Chapter 293: Chapter 293: Then Let’s Take Everything

Aidan Keaton did indeed have a younger brother named Kyle Keaton.

After the apocalypse, she had frantically searched for him, but to no avail.

"Is he okay?" Tears streamed down Aidan Keaton’s face.

Growing up, their parents had always favored her over him. Kyle was born in June, and their parents had given him his name almost as an afterthought.

Kyle had been quiet since he was a child. Despite his excellent grades, he was socially awkward. Aidan used to bully him, but as they grew older, their bond became surprisingly strong.

Since the apocalypse began, she couldn’t help but worry whenever she thought of Kyle’s quiet and reserved nature.

She had come to Aethelgard to search for survivors, holding on to the hope that Kyle was still alive.

"He’s doing very well. He’s an Earth Element Superpower User now."

Nina Jacobs replied.

"I thought..."

Aidan Keaton was at a loss for words. Meanwhile, Shirley Lucas had already finished gathering all the supplies in the area.

"I’ll take you to the next place!"

Aidan Keaton said without hesitation.

Their next stop was above ground. Fortunately, the supply caches were located in automated warehouses from before the apocalypse. As long as they didn’t make any noise, they wouldn’t attract zombies.

A wave of stuffy, hot air hit them as they entered the warehouse from the basement.

The group formed a protective circle around Shirley Lucas, who didn’t dare to waste a single moment.

Many of the supplies in the warehouse were already packed in large wooden crates. This delighted Shirley Lucas; he could just store the entire crates, which was much faster than collecting items one by one.

He even began using both hands to gather the supplies.

"Want some water?"

Nina Jacobs produced a bottle of water from out of nowhere and handed it to him.

"Thanks."

Shirley Lucas was indeed hot and thirsty. After drinking the water Nina gave him, he felt his energy surge and quickly got back to work.

Nina Jacobs walked to a small window and looked outside.

The automated warehouse was in a remote area with no zombies nearby. However, through the eyes of a Little Zombie Rat, she could see the faint, swaying shapes of distant zombies slowly moving in their direction.

"I’m going out for a bit."

Nina Jacobs decided to scout out Aethelgard.

And lure the zombies away while she was at it.

The moment she stepped out of the automated warehouse, the System issued a new mission.

[Apocalypse Survival Mission Initiated: Looting Run Mission 44

Mission Details: A fire will break out at the Aethelgard freight depot in five days. Please clear out 65% of the supplies within the depot.

Mission Reward: System Storage Slot x1, Experience Points +150.

Bonus Reward: Experience Points +8000

Mission Difficulty: ★★★★★]

’A bonus reward?’

’Looks like there really are a ton of supplies in that freight depot,’ Nina Jacobs mused.

The Aethelgard freight depot—that was the place Aidan Keaton had just said was impossible to loot.

It was crawling with zombies.

He hadn’t planned on trying to tackle that place so soon.

The highest difficulty for a Looting Run mission was Five Stars. In fact, in her past life, Nina had encountered supply caches that were several times larger than a typical Five-star Task.

The supplies in this freight depot were likely far greater than she had imagined.

「The night grew deeper.」

A few Little Zombie Rats knocked over an empty oil drum. It toppled with a loud CLANG, then rolled away across the ground.

The slowly shambling zombies turned their heads, their vacant, gray-white eyes staring into the distance.

They swayed randomly, the sounds from their mouths like old, wheezing bellows.

Watching the horde of zombies shamble after the oil drum, Nina Jacobs finally stepped out of her Safe House.

A few zombies caught her scent. Just as they turned to pounce, Nina Jacobs was already a blur, gone from her original spot.

Using this rinse-and-repeat method, Nina Jacobs drew closer and closer to the freight depot.

Perched on a rooftop, Nina Jacobs checked the time.

It had taken her over half an hour just to run here using her Speed Element Superpower.

Below her, tens of thousands of zombies were concentrated in one area.

’I can’t put the Safe House down there,’ Nina thought, hidden inside the structure. ’It’s only a Level Four Safe House. I’m worried it won’t withstand a siege from tens of thousands of zombies.’

’If I lure them downward, back toward the others, I’ll put Shirley and Wayne in danger.’

Looking through her night-vision binoculars, Nina Jacobs noticed that the zombies were gathered here because the roads in both directions were blocked.

’That means I have to find a way to lure them in the opposite direction.’

Nina Jacobs once again packed small explosive charges into the bodies of two Little Zombie Rats.

These explosives had a small blast radius, but their main advantage was that they were nearly silent.

Watching the Little Zombie Rats slip down along the wall, Nina Jacobs couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

The Little Zombie Rats wouldn’t draw the zombies’ attention, but in a place packed so tightly with them, it would be easy for one to get squashed into paste under a stray foot.

One of the Little Zombie Rats had barely hit the ground when a Mutated Zombie snatched it up.

Fortunately, the rat didn’t interest the Mutated Zombie. Nina quickly had it leap from the creature’s grasp.

BOOM!

A muffled explosion echoed as both rats detonated simultaneously, blasting two large holes on either side of the blockade.

The zombies immediately began to pour through the openings.

’Success!’

Nina Jacobs once again released the remaining Little Zombie Rats.

Two were trampled in the shifting horde, but three still managed to make it to the front.

A melodious song began to play from their backs. It echoed through the darkness, drifting into the distance, and the hordes of zombies dutifully followed...

「Another half an hour passed.」

Nina Jacobs finally emerged from her Safe House.

’Looks like "Good Luck Comes" works best after all.’

A few zombies remained below. Most were dismembered, or trapped in corners or under heavy objects.

Several Stone Spikes shot out, silently finishing off the stragglers.

Only then did Nina Jacobs carefully approach.

The so-called freight depot was more like a shipping port. It was surrounded by transit warehouses, with a large, open yard in the center.

The yard was filled with corroded, mottled transport trucks, forklifts, and cargo containers stacked like small mountains.

Skeletal remains on the ground still gave off a faint glimmer—the reflective vests of the depot’s former workers.

The reek of diesel and rust mingled with a bloody stench. Nina’s arrival drew the attention of the remaining zombies.

The scent of the living stirred the corpses on the ground. Though they were little more than rotting flesh, their predatory instincts remained.

ROAR!!

Nina manipulated the Diamond Sand, forming it into sharp blades that cut down the approaching zombies one by one.

Using her Fire Element Superpower here would be unwise; the oil-soaked wooden pallets and weathered, dried-out supplies were all highly flammable.

Nina was beginning to understand why Looting Run Mission 44 only required her to collect 65% of the supplies.

The mountain of supplies piled in the center of the depot was completely ruined.

It gave off a putrid stench.

Fortunately, the supplies in the surrounding loading bays and warehouses were mostly intact.

Nina moved from bay to bay, collecting the supplies. She was already moving quickly, but after more than twenty minutes, she realized she had only gathered about half of it.

She had never seen so many supplies.

Nina sighed in regret when she saw supplies that were clearly expired, leaking a foul, viscous liquid.

Food that had clearly expired due to improper storage... Riventon Base had just let it all go to waste here.

"I’ll just take it all, then."

Nina Jacobs said.