Chapter 295: A Letter of Introduction

Only then did David Rowan realize they had been tricked.

He had only glanced at the bus by the gate earlier, never imagining it was an extra one.

He wished he could chase after them himself and send every single one of them to their graves.

But it was clear now was not the time.

Aethelgard’s walls seemed to have been breached in one spot. If they didn’t seal it up quickly, the consequences would be unimaginable.

In the SUV, Shirley Lucas couldn’t help but open the window and laugh out loud.

Even he hadn’t expected to get out so smoothly.

They had originally been prepared for a firefight.

"So, how many supplies did you actually grab last night?"

Leo Hale asked curiously.

"Not much, not much. On average, probably enough to cover a soccer field."

Shirley Lucas replied.

A soccer field?

The others in the vehicle were instantly stunned.

"And a lot of it was in shipping containers. If I hadn’t been so pressed for time, I wouldn’t have left them a single thing."

Shirley Lucas said with a hint of regret.

Of course, what he regretted most was the largest shipping center. As for the other supply points, Aidan Keaton had guessed that many of the goods inside had already spoiled.

The group finally stopped a little over an hour away from Aethelgard.

"We didn’t get delayed on our mission, but we can’t take these people with us."

Adrian Shaw had also learned about what happened in Aethelgard along the way.

To be honest, he was furious too, but they had another mission to attend to.

That included the 21 people they had rescued from Aethelgard; it was impossible to take them to the Bishop Clan.

"You’ve already helped us so much. We should walk the rest of the way ourselves."

Aidan Keaton planned to go to City D Base; after all, her younger brother, Kyle Keaton, was there.

They also wanted to go to Riventon Base for revenge, but Nina Jacobs talked them out of it.

Nina said that if they only wanted to kill the main culprit, they would surely fail.

The most important thing they could do was survive.

To serve as living proof and expose Justin Stone’s evil deeds.

To let everyone know what happened to those who died in Aethelgard.

Aidan Keaton thought Nina was right.

No one wanted to die in vain. Sooner or later, she would make Justin Stone pay the price.

However, out of concern for their safety, Adrian Shaw still assigned five people to escort them all the way back to City D.

All five were familiar with the road conditions on the return journey and had extensive combat experience.

It would take two days at the fastest to get back to City D Base from here. Plus, with a Spiritual Element Superpower User, Lena Driscoll, among them, he believed there shouldn’t be any major problems.

"Thank you. We’ll wait for you to come back in City D."

Aidan Keaton and the twenty people behind her gave them a deep bow.

"Jacobs, this is for you."

Blaine Caldwell was holding a plastic container, inside of which was a vibrant little bok choy.

It was one of the bok choy he had cultivated, and it had been his spiritual anchor these past few days.

He wanted to give it to Nina Jacobs and Wayne Warner, who had been quietly protecting him.

Back in Aethelgard, Nina had seen that he couldn’t run fast and was almost caught by zombies, so she had Wayne Warner carry him on his back the whole time.

Compared to Riventon Base, these people were genuinely trying to save lives.

"Thank you, Mr. Caldwell."

Nina Jacobs graciously accepted the clear plastic bottle, and at the same time, the system’s reward notification sounded:

[Host has triggered the "Heart of Gratitude" title. Bonus reward: Earth Attribute Weapon, Diamond Sand!]

"Could you be Professor Blaine Caldwell? From Drakonia’s Academy of Agriculture?"

Hearing Nina address him by his surname, and connecting it with the hydroponic bok choy, Adrian Shaw hurriedly stepped forward and asked.

Blaine Caldwell pushed up his glasses, one lens of which was shattered, and asked, "You know me?"

"This is great! We’ve finally found you!"

Adrian Shaw said excitedly.

City D Base has always wanted to develop its agriculture, but they lack the necessary talent.

He had looked through a lot of pre-apocalypse data and concluded that agricultural experts from the Academy of Agriculture were the most suitable for developing the base’s agriculture.

