Chapter 57: Justin Lawson

"It’s not important whether I trust you. What matters is that he does."

Chester Pearson looked at Ian Chandler sitting beside him.

’To trust and protect Ian Chandler unconditionally.’

That was the mission—the order—Myra Lawson had given him.

"I hope we can get to the shelter as soon as possible, too," Nina Jacobs said. She wouldn’t have minded spending the night outside alone, but the others weren’t up for it.

The larger the group, the greater the risk.

...

「On the rooftop of a three-story building in City D.」

An elderly man with graying hair stared down solemnly at the roads below.

"Still no news?"

Justin Lawson asked the person beside him.

"No, but I’ve already sent people to watch the main routes. If there’s any news about any of them, we’re guaranteed to get it immediately,"

Elijah Young replied.

Although Justin Lawson had already retired, he was still his former superior.

The disaster had wiped out City D’s core leadership. As a result, Justin Lawson was the only one left to take charge of their current shelter.

"It’s been days. Even Dawn Donovan went personally,

how come none of them have returned yet!"

As sunset approached, Justin Lawson couldn’t help but grow anxious.

"Chester Pearson went too."

Elijah Young’s words made Justin Lawson feel slightly relieved.

"Could it be that the intel those people provided was wrong?"

Only then did Justin Lawson realize he might have been acting out of desperation.

The people Dawn Donovan had brought with her seemed quite capable, so when they provided information about his grandson, Ian Chandler, he had immediately taken them at their word.

He even allocated a group of people to go with them on the search.

But several days had passed, and not a single one of them had returned.

’Thinking about it now, perhaps the information they provided wasn’t even accurate.’

"Let’s wait a little longer. I think there’s still hope."

Elijah Young continued to observe the distance with his binoculars.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t spot any signs of life in the vicinity.

"Have that Simon Abbott come see me."

Justin Lawson was still worried. ’If those people deceived me, they must have some other motive...’

"Abbott, why do you think they’re not back yet? It’s been three days."

In the clean and spacious room, Wyatt Jacobs was lying on the sofa, bored out of his mind.

Although the room was just a converted office, it was considered one of the better living quarters in the shelter.

The shelter they were in was inside City D’s largest library.

The library was three stories high.

Most of the survivors were concentrated on the second and third floors.

The first floor and the basement level were reserved for military access and command deployment.

Supplies and weapons were also stored on these two floors.

Those who could live on the first floor were mostly people under military protection, like them.

It was safe and clean here, and they didn’t have to squeeze into a large space with other survivors.

It was just that Liam Grant and Renee Strong still hadn’t returned.

"Don’t worry about those two.

It might not look far, but a round trip really does take several days.

Besides, they can handle any crisis they might face right now."

Simon Abbott was studying a map of City D.

The locations marked on the map were supply caches they had set up before the apocalypse.

"That’s true."

Just as Wyatt Jacobs relaxed, a knock came from the door, followed by the sounds of an argument.

Mr. and Mrs. Grant were at the door.

Hearing the dispute from the doorway, Simon Abbott sighed.

"Great. Those two old folks are definitely arguing with someone again."

Wyatt Jacobs sat up.

"Let’s go take a look."

Simon Abbott opened the door and found the visitor was one of Justin Lawson’s men.

"Is my son back yet or not?

What kind of dangerous mission did you send him on? What if something happens to my son?"

Susan Warner clung to the man outside the door, asking relentlessly.

When Sean Caldwell saw Simon Abbott come out, he shook off Susan Warner as if he’d just seen his savior.

"Lawson wants to see you."

"Alright."

Simon Abbott was very calm. He knew Justin Lawson must be anxious.

This was all within his expectations.

However, what Simon Abbott hadn’t expected was that before he even entered Justin Lawson’s office, he saw Justin Lawson rushing out in a hurry.

Chester Pearson hadn’t expected that they would actually be able to reach the shelter before dark.

Along the way, Nina Jacobs had led them on a winding path, even taking some routes that weren’t on the map.

In the end, they’d suddenly found their way through.

"Grandpa."

Ian Chandler saw an emotional Justin Lawson before he even got out of the car.

"It’s really you! Where have you been all this time, kid!

Do you have any idea what your mother went through for you...?"

Only at the moment he saw Ian Chandler did Justin Lawson finally, truly feel relieved.

"I’m sorry for making you worry."

Ian Chandler noticed that his grandfather looked more than ten years older than he had a month ago.

It made his heart ache.

’Maybe I should have come back sooner.’

"As long as you’re okay. Are you hurt?"

Justin Lawson noticed that the once-frail Ian Chandler had even grown quite a bit taller.

"No, I’m not. She and her family saved me."

Ian Chandler didn’t forget to introduce Daniel Hale and the others.

"Thank you, thank you so much...

You’re... Hale?!"

Justin Lawson felt that the Daniel Hale before him looked very familiar.

At the annual joint conference for local government and businesses, Daniel Hale was present almost every year.

"Lawson, I never thought we’d meet again here."

Daniel Hale was filled with emotion.

After all that had happened, the glory of the old days seemed like only yesterday, but it was already a thing of the past.

"Alright, Man Lawson, my mission’s complete."

Chester Pearson waved and left the touching scene.

Nina Jacobs also hadn’t expected that Daniel Hale and Justin Lawson were acquaintances.

Before the apocalypse, Justin Lawson had already retired to a behind-the-scenes role in politics, but his prestige remained. After the City D Base was established, he even became the base commander.

In her past life, Nina Jacobs had only met Justin Lawson once and didn’t know him well.

Later, Justin Lawson died suddenly, and the management of the City D Base became increasingly chaotic. Many Superpower User teams left the base, including theirs...

’But none of that will affect me in this life.’

As long as she could ensure the safety of Vera Coleman and the others, she could focus on improving her Superpower and upgrading her system in peace.

After everything was settled, Nina Jacobs got a room of her own.

Perhaps because of their connection to Ian Chandler, their group was assigned to a nice suite.

Although the partitions in the suite looked temporary, they each got a private room.

Most importantly, it had electricity and running water.

Outside their rooms, there was also a decently sized sitting room.

Justin Lawson’s residence was across the hallway, and he and Daniel Hale were in the sitting room, talking about everything that had happened.

Of course, it was mostly about Ian Chandler.

Nina Jacobs lay relaxed on her bed and opened the system interface.

The system’s daily mission was to kill a certain number of zombies.

[Daily Mission: Kill regular zombies (30/30).

Mission Reward: +30 Experience Points.]

She made sure to complete this mission every day.

Combined with the 1,000 Experience Points she’d received before, her level one experience bar was already more than halfway full.