Fortress

Biodata

Background / History

After the Black Rain devastated Lai City, the Komodo Mercenary Company occupied a massive shopping mall in the city center. Its enclosed layout offered natural protection, while the supplies remaining inside made it a valuable base. Reclaiming it required clearing large numbers of mutant creatures and living corpses, costing the company many personnel 21.

The company initially welcomed settlers without restrictions, hoping population growth would encourage prosperity. This also admitted violent criminals, infected drifters, and enemy spies, whose activities nearly destroyed the settlement. After restoring order, management introduced strict admission screening. Those identified as infiltrators or troublemakers were used as fuel in the power station's furnaces 22.

Layout

The fortress consists of three interconnected buildings arranged in a circle, each approximately twenty stories tall 32.

• Central lobby: Contains a rule stele displaying hundreds of detailed regulations 32.
• Upper office area: Houses Parick's office and adjoining research rooms 34 36.
• Power facilities: Supply electricity to the settlement, including its functioning elevators 22 33.

Defenses and Security

Perimeter Defenses

• Multiple layers of high walls surround the converted mall 21.
• High-voltage electric fences deter mutant creatures from climbing inside 21.
• A single entrance is guarded by heavily armed soldiers and mounted anti-aircraft machine guns 21.
• Wall sentries carry heavy sniper rifles and use high-powered binoculars to monitor approaching travelers 21.
• New arrivals are checked for explosives and infectious diseases with a specialized instrument 22.

Internal Enforcement

• Fully armed patrol squads maintain order; some consist entirely of Baptized Ones 32.
• Patrols can execute rule-breakers immediately, regardless of whether they are refugees, officers, cadres, or Baptized Ones 32.
• Offenders too powerful for ordinary patrols face pursuit by Komodo Corporation's top assassin team 32.
• These rules prevent powerful residents from openly robbing or abusing ordinary traders, unlike in the surrounding wasteland 32.

Military Resources

• The fortress possesses restored Old Era tanks and armored vehicles 29.
• Its forces include the Falcon Squad, specializing in long-range sniping, and the Tiger Squad, specializing in melee combat with exoskeleton suits 38.
• The company avoids indiscriminately clearing nearby living corpses because ammunition and fuel are scarce. It reserves these resources for hostile companies and shelters when the creatures do not threaten the fortress 29.

Admission and Residency

Entry Requirements

• New applicants must undergo screening rather than receive automatic admission 22.
• During Xia Leng's arrival, applicants are required to hunt mutated living corpses in the western commercial district and return with a gray skull crystal. The research department needs these crystals, making them entry “tickets” 22.
• Even Tier 1 Baptized Ones must complete the mission under the tightened rules 23 25.
• Successful arrivals register their name, ability, purpose of entry, and future plans with a steward 32.

Living Conditions

• Residents pay recurring taxes in crystals or trade goods; accommodation is not free 32.
• Prolonged failure to pay results in forced labor in dangerous corporate mining zones 32.
• The settlement offers abundant supplies, electricity, and stable security, attracting people from the surrounding wasteland 22.
• A Tier 2 Baptized One can obtain a decent mercenary job or cadre position within the company 31.
• Stewards also recruit Baptized Ones and earn commissions for successful recruitment 33.

Research

• The corporation employs knowledgeable scholars who survived the Old Era 32.
• Researchers investigate mysterious locations, including the Land of Corpse Cold 34.
• Parick serves as both fortress general manager and a consultant to the company research team. Lower-ranking staff are not authorized to know the details of its work 36 37.
• Leads on previously unknown mutant creatures can earn substantial rewards 29 33.
• Xia Leng's report of an intelligent Living Corpse King interests Parick, who considers the possibility of controlling living corpses 35.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Xia Leng's First Destination

Xia Leng selects Komodo Fortress as his first destination while investigating his origins and the Land of Corpse Cold. He also intends to replenish supplies for the journey ahead 10 13.

After reaching the gate, he accepts the living-corpse hunting mission. He returns with a gray crystal and gains admission, presenting himself as a Tier 2 Apocalypse Hunter to conceal the nature of his abilities 22 31.

Living Corpse King Expedition

Inside the fortress, Xia Leng uses his discovery of a possible Living Corpse King to secure an audience with Parick through Steward Jonathan. Parick assigns two mercenary squads to accompany him and capture the creature 33 35 36.

The expedition reaches the Trade Tower but suffers heavy losses against the organized living corpses. By the time it approaches the suspected king, only about ten members remain. Xia Leng had deliberately enlisted the company's forces because confronting the unfamiliar enemy alone seemed unwise 41 42 47.