Chapter 279: Gained Nothing

Renee Strong stared in disbelief at the man before her, who had clearly lost his mind.

She frowned and retorted:

"What are you talking about? Isn’t this because you wanted to awaken a Thunder Element Superpower?

Going to City J was my idea, sure, but you were the one who made the final decision!"

She was a Healing Element Superpower User. She could have had a much better future at the base, yet she willingly accompanied Liam Grant to such a dangerous place.

And now he was blaming her for everything, making her out to be the sole culprit?

Renee Strong was so furious she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

She finally understood what Nina Jacobs from her past life had told her.

She had said that Liam Grant was unfit for any great responsibility because he couldn’t bear the consequences of his actions...

Back then, she hadn’t believed it at all. After all, Liam Grant was so exceptional.

But now, with the truth laid bare before her, a sense of irony washed over her.

"Liam, this isn’t her fault."

Simon Abbott came in and tried to mediate. "No one expected Wyatt Jacobs to do something like this. I think he might have developed serious psychological problems."

Simon Abbott’s words made Liam Grant slump to the ground, dejected.

’That’s right. I should have noticed sooner.’

Back at the shelter, he had already noticed Wyatt Jacobs’ growing fondness for killing for sport.

Once, just because of a single comment from some passersby, he had lured an entire street’s worth of zombies to them.

As a result, all of those people died.

And he had just turned a blind eye to it.

In his past life, Nina Jacobs had established strict rules for the team, forbidding anyone from endangering the lives of others.

This included plundering supplies, harassing women, and so on.

Because of this, Ivan Lawson and Wyatt Jacobs had complained to him more than once, thinking Nina Jacobs was too harsh.

Once, when Ivan Lawson broke the rules, Nina Jacobs broke one of his legs without hesitation, and he had resented her for it ever since.

This time around, after the team formed, he was the captain. He had long since decided to abolish those rules, believing his team members should be free to do as they pleased.

’So what if it’s killing people?’

But he never imagined that when Wyatt Jacobs got ruthless, he would even dare to lay a hand on his parents.

’How dare he!!!’

"I told you I didn’t want to go to City J!

If I had stayed at the base, Wyatt Jacobs would never have dared to do this!

Why wouldn’t you believe me, big brother? Why did you have to drag me along?!"

Hannah Grant had cried her fill, but she still couldn’t accept what had happened.

Originally, she had planned to stay at the base so she could still see Adrian Shaw every day.

But Liam Grant had been worried she’d run her mouth and insisted on bringing her along no matter what.

The first thing she did after returning today was go see Adrian Shaw, but he had looked at her as if she were a complete stranger.

’In the end, this is all Liam Grant’s fault.’

"Believe you? Believe the boy-crazy girl who falls in love with every guy she sees?

Believe all the stupid things you’ve done in the past?

Hannah, if you hadn’t leaked secrets for some man back then, we wouldn’t have to be doing any of this!"

He had done a lot of thinking on the road from City J. He didn’t understand why, after getting a second chance, things were even harder.

There were clearly the same number of zombies, but they were a hundred times more dangerous than in his past life.

In his past life, he’d always managed to find suitable shelters while on the run, but this time, he couldn’t find any at all.

Eventually, he figured it out. Not only was he missing a few capable people, but he was also saddled with a few deadweights.

Although Hannah Grant was a Space Superpower User, she didn’t know how to do anything and was completely useless.

Compared to the Nina Jacobs of his past life, she was a world apart.

"You’re yelling at me? You got Mom and Dad killed, and now you think you can bully me?

WAAAAH, give me back my mom..."

Hannah Grant’s crying grew even more heartbroken, and she simply ran out of the room.

Watching the siblings tear into each other, Renee Strong felt a surge of vindictive satisfaction.

Simon Abbott, on the other hand, didn’t say much, only mentioning he was going to check on her before leaving.

"Liam, I think you need to calm down.

Everyone has their own fate. You already let your parents live a few months longer, but you still couldn’t stop destiny.

It’s not your fault."

With only the two of them left in the room, Renee Strong began to speak in a soft voice.

She knew Liam Grant was a sucker for this kind of thing.

Sure enough, Liam Grant took it to heart. "You’re right. History can’t be changed. Perhaps the end was already set in stone...

Those who were meant to die in the last life will still die in this one."

Renee Strong nodded. "Perhaps our rebirth changed a few things,

but fate is impossible to resist—the fate of people, the fate of the base, and the fate of Drakonia."

"Then tell me, will *she* die in this life?"

An image of a certain person suddenly surfaced in Liam Grant’s mind.

Renee Strong immediately understood who he was talking about. She looked at Liam Grant’s face and asked, "What do you think?"

Liam Grant felt a suffocating tightness in his throat.

He found himself wanting to deny it.

He was even starting to regret his decision from the last life, his mind filled with the image of Nina Jacobs just before she died.

...

Although Nina Jacobs knew Liam Grant and his group had returned, she didn’t have the leisure to keep constant tabs on their movements.

Early the next morning, she left the base alone and headed straight for the address Icarus Golding had given her.

Her appointed meeting time with him was in the afternoon.

Arriving at the abandoned factory four hours early, she found that, as expected, no one was there yet.

There were zombies both inside and outside the abandoned factory.

To maintain the appearance that no one had been there, she took out her safe house and temporarily hid inside.

This time, the safe house was a single-story, wasteland-style dwelling. Placed in a corner of the abandoned factory, it blended in perfectly with the surroundings.

Before long, she heard the sounds of fighting against zombies nearby.

’Looks like they’re here.’

Nina Jacobs wasn’t worried about being discovered. She had already absorbed the Mystic Ice Core, so even if the other party had a Spiritual Element Superpower User, they wouldn’t be able to sense her presence.

In just a few moments, the small number of zombies inside and outside the abandoned factory were cleared out.

There seemed to be about ten people, and from the sounds of it, Icarus Golding hadn’t arrived yet.

However, the conversation these people were having caught Nina Jacobs’s attention.

"We just got out of City J, and now they want us to go find people in Keldorn. They could at least let us rest for a few days at the City D Base."

A lazy voice complained.

’Go to Keldorn?’

’These people went to City J, too?’

Nina Jacobs kept listening.

"Did you forget what the last notice said? Our group is absolutely forbidden from entering the City D Base. There’s a risk of exposure."

Another woman said sternly.

"Yeah, yeah, Big Sis, it’s not like we went, right?"

"I just don’t know if the people Icarus Golding found are reliable. The ones from City F didn’t look too promising either."

"They really weren’t that great, but didn’t he say he found two experts this time?"

"Get real. Experts wouldn’t follow us to a place like that. At best, they’ll just be given an external associate status like us..."

After a moment, a slightly deep voice spoke up:

"From now on, do not mention the word ’Keldorn’ in front of outsiders. Going to Keldorn is about seizing the initiative for the Association, and it’s also for your own good."

"Understood, Vance."

Leon Young replied quickly.

If they could help the Association establish a foothold in Keldorn, then they could shed their status as external associates, put down roots there, and become founding members.

"It’s just a shame that too many people have already gotten their hands on the supplies in City J. Still, finding some Mystic Ice Cores can be considered a meritorious achievement."

The man called Vance said.

"..."

Nina Jacobs understood instantly.

’No wonder Liam Grant and his group came back empty-handed.’

’So these people beat them to it?’