Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Leave Rescuers Behind as Hostages? What a Joke

Sierra Sullivan was staring at them when a man stepped to the front of the crowd.

"I’m the director of this flour mill. My name is Winston Lowell."

The man was in his forties, and his refined manner of speaking fit Sierra Sullivan’s stereotype of a successful man his age.

Winston Lowell’s eyes swept over Sierra Sullivan and her team. "Who’s in charge here?"

Sierra Sullivan didn’t say a word.

Jayce remained silent as well.

Seeing that neither of them was speaking, Dominic Crawford had no choice but to step forward. "If you have something to say, you can start with me."

Winston Lowell looked Dominic Crawford up and down, his chin held high. "I just told you, I’m the director of this flour mill. You’ve taken so much flour from my factory. Don’t you think that’s inappropriate? Where are you from? Are you with the government? Is this an official requisition of supplies? If so, what’s the deal? What kind of compensation will I be getting?"

A true businessman, indeed.

The moment he opened his mouth, the questions came one after another.

Before the apocalypse, there was actually nothing wrong with the questions he asked.

But he seemed to have forgotten that this was the apocalypse now.

The old ways no longer applied.

Although Winston Lowell had asked a slew of questions, he clearly had no intention of getting any answers from Dominic Crawford.

Before Dominic Crawford could even speak, Winston Lowell had already started talking again.

"Judging by your looks, you’re probably just a squad leader. You can’t make any real decisions or give me any answers. Don’t bother saying anything. Just take me back with you. I want to see your leader."

Dominic Crawford was speechless.

Dominic Crawford took a deep breath and finally found his voice.

"Lowell, when we find survivors, we are supposed to take them back to the base. However, that isn’t our mission today, so we probably can’t take you back.

But rest assured, the Aberrant Beasts have been driven away. If you hide in the basement, you should be safe. We’ll come back as soon as possible tomorrow to bring you all back to the base!

If you’re out of supplies, we can leave you some water and canned food. That will definitely be enough to last until we get back tomorrow!"

Dominic Crawford felt he had explained himself clearly and been very considerate.

The few vehicles they had driven here couldn’t fit more than a few extra people, even if they squeezed.

Lowell’s group numbered in the dozens; there was no way to take them all.

Who would they take?

Who would they leave behind?

Everyone would surely have a problem with it.

It was better to have them all stay behind for now. They could come back tomorrow with survivor rescue vehicles and a few more Space Ability Users, then bring back all the supplies and survivors at once!

Dominic Crawford’s plan was sound, but Winston Lowell and his group wouldn’t hear of it.

Winston Lowell’s expression darkened. "Are you saying you’re going to leave us here and just take off?"

"I’ve already made myself clear. It’s only temporary. We’ll be back tomorrow—"

"No!"

Winston Lowell cut Dominic Crawford off directly.

"That’s easy for you to say! ’We’ll be back tomorrow.’ What if you don’t come back? What do we do then? The Aberrant Beasts are gone for now, but what if they suddenly return? What if other, more powerful Aberrant Beasts show up? You’ve gotten what you came for, and now you want to just up and leave? Things don’t work that way! Absolutely not!"

With Winston Lowell leading the charge, the others began to clamor as well.

"Yeah!"

"Our director is right!"

"You can’t just leave!"

"If you’re not taking us, you can’t take the flour either! Hand over the flour!"

Winston Lowell’s eyes grew grim. "If you really want to save us, why must you wait until tomorrow?"

Dominic Crawford felt a sense of helplessness but patiently explained, "It’s not that I insist on waiting until tomorrow. We’re on a supply run. We only have a few vehicles, and we can’t fit many more people. Even if we wanted to take you, we don’t have the means."

"So, according to you, you really do want to save us?" Winston Lowell asked in a low voice.

Dominic Crawford nodded. "Of course!"

These were all survivors. As a fellow human, he naturally wanted to help them.

"In that case, I’ll believe what you say!" Winston Lowell said.

Hearing Winston Lowell say this so suddenly, Dominic Crawford was a little surprised, but more than that, he was happy.

’It’s good that he believes me!’

’That settles it, then!’

"But—" Winston Lowell suddenly spoke again. "You have to give us some kind of guarantee!"

Dominic Crawford subconsciously frowned. "A guarantee? What do you mean?"

Winston Lowell smiled, but it was a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "You leave with the supplies. If you really don’t come back for us tomorrow, what can we do? To ensure you keep your promise and return to save us, you must leave a few people behind!"

Winston Lowell’s gaze fell on Sierra Sullivan and the two other young women.

"Just leave the three of them—the women. The Aberrant Beasts have been driven away, and the basement is perfectly safe. Let them stay here and wait for you to come back and rescue us tomorrow. How about it?"

When he heard this, Dominic Crawford’s brow twitched violently.

He didn’t even bother to answer Winston Lowell, instinctively looking toward Jayce.

He had seen with his own eyes how much Jayce cared about Sierra Sullivan.

’For Lowell to dare suggest leaving Sierra Sullivan behind... Jayce is definitely going to be furious, isn’t he?’

Jayce was staring at Winston Lowell, his expression gradually turning savage. "Are you asking us to leave people behind as hostages?"

Startled by Jayce’s voice, Winston Lowell instinctively looked toward him.

Although layers of protective gear prevented Winston Lowell from seeing Jayce’s face, he could tell from his voice that he was young, probably not very old.

"I’m talking to your captain!" Winston Lowell said sternly. "This is not your place to interrupt!"

"Heh!" Jayce sneered. "Who said he’s the leader?" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Winston Lowell’s heart skipped a beat, and a hint of panic crept in. "What do you mean? He’s not the leader?"

Sierra Sullivan pointed to herself and Jayce. "The two of us are the leaders."

"..."

Winston Lowell swallowed hard.

’I got it wrong?!’

’But can they blame me?’

’If these two were the leaders, why did they let that big guy do all the talking?’

’If they hadn’t stayed silent, would I have made that mistake?’

Ever the businessman, Winston Lowell, despite a moment of panic, quickly composed himself.

"Since you’re the leader, then never mind about you. Just have the other two stay behind—"

"Stay behind?" Sierra Sullivan cut him off. "No, you misunderstand. No one is staying behind!"

’Survivors waiting to be rescued, demanding their rescuers stay behind as hostages? What kind of joke is that?’

’I’ve never heard of such a thing!’

Rejected so bluntly by Sierra Sullivan, Winston Lowell’s face began to twitch. "So, you’re dead set on leaving? Did you ever even intend to come back? Otherwise, why won’t you agree to leave two people behind?"