Chapter 364: Chapter 364: Following the Trail
"Itâs fine. Iâm just glad you werenât scared."
As soon as Nina Jacobs spoke, Wayne Warner ripped open the trunk of one of the cars.
"If it werenât for you, weâd probably be the ones dead on the ground."
Cordelia replied.
They had seen far bloodier scenes. The only reason they were shocked was because she had never seen anyone in Keldorn as formidable as Nina Jacobs and her companion.
"Letâs gather all this."
Nina Jacobs said, pointing to the scattered backpacks and supplies in the trunk.
It looked like all of it had been stolen from other survivors.
After killing those men, she had triggered the systemâs "The Best Defender" title several times.
She had also received a few bags of "Diamond Sand" and several "Alloy Blocks."
Of course, she also got "Healing Potions" from the Savior title.
"Understood. Corin and Rhonda were apparently together, which is why Rhonda is taking it so hard."
Cordelia explained while gathering the items.
Silas Crowley walked over, holding a fuel nozzle, and opened the carâs gas cap.
Nina Jacobs glanced into the distance. Reginald Sutton and Tobin were trying to pull Rhonda Rowan up, but she remained hunched over Corinâs body, crying.
Corin wasnât quite dead yet. "Iâm sorry, Wendy... I did something wrong. Can you forgive me?"
"I forgive you! Just donât talk. Iâll take you back to the base and find the best Healer to fix you up. Just donât die yet."
Rhonda Rowan said through her tears.
"Donât... donât believe what Ethan Cole says. Just tell them... tell them I died out here with everyone else, understand?"
With those words, Corin took his last breath.
No one could withstand a full-force blow from Wayne Warner, not even a Superpower User.
Nina Jacobs deactivated her "Five Senses Enhancement." Rhonda Rowanâs crying was just too loud.
Just then, Cordelia gasped.
She stared in disbelief at the back of the other car whose trunk Wayne Warner had pried open.
"These are our peopleâs things... This is Leoâs backpack, and these canteens..."
Cordeliaâs tears fell uncontrollably as she listed the items.
"That bastard Corin... what the hell did he do?"
Silas Crowley couldnât help but mutter when he saw the items.
If they had really run into a zombie horde on the way, their things wouldnât be this clean and intact.
Among the supplies were sun-protective clothing and hats. While not particularly valuable in Keldorn, they were still essential.
And those clothes and hats were familiar; they belonged to the teammates who had been separated from them earlier.
Seeing this, Nina Jacobs opened the car window and discreetly removed the memory cards from several of the vehicles...
Besides supplies, they also found some drinking water in the cars.
MEOWâ
Lexy seemed to be the first to notice something was wrong. The scent of blood was thick in the air, and it had already spotted the figures of zombies in the distance.
"Get back in the vehicle, quick! Zombies are coming."
Silas Crowley said.
The road ahead of the vehicle had already been cleared.
The heavy-duty RV set off once again, but a heavy silence had fallen inside.
Rhonda Rowan kept her head down, her gaze vacant.
Silas Crowley was the first to break the silence. "I suspect they have accomplices, or a base of operations."
"What makes you say that?" Tobin asked.
Nina Jacobs also looked at Silas Crowley, a little surprised.
She thought the same thing, because she had found a Badge from The Aegis Conclave in one of the cars.
It was only a Badge for an external member, though.
But it was enough to prove that people from The Aegis Conclave had already arrived here.
So she was also curious about what Silas Crowley was basing his theory on.
"Among all those items, Aelianaâs and Annie Stoneâs things werenât there.
They probably donât kill women. As for why..."
Silas Crowleyâs tone was heavy, but if his suspicion was true, he hoped it meant Aeliana and the others were still alive.
"Are you saying you just found our peopleâs belongings?"
Tobinâs expression was full of disbelief after hearing what Silas Crowley and Cordelia said.
"Itâs just a shame Corin is already dead. I think heâs the one who sold everyone out."
Silas Crowley concluded.
"Impossible! He would never do something like that!"
Rhonda Rowan, who had been silent all this time, lifted her head to argue.
"If not him, then who? Didnât you hear what those men said earlier?
Besides, Cordelia found physical evidence. What are you so afraid of?"
Silas Crowley frowned. He had always thought Corin had a flair for the dramatic.
He was in showbiz himself, and he thought it was a real shame Corin hadnât gone into acting.
"Iâm not scared! Corin must have found a safe place for them. He would never do something like this.
Didnât you also say you thought Aeliana and Annie werenât dead? Corin must have protected them in his own way."
Rhonda Rowan was convinced that Corin must have had his reasons.
"Rhonda, none of us wanted things to turn out this way. But he did just point a knife at Nina Jacobs. I would have definitely been next."
Cordelia thought Rhonda Rowan was just in shock, but the facts were plain to see.
If it hadnât been for Nina Jacobs, she would have been Corinâs first target.
Even though she had known Corin longer, she couldnât possibly defend a traitor.
At this, Rhonda Rowan fell silent.
"If we can find anyone else whoâs still alive, we can find out what really happened."
Tobin said.
Nina Jacobs, who hadnât spoken, now produced several USB drives.
"The dashcams in these cars usually start automatically. If we can see whatâs on them, we might be able to find out."
âShe had originally planned to follow the trail and investigate herself.â
âBut since they all want to know the truth, we might as well get to the bottom of it.â
"Iâll do it!"
Cordelia pulled a laptop out of her storage space. It had been her only source of entertainment during the difficult times at the base.
"It should still have some battery."
Cordelia said as she started checking the route videos on each drive.
"This place is..."
Tobin watched the road in the video, the buildings on either side looked very familiar to him.
After just a few driving videos, he had already figured out the general direction.
"I know! Thatâs Pyralia! Theyâre inside Pyralia!"
Tobin said with certainty.
"Pyralia?" Nina Jacobs had looked at a map of Keldorn before; she seemed to recall a place with that name.
"Pyralia is also near Aurelion, in a small town. It used to be a popular spot for social media check-ins."
Cordelia explained to Nina Jacobs.
"I know the place. I filmed a show there once. The tower is pretty tall, a good place to hide out, for sure."
Silas Crowley added.
Nina Jacobs was also watching the videos. She had Cordelia pause on a specific frame.
"Does this look like two groups in a shootout?"
Cordelia stared intently at the video.
They must have been ready to flee at a momentâs notice, because the car engine hadnât been turned off. The dashcam had captured the entire firefight.
"Looks like neither side came out on top. And this video was filmed just a few days ago."
Silas Crowley also spotted Corin among the crowd.
Tobin noticed something. He watched the video again to be sure, then said:
"This isnât Pyralia. This is Griston. The two places are more than ten kilometers apart."
Griston?
âIsnât that the exact place I was heading to?â
"Are you sure?" Nina Jacobs asked.
âCould the people fighting Ethan Coleâs group be from The Aegis Conclave? Is that why I found their Badge in Ethan Coleâs car?â
"Iâm sure."
Tobin said.
"Should we go?" Cordelia asked.
"If this happened a few days ago, itâs the perfect time for you to go mount a rescue."
Nina Jacobs said.
"Thatâs right. They should be severely weakened right now."
Silas Crowley said, his eyes fixed on the screen.