Chapter 591: The Right Timing
Chapter 591: Chapter 591: The Right Timing
Nina Jacobs hadn’t forgotten about her actual business either. That afternoon, she made a special trip to the base’s administration building to find Adrian Shaw.
"What brings you to my neck of the woods?" Adrian asked, still very welcoming to Nina. However, he was quite surprised when he learned the purpose of her visit. "You want me to release Orion Thorne? Do you know this guy?"
Releasing someone wasn’t difficult, but he had already promised Liam Grant to keep them locked up until he left for City A.
"I didn’t know him before. I’m just a little interested in what he’s investigating right now," Nina replied.
What Orion Thorne was investigating...
"Is it about Justin Stone? Do you know where Justin is?" Adrian asked.
Nina shook her head. "He isn’t looking for Justin, but investigating the cause of death of another person close to him." She shared some information she was allowed to disclose, which took Adrian completely by surprise.
"But if that guy Grant really did it, wouldn’t they want to kill him for revenge?" Adrian asked.
Nina shook her head again. "They don’t have the ability to kill him yet. The Ainsworth family’s mission for Orion and his team is just to investigate, not to eliminate him. If we only release one or two people, Orion’s strength alone isn’t enough to kill Liam. Besides, I believe someone will make sure he doesn’t die anytime soon."
"I actually know a thing or two about this Ainsworth family you mentioned," Adrian replied. "The Ainsworth family has two people in charge—one at Arisdale Base, and the other at South Riven Base. The person you’re talking about is probably at South Riven Base. It’s just that South Riven Base is a bit weaker in terms of power."
"How is their relationship?" Nina’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. She hadn’t expected Adrian to know so much.
He shook his head. "Not very good, as far as I know. One is high and mighty, while the other is meek and subservient, though they should still be in constant contact."
"I see." Nina wondered if the person who knew the Advanced Tracking Technique could be at Arisdale Base.
"Releasing one or two people isn’t hard. I’d also like to know what kind of relationship Grant has with Justin Stone," Adrian said, immediately agreeing to Nina’s request.
"Orion said that if I’m willing to help him get results in his investigation, he’s willing to hand over the correspondence between the two of them," Nina replied. This was what Orion had later told Sherry Renner out of fear that Nina might back out.
"Really?" Adrian’s interest was immediately piqued. "Actually, we’ve suspected that Grant has dealings with multiple bases, including Arisdale, but we have no evidence. It’s all just speculation. I just want to know what his ultimate goal is."
"After all, as someone with precognitive dreams, he definitely isn’t willing to settle for a subordinate role here," Nina said.
It wouldn’t be hard for Liam and his group to build connections with others; all they had to do was dangle the fact that he possessed the ability of precognitive dreams.
However...
Nina’s gaze deepened. Liam, just like her, had only survived in a small corner of the apocalypse for three years. Although the weather changes almost mirrored the timeline of their previous lives, the people and events around them were already vastly different. If he thought he could remain invincible just by relying on this identity, he was being far too naive.
But this played right into her hands.
Orion Thorne was released that very same day, along with a man named Declan. Neither of them had ever dreamed they would be let out so quickly.
"I’m sorry, I did my best, but I could only get two people out," Nina told them, wearing a helpless expression. She figured two people would be more than enough for what was to come.
"You don’t need to apologize. We should be thanking you," Orion said, signaling Declan to pull out a file folder and hand it to Nina. "These are all the things we found at Chloe Ainsworth’s residence in Riventon Base."
The folder contained several letters between Justin Stone and others.
Nina took it and said, "This is evidence, right? I’ll return it to you as soon as I finish reading it. By the way, although my capabilities are limited, I’ve managed to find a place for the two of you to stay. You can live there for now."
As soon as Nina finished speaking, their faces filled with pleasant surprise. They currently didn’t have a single Crystal Core to their names, let alone a place to live. They hadn’t expected Nina to be so kind-hearted.
"Once we find more clues and evidence, we’ll notify you immediately!" Orion promised.
"Alright, I’ll wait for your good news," Nina said, nodding.
Now, all that was left was to wait for the right opportunity.
Aside from these two, the Little Zombie Rat she had placed on the eaves had also discovered something. Like other zombies, the little rat wasn’t afraid of the extreme cold outdoors. Through its observations over the past few days, Nina had noticed two rather suspicious individuals. They seemed to frequently pass by Liam’s residence, but they were actually secretly observing something. When Liam went out, they would even follow directly behind him.
After a few days of monitoring, she was absolutely certain that there was something wrong with these two. However, Liam had been busy investigating the missing supplies from the South District Cemetery, so he hadn’t noticed them at all.
That day, when Liam heard a rumor and prepared to investigate it, Nina knew her chance had come.
It was a thirty-room connected courtyard located near the end of an alley. Though called a courtyard, it was actually a shared public yard enclosed by three small dormitory buildings. Each of the three buildings housed four different Superpower User teams, along with a few unaligned individuals.
Liam brought over ten people to the yard this time. The imposing lineup quickly drew everyone’s attention, including Orion and Declan, who hadn’t moved in long ago. The two immediately put on masks and hats, leaning against the second-floor railing along with the crowd, pretending to watch the spectacle.
"Isn’t this Director Grant from whatever department? Who are you looking for?" one of the men asked, eyeing Liam and his group. They looked like they were here looking for trouble.
"I’m looking for Timothy Wallace, the captain of the Aether Squad. I just came to ask him a few questions," Liam answered, his expression unfriendly.
Timothy had originally been watching the drama, never expecting to be called out by name.
"You’re looking for me?" He quickly stepped forward, shooting Liam a suspicious, sidelong glance. "Do we know each other?"
Liam pulled a pair of leather gloves from behind his back and asked, "This was bought from your squad’s stall. Where did you get it?"
"What the hell is that?" Timothy didn’t quite understand.
"Three weeks ago, your squad went to the South District. Don’t tell me this was found there?" Liam continued, "This brand was only sold in one mall in all of City D. Aside from this, there are a few other supplies that also came from your stall."
"What exactly are you trying to say? We scavenged these things outside. We didn’t need them, so we sold them. What does that have to do with you?" Timothy felt utterly baffled.
"Scavenged?" Liam still trusted his own judgment. He went on, "The supplies you took from an underground supply cache in the South District were exactly the ones we had stored there. If you know what’s good for you, hand them over."
"Is there something wrong with your brain? Who took your supplies?" Timothy had a notoriously short fuse. By now, he was already pointing at Liam’s nose and cursing.
"Director Grant, without evidence proving that they took your supplies, you can’t just make baseless accusations, right? Besides, even if they did scavenge supplies outside, that doesn’t violate base rules," the man from earlier stepped forward and said.