Chapter 40: Chapter 40: You Can’t Just Take Things for Free, You Must Take Us With You

The Dune Hounds were much larger than the Skitterwings.

This made them easier to target when shooting.

But by the same token, they were much tougher.

If you couldn’t kill them with a single headshot, they would only become even more ferocious.

The enraged Dune Hounds charged with greater force, ramming into the vehicle with abandon.

Their vehicle had been modified and was heavier than a standard model.

But even so, the impacts from the Dune Hounds sent it swaying violently.

It was already difficult to aim, and the jostling made it even harder.

Dominic Crawford’s expression grew more and more grave. He wished he could just rush out and fight these Dune Hounds to the death.

Compared to them, Jayce’s attacks were far more powerful.

He could conjure many Water Arrows at once.

While not quite a storm of arrows, the attack was still immensely powerful.

The Dune Hounds struck by the Water Arrows were either killed instantly or finished off with a follow-up shot before they even had a chance to go berserk.

But the toll on Jayce was also immense.

After just a few minutes, Jayce’s face had grown visibly pale.

Sierra Sullivan wasn’t idle, either.

She had been studying how to make the sand work for her.

How to turn this annoying sand into a deadly weapon in her own hands.

She could also form the sand into arrows, but they were far less lethal than Jayce’s Water Arrows and consumed too much of her Superpower.

Soon, Sierra Sullivan changed her approach.

She could perfectly control the sand to burrow into the beasts’ orifices.

Even Aberrant Beasts had to breathe.

If they couldn’t breathe, their ability to move would be severely limited for a short time.

’Kick them while they’re down. That’s the perfect chance to finish them off.’

Sierra Sullivan disrupted their movements, and everyone, including Jayce, seized the opportunity to attack.

Without any prior practice or much communication, they quickly fell into a seamless and effective coordination.

The Dune Hounds, which had been so overwhelmingly powerful just moments ago, were now dying at a visible rate.

The number of Dune Hound corpses grew and grew.

When more than half of the Dune Hounds had been killed or injured, they finally felt fear.

An unknown Dune Hound let out a cry, and the remaining survivors simultaneously turned and fled toward the flour mill’s main gate.

In the blink of an eye, they vanished from sight.

Looking at the ground littered with Dune Hound corpses, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

They hadn’t noticed it while their nerves were stretched taut, but now that they had suddenly relaxed, it felt as if all the strength had been drained from their bodies.

Dominic Crawford’s forehead was covered in sweat; it was hard to tell if it was from exhaustion or stress.

Dominic Crawford casually wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and looked at Sierra Sullivan, his eyes full of gratitude. "Thank you!"

Sierra Sullivan smiled and shook her head. "No need to thank me. We’re all in this together!"

They were in the same vehicle, sharing the same fate. She had only done what she could—not just for them, but for herself as well.

But Dominic Crawford shook his head. "I still have to thank you! If it weren’t for you and Mr. Everett, I’m afraid we would have been in grave danger today!"

The others nodded one after another, their faces showing their agreement.

This was especially true for those who had secretly harbored reservations about Sierra Sullivan; now, besides gratitude, they also felt ashamed.

They used to think she had only become one of the team leaders by relying on Jayce, that she had no real ability and was just a pretty face.

Now they understood just how ridiculously wrong they had been.

’Does she even need to rely on Jayce?’

’She’s even more incredible than he is!’

’Even now, before her powers have fully developed, she can already do so much with sand.’

’Once her Superpower gets even stronger, won’t all the swirling sand in the sky become her weapon?’

Just thinking about it made their breath quicken.

It was as if they themselves were the ones about to become so powerful!

Jayce wholeheartedly agreed with Dominic Crawford. "Captain Crawford is right. Sierra, you are amazing!"

Seeing Jayce join Dominic Crawford and the others in praising her, Sierra Sullivan’s face flushed slightly.

Fortunately, the light inside the vehicle wasn’t very good. She figured that while she could feel the heat in her cheeks, no one else could see it clearly.

"Alright! We should get back to business! It would be bad if those Dune Hounds returned, or if some other Aberrant Beast showed up!" Sierra Sullivan said.

Her words met with unanimous agreement.

Everyone immediately equipped their hoods, masks, hats, and other gear before getting out of the vehicle with their weapons.

The two Space Ability Users were surrounded and protected in the center.

The others stood guard while the two of them were responsible for collecting everything.

Not a single Dune Hound corpse on the ground could be left behind; all of them had to be collected into their spatial storage.

After collecting the Dune Hound corpses, it was time for the flour in the trucks.

Once they finished collecting the flour from the trucks, the group headed for the warehouse without any hesitation.

The warehouse doors were wide open.

The moment they entered, they could see flour sacks stacked high.

The Dune Hounds didn’t eat flour.

So they hadn’t caused any damage to it.

The bags of flour were coated with some sand, but it wouldn’t affect the contents inside.

The two Space Ability Users didn’t dare to delay for a moment and immediately began a frenzied collection.

The mountain of flour in the warehouse began to shrink.

And the group’s anxieties slowly began to settle.

This trip was turning out to be one of both opportunity and reward!

A few more minutes passed, and the two Space Ability Users stopped at the same time.

"My space is full!"

"My space is full, too!"

But at least a third of the flour in the warehouse still remained.

Looking at all that flour, Dominic Crawford couldn’t help but feel it was a shame.

"If I had known this would happen, I would have brought two more Space Ability Users."

But he was just saying that.

Hindsight is 20/20.

Besides, all the available Space Ability Users were already out with other teams searching for supplies.

It was already a good thing that their team was assigned two.

Jayce, however, was much more decisive, pulling his gaze away. "Alright, don’t worry about it. Worst comes to worst, we’ll just make another trip tomorrow! Let’s go!"

Everyone nodded in unison.

Just as they turned to leave, a sudden BANG echoed from a corner of the warehouse.

The sound was so unexpected that everyone jumped. They all spun toward the source of the noise, aiming their guns in that direction.

"Don’t shoot!"

"We’re human!"

"We’re employees of the flour mill!"

"Who are you?"

"What about the flour in the warehouse? Did you take it? You can’t just take our things for free! You have to take us with you!"

As a clamor of voices reached them, Sierra Sullivan and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

’As long as they’re human!’

’I was afraid it was an Aberrant Beast!’

’Otherwise, we’d have to start another big fight!’

Before Sierra Sullivan and her group could answer, they heard footsteps approaching.

As they drew closer, Sierra Sullivan could see clearly that it was a group of about forty or fifty people.

Every one of them looked disheveled. Their faces were sallow and haggard, and their eyes were bloodshot.

It was clearly the result of prolonged malnutrition and stress.