But in the end, the will to survive won out.

’We’ll see how it goes. If they get injured, then they won’t have a choice in the matter. I might even score some major credit for this,’ Rafferty Miller thought to himself.

But they soon discovered that even with quite a few Mutated Zombies still around, those people were handling them with ease.

Especially the Strength Element Superpower User at the front.

BANG!

An Alloyed Zombie swiped at Wayne Warner’s chest with its metallic claws.

But Wayne Warner grabbed its arm and yanked it toward him.

ROAR!

Wayne Warner ripped the zombie’s arm clean off.

Then, he used the severed arm’s claws as a weapon, plunging them into the Alloyed Zombie’s eye socket.

Utterly brutal.

"Mr. Shaw and the others are back!"

Silence fell inside the minibus as someone spotted Holden Shaw and Chase Gallagher returning.

Seeing the situation, the two didn’t hesitate. Holden Shaw had already drawn the two knives from his back and joined the fight.

Half an hour later, with Fireballs periodically raining down from mid-air, all the zombies that had been on the road were eliminated.

Although the zombies that had been lured away were now gradually returning, it was clear they were no longer a problem.

In just over twenty minutes, the surrounding area was clear of zombies.

"They actually... resolved it."

Wayne Abbott felt like he was dreaming.

In his dream, humans weren’t being chased down and slaughtered by zombies. Instead, there was a beacon of hope emerging from humanity’s midst.

’Maybe one day, we can become part of that light, too?’

At that moment, Wayne Abbott felt that the figures of those few people were incredibly heroic.

But then, a curse came from outside: "If you know what’s good for you, hand over all the supplies! Don’t even think about backing out!"

Seeing that these people were intending to go back on their word, Leo Hale got angry.

"Everyone, our supplies are all on this bus. There’s really nothing left in the storage space."

"You saved us, sure, but you get to keep all the Zombie Crystal Cores from the zombies you killed. That’s not a bad deal, is it?"

Rafferty Miller shot Wystan Vance a look. In any case, these people had no way of knowing how many supplies were really in the storage space.

He hadn’t expected them to kill so many zombies and all survive.

Just then, Wayne Abbott and a few others got off the minibus.

Although they had no stamina or Superpower energy left, they could still back Nina Jacobs’s group up and make a show of force.

But Nina Jacobs, without a change in expression, waved her hand, and a Fire Serpent instantly appeared above the heads of Rafferty Miller and his men.

"Today, we were just passing through and happened to find a busload of abandoned supplies here. As for the people who were on it, they’ve all unfortunately turned into zombies. We took the trouble to clear out the zombies on this road for the safety of other travelers. If we tell the story that way, no one should be suspicious, right?"

Nina Jacobs said with a smile.

"Of course no one will be suspicious. People will even say we cleared the road and did a good deed."

Leo Hale chimed in.

The coiled Fire Serpent looked like it would dive down at any moment.

Remembering the scene of Nina Jacobs killing zombies earlier, the other men couldn’t take the pressure anymore.

"Miss Jacobs, let’s talk this out, let’s talk this out! Wystan, he still has things in his storage space, a lot of things! Wystan, don’t listen to Rafferty Miller! If no one else values our lives, we have to value them ourselves."

"That’s right! And you already promised to give them all the supplies. You can’t go back on your word."

As everyone chimed in one after another, Wystan Vance knew there was no escape. Steeling himself, he began to take the supplies out.

He kept taking things out for a long time, until a pile several meters wide had formed on the sidewalk.

Nina Jacobs was very satisfied.

Wystan Vance had even taken out his own personal belongings. There shouldn’t be much left in his storage space.

However, she returned those personal items to him.

"Since that’s settled, the rest of you can go.

But he stays."

Nina Jacobs pointed at Rafferty Miller.

The color instantly drained from Rafferty Miller’s face.

"What do you mean? Didn’t we already give you all the supplies?"

However, Nina Jacobs ignored him.

"Aren’t you leaving?" Holden Shaw asked from the side.

Only then did Wystan Vance and the others snap out of it. "We’re going! We’re leaving right now."

They were lucky just to be alive. They had only been temporarily gathered by the Crawford Army, so who cared if Rafferty Miller lived or died?

"Wystan! Without me, you’ll be dead when you get back anyway!

Crawford won’t let you off!"

Rafferty Miller said hatefully.

Wystan Vance’s steps faltered for a moment, but he still had no intention of staying.

But the group was stopped again by Nina Jacobs:

"Oh, right. If you don’t want to get into trouble when you go back,

wait seven days before returning to the base."

"Why?"

They looked at Nina Jacobs, confused.

But Nina Jacobs had already turned to leave, with no intention of answering their question.

"What... what did she mean by that?"

Someone on the bus finally asked after their vehicle had driven some distance away.

By now, they could no longer see Nina Jacobs and her group.

Their lives, it seemed, were saved.

"Don’t you forget who she is.

Since she said seven days, we’ll wait seven days.

If we go back now, Hugo Crawford will definitely not let us off."

Wystan Vance said.

He was considered Hugo Crawford’s most trusted Space Superpower User; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been sent on this trip to collect supplies.

But the more he was trusted, the more he feared returning to the base.

Because if that trust was betrayed, he would likely be the first person Hugo Crawford would kill.

The others also understood the stakes.

"Then what do we do now?" a few of them asked, their faces clouded with worry.

"I know a relatively safe place. We’ll hide there for seven days and figure things out after that."

Wystan Vance replied.

Whether Nina Jacobs’s words could be trusted or not, laying low outside for a while was a wise decision...

「Back at the previous location.」

Rafferty Miller had just gathered his Superpower, intending to use the chance to get on the vehicle and escape, but Nina Jacobs ended his life with a single Fireball.

Wayne Abbott was stunned, momentarily at a loss for words.

Nina Jacobs’s cold gaze held not a trace of pity.

Chase Gallagher and the others seemed used to it, and were even discussing with Yvonne Willow how to collect all the supplies.

"Just... killed him?"

Warren Ramsey was also dumbfounded.

"Yes. If we don’t kill him, he’ll cause endless trouble later."

Nina Jacobs waved her hand, and flames engulfed Rafferty Miller’s corpse, which soon shriveled into a charred husk.

[System detected that Host has completed an act of self-defense. "The Best Defender" title has been triggered. Reward: "Wind Skill Book"!]

Glancing at the system’s reward, she didn’t bother explaining much to Wayne Abbott and the others.

She believed they would figure out the meaning of her words sooner or later.

Yvonne Willow had already stored all the supplies from the road into her space.

There was still a small box of gold jewelry and Gold Bars on the ground, which Nina Jacobs had Leo Hale put in the vehicle.

As for the remaining truckload of supplies, Yvonne Willow could only fit half before her space was full.

"I should’ve emptied out my storage space before we left."

Yvonne Willow said anxiously.

She was the only Space Superpower User on the team; she still wasn’t conscientious enough about her role.

"How about we find another vehicle and transfer the supplies from this one into it?"

Leo Hale suggested after a moment of thought.

"That way, we won’t attract anyone’s attention."

"It’s fine. We’ll drive this vehicle back to the base just as it is."

Nina Jacobs said instead. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"If we drive it back like this, won’t that guy named Crawford be able to tell what happened?"

Warren Ramsey asked, confused.

"What’s there to be afraid of? We fought for these supplies ourselves. So what if he finds out?"

Holden Shaw strongly agreed with Nina Jacobs’s suggestion.