Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Why Is There No Official Rescue? Are They Abandoning Us Common People?

"What do we do then?" Silvia Blackwood asked, a hint of panic in her voice.

Silvia Blackwood was one of the two Space Ability Users.

A woman of just twenty-two, she had recently graduated from college.

At that age, just one month ago, she would have been in the prime of her life with endless possibilities before her. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

But now, she could only scramble to survive.

The world outside the base was incredibly dangerous, yet as a Space Ability User, she had no choice but to follow the base’s orders and go out on missions.

It was not only her responsibility but also a choice she was forced to make.

But she was young, after all, and hadn’t experienced much of the world.

So much had happened that day, and she was already exhausted. It was only natural for her to feel anxious when faced with such a sudden, unexpected situation.

Jayce didn’t look at Silvia Blackwood. Instead, his gaze was on Sierra Sullivan as he continued to explain his thoughts.

"Right now, we have two options. One, we keep pushing forward, no matter how long it takes, and we get back to the base. Two, we don’t return to the base tonight. We find a place to stay, and we’ll reassess the situation and decide what to do tomorrow at dawn."

Before anyone could say anything, Jayce paused for a moment and then continued.

"We have supplies, food, and water, and we have the Combat Power. As long as we find a suitable place to hole up, getting through the night safely shouldn’t be a problem.

Of course, I’m not saying you all have to listen to me. The final choice depends on what everyone wants to do."

As he spoke, the walkie-talkie in his hand was on.

Therefore, it wasn’t just the people in their vehicle who could hear him; everyone in the other vehicles could hear him too.

"I’ll give you all three minutes to think it over, then we’ll vote."

After all, this was a decision that concerned everyone’s lives, and he didn’t want to be a dictator.

Jayce had barely finished speaking when Dominic Crawford cut in, "I don’t need three minutes. I choose option two. The situation is too dangerous right now. The sandstorm is obviously getting worse, and the vehicles are swaying more violently than before. If we keep driving, I’m afraid we’ll lose our way or get flipped by the wind. At that point, we’ll be completely at its mercy."

Sierra Sullivan strongly agreed with Dominic Crawford. "I’m with Captain Crawford on this. We should find a building to take shelter in and head back tomorrow. With so many of us, plus weapons and Superpower Users, spending a night outside shouldn’t be too big of a problem."

Silvia Blackwood glanced at Dominic Crawford, then at Sierra Sullivan. Without much hesitation, she said, "I agree! I choose option two, too!"

As the three of them made their positions clear, the others quickly voiced their own choices.

Everyone chose option two.

Jayce, of course, was no exception.

Sierra Sullivan’s choice was his choice.

The vehicles immediately turned around and headed toward a nearby building.

Sierra Sullivan was glad that everyone’s choice was unanimous.

’No disagreements means no internal conflict, which greatly reduces the danger.’

’Things are already dangerous enough. If we had internal strife on top of it, we’d be caught between a rock and a hard place.’

’This is much better!’

’The team members are all so smart and wonderful!’

About ten minutes later, the vehicles pulled up outside a shopping mall.

Everyone got out of the vehicles and ran quickly toward the main entrance.

The mall’s glass doors had been destroyed long ago, so they ran straight inside.

Because the glass doors and windows were all broken, the sand and dust still swirled around, even indoors.

The group didn’t stop, heading directly for the upper floors.

The shops upstairs had their own separate glass doors.

If they found a shop and closed its doors, they could block out the sandstorm!

The sky hadn’t completely darkened yet, but the mall’s interior lighting was poor to begin with. As the light outside faded, the inside of the mall grew black.

Fortunately, they had flashlights, so it wasn’t a major issue.

But just as they reached the foot of the stairs, before they could start climbing, several figures appeared at the top.

"Who’s there?!"

"Who are you?"

"What do you want!?"

Sierra Sullivan looked up, but she could only vaguely make out the silhouettes of a few people.

Dominic Crawford stepped forward. "We’re from the base. The sandstorm got worse, so we couldn’t make it back. We came here to take shelter."

"From the base?"

"You’re with the authorities?"

"Are you here to rescue us?"

"Why haven’t the rescue teams from the base arrived yet?"

The barrage of questions left Dominic Crawford momentarily unsure of which one to answer first.

"Alright!" a calm, powerful male voice called out. "Don’t just crowd the stairway. Let them come up first, then we can talk properly."

Because of what had happened with Winston Lowell, Sierra Sullivan had a natural aversion to men who took charge like this.

However, she also knew this was her own prejudice, and she shouldn’t be thinking this way.

"Be careful when we go up," Jayce whispered, squeezing Sierra Sullivan’s hand tightly.

As the group walked up the stairs, they saw numerous people, some sitting and some standing, inside several shops behind glass doors and windows.

They had probably all heard the commotion, as every one of them was now looking over.

A quick scan revealed that the group was made up of men and women, young and old.

Seeing this, Sierra Sullivan breathed a sigh of relief.

’Men, women, young, and old... At least this is different from the situation at the flour mill!’

"Hello, my name is Bruce Rhodes. We all live near this mall. After the apocalypse began, we ran out of supplies at home, so we came here together and have been living in the mall ever since."

The speaker was the same man with the calm, steady voice from before.

Dominic Crawford nodded. "That’s quite impressive. Didn’t you run into any Aberrant Beasts on your way here?"

"We did!" Bruce Rhodes’s voice grew heavy. "We lost a lot of people. Fortunately, we have a few Superpower Users among us. Otherwise, we never would have made it here, let alone stayed."

"Are you a Superpower User, too?" Dominic Crawford continued to ask.

"Yes. I have a Fire Ability," Bruce Rhodes replied with a nod. "Are there a lot of Superpower Users at the base? Why hasn’t there been an official rescue? Have they just abandoned us common folk to die?"

"Of course not!" Dominic Crawford immediately refuted. "It’s just the current situation, as everyone can see. Even if the base has the will, it lacks the ability. Rescue missions are ongoing, but there’s a limit to how many places they can go and how many people they can save each day..."

Dominic Crawford looked at Bruce Rhodes, holding back some of his thoughts.

Just by looking at the expressions on Bruce Rhodes and his people, he could tell they were living reasonably well here.

They weren’t sallow-faced and emaciated, which meant their supplies were still plentiful.

Having Superpower Users guaranteed their safety.

Life here wasn’t necessarily any worse than at the base.

It might even be better.

But this was ultimately not a long-term solution.

No one knew when an Aberrant Beast might appear, and a few Superpower Users and an unprotected mall couldn’t defend so many people.

"If you trust me, when we get back to the base tomorrow, I’ll report this to the leaders and ask them to send a rescue team here first," Dominic Crawford said.