Chapter 221: The Only Warmth

With her Five Senses Enhancement, Nina Jacobs could sense the path of every single Little Zombie Rat.

Finally, she found Holden Shaw behind a collapsed earthen slope.

But Holden Shaw was in terrible shape.

His right shoulder and abdomen were a mangled, bloody mess.

His lips were a dark, bruised purple.

He was leaning there, completely still. Trembling, Nina Jacobs checked to see if he was breathing.

When she found he was still breathing, she immediately took out a "Healing Potion" and poured it down his throat.

Nina Jacobs also poured the "Healing Potion" over his wounds.

Perhaps because the poison was so severe, when the Healing Potion mixed with the blood on his wounds, wisps of yellow smoke began to rise.

It gave off an acrid stench.

"COUGH COUGH..."

Holden Shaw coughed up a mouthful of thick, dark blood.

He also saw Nina Jacobs beside him, her face etched with worry.

"...COUGH, COUGH. If that bastard... hadn’t played dirty,"

"I... I wouldn’t have lost."

"Didn’t I tell you that in a critical moment, your first priority is to run and save your own life?"

Nina Jacobs didn’t have the heart to scold him.

’Holden Shaw has always been a man with a strong sense of responsibility. He probably fought so desperately because of what I said.’

"I’m... feeling... a lot better now,"

"but Sheila Rhodes... she might not make it. I hid her... over there..."

Holden Shaw weakly raised his hand and pointed in a certain direction.

’Sheila Rhodes?’

Nina Jacobs hadn’t expected Holden Shaw to have been able to hide Sheila Rhodes.

Sheila Rhodes was covered by a pile of withered branches and rotting leaves.

She wasn’t poisoned, but her chest had been pierced by a Gold Spike.

Blood had soaked into the soil beneath her. It looked like she was already dead.

Unwilling to give up, Nina Jacobs fed her a bottle of "Healing Potion."

"Sheila Rhodes, can you hear me?"

Nina Jacobs had already prepared herself for the possibility that Sheila Rhodes was dead.

But to her surprise, the Healing Potion actually worked.

The girl opened her mouth, her voice so weak it was almost inaudible, but Nina Jacobs still understood.

She said she wasn’t Sheila Rhodes.

"I know. Who made you do this?"

She could feel "Sheila Rhodes’s" life rapidly slipping away.

She could die at any moment.

Just as it had with Shannon Renner, the "Healing Potion" could perhaps only delay death for a short while.

"I don’t know. They... they’re looking for someone."

"They’re looking for the person who would rescue Sheila Rhodes."

"Because Chase Gallagher is from... City A, they didn’t suspect you."

"You must... you must not... save Shei—"

"What’s your name?"

Nina Jacobs asked, wiping the tears from the corners of the girl’s eyes.

’I should have realized sooner,’ Nina thought. ’The real Sheila Rhodes would never be so meek and submissive.’

"Paige... Ziegler. My younger sister is Zinnia Ziegler."

"They... said that if I did this, they would help me find Zinnia."

"I didn’t... I didn’t mean to... deceive you."

"I understand," Nina Jacobs said. "I’ll help you find Zinnia Ziegler."

Nina could tell that Paige Ziegler didn’t know much.

If Chase Gallagher hadn’t known that Warren Rhodes was looking for his granddaughter, Sheila Rhodes, Nina herself would have become the first object of suspicion.

’No wonder "Sheila Rhodes" had asked her that night why she’d saved her...’

Hearing Nina Jacobs’s words, Paige Ziegler managed a faint smile.

During these long, agonizing months, only Nina Jacobs had shown her any kindness.

"You have to hide... Don’t let those people find..."

With that, Paige Ziegler breathed her last.

Nina Jacobs looked down at her, her brow furrowed, not relaxing for a long time.

’What in the world is going on?’

’I never heard about any of this in my past life.’

’Could this be related to the system, too?’

"Wayne Warner, take Holden to the car and wait for me."

Nina Jacobs got up and checked on Holden Shaw again.

