Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Captain Zheng, It’s Not Just the Officials Who Have Superpower Users

Although Sierra Sullivan didn’t understand what he was doing, she didn’t say a word, just waited quietly.

The dagger in Jayce’s hand was incredibly sharp, splitting the Skitterwing’s head in two with ease.

The sharp tip of the blade stirred around in the Skitterwing’s brain a few times before coming to a stop.

With just a light flick, he pried out a small crystal.

Jayce condensed a ball of water in his palm, and in the blink of an eye, the crystal was washed completely clean.

The once-filthy crystal now sparkled with a delicate light, like a diamond of the highest purity.

Even though she already knew that Crystal Cores were harvested from the brains of Aberrant Beasts...

...seeing it for herself still stirred something in Sierra Sullivan.

’To obtain something so beautiful, one had to face lethal danger.’

’No wonder they say the more beautiful something is, the more dangerous it is.’

Jayce handed the Crystal Core to Sierra Sullivan, and the Space Ability User produced another Skitterwing.

Watching their fluid movements, it was clear this wasn’t their first time working together. They were perfectly in sync.

Before long, one Crystal Core had become a small pile, which they placed in a transparent bag.

Seen through the plastic, they truly looked like a bag of diamonds.

"A total of one hundred and twenty Crystal Cores," Jayce said. "Once we reach our destination, we’ll divide them equally among everyone."

The "everyone" Jayce spoke of included the people in the other vehicles.

The people in their vehicle had no objection to Jayce’s decision. This was how they always did it.

Sierra Sullivan had no objections either.

She was more curious about something else.

"Can you eat Skitterwing meat?"

The Skitterwing carcasses had been tucked away into subspace by the Space Ability Users.

Jayce nodded. "It’s edible! The free supplies distributed by the base every day include Exotic Beast Meat."

Sierra Sullivan wasn’t surprised by his answer.

And yet...

Psychologically, she still couldn’t quite accept it.

’Aberrant Beasts eat people.’

’And in turn, people eat Aberrant Beasts.’

Although Sierra Sullivan couldn’t quite accept it, she didn’t let it show on her face.

She wasn’t so naive as to be out of touch with their reality.

Things were different now.

Supplies were scarce, and most people were struggling just to survive.

They were lucky to have food at all.

Being picky now would be a death sentence.

A heavy mood seemed to settle over the group, and for a while, no one spoke.

The vehicle pressed on, and thankfully, they didn’t encounter any more Aberrant Beasts.

Sierra Sullivan was gazing aimlessly out the window when she suddenly spotted a large cloth banner fluttering in the wind on a tall building in the distance.

She couldn’t make out what was written on it.

But she could guess it was a distress signal from survivors inside.

Jayce followed her gaze but quickly looked away.

"We can’t save them."

"But survivor search-and-rescue teams will come for them."

"All they need to do is wait."

It sounded callous, but it was the truth.

They only had a few vehicles.

Space was limited; each vehicle could take one or two more people at most. They simply didn’t have the capacity to mount a rescue.

And that wasn’t their mission.

Their mission was to secure enough supplies.

Otherwise, even if they brought survivors back to the base, they would only end up starving.

Sierra Sullivan looked away from the building and gave Jayce a small smile. "I get it."

The vehicle wasn’t moving fast, but with no other cars and the sand posing no obstacle, their journey was smooth and unimpeded.

Another half hour later, they arrived at their first destination: the Twin-Link Cannery.

Twin-Link was a famous national brand with factories in several cities.

Their city happened to have one, and it was massive.

When the apocalypse began, there must have been workers in the factory.

After so many days, there was no telling what had become of them.

But with access to food and drink, they were likely better off than people trapped in their apartments.

The main gate of the cannery was wide open.

It was clear the gate had been forced open.

Someone had already been here.

Jayce’s expression grew serious. "The situation inside is unclear. Everyone stay on high alert. And don’t trust anyone you meet!"

He wasn’t just speaking to the people in his vehicle; he relayed the message to the other cars over the walkie-talkie.

A chorus of affirmatives came back.

The vehicles rolled slowly into the cannery compound, stopping near the main factory building.

A large loudspeaker was mounted on the roof of their vehicle, and Jayce began to broadcast a message.

"Hello, everyone! We’re from the official government base! We’ve come to the cannery to requisition supplies! To all the workers inside, please don’t be alarmed. We mean you no harm. We represent the base!"

Jayce repeated the same message five times.

The loudspeaker was so loud that Sierra Sullivan could hear it clearly even inside the sealed vehicle.

The people inside the factory building must have heard it, too.

But they waited for a long time, and there was no response from within.

The factory doors remained shut tight, showing no sign that they were about to open.

Dominic Crawford frowned at the doors. "What’s with these people? We told them we’re from the base. Don’t they want to come back with us? Do they really think they can survive forever just by hoarding these cans?"

In contrast to Dominic Crawford’s impatience, Jayce had a clearer, more thorough understanding of the situation.

"Captain Crawford, the official base isn’t the only group with Superpower Users."

A cannery this big... how many workers would it have?

And among all those workers, you couldn’t have just one Superpower User?

Put yourself in their shoes. If you had Superpower Users, supplies, and a sturdy warehouse, you could survive on your own.

Then, someone suddenly shows up, claims to be from the government, and says they’re here to ’requisition’ your supplies. Would you agree?

’Forget agreeing,’ Jayce thought, ’I’d probably just want to punch them.’

Hearing this, Dominic Crawford had to admit that Jayce had a point.

"But... we came all this way for those cans, didn’t we? Are you saying we should just leave if they don’t open the door?"

"If we do that, we’ll probably come back empty-handed from the flour mill next door, too!"

"That’s not an option!"

"Who said anything about leaving empty-handed?"

Jayce said, switching the loudspeaker back on to continue his announcement.

"I’m not asking for a handout! I’m willing to trade for your canned goods!"

"We can negotiate!"

"If you really don’t need anything and have no interest in talking, then we’ll be on our way!"

"I’ll give you one minute to consider!"

True to his word, Jayce went silent.

Dominic Crawford felt a surge of anxiety, but there was nothing he could do but wait, his patience wearing thin.

A minute should have felt short.

But right now, it felt exceptionally long.

Just as Dominic Crawford’s hope was beginning to fade, a small window on the tightly sealed factory door slid open.