Chapter 549: The List

However, the sobbing Ianna Jacobs seemed completely deaf to her words. She continued to wail, "WAAAH! It’s so... so cold out, and I came all this way just to find her! And what does she do? She beats me up the very first time we meet! She even... she even kicked me in the stomach! WAAAH..."

"..."

Beat her? Kicked her in the stomach?

Nina Jacobs’s expression cracked slightly.

Ianna was playing the victim now?

"That’s enough, Captain. Stop crying. If you’re missing a sister’s love, I’ll be your sister," another female voice said.

"Exactly! She even told us to get lost. She has no manners at all," someone else chimed in.

At those words, the crying grew even louder.

"WAAAH... She told me to get lost! I went through so much trouble to get here, and she just told me to get lost! ...Why?! WAAAH..."

The noise was so deafening that Nina was already tempted to turn off her Skill.

"Everyone, stop talking. You’re only making the Captain sadder. I just never expected this sister of hers to be so awful. Sigh..." The woman let out a heavy sigh.

"Revenge is a dish best served cold, Captain! Sooner or later, we’ll be able to take them down!" Timo Stone ground his teeth at the mention of Nina.

She was the one who caused his clothes to be burned to a crisp.

Awful? She was absolutely despicable!

"What the hell do you know! Do you think Ianna actually wants to fight her?" the woman snapped.

"Then... then why not just come clean? Just tell her that you don’t just share a last name, but you also share the same father. Wouldn’t that solve it?" Timo asked.

Ianna was still sobbing. "You don’t understand. I can’t tell her that, otherwise..."

Otherwise what?

Nina desperately wanted to hear the rest, but Ianna stopped talking and even ceased her loud crying.

"What’s wrong with Ianna?" Leo Garcia asked, his eyes filled with confusion as he watched her retreat to her room alone.

"It might have something to do with her family matters," the woman said, as if remembering something.

This was no longer something they could interfere with.

The duration of her Five Senses Enhancement was completely exhausted. Nina lay in bed, her mind brimming with questions.

This sense of disconnect didn’t just stem from her past life. The Ianna of this life seemed no different from the one in her previous life, except for the absence of Sterling Jacobs by her side.

What exactly was it that she couldn’t tell her?

Could it be that Nina had misunderstood the things Ianna had done?

Whenever she couldn’t figure something out, she would temporarily set it aside to avoid overthinking. This had always been Nina’s habit.

Early the next morning, Ian Chandler came looking for Nina, only to find that she wasn’t home.

"She said she had to go out for a bit and might not be back until tomorrow. That child, honestly. It’s so cold outside, yet nothing can stop her."

That morning, Nina had merely greeted Vera Coleman before vanishing. Miss Coleman didn’t even know when her daughter had left.

Watching the bright, eager light in Ian’s eyes suddenly dim, a wave of inexplicable sympathy washed over Vera.

"I’ll have her find you as soon as she gets back," she added.

"That’s all right, Miss Coleman. She must be busy with things. I’ll come back when she has free time." Ian politely said his goodbyes.

Meanwhile, Nina was currently driving toward Tomorrow Base. She remembered that the departure date she had set with Felix Finch for the expedition team was tomorrow.

Before leaving Crestfall, she had already spent two hours slaughtering zombies inside the city alongside her Puppet Zombie. It was only when the city gates were in sight that she assumed the appearance of Claire Warner.

When the City Guard Soldiers at the gates saw her step out of the car, they immediately rushed over to greet her.

"Miss Warner is back! We’ll go notify the Base Commander right away!"

"All right, thank you for your trouble."

Nina still recognized the few City Guard Soldiers standing before her. The one standing the straightest was none other than Theseus York from the correction pod at Lornwood Base.

However, Theseus didn’t recognize Claire Warner.

By the time Felix came out, Claire had already completed her full-body inspection.

"Has the departure roster been finalized?" she asked.

Felix nodded. "It’s all set. The Superpower Users of various elements, the Healer, and the drivers are just waiting to set off tomorrow."

Claire reviewed the list Felix handed her.

There were sixteen people on the departure roster and three vehicles. Aside from the few individuals she had specified, Felix had supplemented the group with several others.

Among them were Wood Element user Holly Morgan, Water Element users Genevieve and Mirelle Keller, Thunder Element user Redmayne Spencer, Gold Element users Reginald Sutton and Dominic Sloan, Healer Irwing, Space Superpower Users Godfrey Thatcher and Evander Langdon. There were also three Fire Element and Earth Element Superpower Users, along with several Speed and Strength Element users...

Of course, everyone on this list had been added with their explicit consent.

"He’s going too?" Claire asked, pointing at Harlan’s name.

Evander and Harlan had both volunteered to join, though she had assumed Harlan would remain at the base permanently in his role as a doctor.

"Mr. Maxwell signed up on his own. He’s a Gold Element Superpower User and also possesses medical expertise, so I approved his application," Felix explained.

Evander had a Spiritual Element Superpower and was also the former Base Commander of Lornwood Base, making him an exceptionally suitable candidate as well.

"All right, this is enough people. Gather everyone around. I have a few words to say."

Claire walked into the conference room. This was her true purpose for coming today.

The first to arrive at the conference room was Godfrey Thatcher.

Godfrey used to be the driver for Arcadia White and her daughter, and he was the one who had taught Wayne Warner how to drive. Furthermore, as a Space Superpower User, his spatial storage capacity was not small by any means.

Looking at the map displayed on the large screen at the front, Godfrey immediately pulled out a phone and snapped a picture.

"I’ve already copied this map onto multiple devices, and there are physical copies as well," Nina said, bringing out a stack of tablets and paper maps.

"Such a detailed map, but..."

Godfrey realized that the map Claire provided was incredibly thorough. It even marked destroyed bridges, impassable roads, and locations along the route suitable for overnight stays.

However, this highly detailed map only went as far as City D.

Seeing that everyone else had arrived, Claire finally spoke. "After you arrive at City D Base, seek out Nina Jacobs. She will guide you for the remainder of the journey to City A."

The routes marked on the map were paths she had personally traveled, but they only extended as far as City D Base.

"Will we be able to see Nina as soon as we reach City D Base?" Holly Morgan asked.

Claire nodded. She then produced two letters of introduction. "The Base Commander of Meridia Base, Mordecai Quinn, is a friend of Nina’s. If you encounter any problems while passing through there, you can go to him directly to resolve them."

The other letter of introduction was for Aurelius Marshall at Riventon Base. This was simply a precaution just in case.

"Who would’ve thought that girl was so well-connected?" Harlan remarked after hearing this.

"The most important thing is this." Claire brought out several bottles of potion. "I acquired these potions at a high price. They can heal all kinds of minor and severe injuries, with the sole exception of the zombie virus. These medicines are incredibly rare and priceless out there. Remember, you must absolutely not breathe a word of this to outsiders."

Holy Water had already been made public, so even if she brought out the system’s Healing Potions, she could easily disguise them as Holy Water.

"Does such medicine actually exist?" Harlan was still somewhat skeptical. He had already written off those people selling Holy Water last time as con artists.

He hadn’t expected Claire to casually produce ten bottles of it.

"Yes, I didn’t believe it at first either. Regardless, this is also Nina’s wish. She hopes that everyone can complete the mission and return alive."

After Claire finished speaking, she supplied the group with some additional useful materials for the road.

"We guarantee to complete the mission!" the group answered loudly.

Having done all this, Nina finally felt a slight sense of relief in her heart.

After the crowd dispersed, Claire asked a few more questions about the base’s affairs.

"I’m quite worried about the zombies over in Crestfall," Felix admitted, voicing his concerns.