Chapter 515: Want to Investigate First
Chapter 515: Chapter 515: Want to Investigate First
Nina Jacobs held up a few fingers.
"This is all I have left,"
"I lost a lot of good men for these few bottles. I hope you won’t let me down, Mr. Stone."
"I’ll take them all!"
"Four tons of supplies per bottle of Holy Water. As for Crystal Cores, you can name your price. How about it?"
’Six bottles...’
This made Justin Stone ecstatic.
Nina Jacobs was genuinely surprised by the price Justin Stone offered.
Six bottles of Holy Water would net her over twenty tons of supplies. Mordecai Quinn hadn’t even been willing to part with a single ton.
When Nina Jacobs didn’t respond, Justin Stone assumed she thought his offer was too low and quickly added:
"Five tons, then! I’ll do whatever it takes for the people of this base!"
"When would you like to make the trade, Mr. Stone?"
Nina Jacobs asked.
"The sooner, the better, of course. We can do it right now."
Justin Stone replied, unable to wait.
"I have friends with me. We’ve all just arrived at your base. It’s getting late, how about tomorrow?"
Nina Jacobs said.
’Something is off. Even if the trade goes smoothly, I can’t shake this feeling of unease.’
’I’ll use tonight to do some investigating.’
"No matter how many friends you have, Captain Jacobs, they will all be treated as honored guests. I’ll have someone make arrangements immediately."
Justin Stone immediately picked up the walkie-talkie on his desk.
A woman in a short fur coat, tight pants, and high heels quickly walked in.
"Arrange accommodations for Miss Jacobs and her friends immediately. We can’t neglect our guests."
Justin Stone said to the woman.
"Understood. We have a suite ready,
and the electric heaters have been turned on. Miss Jacobs, if you’ll follow me."
The woman introduced herself.
Her name was Chloe Ainsworth, and she was Justin Stone’s secretary.
"Thank you for the trouble."
Nina Jacobs stood up.
’I’ve been in Riventon Base for less than two hours, and they already have a place ready for me.’
’They must be afraid I’ll run off.’
"How many friends do you have, Miss Jacobs?"
Chloe Ainsworth opened the office door, and a blast of frigid air rushed in.
It was followed by a bone-chilling cold.
"Three."
Nina Jacobs replied.
"Alright, I understand."
Chloe Ainsworth didn’t question it, replying with a smile as she led the way.
Aurelius Marshall breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Nina Jacobs emerge safely.
"Ainsworth, I know the way. Let me take Miss Jacobs. Her friends are still waiting over with Benjamin Wood."
Aurelius Marshall said.
"Of course. I heard Miss Jacobs saved your life, Marshall. You’re a lucky man today."
Chloe Ainsworth stopped in her tracks.
"I actually have a few things to take care of, so I’ll leave it to you, Marshall."
After speaking, she gave Nina Jacobs a polite nod and turned back toward Justin Stone’s office.
"Chloe Ainsworth is the Base Commander’s secretary. She’s also his..."
Once Chloe Ainsworth’s back had disappeared from view, Aurelius Marshall stuck out his pinky finger.
"His... what?"
Nina Jacobs didn’t understand what the pinky meant, but she immediately caught on when she saw Aurelius Marshall’s evasive look.
’So they’re probably lovers.’
’It’s not uncommon in the apocalypse.’
"Has anyone important arrived at the base recently? People from the Drakonian Command Headquarters, for instance."
Nina Jacobs asked.
’Justin Stone is selfish by nature. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have completely sealed off Aethelgard just to eliminate his rivals, leaving all those supplies behind.’
’She didn’t believe for a second that a man like that was seeking Holy Water for the base’s survivors.’
’For Justin Stone to be this desperate, something must have happened.’
Aurelius Marshall looked surprised. "How did you know people from the Command Headquarters came to the base, Miss Jacobs?"
"Officers from the Command Headquarters did visit before the temperature dropped. But after it plunged, they seemed busy notifying the other surrounding bases. They left and haven’t come back yet."
