Chapter 177: Looks Over Friends

Ian Chandler had only discovered it last night after Nina Jacobs left.

He thought it was already incredible that the Mystic Ice Core had helped him awaken another Superpower, but he never expected his space to have expanded as well.

"I’ve saved up a lot of Crystal Cores,

I’ll give them all to you."

Ian Chandler said.

He had never forgotten that Nina Jacobs liked Crystal Cores.

"Sure. Add Chester Pearson’s to the pile, and it looks like I’m making quite a profit this time."

Nina Jacobs said, half-joking.

When it came to Crystal Cores, she never turned any down.

Meanwhile, Daniel Hale and Chester Pearson were discussing the return trip to City D with the members of the Lockwood Squad.

"If that’s the case, we might as well wait a couple more days,"

Kurt Garrison suggested.

Although they had an escort team, he believed it was safer to have more people in case they ran into any unexpected situations on the road.

"I agree."

Eric Stone added.

She was willing to wait for Nina Jacobs and her group.

"Yeah, if you guys need help with anything,

just let us know."

Julian Dempsey added, patting his chest in assurance.

"I didn’t expect them to be so enthusiastic."

Daniel Hale remarked in the car heading toward the wholesale market.

Everything had been arranged.

Patrick Phelps from Rescue Team Two would lead a group to protect the survivors at the abandoned factory.

The rest of them would head to the wholesale market with the majority of the people to collect supplies.

"Why did I just hear them say that...

you’re their savior?"

Chester Pearson turned his head and asked Nina Jacobs, who was sitting in the back.

"Mm, that’s just their polite way of putting it."

Nina Jacobs answered nonchalantly.

"For real?"

Chester Pearson then looked at Pascal Paige, who had come along.

"Sorry, it’s not really my place to say."

Pascal Paige waved her hand dismissively.

’If Nina won’t talk about it, I definitely can’t go blabbing.’

"Miss Paige, I’d like to know, too."

A handsome face—aloof and noble, yet with gentle features—turned toward her.

Pascal Paige’s breath caught in her throat.

She immediately recounted the events of that night.

"..."

Nina Jacobs looked at Pascal Paige, speechless.

’Is it really okay to choose a pretty face over a friend right in front of me like that?’

"If I said I was just hexed, would you believe me?"

Pascal Paige whispered, leaning closer to Nina Jacobs.

She swore she really didn’t do it on purpose.

"So that night, it really was you..."

Ian Chandler recalled the scene he and Daniel Hale had witnessed.

’So it really was Nina Jacobs.’

’If only we’d rushed over then...’

"No wonder your mom always says you only report the good news and never the bad.

This is just too dangerous."

A cold sweat broke out on Daniel Hale as he listened.

"It only sounds more dangerous than it was.

The building would have held up until dawn, no problem."

Nina Jacobs once again analyzed the situation for them.

If it hadn’t been for Finn Hart’s appearance, the Lockwood Squad chosen by Chase Gallagher would have been perfectly safe.

"You mean that group from City A?"

Chester Pearson recalled the group they had encountered before.

’No wonder they’d found that supplies in some areas had already been taken.’

"And the Superpower User Alliance.

They’re all collecting supplies in City J."

Nina Jacobs said.

’But both of those groups probably have their own hands full now.’

Along the way, Nina Jacobs also learned from their conversation that Ian Chandler had collected a lot of supplies on this trip as well.

Including a lot of construction materials for building the base.

"There’s a transfer every day?"

Nina Jacobs was surprised, and at the same time, she marveled once again at how capable the officials in City D still were.

It turned out that Ian Chandler was the main person in charge of collecting supplies this time.

Every day, a helicopter would be sent from City D to help Ian Chandler empty the supplies from his space.

This was to ensure he could collect new supplies first thing the next day.

"I hear our team has collected the most supplies."

A hint of pride was in Chester Pearson’s voice.

With Daniel Hale, a Spiritual Element Superpower User, and Ian Chandler, a Space Superpower User with massive storage, plus a powerful captain like himself, collecting supplies was twice as effective.

"By helicopter, it only takes half an hour to get here."

Ian Chandler said.

This was one of the reasons Justin Lawson and Myra Lawson felt at ease letting him come to City J.

After all, they could get news from him every day.

"I see."

It wasn’t until Nina Jacobs reached the vicinity of the wholesale market that she discovered the rescue team’s preparations were far more thorough than she had imagined.

The surrounding roads had all been cleared to allow for a quick escape in case of an accident.

Several artillery platforms were already set up, all aimed in the same direction.

Tank operators and shooters with rocket launchers were also in position.

Including paramedics.

"Just looking at all this makes me feel secure."

This was the first time Pascal Paige had ever seen such a setup.

’Just to collect supplies... I never thought City D’s lineup would be this impressive.’

"If we collect supplies but suffer heavy casualties,

the losses would be even greater for us."

After Chester Pearson finished explaining, he noticed that Pascal Paige was crying.

"...What’s wrong with you now?"

Chester Pearson looked completely baffled.

"Nothing, I just suddenly feel... happy and sad at the same time."

Pascal Paige didn’t know why she was crying either.

’It’s probably because this is the first time I’ve ever felt how much human life is valued.’

’It would be so great if City J had an army like this.’

’Then maybe her friends and family wouldn’t have died such horrible deaths...’

She felt a gentle pat on her back.

"They’re short one Healer. I’ll take you over."

Nina Jacobs led her to a relatively safe area where wounded people were having their injuries bandaged.

"Great! With a Healer,

we won’t have to worry about these minor injuries."

The people inside the vehicle greeted Pascal Paige warmly.

"You and Wayne Warner be careful, too."

Pascal Paige waved at Nina Jacobs.

Nina Jacobs nodded and walked over with Wayne Warner.

Ahead was a team of heavily geared rescue workers—the frontline combatants for this operation.

After the first round of bombardment was over,

they would have to go in and fight the zombies.

"We’ve already lured out and killed all the zombies in the surrounding buildings.

We have snipers stationed inside,

mainly to target the powerful mutated zombies."

Chester Pearson explained.

Even with all these precautions, some people still died every day.

That’s why he believed you could never be too prepared.

At this moment, all personnel were ready.

As a sound rang out, everyone’s expression grew tense.

"This is a low-frequency sound specifically for luring zombies.

It ensures that zombies from farther away aren’t drawn over."

Their target—which was also the target for all the weapons—was concentrated in a square up ahead.

"I see."

Nina Jacobs understood.

First, they would lure as many zombies as possible from the wholesale market into that square, then bombard it with heavy weapons.

This would indeed kill a large number of zombies right off the bat.

No wonder Chester Pearson dared to challenge several thousand zombies with a mere hundred people.

"Here they come!"

Daniel Hale warned as the specific sound echoed.

"All positions, be advised. The number of zombies is higher than we anticipated.

Prepare for battle!"

Chester Pearson said over the walkie-talkie.

"Nina, there are a lot of mutated zombies now.

You and Wayne Warner have to be careful."

Ian Chandler reminded her, concerned.

Nina Jacobs nodded, waiting quietly beside the others.

ROAR—

The sound of zombies roaring quickly approached.

The first to arrive were clearly two Speed Element mutated zombies.

"Now we’re in trouble."

The rest of the zombies hadn’t arrived yet.

But after the two Speed Element zombies reached the square, they immediately locked onto them as targets.

"It’s not just two. There are quite a few more mutated zombies behind them."

Daniel Hale said, pointing in a certain direction.