Chapter 483: Learned Helplessness
Chapter 483: Chapter 483: Learned Helplessness
After reading the entire letter, she finally understood the source of the unease she’d felt over the past few days.
The Hughes Family Headquarters also had its eyes on the White Family.
Not just for the White Family’s supplies, but more importantly, for their Puppetry Technique.
Ms. Carter was the key liaison between the Hughes Family Headquarters and Anselm Hughes.
And once all the supplies were transferred to Whittaker Town, that was when Anselm Hughes would begin his gradual takeover of the White Family.
"It seems the White Family doesn’t know about any of this,"
Nina Jacobs said.
Anselm Hughes was a typical power-hungry man, selfish and arrogant. Someone like him would never willingly make sacrifices for the White Family.
This letter explained everything.
Ms. Carter’s real name was Elara Carter. The letter instructed Anselm Hughes to hand over the "Puppetry Technique" to Ms. Carter, who would then assist him in transferring the supplies.
"What does the Hughes Family want with the Puppetry Technique?"
Nina Jacobs put the letter away.
She searched a few more rooms but found nothing else.
Just then, Tristan Lynch, Corisande, and Lachlan burst in.
"Miss Jacobs, so you knew all along."
Lachlan said, his face long and miserable.
’??? ’
’What did I know?’
"What did you find?"
Nina asked.
Corisande, her face filled with rage, said, "It was that Elara Carter. She’s the one who killed our people."
Nina Jacobs immediately understood.
Tristan Lynch had previously mentioned that many of their people had been killed inside Lornwood Base.
And now they had discovered that Ms. Carter was the one who had ordered the killings.
"Do you have any proof?" Nina asked again.
Corisande held out several badges in her cupped hands, her voice filled with grief and rage.
"The number of these badges is exactly the same as the number of our people who died in the base. We found them in Elara Carter’s office drawer. Who else could it be?"
Those badges were indeed the badges of The Aegis Conclave.
A flicker of interest appeared in Nina Jacobs’s eyes.
’So, this Elara Carter knew about the existence of The Aegis Conclave.’
"Actually, Miss Jacobs, you could have just told us. You don’t have to bear all this alone."
Lachlan was suddenly moved. He thought Nina Jacobs had sought out this Ms. Carter for their sake; she must have wanted to avenge their fallen comrades.
Nina Jacobs hadn’t expected them to misunderstand her so completely.
"It’s just a shame she’s nowhere to be found now. She must have already escaped,"
Nina Jacobs said.
She had already activated her "Five Senses Enhancement." If she could hear Ms. Carter’s voice, she might still be able to find her.
"Don’t worry, Miss Jacobs. We will definitely catch this person for you,"
Tristan Lynch declared.
"Where are Damian and Shane Shepherd? I remember the five of you came together,"
Nina asked.
These five members of The Aegis Conclave were giving her a bit of a headache; she still wasn’t sure how to handle them.
"Damian is helping pack things up. Shane Shepherd is with him. They said they want to bring everything from the administration building back to our base."
Tristan Lynch decided to stay at Lornwood Base for the next few days. If he could find Ms. Carter, he was determined to make her pay.
"Does this mean we’ve completed our mission?
Maybe we’ll get promoted to official members as soon as we get back, hahaha!"
Lachlan said gleefully.
Although they hadn’t succeeded in infiltrating Lornwood Base from the inside, thanks to Nina Jacobs, they now owned the entire place!
"Alright, stop daydreaming and go find her,"
Tristan Lynch said, dragging Lachlan out.
"Yeah, I actually think staying here is pretty good. No mission pressure, we can do whatever we want..."
Corisande’s voice faded outside the door. Nina Jacobs looked at the system’s affinity values and sighed softly.
According to Felix Finch, Tristan Lynch and his four companions had contributed a great deal to the base these past few days.
Especially when Felix Finch injured Anselm Hughes; it was Tristan Lynch’s group who had first discovered their whereabouts and reported it.
Nina Jacobs shook her head. After leaving Ms. Carter’s house, she called for Cordelia and went to the underground warehouse.
The underground warehouse was still tightly locked. Nina Jacobs used her Superpower to blast the main door open.
The warehouse was a complete mess inside; not even a single lamp had been left behind.
Faint sobbing could be heard in the darkness. Nina Jacobs took out a daylight lamp and walked toward the sound.
"Just as I thought."
Several vehicles holding the "bait" were still in the corner, covered with black cloths.
The sobbing was coming from beneath those cloths.
As she pulled off the black cloths one by one, a foul stench assaulted her.
"They..."
Even though Cordelia knew what was in here before they came, and even though she had seen many tragic sights, she was still deeply shaken by the sight of the people in the vehicles.
Nina Jacobs frowned at the vehicles. The iron cages were all locked; Anselm Hughes and his men had never intended to leave these people any chance of survival.
Many people inside the cages had already stopped breathing.
The smells of excrement and decaying bodies mingled in the air. The survivors, whether due to the overpowering stench or the sudden bright light, kept their eyes squeezed shut, not daring to open them.
Nina Jacobs used several Fireballs to shatter the cage locks.
The loud CLANG of metal echoed through the passage, and only then did they open their eyes.
But their eyes were filled with despair and fear.
When they saw clearly that it was only Nina Jacobs standing outside the vehicle, someone asked timidly, "Is... is it you?"
"Yes. Anselm Hughes is dead. You’re free,"
Nina Jacobs said simply.
Free...
Hearing Nina Jacobs’s words, many people’s eyes remained numb and vacant. No one even dared to move.
Nina Jacobs had heard of the "learned helplessness" experiments before.
When an animal or person is repeatedly subjected to negative stimuli they can’t control, they will give up trying to escape, even when the opportunity later arises...
’These people are probably in that exact state right now,’ she thought.
Even with freedom right in front of them, they didn’t dare to leave the foul-smelling mire.
Nina Jacobs had Cordelia take out a small amount of food and water and hang it on the side of the vehicle.
"For those of you who still want to live, I will take you away from here.
Our vehicles will depart in three hours. I’ll be waiting for you at the base’s main gate."
After saying her piece, Nina Jacobs left with Cordelia.
"Will they really be willing to leave?"
Cordelia asked, looking back with some concern. The people still didn’t seem to be moving.
"We save those who want to be saved.
For those who don’t, it’s useless even if we do save them,"
Nina Jacobs replied.
Cordelia nodded. What Nina Jacobs said was true.
She had seen too many people who, despite being rescued, couldn’t accept their reality and chose to leave this world.
However, she was gladdened to see that a little over two hours later, quite a few of them had staggered their way to the base’s main gate.
"Can you really... let us go on living?"
An emaciated, middle-aged man walked up to Nina Jacobs and asked.
Nina Jacobs nodded.
"I will take you away from here. But after that, you’ll have to rely on yourselves."
Tomorrow Base wasn’t like City D Base.
So many people had died that even if they transferred all the remaining survivors from Lornwood Base, their total population might not even reach 20,000.
Although the proportion of Superpower Users among those 20,000 was high, there was a brutal reason for it.
Anyone who could survive everything that had happened was extraordinary in their own right.
"Don’t worry. As long as you’re willing to work, you’ll definitely be able to survive in Tomorrow Base,"
Cordelia added.
She had also gained a lot today. Ever since absorbing the "Mystic Ice Core" that Nina Jacobs had given her, her personal space had expanded to the size of three football fields.
It was now filled with furniture like beds, tables, and chairs, and she had also collected some items that could be used as building materials into her space.