Chapter 95: News from City J

’The City J shelter was attacked by zombies this early?’

In her previous life, Nina Jacobs hadn’t paid much attention to news from City J.

But she had heard that the neighboring City J base eventually fell and became a city of zombies.

City J had become a barren wasteland.

A major reason City D was able to hold out was the presence of a military garrison.

These people were truly farsighted to have escaped to City D.

"Actually, there were originally more than thirty of us, but now only the four of us are left."

Evan Crawford sighed.

They knew the City D shelter was on the edge of the Western Suburbs, not too far from City J, which was why they decided to head for it.

Moreover, most of the people traveling with them had been Superpower Users.

They just hadn’t expected so many things to happen on the road. People from their group died every day.

Most of the survivors they met on the way were guarded and could barely look after themselves, let alone help others.

Only Nina Jacobs.

She was the first person to offer them help.

’Maybe today marks the end of this escape.’

"Based on the remaining distance, we probably won’t make it today,"

Nina Jacobs said.

She hadn’t planned on reaching the shelter in one day anyway.

The 0-Yuan Purchase Mission 14 had already made her take quite a few detours.

"It’s okay. With Gabriel Leighton here, we should be able to find a relatively safe place."

Although Joy Thompson was disappointed, she still tried to stay positive.

"Is he a Spiritual Element Superpower User?"

Nina Jacobs asked.

"A Spiritual Element Superpower User?"

the four of them asked in unison.

Even Gabriel Leighton himself didn’t know.

"I’ve just heard that this kind of Superpower allows one to perceive their surroundings and sense danger in advance,"

Nina Jacobs explained.

"No wonder. He always said he was a jinx. I was thinking, how could anyone be such a consistently accurate jinx? So, it turns out you’re a Superpower User, Leighton!"

Evan Crawford was grateful for Gabriel Leighton’s "jinx."

It had saved them many times.

"I’m... a Superpower User?"

Gabriel Leighton froze.

After a long moment, he suddenly burst into tears.

Back in City J, many people had thought he was crazy.

Some even called him a harbinger of doom.

He had even started to believe there was something wrong with his mind.

He had actually sensed the zombies before they appeared around the relief shelter back then.

But he hadn’t said anything.

Because even if he had, no one would have believed him...

"So, is this kind of Superpower rare?"

Evan Crawford asked.

"It should be. I heard before that once you awaken this Superpower, you receive official protection."

Nina Jacobs’s words made the others happy for Gabriel Leighton.

’This is practically a golden ticket to survival!’

’If those people who mocked Gabriel Leighton before knew about this, they’d probably die of envy.’

’Then again, most of them are probably already dead...’

As evening approached, the group arrived at an auto repair shop.

"Gabriel Leighton says this place is safe, so it’s safe. You don’t have to worry, miss."

Evan Crawford’s way of addressing Nina Jacobs was gradually becoming more familiar.

"Yes, this place is good."

Although the walls and the yard gate were dilapidated from acid rain corrosion, the inside of the auto repair shop was relatively clean.

Nina Jacobs also thought it would be fine to stay for one night.

But...

She looked at Gabriel Leighton and saw that he had already noticed something.

’As I expected, he’s noticed it too.’

"There are people over there,"

Gabriel Leighton said, pointing to the various vehicles parked in the auto shop’s yard.

Ever since Nina Jacobs told him he was a Superpower User, he had become much more confident in his judgments.

He could sense that there were still people in those cars.

"For real, Leighton? How could there be people there?"

Evan Crawford and the others immediately became vigilant.

"Let’s go see for ourselves."

Nina Jacobs was curious too. She had only noticed that area after hearing a strange noise.

Perhaps realizing he had been discovered, a middle-aged man with glasses emerged cautiously, clutching a backpack in his arms.

"Hello, I just got here myself to hide from the zombies."

After the man with glasses spoke, Evan Crawford and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

"You should have come out sooner! You gave us a scare."

"You scared me too! I thought you were zombies..."

the man with glasses explained.

"Just a false alarm, wasn’t it? Since we’re all here to hide, let’s stick together."

Evan Crawford wasn’t too worried.

The man looked quite scholarly; he probably wasn’t dangerous.

Nina Jacobs glanced at the backpack the man never stopped hugging to his chest. A flicker of doubt crossed her mind, but she ultimately said nothing.

The four of them were very cautious.

Joy Thompson’s boyfriend, Simon Coleman, was also a Gold Element Superpower User.

Upon entering the auto repair shop, he immediately used his Superpower to seal the metal yard gate shut.

Inside the auto shop, there was a small two-story building.

The ground floor was the repair area, and the upper floor was a break room.

They decided to spend the night on the second floor.

After closing all the doors and windows, Joy Thompson took a roll of sealing tape from her space and sealed all the cracks around the downstairs doors and windows shut.

"This way, our scent won’t leak out, which should attract fewer zombies."

Seeing Nina Jacobs watch her do all this with interest, Joy Thompson couldn’t help but blush a little.

Nina Jacobs was beginning to understand why Joy Thompson, despite only being a Space Superpower User, had managed to survive until the end.

She and her boyfriend were both extremely cautious and meticulous.

’Caution is the parent of safety.’

People like that usually survived the longest in the apocalypse.

With the arrival of the man with glasses, the group couldn’t help but probe for details about him.

"I’m from the city’s scientific research institute. Before the virus outbreak, I was studying the acid rain situation with a few colleagues. I never expected something even more terrifying than the acid rain—the zombie virus—to appear."

The man with glasses was probably telling the truth, as he was carrying his work ID with him.

"The rescue teams should have already searched the research institute. Are you sure you were there?"

Nina Jacobs asked.

’His expression looks like he’s deliberately trying to hide something.’

"Yes... My colleagues... they got me out. It’s just that they all died later."

Even while explaining, the man kept clutching the backpack in his arms.

His words, however, resonated with Evan Crawford and his group.

"It’s a blessing just to be alive. Once we get to the shelter, we should be safe,"

Evan Crawford said with a sigh.

"I still have some food I found on the road. Nina Jacobs, this is for you, and for Wayne Warner."

Joy Thompson took out several cups of instant noodles and handed them out.

She also had tools like a portable cassette stove for boiling water in her space.

"Thanks. You’ve got a pretty complete set of tools."

Nina Jacobs had wanted to refuse.

But seeing that Wayne Warner seemed very interested in the instant noodles, she accepted with a word of thanks.

[Host has triggered the "Heart of Gratitude" title. Bonus reward: 200 System EXP!]

’This works too?’

Nina Jacobs had forgotten that accepting things from others could trigger a system title.

Two hundred system experience points was, frankly, quite a lot.

"You have to eat well on the road, otherwise where would you get the energy to kill zombies?"

Joy Thompson said with a smile.

The aroma of instant noodles soon filled the entire room.

Joy Thompson also took out some ham sausages and spicy strips.

Seeing how fast Wayne Warner was eating, she generously gave him a large multipack of five instant noodle packets.

Simon Coleman and the other two said nothing, merely marveling at Wayne Warner’s appetite.

"I’m full. Thank you. I-I’m going to go rest now."

The man with glasses stood up, thanked the group, and went into the next room, still clutching his backpack.

"Are all researchers this secretive?"

Evan Crawford said.

"I guess so,"

Gabriel Leighton said, wiping his mouth.

Nina Jacobs noticed that Gabriel Leighton didn’t seem to be sensing anything.

’Was I just overthinking things earlier?’