia are the only frost infused on the planet.”

I blink at that before frowning as I ask, “But Alexia mentioned other bases taking in people who didn’t lose their mind or intelligence from the infection.” I turn to her. “Right?”

She purses her lips and glances at Cynthia, making my frown grow deeper.

“You didn’t tell him?” Cynthia asks Alexia, only to sigh when the girl just avoids her gaze and focuses on her popcorn. My cousin then turns to me and says, “The ones Alexia mentioned weren’t frost infused. They were simply people who were infected but managed to somehow hold onto their sense of self. And they are mostly treated as important assets by the bases, since the frozen ones are proved to be able to grow stronger faster than humans.”

I stare at her in silence.

“The bases have taken to calling them mutants,” Cynthia adds after understanding I wasn’t gonna say anything. “Unlike you and Alexia, they have instincts they have to deal with. And while their instincts vary depending on their mutations, they always have a desire to attack ‘warm ones,’ as the frozen ones call us. They also absorb energy at a slower pace than you two from what I’ve seen and have inhuman mutations about them.”

I break my silence to ask, “What sort of mutations? Because Alexia and I have claws, not to mention our eyes.”

Cynthia directly meets my eyes as she answers, “Mutations like horns or spikes growing out of their body. Some of them even grew a tail or wings, with the worst case being part of their body seemingly crystalizing, turning their entire right arm into crystals of ice.”

After a few seconds of silence, I mutter, “That… doesn’t sound very pleasant.”

She nods her head, and I hear Alexia quietly saying, “Yeah.”

“Well anyways, the mutants are accepted in the base by the military because most of the soldiers and officers all realize they need their power. So even if the civilians staying at the bases are frightened, they’re told to deal with it and to not antagonize them in any way,” Cynthia continues, surprising me a little.

Huh. Maybe I’ll have to raise my evaluation of humans in general.

Never really thought much of my own species, what with the constant warring amongst ourselves and all.

Although I guess it’s not ‘my’ species anymore, now is it?

|Affirmative.|

That was a rhetorical question towards myself.

|Affirmative.|

I raise a brow at that but don’t say any more to the AI.

|This unit is not an AI. AI refers to Artificial Intelligence. This unit is a true sapient intelligence capable of-|

I cut it off by asking Cynthia, “So do you know how they’d treat me an Alexia at the base?”

She frowns for a moment and Alexia pauses as she’s about to open her bag of popcorn she just got out of the microwave.

“To be honest? I’m not sure,” she answers. “If I had to guess, it’d depend on the base you go to. The chairman would probably welcome you with open arms and try to keep you trapped there just like he’s doing to me. But any other base would welcome you and force you to join their military forces just due to your power and what the influence of having a frost infused would mean.”

I blink at that before frowning, ignoring the sound of Alexia opening her popcorn bag.

Interesting.

If that’s the case…

“Would it be alright if you told me the way to your base?” I ask, once again meeting my cousin’s eyes. And she quickly nods as she answers, “Sure. Just let me-”

“Wait, let me clarify,” I interrupt her, surprising her in the process. “I want you to tell me which base it is so I can go there myself.”

She blinks in confusion at that.

“I want you to stay behind and look after Alexia while I’m gone,” I answer her unasked question, making her jaw drop open, following which the girl in question shouts, “What?! No!!”

And she tackles me again, quite literally throwing the popcorn bag in the process. “I won’t let you leave me again!”

Why is everyone tackling me so much since I woke up?

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