Chapter 172: Infiltrating the U.S. Military Base
If your luck was bad—and you happened to be Black—
there was a high chance you'd be ordered out of the car, hands on your head, pressed against the vehicle for a full search.
If you didn't cooperate, the police were well within their rights to escalate.
And even if you filed a complaint afterward?
At most, the department would offer some empty, perfunctory response.
Unless, of course, you belonged to America's privileged class.
Then things were different—you could easily leverage influence to get that officer fired.
"Sorry, officer. I was in a bit of a hurry and didn't notice the signs," William said calmly.
In the U.S., trying to out-stubborn a cop was never a smart move.
Fortunately, Elena hadn't intended to make things difficult for him anyway.
"I'll let you off with a verbal warning this time. Just pay attention to the road signs."
She gave the roof of his car a light tap—signaling he was free to go.
After she returned to her patrol car, William glanced at her through the rearview mirror.
She looked… oddly familiar.
And frankly, a little too attractive for a random roadside stop.
But he shook the thought off.
Right now, he had more important things to handle—like getting to the military base and logging Nando's requested weapons into the [Arms Marketplace].
Then tonight, he'd pay Estefania a visit.
After that, he'd just need a warehouse to move the goods.
With that plan in mind, William restarted the engine and pulled back onto the road.
This time, he kept it strictly at the speed limit—70 mph.
Honestly, that wasn't slow at all.
Converted, it was still over 110 km/h.
After Elena's stop, he didn't encounter another police car for the rest of the drive.
Eventually, about two kilometers from the military base, William pulled over behind a small hill.
The rest of the journey would have to be done on foot—after sunset.
With time to kill, he pulled out his phone and checked Bitcoin's market price.
It had risen quite a bit compared to before.
More and more international criminal organizations were beginning to recognize its value.
He'd need to time his exit carefully.
If he waited too long—until it peaked and drew widespread attention—he might not be able to cash out cleanly.
The IRS would definitely start watching closely.
After all, anyone with half a brain understood what decentralization meant.
No oversight meant tax evasion.
Big corporations might hesitate—but small companies? Individuals?
It was only a matter of time before the IRS moved in.
He couldn't afford to gamble on luck.
Time passed quickly.
Before long, night fell.
Out here in the Michigan wilderness, far from city lights, the darkness was absolute—so deep you couldn't see your own hand in front of your face.
But for William, that didn't matter.
With [Hawkeye Vision], he could clearly see the dense clusters of red dots within the base—each one representing a person.
With a clear direction, he moved forward under the cover of darkness.
Though traveling on foot slowed him down slightly, his physical abilities far surpassed those of an ordinary person.
He covered ground quickly.
Soon, he reached the perimeter fence of the military base.
To their credit, every dollar in the defense budget had clearly been put to use.
Using [Metal Manipulation], William sensed the structure of the wire fence.
Thin.
Fragile.
With minimal effort, he peeled it apart, creating a narrow opening.
He slipped through silently, entering the base undetected, and crouched behind what looked like a power supply building.
As for the fence?
Under his control, the metal wires seamlessly returned to their original state.
Patrolling soldiers passed by without noticing anything unusual.
Of course, there was no such thing as a map of the base.
If he wanted to find the armory, he'd have to locate it himself.
Fortunately, night worked in his favor.
Even with searchlights sweeping the area, there were plenty of blind spots.
Patrol density was relatively low.
And with [Hawkeye Vision] guiding him, William moved through the base like a fish in water—
completely unhindered.
It was hard not to wonder if Commissioner had slashed the budget for the base's surveillance system.
William only spotted a handful of cameras—mostly positioned at building entrances.
For a military base, the surveillance coverage was laughably sparse.
As a result, not only did he avoid the patrols, even the cameras failed to pick up his presence.
The base was massive.
Because he had to avoid patrol routes, William couldn't move too quickly.
It took him nearly an hour to reach the northwest corner—
where a standalone building caught his attention.
This structure was clearly different from the rest.
Within the base perimeter, it had an additional layer of double fencing wrapped around it.
More importantly, through [Metal Manipulation], William could sense that the building's internal structure wasn't reinforced concrete—
it was a unified metal framework.
At the entrance stood a massive double door—five meters high and eight meters wide.
No matter how you looked at it…
this had to be an armory.
As for whether it stored tanks or explosives—that remained to be seen.
He scanned the surrounding red silhouettes.
No patrols nearby.
Seizing the moment, William moved along the side of the building and used [Metal Manipulation] to quietly open a gap in the fencing.
He slipped through both layers with ease.
Afterward, he restored the wire mesh to its original state.
Unless someone conducted a close inspection in broad daylight, no one would notice it had ever been tampered with.
Now at the side of the armory, William avoided the guards near the entrance.
Going in head-on would be too conspicuous.
And he had no intention of taking on the entire U.S. military.
He looked up.
A ventilation opening sat above, covered by an external wire mesh.
Behind it, a large exhaust fan.
Better yet—it wasn't covered by any searchlights.
Perfect entry point.
After confirming the area was clear, William raised his hand.
Using [Metal Manipulation], he unscrewed all eight bolts securing the mesh.
Then, carefully controlling it, he guided the metal grate down along the wall—
lowering it silently until it reached the ground.
Only then did he catch it by hand and gently set it down.
No sound. No disturbance.
Next, he severed the power line inside the ventilation system.
The fan immediately began to slow—
its rotation weakening…
until it came to a complete stop.
Everything was ready.
After one final scan to ensure no one was nearby, William activated [Undying · Bat Subspecies]—
and shifted into his vampire form.
With the enhanced agility of that form, he crouched slightly—
then leapt.
In one smooth motion, he slipped through the gaps between the fan blades without making a sound—
landing inside the armory's ventilation system.
Within the ducts, his movements remained nearly silent under the vampire enhancement.
Before long, he reached a vent opening above a room.
Peering down through the grate—
he saw it.
Wooden crates.
Stacked high, forming dense rows.
He recognized them instantly.
He'd had plenty of these himself.
Stamped clearly on their sides—
U.S. Army.