Unfortunately, among all the survivors at the base, none were from the Academy of Agriculture.

He remembered that Blaine Caldwell had been a professor at the Academy of Agriculture and had even participated in seed cultivation projects in outer space, giving him extensive experience in growing crops under extremely harsh climate conditions.

He never expected to run into him here.

"If you put it that way, then I’m genuinely interested."

Blaine Caldwell said after hearing this.

Developing agriculture in the apocalypse was something he hadn’t even dared to imagine.

After all, the soil had been completely ravaged by acid rain, making it impossible for plants to grow, let alone crops.

"Absolutely. It’s wonderful that you’re alive, Professor Caldwell. Please wait a moment."

Adrian Shaw immediately drafted a letter of introduction. He believed that Justin Lawson would take this matter very seriously after reading it.

Seeing this, Nina Jacobs also had Leo Hale handwrite a letter home to let them know he was safe.

Although she and Vera Coleman could use the Unlimited Communicator, she figured Daniel Hale was just as worried about Leo as Vera was.

"If you want to join Stella, we would welcome you."

Nina Jacobs said to Aidan Keaton.

She approved of Aidan’s character, and with Kyle Keaton already on the team, she believed Stella had more than enough room for the siblings.

"I’m willing! I want to!"

Aidan Keaton answered immediately. ’Any team that Kyle approves of has to be reliable; that kid is actually very hard to fool.’

Besides, Nina Jacobs was her savior.

Watching the vehicle drive off into the distance, Adrian Shaw couldn’t help but smile.

"This trip to Aethelgard was well worth it, even with the detour."

According to the original plan, they wouldn’t have had to take this route, nor would they have encountered David Rowan and his people.

"You powerful types are always so calculating. What’s all this about ’worth it’?"

Shirley Lucas couldn’t help but taunt.

"Tch, and you don’t rely on Nina Jacobs?"

Adrian Shaw said to Shirley Lucas before getting into the car.

"Being able to rely on Summer is a skill of mine. Why don’t you try it if you’ve got the guts?"

Shirley Lucas retorted, unconvinced.

’What’s with this Adrian Shaw? It’s like he has a split personality. One minute he’s all business, the next he’s so infuriating you could just die.’

The three vehicles continued along the planned route.

Rocked by the motion of the car, Nina Jacobs soon fell asleep.

Probably because she hadn’t slept all night, it was already three hours later when she woke up.

And Nina discovered that Wayne Warner had also fallen asleep.

Wayne didn’t even wake up when the team stopped to rest and eat.

"He didn’t pass out from hunger, did he?"

Leo Hale remembered Wayne Warner eating quite a lot in the car that morning.

"No, he should be advancing."

A smile appeared on Nina Jacobs’s face.

She had only been suspicious at first, but when she checked the system, she discovered that Wayne Warner’s Superpower Value had already reached 50.

"Intermediate?!"

Leo Hale and the others were both surprised and envious.

"So this is what advancing is like."

Adrian Shaw said, looking at the sleeping Wayne Warner.

To be honest, he was quite envious too.

"Yes. It’s best not to disturb him while he’s advancing."

Nina Jacobs folded down the back seat of the SUV and simply let Wayne Warner sleep in the back.

She hoped Wayne Warner’s advancement process would be a bit slower.

This also meant that for the rest of the journey, she would have to watch over him and prevent any accidents that might force him to wake up.

"A little further ahead is Veridia. There are tons of zombies there."

Lana came over, holding Eve’s hand, and gave a reminder.

If possible, they really didn’t want to rest anywhere near Veridia.

"In that case, we’ll find a place to stay somewhere around here for tonight."

Adrian Shaw decided after hearing her.

But on both sides of the road, there was nothing but scattered zombies and crumbling ruins; there didn’t seem to be any suitable places to rest.

"Look! There’s a small building if you turn right up ahead!"

Beaumont Wallace shouted.

Hearing the voice over the walkie-talkie, a small smile touched Nina Jacobs’s lips.

That was the safe house she had placed in advance.