Chapter 182: A Lingering Threat

Hearing her companion’s scream, Phoebe Vance scrambled to hide behind the others in terror.

She and Jane Dixon had always stayed by Finn Hart’s side.

They had never killed a single zombie.

Let alone a Zombie Rat.

Jane Dixon also saw the handful of Zombie Rats.

But they didn’t look particularly terrifying. Were those two green leaves on their backs?

For a moment, the Zombie Rats even stood still at the side, unmoving.

It was as if they were waiting for someone to give them an order.

"How can there be Zombie Rats like this?"

Phoebe Vance said.

The screams continued. The few people who had been bitten by the Zombie Rats at the beginning had already turned into zombies.

The scene instantly devolved into chaos.

Phoebe Vance opened the door, only to see a familiar figure in the courtyard.

Her eyes widened. "How is it you?!"

"What are you doing here?"

Jane Dixon also had a look of disbelief.

’Nina Jacobs is here all alone. Don’t tell me she’s...’

"Take a guess."

Nina Jacobs waved her hand, and the Zombie Rats inside the house scurried out one after another, lining up at the doorway.

"You can control these things... You want to kill us?"

Phoebe Vance’s expression was one of terror.

She regretted provoking Nina Jacobs. More than that, she couldn’t understand how someone could control Zombie Rats.

But the moment the words left her mouth, the Zombie Rats lunged at her and Jane Dixon.

"You guessed right. Trying to shift the blame and make excuses for that idiot superior of yours? Have you forgotten who you have to thank for surviving that night?"

Nina Jacobs had been a little hesitant when she first arrived outside the door.

But then she heard what they were saying.

Chester Pearson and his people represented the City D rescue team.

Their job was to save people.

But she was different.

’If I don’t kill these people, they’ll just become a problem later on.’

Two Wood Element Vines slammed the door shut again.

Listening to the screams and struggles from inside, Nina Jacobs walked out of the courtyard alone...

「...」

The convoy arrived smoothly in City D the next morning.

"Nina, once the base is built... what are your plans?"

Inside the vehicle, Holden Shaw couldn’t help but ask.

They were about to reach their destination, and he suddenly felt a little lost.

Before, he had lived just to survive.

But he’d heard the base was safe enough, and now he suddenly didn’t know what he was supposed to do.

Chase Gallagher and the others all pricked up their ears.

"What, none of you have any plans?"

On the way back, Nina Jacobs was still riding in the same car as Chase Gallagher’s group.

Seeing them all fall silent, she finally spoke.

"If you don’t have any plans, you can come with me."

"With you? We can’t just depend on you to support us, right? No way. You’re two years younger than me."

Pascal Paige quickly waved his hands in refusal.

How could they possibly let Nina Jacobs support them?

She had saved their lives, after all.

"Don’t get me wrong. I don’t support freeloaders. The base is only relatively safe. You’ll still have to rely on yourselves to survive."

Nina Jacobs said.

She had thought a lot over the past two days. The appearance of The Aegis Conclave, in particular, had made her realize the importance of strength.

This strength wasn’t just about her alone.

’Maybe I need to cultivate a group of my own people.’

She had the resources, but cultivating people would require starting from scratch.

After hearing Nina Jacobs’s words, everyone in the car began to think.

"Count me in."

Chase Gallagher, who was driving, was the first to speak.

"You’re not going back to City A?"

Pascal Paige remembered that Chase Gallagher was from City A.

"It doesn’t conflict."

Chase Gallagher replied.

"Alright."

Nina Jacobs had been thinking of recruiting Chase Gallagher for a while now.

After all, he was a good person at heart and a Dual Element Superpower User.

"Count me in too."

Holden Shaw declared.

"Yeah! We can team up and keep killing zombies together. I want to become an Intermediate Superpower User too."

Jessica Vance was also reluctant to part with everyone.

Yvonne Willow and Wendy Marshall felt the same way.

"You don’t have to give me an answer right away. You can get a feel for the situation after we arrive."

That included herself as well.

The City D Base of this lifetime was about to be completed, and she needed to lay a foundation for herself and her family ahead of time.

While Nina Jacobs was speaking, Sheila Rhodes had already closed the book of poetry she’d been reading.

"Excuse me... may I join as well?"

Sheila Rhodes’s voice was very soft, coming from the corner.

But Nina Jacobs still heard it.

However, she shook her head. "The place you should be going is City A."

They weren’t playing house.

’Sheila Rhodes is a big shot. I can’t accommodate someone of her stature.’

"Oh."

Sheila Rhodes seemed a little disappointed.

"You don’t want to see your family?"

Nina Jacobs asked.

Sheila Rhodes shook her head. "I do, but I thought the two weren’t mutually exclusive."

After all, Chase Gallagher was also from City A.

"Look, kid, you’re destined for greatness. We’re on survival mode here. You can basically switch to easy mode."

Holden Shaw also knew, to some extent, that her background wasn’t simple.

"I hope so..."

Sheila Rhodes said no more after that.

Because they had now entered the area near the City D shelter.

For a little while now, they had been seeing many teams outside, killing zombies.

There were people digging for Crystal Cores and others searching through abandoned vehicles by the roadside.

"It really is a full-on survival mode for everyone."

Wendy Marshall remarked with emotion. The closer they got to the shelter, the more signs of life there were.

These signs of life could be seen in the various signs and markers along the road.

They could also be seen in the transport vehicles and crowds of people coming and going.

And they had finally arrived at the City D shelter.

"Nina, I’ve had people arrange the matter you mentioned."

Ian Chandler walked over to Nina Jacobs the moment he got out of the car.

"But there’s one more thing I think you should know."

"What is it?"

Nina Jacobs and Ian Chandler stepped aside.

After hearing what he had to say, Nina Jacobs’s brow furrowed slightly.

Apparently, two days ago, their communications personnel had vanished midway through their flight back from City J to City D.

All four people on the plane had disappeared.

One of them was even a Space Superpower User whose space was filled with supplies.

Originally, the incident might have been written off as just an unfortunate accident.

But that communications officer was also responsible for bringing back intelligence—intel that concerned Honey Summers and Finn Hart, as well as Sheila Rhodes.

"Have you sent people to look for them?"

Nina Jacobs asked.

"We have, but the area is too large. We haven’t even found the wreckage of the plane."

Ian Chandler sighed.

He wasn’t too concerned about the lost supplies, as it just so happened that two other Space Superpower Users hadn’t been on that flight.

He was more worried about the rumored flying-type zombie animals.

"If they were attacked by zombie animals, then there’s nothing to be done,"

Nina Jacobs said.

’I hope this wasn’t intentional.’

Upon learning that there were vacant rooms in the shelter, Nina Jacobs had Ian Chandler arrange for an extra suite.

She had Pascal Paige and the others move in temporarily.

"In less than a month, everyone in the entire shelter will have been transferred."

Daniel Hale walked quickly.

He wanted to see his wife, Vera Coleman, as soon as possible. After all, he’d been away for over half a month.

"Dad? Nina, Wayne?!"

Leo Hale was drenched in sweat, carrying what looked like an extremely heavy sack on his shoulder.

He froze when he saw the three familiar figures up ahead.

"That’s great, Wayne! You’re okay! This is really great!"

Leo Hale grabbed Wayne Warner with both hands, looking him up and down.

God knows how much he had been blaming himself these past few days.

"What are you carrying?"

Nina Jacobs asked curiously.

"Hehe, it’s nothing, just some rocks and heavy stuff. I’m doing some weight training."

Leo Hale said, a little embarrassed.