Natalie squinted. That tall, muscular guy with the tattooed arms in the back had to be Kelvin, the second-in-command. She kept her face neutral, quietly memorizing him. On the stage, Magnus slipped the stress balls into his pocket, grabbed the megaphone, and cleared his throat. He began with an apology, sounding friendly. "Sorry to wake you all up when you should be sleeping, but something serious came up. "Just now, a bunch of shameless thieves broke into our base, tried to steal our supplies, and killed a lot of our people. "If it weren't for the brave folks on the outer circle holding them off, we'd be dead too!"Natalie rolled her eyes inside. Brave folks on the outer circle? He was using them as human shields all along, letting them take the hits while the inner members stayed safe. Magnus knew exactly how to rile up a crowd. After just a few words, everyone was fired up. "What?! They tried to steal from us?" "Where are they now? They didn't get away with our supplies, right?" "Those bastards! They'd better rot in hell! We'll avenge our fallen buddies!" In reality, nobody truly cared about the outer circle people. They only freaked out because someone dared to mess with their supplies, threatening their comfortable lives with hot meals. They cared even more about their safety. If the raiders had gotten past the outer circle today, anyone could've been next.Magnus noticed the crowd getting restless and smiled with satisfaction. "We know who these raiders are—they came from Ironclaw Base!" He shot a look at his men, who quickly left and returned, dragging a group of people. A bunch of middle-aged guys, bruised and battered, were tied up tight. The escorts glanced around as they walked. Magnus pointed at the captives. "These are the fools from Ironclaw Base. We caught some of them alive and killed the rest on the spot." Then, he gestured at the escorts. "These heroes fought hard for us and did an amazing job. They're being promoted to inner residents. From now on, they're our neighbors!" The promoted men perked up immediately, gripping the prisoners even tighter.They'd heard about the perks—better food, clean water, even bonuses for completing tasks. After risking their lives, they'd finally earned it. Natalie watched them, who were ready to risk everything for their leader. She realized Magnus was born to lead. He'd managed to pick the strong ones, earn their loyalty, and make them eager to fight for him. She glanced at Kelvin, who was still expressionless. If Magnus chose Kelvin as his right-hand man, he had to be special—not someone to underestimate. Magnus continued from the platform, "Guys, the troublemakers are caught. I'll let you handle them—do whatever you want!" The raiders were forced to kneel in a row, tied tightly. As soon as Magnus gave the word, people rushed forward, letting out their frustration at being woken up. Some even pulled out knives and hammers, all taking turns hitting the prisoners. The bloody scene had everyone on edge. The one-sided violence only pumped them up more. In this harsh, post-apocalyptic world, just staying alive was stressful enough. It was easy for people to get anxious or even lose it. Going all out like that was their way of letting off some of that bottled-up anger and frustration. Magnus watched the madness below, clearly enjoying it. Even with everyone still hyped up, he shouted a new command. "Just punishing them won't cut it. We need to strike back hard! While they're sleeping, let's hit them by surprise and destroy that Ironclaw Base!"Someone in the crowd immediately picked up the chant. "Destroy them! Destroy them!" Before long, the whole group was shouting along. "Destroy them! Destroy them!" Then, led by Kelvin and a bodyguard, a massive group started marching out. Magnus stayed behind with another guard, watching his people move out. Pride and satisfaction showed on his face. But then, he spotted a man and a woman standing off to the side, staying still. The woman had a dog on a leash. Natalie felt eyes on her, turned, and found Magnus staring. Surprise flickered across his face, and he immediately approached her. Ignoring Cassian beside her, he reached out and greeted Natalie. "You must be the new member, Ms. Bonnie Ashford, right?"