"But I asked them privately, and they said they’d probably be back."
"I see..."
Nina Jacobs nodded.
Wayne Warner and Nia were waiting for her in a sealed room downstairs.
When Nina Jacobs entered, a large cat suddenly darted out from inside Wayne Warner’s overcoat and came to her.
Aurelius Marshall and the others jumped in surprise.
"He just passed the security check. Don’t worry."
Nina Jacobs explained.
"You really are something else, Miss Jacobs. Is that a mutated cat?"
Benjamin Wood was scared at first; after all, they had run into plenty of ferocious Mutated Animals over the past two months.
Yet Nina Jacobs dared to keep one as a pet.
Nina Jacobs nodded. "His name is Lexy. He’s saved my life before. He’s very smart and good with people. Don’t worry, he won’t bite."
"That’s a relief."
Benjamin Wood wrapped his coat tighter around himself before stepping outside.
He watched Nina Jacobs walk ahead, a hint of envy in his eyes. She was wearing only a leather jacket and looked completely unfazed by the cold.
The place Justin Stone had arranged for them was a small two-story building with two bedrooms on each floor. As promised, the heat was already on inside.
Nia, who had been shivering from the cold, went inside and immediately latched onto a space heater, refusing to let go.
"By the way, Marshall, what is Mr. Stone’s Superpower?"
"And that man, Lucian Phelps—he doesn’t seem to be on the base’s staff?"
Nina Jacobs suddenly remembered something and invited Aurelius Marshall to sit down.
"Mr. Stone is a Water Element Superpower User. Lucian Phelps has no official position, but he has the Base Commander’s complete trust. I heard they were friends before the apocalypse."
"Lucian Phelps goes out every day to collect supplies for the base."
Aurelius Marshall answered, holding nothing back.
He could tell Nina Jacobs knew nothing about Riventon Base, so he gave her a rundown of the current situation.
He even told her where certain people lived.
"I see. Thank you."
’A Water Element Superpower User?’
After hearing that, Nina Jacobs had a better grasp of the relationships between everyone.
’Someone with no official position collecting supplies for the base? That sounded odd.’
"Oh, right. Lucian Phelps has a Space Superpower,"
Aurelius Marshall added before he left.
In the bathroom, Lexy habitually filled the tub with water.
Before long, however, the water had turned into a solid block of ice.
He was now sitting on top of the ice, scratching it lightly with his paws, a look of pure astonishment on his face.
Nina Jacobs didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the sight.
For the past few days, they had been resting in a safe house where the temperature was kept at a constant 27 degrees Celsius. Every night, Lexy would fill the tub for her bath.
But now, in a bathroom with no heating, the bathwater had turned to ice.
’He probably didn’t understand why.’
"Alright, Lexy, that’s enough water for today."
Nina Jacobs lifted him out of the icy tub and gently wiped his paws with a towel.
"Are you still planning to leave?"
Nia asked, walking over. She suddenly felt a pang of envy for Lexy.
’Nina Jacobs had told her she was free.’
’But she felt so lost about her future.’
’Before, all she wanted was to escape that organization. Now that she was truly out, she had no idea what to do next.’
"Yes. Probably the day after tomorrow."
Nina Jacobs replied.
She had already used the Unlimited Communicator to tell her mother, Vera Coleman, that she would be returning to City D Base soon.
"Oh."
Nia said nothing more. Her back looked a little lonely as she turned away.
After Nia returned to her room and closed the door, Nina Jacobs focused her mind and activated her Five Senses Enhancement.
She quickly picked up on a voice.
It sounded like Chloe Ainsworth.
"...there really is an expert with them. The people we sent were almost exposed. But this weather is a godsend. They’re injured, so they definitely won’t be back anytime soon."
Chloe Ainsworth’s long, slender legs were draped over Justin Stone’s lap. Their posture was relaxed yet incredibly intimate.