Chapter 136: In My Heart, I Treat Them as My Own Children

Nathan Thorne didn’t continue, but everyone present understood the meaning of his unspoken words.

Those hundred-plus people couldn’t be saved in the end.

Although in the apocalypse, human lives weren’t worth much.

But being forced to watch people die who shouldn’t have, without any way to help—that feeling of powerlessness and frustration was still hard to accept.

Nathan Thorne fell silent, a gloomy air settling over him.

Jayce stood up, walked over, and patted Nathan Thorne on the shoulder. "Don’t overthink it. None of us are saviors. We can’t save everyone in this world. We can only do our best, do what we’re able to. If you’re too hard on yourself, you’ll just make life unbearable for yourself."

In the apocalypse, everyone suffers.

People like them only seemed to be living a bit better because they had Superpowers.

But in reality, because they had Superpowers and greater abilities, they also shouldered more responsibility than the average person.

If you couldn’t even give yourself a break at times like this, life would truly become unbearable.

Nathan Thorne nodded. "I understand."

He said he understood, but he was clearly still out of it.

Seeing him like this, Sierra Sullivan and Jayce didn’t say anything more.

It was something Nathan Thorne had to figure out for himself.

If he couldn’t work through it himself, nothing anyone else said would help.

The food was ready just then, so the two of them went to get their meals.

When Nathan Thorne snapped out of his thoughts, he saw Sierra Sullivan and Jayce sitting across from him, heartily enjoying their meal.

Every so often, they would take a sip of their hot and sour soup, letting out a sigh of satisfaction.

Nathan Thorne hadn’t had much of an appetite, but watching them eat so enthusiastically, he suddenly felt hungry. His stomach, betraying him, started to growl.

The moment he heard his stomach growl, Nathan Thorne was mortified.

’My stomach actually growled in front of them!’

’How humiliating!’

Nathan Thorne was both embarrassed and annoyed, his face flushing uncontrollably.

Jayce merely glanced at Nathan Thorne, acting as if he hadn’t noticed his embarrassment at all. "Hurry up and eat! We’re probably in for a busy night. Are you planning on working on an empty stomach?"

"Of course not!"

With that, Nathan Thorne turned and hurried off to get his food.

Not long after, Nathan Thorne came back with a tray in one hand and a bowl of soup in the other, and plopped down across from Sierra Sullivan and Jayce.

Sierra Sullivan raised an eyebrow.

’She’d thought that with Nathan Thorne’s slightly prickly personality, he would have chosen to sit somewhere else!’

’Looks like Nathan Thorne can take it pretty well, after all!’

Nathan Thorne ate with great vigor, his cheeks puffed out.

It looked less like he was eating and more like he was angry about it.

However, when he realized that neither Sierra Sullivan nor Jayce were paying much attention to him, he slowly began to relax.

As they were all Superpower Users, they each had a massive appetite.

Fortunately, the cooks understood this, so they had prepared more than enough food.

If you weren’t full after finishing your plate, you could always go back for more.

The three of them went back for several helpings before they were finally full.

Nathan Thorne, in particular, was stuffing his face, his mouth shiny with grease.

Although he was the son of the base leader, Dawnlight Base’s situation was not as good as Red Sun Base’s.

Comparatively, supplies at Dawnlight Base were rather scarce.

Every day, it was just the same few dishes over and over.

He hadn’t had fresh fruits or vegetables in a very long time.

Getting to eat canned food on occasion was like a holiday celebration.

It was nothing like now, where there was a rich variety of dishes and even fruit after the meal.

If his surroundings hadn’t made it painfully obvious that it was still the apocalypse, he might have thought he’d gone back in time to before it all started.

"This is delicious!" Nathan Thorne sighed. "I hope I can eat like this again in the future!"

Sierra Sullivan was at a loss for words.

’To say something like that at a time like this... does he have no sense of superstition at all?’

"Have you never read a novel or watched a movie?" Sierra Sullivan asked.

"What?" Nathan Thorne looked over, confused. "Of course I have! How could I not have?"

’After living in modern society for so many years, who hasn’t read a book or watched a show?’

’Is Sierra Sullivan insulting me?’

Just as Nathan Thorne was about to get angry, he heard Sierra Sullivan speak again.

"Since you have, don’t you know that saying something like that at a critical moment is just jinxing yourself?"

Nathan Thorne was baffled.

’After thinking about it, he realized she had a point.’

’Looked at that way, what I said earlier was a really bad omen!’

Realizing this, Nathan Thorne felt a little sheepish.

"Then just pretend I didn’t say that..."

Jayce walked over to Nathan Thorne and clapped him firmly on the shoulder.

"Don’t worry, we’ll have a celebration feast together tomorrow morning!"

"Just shut up!" Nathan Thorne said hurriedly.

’These two... just a moment ago they were calling me out for jinxing things, and now one of them says something even worse!’

Listening to their exchange, Sierra Sullivan couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Her clear, crisp laughter was particularly conspicuous in the quiet hall, drawing everyone’s attention.

General Aldridge and Trevor Thorne also looked over in this direction.

Upon seeing the three of them standing together, each with a smile on their face, the two men smiled as well.

General Aldridge sighed. "Ah, to be young."

Trevor Thorne nodded in deep agreement. "Isn’t that the truth! It really is great to be young! Those two are really something else!"

"Of course they are!" General Aldridge replied crisply, his face beaming with pride.

Trevor Thorne was a bit surprised and amused by General Aldridge’s reaction.

"What are you so proud about? You’d think they were your own kids!"

’They’re not his kids, so what’s he got to be so proud about?’

General Aldridge lifted his chin. "So what if they’re not my children? In my heart, I see them as my own!"

’As long as I think of them as my kids, that’s all that matters.’

’Whether they actually are or not is unimportant.’

Trevor Thorne hadn’t expected General Aldridge to say something like that.

But upon reflection, he realized there was no way to argue with that.

’It was what General Aldridge truly believed. Even if I argued, would that change his mind?’

’Obviously not!’

Trevor Thorne took a deep breath. "Nathan’s temperament... I was a little worried, but seeing the three of them getting along so well puts my mind at ease."

"You were worried about his temperament?" General Aldridge snorted. "I wouldn’t have known. That little scheme you and your son cooked up before... it was written all over both your faces. You’re two peas in a pod..."

"General Aldridge!" Trevor Thorne quickly pleaded. "I was wrong about that whole thing before! You’re a magnanimous man, please don’t hold it against me!"