Chapter 130: The Bitten Woman

Before the little girl could answer, the woman beside her had already pulled her into an embrace, looking at Sierra Sullivan timidly.

"She’s just a child, she doesn’t know any better. She’s just talking nonsense, please don’t mind her."

Sierra frowned at her words.

’It wasn’t that Sierra also thought the little girl was talking nonsense, but that she didn’t understand why her mother would say such a thing.’

’Did she not believe her own child?’

’Or did she think this was the only way to protect her?’

Just as Sierra was about to speak, the little girl pushed the woman away. "Mama, I’m not talking nonsense! What I said is true! I really saw it!"

"What did you see?" the woman asked, looking at the little girl with displeasure. "How come I didn’t see anything?"

"That’s because you weren’t paying attention! But I was. I saw them, and it wasn’t just one! There were several! There was red, and other colors too!"

If Sierra hadn’t been entirely convinced before, she was now taking this very seriously.

’If she were really making it all up, she wouldn’t be able to describe it so clearly.’

’For her to be so insistent, she must have really seen something!’

"Where did you see them?" Sierra asked hurriedly.

The little girl raised her hand and pointed upward. "Upstairs. They went upstairs! It was a few men! But I don’t know which floor they’re on."

"How did you see them?" Sierra asked, both curious and a little confused.

"When they passed me, they accidentally dropped some. I even helped pick them up!" the little girl said, her grip on the flatbread in her hand tightening. "This is what they gave me as a thank you."

Hearing this, the woman’s face lit up with realization. "So that’s where you got that flatbread! I was wondering!"

She had been dizzy with hunger yesterday, and though she’d sensed people passing by, she hadn’t opened her eyes and had no idea what had happened.

Sierra nodded in understanding and patted the little girl’s head. "I get it now. I’m going upstairs to take a look. Thank you!"

The little girl’s face was dark with grime, but Sierra could still see her blushing.

’It was hard to tell if it was from shyness or excitement.’

Sierra thought for a moment and resisted the urge to give her any food.

’There were simply too many people around.’

’And it was impossible to know what would happen in a little while.’

’Right now, it was better not to draw everyone’s attention to the little girl.’

"I’ll come find you when I come back down," Sierra said softly.

It was unclear if the little girl understood, but her eyes sparkled as she nodded seriously. "I’ll be waiting for you, sister."

Hearing the word "sister," Sierra’s thoughts immediately turned to Candice Tate.

’This little girl looked to be only two or three years older than Candice Tate.’

’And who knew how many other little girls like her were out there in the world.’

Sierra took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent emotions that welled within her, and headed upstairs with Jayce.

Although there were still many floors above them, and they didn’t know which one the people the girl mentioned lived on, having a destination was better than having none at all.

’If they searched carefully, they were bound to find them.’

After they went up another two floors, the situation changed.

Nathan Thorne was standing at the door to an apartment, talking to someone inside.

When he saw Sierra and Jayce approaching, Nathan Thorne looked anxious and tense.

"Cut the crap," Nathan was saying. "You looked panicked when you got back yesterday—plenty of people saw you. Did you hide something or not? If you did, hand it over now. If things go bad for the base, do you think you’ll get out of it unscathed?"

Sierra raised an eyebrow. ’Found them already?’

’That was fast.’

’Or was this just a coincidence?’

As Sierra and Jayce walked over, they saw that Nathan Thorne was standing face-to-face with a woman.

The woman had short hair and pale skin, but her face was flushed red.

Her upturned, almond-shaped eyes looked dazed.

She looked as if she were drunk.

"Mr. Thorne, what is the meaning of this? We left the base yesterday in response to the call to search for supplies. Didn’t we agree before we left? Aside from the required quota we have to turn in, any other supplies we find are ours to keep.

"It’s not easy for people like us to survive. Surely you’re not coveting our meager supplies, are you, Mr. Thorne?"

Nathan Thorne’s face was cold. "Of course I’m not interested in your supplies. I want the stones. Hand them over, and I can give you supplies in exchange. We can negotiate how much you want."

"My, how generous of you, Mr. Thorne!" the woman giggled, covering her mouth. "But I really have no idea what stones you’re talking about! You can’t eat stones, and you can’t drink them. Why would we bring any back? You have the wrong person, Mr. Thorne. You should go ask someone else!"

Before Nathan Thorne could say another word, Sierra stepped forward. "We’ll know if we have the wrong person or not once we take a look inside."

At her words, the woman turned to look at Sierra.

The moment she saw Sierra, the woman raised her eyebrows. "And you are...? I don’t believe I’ve seen you before. You’re not from Dawnlight Base, are you?"

"I’m not," Sierra replied bluntly. "Is that a problem?"

"Of course it is!" the woman replied with a smile. "This is a Dawnlight Base matter. It has nothing to do with you, does it?"

"What do you say, Mr. Thorne?" Sierra asked, turning to Nathan Thorne with a smile.

Nathan Thorne’s expression darkened further, and he lost all patience with the woman. "Move! Or don’t blame me for what happens next!"

Seeing that Nathan Thorne was genuinely angry, the woman didn’t dare to block his way any longer.

She could be impolite to Sierra because Sierra wasn’t from Dawnlight Base and could leave at any time.

But Nathan Thorne was the base leader’s son. Offending him would do them no good at all.

’I’ve stalled them for this long,’ the woman thought, relaxing slightly. ’They’ve probably finished up inside by now.’

’Once the deed is done and all the stones are absorbed, it won’t matter even if they go inside.’

At this thought, a hint of smugness even appeared on the woman’s face.

"Since you’re so determined to have a look, then come on in. But let me say it again, I really don’t know what ’stones’ you’re looking for, and I certainly don’t have any here—"

Before she could finish speaking, someone suddenly burst out from inside the room and sank their teeth into her neck.

The attacker burst out so suddenly, and with the woman standing in the doorway with her back to the room, she was completely defenseless and had no time to dodge.

In an instant, fresh blood was streaming down her neck, and her eyes went wide with terror.