Chapter 134: Converted to Crystal Cores

"I heard Crystal Cores can be used to buy things,"

"so just pay me in Crystal Cores."

Nina Jacobs phrased it as tactfully as she could.

"That’s definitely not a problem."

Shirley Lucas resolved that when he got back, he would definitely help Nina Jacobs get more.

"One more thing,"

"if Simon Abbott goes back, remember to be careful of him,"

Nina Jacobs said.

Simon Abbott would eventually return to Liam Grant and the others.

But he was still Tyson Hughes’s man, so they had to be on their guard.

"Simon Abbott?"

Shirley Lucas had almost forgotten about the man, but since Nina Jacobs brought him up, it meant he definitely needed to be watched.

Shirley Lucas’s space was quite large.

But stuffing all these weapons and supplies inside still used up every last inch of it.

Fortunately, their vehicle was large enough to hold a dozen or so extra boxes of ammunition.

"Be extra careful."

"We’ll see you around,"

"Summer~"

Shirley Lucas waved to Nina Jacobs.

He was still used to calling her Summer.

"See you around."

The two vehicles drove off in different directions.

Nina Jacobs’s next destination was the neighboring City J.

Yvette Lowe from the Superpower User Alliance had once told her that there were no longer any shelters in City J.

The survivors there could only fend for themselves.

Originally, they had been hoping for a rescue.

But a few days ago, the official Drakonian Government app had posted an important notice.

The rescue command headquarters advised that before a safe shelter could be established in City J, the best option for survivors was to head to the neighboring City D and City F to find refuge.

The implication was clear.

It was very likely that City J would not be getting a shelter.

Only after that notice was posted did many survivors from City J begin flooding into City D.

The reason Nina Jacobs wanted to go to City J,

besides going on looting missions for supplies,

was that she also wanted to try her luck and find the Mystic Ice Core that had appeared in her past life.

The Mystic Ice Core was said to be a fragment of a meteorite.

Just by carrying it, one could block the tracking of Spiritual Element Superpower Users.

In the third year of the apocalypse, a Water Element Superpower User had accidentally absorbed that Ice Core, and their Water Element Superpower had mutated into an Ice Element Superpower.

At first, the Drakonian Government thought it was an isolated case.

But they later learned that many powerful Superpower Users from other countries had also used this type of Ice Core to evolve mutated Superpowers.

Besides the Water Element mutating into the Ice Element,

other mutated Superpowers, even if they didn’t change fundamentally, would become stronger than their original versions.

And the reason Superpower Users from other countries were flocking to Drakonia was the speculation that Drakonia was the region where the most meteorite fragments had fallen.

In her previous life, the first place the Ice Core was discovered was within the City J region—

the very place that would soon become a city of zombies, with no survivors left.

GRUMBLE GRUMBLE.

That familiar sound came from the back of the vehicle again.

"Are you hungry?"

Nina Jacobs asked.

For the past few days, she had been deliberately following a principle of smaller, more frequent meals, only letting Wayne Warner eat until he was about three-quarters full each time.

The result was that his three meals a day had turned into five.

"Yeah."

Wayne Warner sat up from the bed in the back and looked at Nina Jacobs.

"Eat this to tide you over for now."

"We’ll find a place to rest up ahead and stay there for the night."

Nina Jacobs took a container of dumplings from a storage compartment.

In her spare time over the last two days, she had used an electric pot with a portable power station to cook a lot of frozen dumplings.

Then she portioned them out into many food containers.

Wayne Warner had a special fondness for both buns and dumplings, so this kind of nutritious, easy-to-carry food was perfect for him to snack on while on the road.

"Thanks."

Taking the dumplings, Wayne Warner bit the lid open directly, as his new fingernails hadn’t grown in yet.

Nina Jacobs had already driven out of City D by now.

Between City D and City J, they still had to pass through several villages and farmlands.

As expected,

all the farmland along the road had turned into a wasteland of black, rotting earth.

The high temperatures over many days had baked dry cracks into the ground.

The walls of the villages along the way were spattered with varying amounts of bloodstains.

It looked particularly eerie in the dim evening light.

After running over a few zombies, Nina Jacobs got out of the car to dig out their Crystal Cores.

But then she heard the sound of someone coughing not far away.

In the otherwise silent village, the coughing sound was unavoidably creepy.

The sound gave Nina Jacobs goosebumps.

"Did you hear anything?"

Nina Jacobs asked after getting back in the car.

Wayne Warner shook his head.

She hadn’t let him get out of the car, so it was normal that he hadn’t heard it.

So she continued driving forward along the only village road.

When she saw a fence made of wire and wood in the distance, she actually became less worried.

’There must be survivors here.’

’This fence is meant to keep out zombies.’

’So the sound I just heard must have been from a survivor.’

Nina Jacobs had originally been a staunch materialist.

But ever since her rebirth, that belief was no longer so firm.

She wasn’t afraid of zombies.

But she was a little afraid of... uncertain things...

Nina Jacobs kept driving, only to find the road ahead was also blocked by a fence.

"Young lady, how did you get here from that direction?"

An old voice called out from behind a withered tree.

Only then did Nina Jacobs notice a short, stooped figure under the tree.

It was a hunchbacked old man.

After speaking, he coughed heavily twice more.

Nina Jacobs then realized that the sound she had heard earlier came from this old man.

"I’m looking for someone. I need to pass through on this road,"

Nina Jacobs replied.

"It’s too dangerous. It’s about to get dark."

"You should wait until tomorrow to leave."

The old man pointed to one side with the cane in his hand.

"We’re the only family left in the village."

"I have a grandson, too."

"If you don’t mind, you can stay here for a night before you go."

Nina Jacobs glanced at the time.

It was indeed about to get dark.

After this village, the next one was just a little further ahead.

It seemed about the same whether she stayed here or there.

"Excuse me, is there a doctor here?"

Nina Jacobs asked.

If possible, she wanted to find a doctor to ask about Wayne Warner’s condition.

"A doctor?"

"Are you hurt?"

the old man asked.

"It’s my friend in the car. He’s a little injured."

"Well, that’s perfect! My son-in-law is a doctor."

"He used to run a clinic in the city."

The old man’s enthusiasm made Nina Jacobs glance around warily.

Then she nodded.

"Then I’ll have to trouble you."

Soon, to Nina Jacobs’s exasperation, she discovered the doctor who "ran a clinic" was actually a veterinarian.

"Sorry, I did use to run an exotic pet clinic,"

"but I don’t have any experience treating people,"

said the old man’s son-in-law, Wesley Hawthorne.

"Isn’t it all the same? Just take a look at him."

The old man seemed unconvinced, pointing his cane at the tall and sturdy Wayne Warner.

"No, that’s alright. My friend only has a minor injury,"

Nina Jacobs quickly refused.

She wasn’t so desperate as to have an exotic pet doctor treat Wayne Warner.

"I’m sorry about that,"

"but since your friend is injured,"

"you’re welcome to stay at our house for a few more days."

The hostess was also very enthusiastic.

However, Nina Jacobs noticed a little boy peeking curiously into her car.

And his parents made no move to stop him.

Nina Jacobs wasn’t worried about him looking.

Her car only contained a few packs of compressed biscuits that Wayne Warner didn’t like, plus a few bottles of water.

There were no other supplies.

"Our yard is large. You and your friend can stay in those two rooms tonight."

The hostess had short hair, wore an apron, and her skin looked very fair.

The little boy, however, had dark skin and eyes full of suspicion.

"How come you don’t have any food?"

"Could it be you’re a Space Superpower User?"

the little boy asked directly.