At the sound of his voice, the rest of the resistance fighters spun toward him all at once. Jake remained still, doing his best to appear non-threatening.

"What the hell is that creature?" someone asked.

"It's the morphus," one of them gasped.

Jake didn't know how long these people had been held captive, but it was clear that some of them didn't even recognize him, indicating they must have been imprisoned at the main base almost from the very moment Los Demonios had appeared in the city.

"How the hell did it even get here?" another voice asked, speaking to no one in particular.

"What the hell is going on here?" a voice echoed from the back of the cavern.

Jake noticed that the survivors who had been asleep at the far side of the cavern stirred at the noise. Rising to their feet, they approached the people holding him at gunpoint, stopping in their tracks when they spotted him.

"Wow, that thing is ugly," somebody remarked.

"And scary as fuck!"

"Shh! Keep it down! It can hear us!"

"Shoot the bastard before it charges at us!"

Jake decided to reiterate his earlier statement for those who hadn't caught it the first time.

"I'm not here to fight," he began. "I come as a friend. My name is Jake. I was once a human survivor just like you until I became a mutant. I'm here to help you deal with what's left of Los Demonios."

"It can talk!" someone exclaimed.

"No kidding," another retorted.

"Don't call him 'it,'" another person said. "His name is Jake."

"I don't care," a burly man said as he raised a pump-action shotgun at Jake. "This has to be some kind of trick. I'm going to shoot that thing."

"Nobody opens fire," Samantha said in an authoritative voice. "Keep your cool, everyone."

Everybody immediately fell silent and turned their attention to their leader. Samantha stepped forward, her gaze fixed on Jake. For a brief moment, she studied him in silence, her expression a blend of curiosity and caution.

"You claim to be on our side," she said at last. "But how can we trust you?"

"Yeah," the same burly man, whose name was Marcel, said while tightening his grip on the shotgun in his large hands. "How do we know you're not here to kill us?"

"If I wanted to kill you, most of you would already be dead or dying," Jake responded.

Apparently, it was not the right thing to say, as some of the survivors flinched as if they had been hit. The others either stepped back or gripped their weapons more tightly. Marcel shifted his aim to Jake's head, prepared to take a shot if things escalated.

"But as I said, I'm not here to fight," Jake added, trying to soften his previous words. "I'm not your enemy."

"You said you want to help us deal with what's left of Los Demonios," Samantha replied.

"That's right."

"But what exactly did you mean by 'what's left' of them? Did you kill some of them in the mines above us or what?"

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"I took down all the secondary bases, so the only thing that remains of Los Demonios at this point is the main base," Jake explained.

A complete silence fell after his words as the resistance fighters absorbed what he had said.

"You think he's telling the truth?" one of them whispered to another.

"I dunno," another replied. "Maybe."

"I mean, it's possible, right, guys?" a third voice chimed in.

"Perhaps. He managed to sneak all the way to our hideout, so it's possible he could have done what he claims."

They quietly continued talking among themselves. Jake could see that, while they didn't completely believe him, they were beginning to look hopeful. The mere thought of him being honest raised their spirits.

"Bullshit," Marcel said loudly, causing the others to fall silent. "You can't exactly prove that you destroyed all the other bases, can you?"

"No, I can't," Jake replied. "You'll have to see for yourself after I help you fight your way out of this place."

The prospect of finally breaking free from this place and no longer having to hide deep underground ignited another wave of excitement among the survivors, and their murmurs filled the air once again.

Unlike the rest of them, Marcel was far less easily convinced, his face a mask of anger and distrust. He looked ready to say or do something, but Samantha, who must have known him well, raised a placating hand to stop him before turning her attention back to Jake.

"I have so many questions for you," she said. "How did you manage to get here? How did you even find the main base? How did you learn about us? How did you manage to enter the base and slip past Level A? Does Skullface know you are here? Or did you fight your way through the main level and the mines to get here?"

"And how the hell did you find our hideout?" Marcel added, his voice filled with anger.

"I didn't arrive at your hideout without making some noise," Jake replied. "On my way here, I caused some disturbance on Level A, resulting in the deaths of some of Skullface's people. So I didn't exactly slip past the main level unnoticed."

The cavern fell silent as everyone stared at him, their eyes wide with hope and anticipation.

"Really?" Marcel asked incredulously, clearly doubting him. "You killed some of those bastards, huh?"

"Yeah," Jake replied. "But don't worry. I didn't kill too many of them. I thought you guys would want to take care of the rest yourselves. I also didn't kill anyone in the mines yet. We're going to do that together and free the rest of the enslaved people."

The resistance fighters silently regarded him with serious expressions. It was clear their trust in him was growing, and the thought of finally avenging themselves against Los Demonios for what they had endured filled them with steely determination.

Jake glanced around at the group before turning his attention back to Samantha.

"The rest of your questions don't really matter," he added. "I learned the location of the main base, but how I came by that information isn't important. Once I found out about you, I knew I needed to assist you in your fight against Los Demonios here. So all you need to know is that now that I'm here, you can finally take full revenge on your captors and reclaim your freedom. I'm gonna help you kill every last one of those sonofabitches who wronged you, and then you'll be finally able to get out of here and return to the city."

His words sent a wave of excitement among the survivors. They pumped their fists in the air, laughed, and patted each other on the back in celebration. They fully believed him now, and the idea of finally retaliating against those who had wronged them filled them with excitement and determination. Although they still didn't know his plan, his words alone inspired hope. Their fear of him dissipated, and they accepted him as an ally.

Even Marcel, who still wore a scowl, began to warm up to the idea. It appeared that while his instincts for survival cautioned him against trusting Jake too easily, deep down, he genuinely wanted to believe that Jake would get them out of this place.

Marcel glanced around at the joyful faces surrounding him, then fixed Jake with a sharp look. He lowered his shotgun and took two large strides closer, stopping right in front of Jake. Since he was so much larger, he had to tilt his head down to gaze at Jake from this close range. Despite Jake's terrifying appearance, the human showed no signs of fear in standing so near to him at all.

"Listen to what I have to say," Marcel said in a low voice, as if he didn't want the other survivors to hear. "If you're just fucking with us, if you're giving these people false hope or trying to lead us into some kind of trap, I'll make sure you regret it, you hear me, Jake? I'll rip your head off and carry it on my belt like a war trophy. Do you understand me?"

"There will be no need for that," Jake replied calmly, maintaining his composure. "I'm not here to deceive you or anything. Like I said, I only want to help you, that's all."

Marcel continued to stare down at him, either trying to intimidate him or determine if he was full of it.

"Give him a break, Marcel," Samantha said as she moved up next to him. "I believe he's being honest. So relax, will you?"

Marcel shot her a grumpy look, hesitated for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders and stepped back.

Samantha turned her gaze to Jake and asked, "So, do you have a plan of attack?"

"Actually, I do," Jake replied. "But before I get into that, I need to tell you something else."

Samantha raised her eyebrows, intrigued by his words.

"Yeah?" she said. "What is it?"

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