Chapter 370: Meeting at Griston
Chapter 370: Chapter 370: Meeting at Griston
"This is a dangerous one. It’s better if she doesn’t come."
Nina Jacobs had noticed this over the past few days as well.
Whenever they were out killing zombies or searching for supplies, Rhonda Rowan would always stay behind in the car alone.
Her reason was that she was just an ordinary person, not a Superpower User.
Cordelia and the others seemed used to it, treating it as perfectly normal.
"It makes no difference whether she comes or not. She’s just more used to giving orders under the guise of helping people."
Silas Crowley said lazily.
He already regretted joining that mutual aid society. ’Thinking back, I was such an idiot,’ he thought.
Many people in the society just reaped the rewards without doing any of the work.
They didn’t have to go out, yet they enjoyed all sorts of resources. All they had to do was put on a compassionate and benevolent act.
Ultimately, they were just exploiting the lingering spirit of mutual aid left in humanity.
"You can’t really say that. Doing good deeds is still worthwhile, or we wouldn’t have met Nina Jacobs,
I think it’s a good thing to help people as much as you can, within your own abilities."
Cordelia said.
"You’re right. I originally thought I’d just live one day at a time, and it would be good to do something for everyone before I died,"
"but now, I don’t want to die anymore."
Reginald Sutton said as he drove.
He had gotten to know Cordelia, as well as Silas Crowley and Tobin. In just a few short days, Nina Jacobs had led them through several near-death escapes.
He suddenly felt that being alive was actually quite interesting.
Nina Jacobs listened to their conversation in silence.
’Regardless of their system affinity scores, they’re all decent people.’
’If I need to recruit people in the future, I can consider them.’
It was only about ten kilometers from Pyralia to Griston, so the group quickly arrived in the vicinity.
"Remember, don’t speak unless you have to."
Nina Jacobs reminded them before they got out of the car.
"Got it."
Silas Crowley made an OK gesture and followed the others.
The appearance of Griston had nothing to do with its name; it was originally a village.
On a corroded and mottled stone plaque above, the large, faintly visible words "Griston New Village" were inscribed.
Two large white gates made of a special material were shut tight, with a camera in the upper right corner.
Nina Jacobs recognized the material. It was the same kind used to bind Greg Unger and the other person back on Mornfell.
An ordinary Superpower wouldn’t be able to open it.
"Who’s out there?"
A man’s voice came from the camera.
"Magnus York."
For several minutes after Nina Jacobs’s reply, the voice didn’t sound again.
Just as Cordelia and the others were growing more and more tense, the gate actually opened.
A short man walked out.
Several men and women followed behind him.
The man’s expression immediately turned to one of confusion when he saw Nina Jacobs.
Nina Jacobs knew she had guessed correctly. This person must have met Magnus York before.
"You’re Magnus York?" the man asked.
"Magnus York had something to attend to and couldn’t make it, so she sent me in her place."
With that, Nina Jacobs took out a Compass.
The short man took it and examined the Compass.
"This is indeed Magnus York’s Compass. What’s your name?"
"Zephyra."
Nina Jacobs produced a Badge.
Immediately after, Cordelia and the others behind her also took out their Badges.
After confirming the Badges one by one, the man still seemed somewhat suspicious.
Just then, a woman behind him asked:
"We’ve never seen any of you before. Why couldn’t Magnus York and the others come?"
"You don’t know yet?"
Nina Jacobs asked, feigning surprise.
They exchanged glances, the same doubt reflected in their eyes. It was true that information was hard to come by these days.
’Have we missed something?’
"What happened?"
The woman asked instinctively.
"We need to confirm your identities first. Organization matters can’t be spread casually."
Nina Jacobs’s expression was stern and serious. Only then did they each take out the Badges they carried.
"Why is it just the few of you? I remember Icarus Golding saying the advance team had over a hundred people."
Nina Jacobs asked.
"We couldn’t help it. Some things happened on the road.
"Specifically, two Intermediate Zombies appeared over in Veridia. Our people suffered heavy losses there."
The short man replied.
"An Intermediate Earth Element and an Intermediate Gold Element?"
Nina Jacobs asked.
"You encountered them too?!"
Shock appeared in their eyes.
"Yes. We’ve already killed them, so you can rest easy on your way back."
Nina Jacobs said with great seriousness.
’Killed... two Intermediate Zombies?’
Silas Crowley didn’t know if Nina Jacobs was just making it up, but he could clearly feel a newfound respect in the way the others looked at them.
So, he had no choice but to lift his chin and feign composure.
"You’ve all worked hard. Here are our Badges. Our initiation certificates are inside, we’ll get them later..."
They each presented their Badges. The short man was indeed Tristan Lynch, the Wind Element Superpower User Mirelle Keller had mentioned.
"We don’t look at that stuff. We only recognize the Badges."
Nina Jacobs cut him off.
After confirming each Badge, she relaxed a little.
’These are all external personnel.’
"You must be tired from the journey. Please, come in."
After they had mutually confirmed their identities, Tristan Lynch put on another, friendlier face.
Even the men and women beside him looked excited.
"Miss Zephyra, what was it you were talking about earlier?"
The woman was named Corisande, which was likely also a codename.
"Magnus York went to Mornfell, and Alistair White went with her.
"They must have found the item the higher-ups wanted them to collect and went back to report."
Nina Jacobs said.
"The item the higher-ups wanted... Could it be..."
An envious expression appeared on Tristan Lynch’s face.
"Well, nothing to be done about it. The two of them will probably be promoted soon."
When Nina Jacobs finished speaking, the others became even more envious.
"So what’s the current situation here?" Nina Jacobs asked, seizing the opportunity.
The path behind the gate was a relatively clean stone road. The vacant houses on both sides had been completely sealed off with an Earth Element Superpower.
This was probably done to prevent any zombies from hiding inside.
Tristan Lynch explained as they walked:
"The situation here is rather complicated. Our people had originally secured a foothold in Lornwood Base, but they were killed by that guy Evander Langdon."
"Killed?"
Nina Jacobs asked, again feigning surprise.
"That’s right. As you know, Miss Magnus York’s position was already arranged.
"But as soon as our people died, those positions were immediately filled, and even our Water Element Superpower Users were captured."
"We had no choice. To complete the organization’s mission, we had to activate Plan B."
Tristan Lynch led Nina Jacobs and her group to the gate of a large courtyard.
This place had two sets of gates as well, and the surrounding walls were topped with high barbed-wire fences.
Nina Jacobs guessed it was probably an electric fence.
The two courtyard gates were opened, revealing people moving about inside.
When they saw the newcomers Tristan Lynch had brought in, they all stopped to stare.
"Just give me the results directly."
Nina Jacobs didn’t know what Tristan Lynch’s "Plan B" was.
She also didn’t know if it was a pre-existing plan or something Tristan Lynch had come up with on the spot.
To avoid making a mistake, she asked this way.
"Alright."
Tristan Lynch directly opened the door to a room that resembled a conference room.
"Aside from gathering intelligence, the organization’s mission for us was to do our best to lay all the preliminary groundwork.
"Currently, we have secretly gathered 30 Water Element Superpower Users and intercepted supply drops more than 17 times."
Tristan Lynch’s words left Cordelia and the others slightly shaken.
’Thirty Water Element Superpower Users?!’
Nina Jacobs asked, her expression unchanging, "So there’s nothing at all that can be done about the situation in the base?"