Holden Shaw’s injuries weren’t fatal. The poison had been neutralized, and his complexion had improved significantly, but he was still unconscious.

She had already parked the car in a spot that was hard to find.

"Okay."

Wayne Warner nodded.

He hoisted Holden Shaw onto his back and walked off in the direction they had come from.

Nina Jacobs could perceive the information being relayed by her Little Zombie Rats.

Within her range of perception, there were still five of them left.

One of them was isolated from the rest.

Nina Jacobs dashed straight in that direction.

Boosted by her Speed Element Superpower, she quickly spotted a figure up ahead.

It was an injured man.

"...Don’t worry, it’s just a leg injury."

"Wait for me, I’ll be right there."

The man was using a walkie-talkie to contact his group.

Suddenly, a Fireball came flying at him.

The man dodged quickly, but the walkie-talkie in his hand was incinerated.

"Who’s there?!"

He narrowed his eyes at the approaching figure.

It was a young woman he had never seen before.

"Who exactly are you people?"

Nina Jacobs didn’t recognize the man in front of her either.

The man spoke with a slight accent, one that sounded like it was from southern Drakonia.

"You’re with that Speed Element Superpower User?"

The man quickly put two and two together.

"Why are there so many meddlers from your City D Base?"

"But don’t you worry, I’ll be sending you down to join him soon enough!"

The man dropped into a half-squat.

Frost began to form on the ground, spreading out from his position and racing toward Nina Jacobs!

Nina Jacobs’s expression remained unchanged.

’This man’s voice was on the walkie-talkie just now.’

’He uses poison.’

’That’s why he was so sure Holden Shaw was dead.’

At this thought, Nina Jacobs grew more cautious.

’He’s injured, but he’s extremely confident. He must have an ace up his sleeve.’

A series of Fire Serpents slithered across the ground toward him.

A half-meter-tall Ice Shield rose from the ground, blocking the Fire Serpents’ attack.

As the man launched a volley of icicles, Nina Jacobs took two steps back, dodging them.

"Not bad. But it looks like you’ve fallen into my trap."

The man grinned. The ground beneath Nina Jacobs’s feet was now completely covered in frost.

The Ice Element Superpower clung to the soles of her boots, rooting her to the spot.

Seizing the opportunity, the man shot across the icy surface toward Nina Jacobs at incredible speed!

An Ice Spike as fine as a needlepoint appeared in his hand. Just as he was about to strike, he suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Nina Jacobs just stood there, not even trying to dodge, with not a trace of panic on her face.

SHINK!

At that exact moment, a Stone Spike erupted from beneath the ice, pinning the man to the ground.

"AHH!!"

The man cried out in agony.

"You’re... a Dual Element Superpower User..."

His feet had been pierced through, and dark red blood seeped out onto the ice.

At the same time, the layer of frost on the ground began to show signs of melting.

"So that’s your poison?"

Nina Jacobs strolled leisurely over to him.

She stared at the Ice Spike in the man’s hand. Sure enough, a yellow liquid was encased within it.

"How did you know?"

The man was stunned.

"Talk. Why did you want to kill Sheila Rhodes?"

Nina Jacobs ignored his shock and asked directly.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

The man refused to answer.

"Stalling for time? That just makes this easier."

To make sure the man couldn’t move, Nina Jacobs turned the ground beneath his feet into loose sand.

The Stone Spike that had pierced him vanished,

but the man’s lower body was now completely submerged in the earth.

Standing behind him, Nina Jacobs took out a sheet of Talisman Paper.

It was the Talisman Paper Sherry Renner had given her.

Following Sherry Renner’s instructions, Nina Jacobs lit the Talisman Paper and dissolved the ashes in water.

"What are you going to make me drink?"

’Is it poison?’

His throat was seized, and he was forced to swallow the cup of inky black water.

"What’s your name?" Nina Jacobs asked.

"You bitch," the man cursed.

THUD! THUD!

Nina Jacobs kicked him twice.

"Dariel Young... My name is Dariel Young."

The man immediately became much more cooperative.