Chapter 630 - 620: Zombies 15

Soon, the promised Crystal Cores were delivered, piled up like a small mountain in the living room—a truly spectacular sight.

Seeing these Crystal Cores, Moira Lynch had only one thought: ’This trip was well worth it.’

"Um, Miss Lynn, our base leader wanted to ask, what are you two doing collecting so many Crystal Cores?"

After all, Crystal Cores contained the zombie virus.

While Superpower Users had a certain resistance, they weren’t completely immune. Absorbing too many would still affect them.

"To absorb them, of course. My innate ability can neutralize the zombie virus, so I don’t suffer any side effects from absorbing these Crystal Cores."

Upon hearing this, the man’s face showed he understood.

He failed to consider, however, that if it were just for absorption, there would be no need to collect so many—only Crystal Cores of the corresponding Attributes would be necessary.

After seeing the man out, Moira Lynch walked up to the mountain of Crystal Cores. ’These guys are surprisingly considerate. They even sorted them for us.’

Clusters of white-gold flames flew from her hands and landed on the mountain of Crystal Cores. Moments later, plumes of black smoke began to rise from the cores.

The sheer number of Crystal Cores meant the process was a lengthy one; it took about half an hour to purify them all.

As usual, the two of them took all the Crystal Cores with the Attributes they needed. The rest were stored away in the Space Button.

"Two or three more hauls like this, and I’m afraid our Space Buttons won’t be enough," Shane Rhodes remarked, tossing the one in his hand.

"We still have Kai York and Hugh Finch, don’t we? They’re already on their way and should be here in a few days. Besides, we don’t go out every day. For the next few days, we can just stay put in the base and focus on healing people."

To treat the wounded, the base leader had cleared out an empty building within the base. Starting tomorrow, Moira Lynch could begin seeing patients there.

The price was still one hundred Crystal Cores. Those who could afford it paid upfront. Those who couldn’t signed an IOU with the base, agreeing to work off the debt after they were healed.

The next few days passed in a flurry of activity for Moira Lynch.

「Day Six.」

「Day Seven.」

「Day Eight.」

「Day Nine.」

「Day Ten.」

For five consecutive days, her clinic was swamped. Word spread that she could even treat chronic illnesses, and soon, even uninjured people were seeking her out for treatment, including some of the base’s top brass.

Of course, there were also those who tried to use their status to get free treatment. For people like that, Moira Lynch had only one response: a beating.

If one beating didn’t work, she’d give them two.

On top of that, some people complained that Moira Lynch’s fees were too expensive, comparing her to another Healing Superpower User, a Miss White.

They would belittle Moira to praise Miss White, apparently trying to achieve some personal goal by doing so.

But these people didn’t know that Moira Lynch had a few defining traits. Holding a grudge was one. Practicing collective punishment was another.

Thus, those who deliberately started and spread rumors were blacklisted, along with their entire families.

As for the subsequent wailing apologies, the declarations of being wrong, even the grand, dramatic gestures of atonement—Moira Lynch knew nothing of them. Those people couldn’t even get an audience with her.

By the eleventh day, Moira Lynch’s hectic life had finally started to quiet down.

"Not saving lives today?" Shane Rhodes asked, his eyes wide with surprise to find Moira Lynch still at home early in the morning.

"Nope. Even a workhorse deserves a rest after five straight days of labor. Besides, none of the people coming for treatment today are on death’s door. There’s no rush."

The truth was, Moira Lynch had noticed that people were starting to get impatient with her healing pace. Some had even stormed up to her, yelling and demanding to be treated first, acting as if paying money made them king.

They were gradually losing respect for her, and if she gave them an inch, they’d take a mile.

’That just won’t do.’

So, Moira Lynch decided to give them the cold shoulder for a few days and remind them who was really in charge.

"Since you’re free, this is perfect. I just got word that Kai York and Hugh Finch have made their way here. Let’s go meet them. We can pick up a mission and gather some supplies along the way."

Moira Lynch nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. The number of Superpower Users at Dawnlight Base has skyrocketed recently. Most of them are desperately taking on missions to pay off their debts, which means there’s a huge daily influx of Crystal Cores."

"On top of that, Dawnlight Base has secretly struck deals with other bases to have their wounded sent here for treatment—at a price of one thousand Crystal Cores per person."

At this, Moira Lynch pursed her lips. "I only charge one hundred, and he turns around and marks it up tenfold. Politicians are truly black-hearted."

"Isn’t that better?" Shane Rhodes said with a laugh. "If they didn’t have all those Crystal Cores, we wouldn’t have any incentive to take on missions."

And so, Shane Rhodes went to accept a mission. After taking the necessary precautions, the two of them left the base.

Their destination this time was a large meat processing plant.

Coincidentally, the location provided by Kai York and Hugh Finch was in the same direction, so it was on their way.

Once again, Moira Lynch and Shane Rhodes chose to travel on foot. The vehicles available at the base were mostly dilapidated and looked extremely unsafe.

Besides, driving would mean having to find a gas station, which was more trouble than it was worth. They might as well just run. It wasn’t that far, anyway.

With that in mind, the two set off. Halfway there, they suddenly saw a massive tornado form in the distance. The suction was so powerful that they could feel its pull even from far away.

At this sight, their pace didn’t slow but quickened, their eyes filled with excitement. They had found Kai York.

Meanwhile, Kai York was sitting casually on a tree branch with his legs crossed, controlling the tornado with a flick of his fingers. He sent the zombies trapped within flying, and they crashed heavily to the ground, shattering into pieces.

The next moment, a yellow Crystal Core was carried to him on a gust of wind.

Seeing the color of the Crystal Core, Kai York clicked his tongue. "Tsk. Why are Wind Element Crystal Cores so hard to find?"

After stowing the Crystal Core, he spotted two figures in the distance, running toward him at an incredible speed.

’They must have been drawn by the tornado.’

’That kind of speed... apart from someone with a Speed Ability, it could only be...’

"Moira! Boss! It really is you two!"

As he spoke, Kai York moved to embrace them, but Moira Lynch deftly sidestepped him.

"You stink! Can’t you change your clothes?"

Kai York’s clothes were vaguely recognizable as the same outfit he had been wearing when he first entered the game.

The outfit was now filthy beyond recognition, caked with dirt and stained with all sorts of unidentifiable substances, emitting a foul stench.

Only then did Kai York notice his own sorry state. He grimaced in disgust. "Boss, you got any clothes? Any water? I’d like to take a bath, if possible."