Chapter 612: Deserter
Melanie Ulrich’s expression was somewhat unnatural. However, she still pretended it was a matter of course and replied, “I’m sorry, Mr. Gallagher. It’s truly because I have other missions. If I can call in reinforcements for South Riven Base, there might still be a glimmer of hope.”
Her tone was extremely forced. Akira Gallagher used to believe her words completely, but now he knew she was just brushing him off.
“Reinforcements?
“South Riven Base is only a Level Two Base with no experts to protect it. Now even you people from the command center are leaving. How could anyone possibly come to reinforce us?”
Melanie Ulrich claimed to have been dispatched by the command center. Since the extreme cold hit, he had been providing her with the best food and drink. He never expected that at this critical juncture, she would leave with the few Intermediate Superpower Users by her side. Indeed, adversity reveals true colors.
Akira Gallagher waved his hand. “Leave if you want, but you cannot take a single bit of South Riven Base’s supplies!”
“Supplies should be put to good use. If we don’t take them, do we leave them here for the zombies?”
“That’s right, Base Commander. If South Riven Base survives this crisis, we will bring the supplies back. Doing this is also to protect the supplies!” the people in front of him tried to persuade him one after another.
“Commander Gallagher, I have already promised to guarantee the safety of your base’s Space Superpower Users. The supplies will be protected by me, Melanie Ulrich of the command center. You don’t need to worry,” Melanie Ulrich also chimed in.
“The base’s supplies were exchanged for the lives of many people. How could we easily hand them over to outsiders?
“As long as I, Akira Gallagher, am alive, none of you should even think about taking away the base’s supplies!” Akira Gallagher’s tone was firm. No matter how much the crowd tried to persuade him, it was useless.
Melanie Ulrich shook her head. “Stubborn.”
“Miss Ulrich, then we…” Nathan Ainsworth and Vincent Ainsworth stood together. After watching from the sidelines for a moment, Nathan Ainsworth finally couldn’t help but ask.
“Let’s go. I will take you to the City D Base,” Melanie Ulrich said.
“Vincent Ainsworth, are you leaving too?” Akira Gallagher asked.
Vincent Ainsworth, who had already turned around, paused and replied, “Commander Gallagher, don’t misunderstand. We were already planning to leave South Riven Base these past few days.” South Riven Base was no longer suitable for the development of their Ainsworth family branch.
“That’s right, Gallagher. I still have to avenge my sister Chloe. If we die here, the murderer will certainly get off scot-free. You have treated our family well, Gallagher. We will come back if we have the chance,” Nathan Ainsworth also said.
They had already found the murderer who killed Chloe Ainsworth. A few days ago, their people had sent back solid evidence and information from the City D Base. It was just that the person seemed to have a special identity, so they had to carefully discuss what to do.
Originally, they also intended to continue their development in South Riven Base, considering it had provided them with quite a lot of supplies and manpower. But now, Nathan Ainsworth believed that anyone smart would choose to leave.
Although Akira Gallagher looked disappointed, he didn’t say anything else. Saying they would come back if they had the chance was just empty talk. This Nathan Ainsworth was always good at spouting pretty words. He had been deceived by him in the past.
“Without my orders, the warehouse doors are not to be opened again.
“Kevin Lewis will personally guard the warehouse. The rest of you, follow me to continue fighting the enemy!” Akira Gallagher ordered.
“Yes, sir!”
Kevin Lewis, holding a long metal spear, pulled out a wide wooden chair and sat directly at the entrance of the warehouse. “My Superpower is depleted, but it’s more than enough for me to clear out a few cowardly rats.” He rested his hand on the spear, smiling as he cast a sidelong glance at Preston Chase and the others. He and his men had just come down from the front lines fighting the zombie horde to rest. Unexpectedly, they happened to see someone falsely conveying the Base Commander’s orders, trying to take away the supplies.
“Kevin Lewis, you!” Even though he knew the other party was insulting him, Preston Chase couldn’t say a word in rebuttal.
At this moment, a few people ran down the stairs not far away. They shouted excitedly,
“Commander Gallagher, Commander Gallagher!
“We… we have reinforcements!”
Reinforcements? The zombie horde had only formed recently, so how could anyone possibly reinforce them? Could it be… Akira Gallagher had already given up all hope, but he suddenly remembered something. A few days ago, the base had sent some people to City D to seek reinforcements. His nephew Aaron had insisted on going along. Later, when he heard that the Twin City Corridor was swarming with zombies, he assumed those people had sacrificed themselves for nothing. Moreover, he had also heard Melanie Ulrich say that every base was struggling in the extreme cold, so the possibility of City D sending troops was minuscule.
“It’s the people from the City D Base! They really came!” Felix Vaughn held a letter delivered by a drone. The contents of the letter were very simple, only a few sentences, but Akira Gallagher was deeply shocked after reading it.
“They are actually at the rear of the zombie horde?!” Akira Gallagher asked.
The letter only stated that the City D Base reinforcement army would fight the zombie horde together with them, specifying their location, but did not mention their numbers.
“Yes! They are right by the old dam. According to our observations, the zombie horde at the rear has already begun to scatter!” Felix Vaughn’s dry, cracked face was filled with joy.
“Hurry and reply! Ask about their situation.” Akira Gallagher no longer cared about the others and immediately went to the command room with Felix Vaughn.
“Is there really someone coming to reinforce us?” Melanie Ulrich said in disbelief.
“Some people did leave a few days ago…” Preston Chase replied.
“That’s unlikely. Who would come in this terrible weather?
“Could it be a ruse by the base to make us stay?” someone questioned.
“Then let’s go take a look.” Melanie Ulrich actually didn’t want to risk leaving by helicopter either, because South Riven Base was currently surrounded by zombies, and a Four-element Zombie could appear at any moment. If there were reinforcements, perhaps there was still a turning point.
However, when the two sides established contact again and those reinforcements stated their exact numbers, Melanie Ulrich hesitated once more. There were only about 500 people from City D. Although they seemed to have rescued some South Riven soldiers, this number was simply too small. Compared to the zombie army of over 200,000, they could easily become surrounded at any moment.
“Moreover, it’s almost dark. It’s hard to imagine how they will hold out out there.” Kyle Stone was also a general of the South Riven Base. After Kevin Nash’s accident, Akira Gallagher had promoted him.
A lieutenant beside him nudged him and pointed at Lindsay Lynch, who was standing not far away. She was Aaron Lynch’s sister and the Base Commander Akira Gallagher’s niece. Knowing that Aaron had returned alive, even though she didn’t show it, they all knew that the two siblings shared a deep bond. Even Akira Gallagher highly valued his nephew and niece, and none of them wanted anything to happen to Aaron. Kyle Stone understood the lieutenant’s implication. He didn’t mean anything by it; he was just very worried about these reinforcements.
“They dare to come as reinforcements with only 500 people?” Melanie Ulrich frowned.
“Since they managed to come, shouldn’t there usually be at least 2,000 people? Could it be that too many of them died on the way?” a young man beside Melanie Ulrich said.
“Ethan Stone, watch your mouth.
“The one thing I, Lindsay Lynch, despise the most is a deserter,” Lindsay Lynch said bluntly. When Melanie Ulrich was leaving South Riven Base, she didn’t just want to take her own people, but also several outstanding Superpower Users that South Riven Base had recently selected. Ethan Stone was one of them.
At this moment, someone suddenly shouted loudly, “No, wait! A massive number of zombies are moving in that direction.
“That’s… the abandoned dam!”