Chapter 617: Entering the Base
“Adrian Paige?! Is it really you?” a voice called out from the crowd.
Adrian had been in the middle of a conversation with Nina Jacobs. He looked up, but his expression remained blank.
“It’s me, Adrian! I’m Melanie Ulrich! Director Ambrose is my uncle,” Melanie greeted him with unearned familiarity.
However, Adrian seemed highly guarded. “I don’t know you.”
He knew Ambrose, but he genuinely had no idea who Melanie Ulrich was.
Akira Gallagher stepped forward to introduce her. “Miss Ulrich was dispatched by the command center. She has been stationed here at the South Riven Base for the past three months.”
“Dispatched? Do you have proof of this dispatch?” Adrian asked. He had never heard of the command center assigning long-term stationed personnel to the South Riven Base.
Hearing this, Melanie’s expression shifted instantly. She gave a dry laugh and pointed at the several Superpower Users standing behind her. “Uncle Ambrose told me to come. He even assigned these people to me.”
Adrian swept a cold gaze over them, already understanding the situation. “Ambrose sent you here privately, didn’t he? This is not an official dispatch from the command center.” He never liked beating around the bush. Since Melanie insisted on proving her special status, he simply pointed out the inconsistency.
Akira’s eyes cleared with sudden realization. “So that’s how it is. Miss Ulrich never mentioned this detail to us before. With the zombie horde approaching, she was even planning to take away the elite Superpower Users selected by our base.”
“Oh? Is that true?” Adrian asked. Taking people away right before a zombie horde—if that wasn’t desertion, what was?
“Miss Ulrich, are you really not from the command center?” Dylan Stone asked. He had thought his future was bright, completely unaware that Melanie was not officially sent by the command center at all.
“I am! My Uncle Ambrose is from the command center, and he’s the one who sent me! Adrian! You know Ambrose, right? He’s a top executive in the department!” Melanie argued frantically.
Questioned so publicly, Melanie had never expected things to turn out like this. Adrian was the most highly regarded person in the command center, and her original intention had just been to ride his coattails to establish a connection. Yet, he hadn’t saved her any face at all.
Nina watched the scene with great interest, though she had never heard of this Melanie Ulrich in her previous life.
“Even so… Miss Ulrich, let’s talk about this later. Mr. Paige and Miss Jacobs both need to rest.” Catching a look from Akira, Hugh Irving quickly stepped forward to mediate. “We’ve already prepared resting quarters and food for everyone. Thanks to your support these past few days, you are the saviors of our base!” Hugh said, tears welling in his eyes.
The surrounding crowd echoed their gratitude, no longer paying any attention to the grim-faced Melanie and her group.
The rescue team members had never seen such a scene before. Shirley Lucas spoke up graciously, “It’s what we should do. When trouble strikes one place, help comes from all sides.”
“Commander Gallagher, we ran into some trouble on our way here,” Hartley said as he stepped forward.
Akira stared at him for several seconds before exclaiming in shock, “Wally? Hartley? You’re still alive?!” Earlier, his attention had been completely absorbed by other matters, and he hadn’t noticed that Hartley was among the group that had come from City D.
“I’m still alive, Commander Gallagher,” Hartley said with a smile.
However, now was not the time to catch up. He opened the trunk of a nearby car, revealing Kevin Nash locked inside a stone cage.
“General Nash?!” Kyle Stone’s eyes widened. Although he had taken over Kevin’s position, he had held immense respect for the man before all this. Why was Kevin currently locked in a cage?
“I believe Mr. Lynch will explain everything clearly to you all,” Hartley said.
Aaron Lynch nodded. “It’s a long story. Let’s let everyone get some rest first, and then I’ll tell you the whole truth.”
Nina and her group were settled into a clean dormitory building. The building consisted of suites, complete with common areas and quite a few single rooms. Every room and common area was comfortably warm. Nina, Holly Morgan, and Sylvia Shawn chose a three-bedroom suite with a shared living room.
Upon entering the room, the three of them instantly relaxed.
“After being out there for so many days, a proper room is truly the best,” Sylvie sighed with emotion. Although Shirley had brought plenty of supplies and materials—even a makeshift house and beds for sleeping—this room was undeniably much more comfortable.
“Let’s get some good rest today. Holly, is your injury alright?” Nina asked. Holly had been thrown hard while fighting the zombie animals.
“I’m fine,” Holly replied.
“I’ll go get the medicine. I’ll help you apply it!” Sylvie quickly volunteered. An impact of that magnitude had surely left a nasty bruise.
“I have medicine here,” Nina said, taking out a bottle and placing it on the table. It was Muscle Relaxing Oil infused with Healing Potion. As expected, Holly had a massive bruise covering her back.
Sylvie applied the medicine with practiced ease.
“Thank you,” Holly said.
“You’re welcome. You helped me a lot on the road, too,” Sylvie said, blushing slightly. She had always thought Holly was incredibly cool, fierce, and a woman of few words. However, over the past few days as they fought zombies together, Holly had always casually stepped in to eliminate dangers for them, whether intentionally or not.
Nina also went to check on Wayne Warner. He was staying with Holden Shaw and Shirley in a suite that had a large common area. At that moment, Wayne was being “fed” by Shirley.
“So Hartley and Akira Gallagher know each other?” Adrian, who had already changed into clean clothes, walked out and asked when he saw Nina.
“Yeah, they’ve been comrades-in-arms for years.” Nina nodded. This was precisely why she had brought Hartley along. First, Hartley seemed eager to see his former superior. Second, with Hartley’s connection, it would likely be much easier for her to deal with the South Riven Base moving forward.
“There should still be some lingering zombies around the perimeter of the South Riven Base that haven’t been cleared out yet, but they won’t be needing us for that for the time being. Everyone should just rest up over the next couple of days. Tomorrow or the day after, we’ll go talk to Akira to get a better understanding of the situation here,” Adrian said. He could sense that there were still a few unstable elements around the base, but the South Riven Base could handle those on its own.
Earlier, the man named Hugh Irving had offered to host a welcome banquet for the people from the City D Base tonight, but Adrian had turned him down. In the aftermath of the massive battle, the base had undoubtedly suffered heavy losses, and Akira likely had his hands full with countless matters to manage.
“Yeah, I plan to wander around the base tomorrow as well,” Nina said.
The people from the Ainsworth Family were here in the South Riven Base, but she wasn’t sure if Orion Thorne and his group, who had carried the photo of the Soul-Attracting Butterfly, had successfully delivered the message. If she wanted to gather information about the Ainsworth Family, who should she ask?
That night, Nina slept exceptionally soundly in her single room.
She woke up early and used her Superpower, which had fully replenished overnight, to continue nourishing and cultivating the Divine Wood. Over the past few months, she had grown the Divine Wood to the size of a bonsai tree. The entire plant had developed increasingly thick roots, which were potted in a ceramic basin. The main trunk, originally the size of a fist, had grown significantly, and tiny buds were faintly visible at the very top, ready to sprout into branches.
Nina gazed at the Divine Wood, which now reached her calves, and fell into deep thought.
She wondered if the size of the Divine Wood plant was also related to the number of puppets she could Control. Would a larger Divine Wood allow her to Control a greater number of puppets?