Chapter 17: Human Perception Is Limited

"Everything I’m saying is true.

I can protect Nina Jacobs and all of you.

Please, you have to believe me!"

Liam Grant was blindsided by a punch from Leo Hale.

"Look at your financial situation.

How are you in any way worthy of her?

Nina Jacobs must have been blind to have ever fallen for you."

Leo Hale’s words hit one of Liam Grant’s sore spots.

He was, indeed, from a poor family.

Many people used to say he wasn’t good enough for Nina Jacobs, and even he himself thought so.

It wasn’t until the apocalypse arrived that various factions started trying to recruit him.

’None of these people know what an untouchable existence I’m going to become.’

"Forget it. People’s understanding is limited.

In a few days, you’ll know who was right!

I hope we can clear up this misunderstanding the next time I come."

Leaving those words behind, Liam Grant walked out of the Hale Family’s home.

Feeling his hands, which still showed no stirrings of a Superpower, Liam Grant couldn’t help but look anxious.

’Where did things go wrong?’

’Could it really be because of Nina Jacobs?’

Meanwhile, Nina Jacobs had already successfully infiltrated the Sunrise Food Factory.

’This lucky?’

Nina Jacobs walked a lap under the eaves.

Surprisingly, the factory building and warehouses were all empty.

Although she sensed something was off, Nina Jacobs didn’t dwell on it.

’The mission comes first.’

There were no lights in the cargo warehouse, only the faint blinking of a few security cameras in the corners.

Nina Jacobs conjured a small flicker of flame and quickly threw it. After a puff of smoke, one camera was completely fried.

After confirming all the cameras were destroyed, Nina Jacobs finally began to survey her surroundings.

The warehouse was divided into a raw materials warehouse and a finished goods warehouse. The finished goods warehouse was filled with neatly stacked boxes of cookies, as well as various types of sachima and small bread rolls.

The thought that this place would explode tomorrow, turning all this food to ash, made Nina Jacobs’s heart ache.

The system’s storage grid could collect all supplies within a certain range with a single command. In an instant, Nina Jacobs had collected the entire finished goods warehouse’s contents into her system storage.

The raw materials warehouse mostly contained flour, cooking oil, and other such ingredients—supplies that would be priceless in the apocalypse.

Nina Jacobs, as before, took it all.

In her past life, she had to collect supplies slowly in front of Liam Grant and the others, afraid they would notice something.

Now, she finally didn’t have to control the speed of her collection.

However, just collecting these didn’t trigger a mission completion notice.

’Looks like there are other places.’

The factory grounds had a warehouse area and a production area. The remaining supplies must be in the production area.

The signs by the road were completely corroded by the acid rain and illegible, but thankfully, Nina Jacobs had already looked at a map of the factory, so she wouldn’t get lost.

At the entrance to the production workshop, Nina Jacobs found another full row of supplies.

As before, she destroyed the security camera first. The next second, the entire row of supplies at the workshop entrance was instantly swept into her storage.

[Mission "Five-Finger Discount Mission 2" detected as complete. Mission rewards have been distributed.]

Looking at the extra storage slot she had gained, Nina Jacobs was very pleased.

’I can finally head back.’

This time, Nina Jacobs didn’t go back the way she came. According to the Real-time Map rewarded by the system, there was a more convenient and clear path nearby.

She just had to go through the back gate of the Sunrise Food Factory.

The rain had formed a huge puddle on the factory grounds.

’The water level is rising. And it’s only the second day.’

No wonder no one dared to go out at a time like this. It was nearly impossible to walk in ordinary shoes in this kind of rain.

In the downpour, Nina Jacobs suddenly heard a strange sound.

It sounded like crying, mixed with muffled thuds.

She activated "Five Senses Enhancement" and quickly pinpointed the source of the sound to a large truck.

It was a mottled white truck, its paint corroded, and the sounds were coming from inside it.

"...out... help... us out... who..."

The pounding wasn’t strong, but it was clear there was more than one person inside.

Nina Jacobs looked around the truck. The side of it was already starting to rust and corrode; she feared the rainwater had already seeped in.

The driver’s seat was empty.

’How did these people get locked in here?’

Nina Jacobs knocked on the cargo container.

Someone inside the container seemed to hear the noise and immediately responded.

"There’s someone here!! ...Are you out there?"

"We’re employees here! Please, help us get out!"

"There are 87 of us! A few people are on their last legs! Please, whoever is out there, save us..."

’87 people??’

Nina Jacobs suddenly recalled a video she had scrolled past on these same days in her previous life.

A fire broke out at a food factory, and all eighty-plus employees inside died.

’Could it be talking about these people in here?’

But she had already emptied the food factory. If she rashly helped them now, they would likely be suspicious of her when they got out.

’Besides, whether these people live or die has nothing to do with me.’

Thinking this, Nina Jacobs turned and continued walking toward the exit...

The crying from inside the large truck gradually faded.

Morgan Abbott pressed his ear against the container wall. Unfortunately, aside from the sound of the heavy rain drumming against the metal, they could no longer hear the knocking from before.

’That was clearly someone outside who had found us.’

But five minutes passed, then ten, and the person outside made no further sound.

"Are they gone...?"

Morgan Abbott slumped to the floor.

The acid rain had come too suddenly. They, the employees, were still in their clean-room uniforms and had been led out without even grabbing their phones.

They had finally found a truck, but after they boarded, the workshop supervisor who said he would drive them disappeared...

"The truck is starting to leak. Are we going to die in here?"

"I don’t know if my kid made it home from school yesterday... I miss him..."

"My parents must be so worried about me. Will I never see them again?"

"..."

Over eighty people were crammed into the same confined space. With the acid rain now trickling in through the cracks, panic and despair spread once again. Some were even beginning to have trouble breathing.

"If I had known... I wouldn’t have ordered that cheap group-buy meal..."

Leaning in a corner, Morgan Abbott gave a weak, tired smile.

’I saved every penny and worked so hard, but I never thought I’d die such a miserable death so soon.’

’If I get out of this, I’ll definitely treat myself better.’

Just as he was thinking this, the truck suddenly lurched.

Morgan Abbott’s eyes flew open.

’Someone started the truck!!’

Unfortunately, it was a delivery truck, so they couldn’t see what was happening in the driver’s cab up front.

The truck slowly pulled out, made a turn, passed a roadblock on the ground, and continued forward...

After an unknown number of minutes, the truck finally stopped.

"I don’t hear rain. Did it stop?"

Morgan Abbott stood up in pleasant surprise.

He clearly heard the sound of the driver getting out and closing the door, but no matter how much the people in the container shouted, the doors remained shut.

"Everyone, don’t panic. I think someone is saving us."

Morgan Abbott said to the once-again restless crowd.

BANG!

A moment later, the container door was finally broken open by something.