"Is that so?"

Nina Jacobs understood.

He’d confessed everything he was going to, so there was no longer a need for forceful methods.

But Hugo Crawford could still be hiding something. And with Melody Barron dead, it was possible that there were some supply caches only she had known about.

However, since she’d already accepted Zero-Cost Looting Mission 43, she decided to collect the supplies there first before anything else.

Unsure of what might happen, Nina Jacobs set out alone early the next morning.

If she had enough time, she would rendezvous with Wayne Warner and the others afterward.

[Apocalypse Survival Mission Initiated: Zero-Cost Looting Mission 43]

[Mission Objective: In one day, the supplies on the third basement level of Zenith Plaza will be destroyed by fire. To prevent this waste, clear out 90% of the supplies in the garage.]

[Mission Reward: 1 System Storage Slot, +150 Experience Points.]

[Mission Difficulty: ★★★★★]

She had accepted the mission last night, which meant the one-day deadline was today.

Nina had a feeling that this mission wouldn’t go smoothly, but she never expected to find a group of people already surrounding Zenith Plaza when she arrived.

The supplies inside Zenith Plaza had been completely cleared out by the City D rescue team back during the shelter era.

’Why would there be people here now?’

’Could it be the disbanded Crawford Army?’

Uncertain, Nina used her Speed Element Superpower to slip into the second floor of the mall through another entrance.

The mall was devoid of zombies.

Looking out from a broken glass window on the second floor, she saw that several vehicles had surrounded the entrance to the underground garage.

The garage entrance itself was blocked by a thick plastic sheet and a metal roll-up door.

’Not people from City D?’

Nina noticed that the license plates on the parked cars weren’t from City D.

Of course, license plates didn’t prove anything.

A few Little Zombie Rats scurried into the mall’s ventilation ducts.

A moment later, Nina began to receive information from the rats.

Their vision was blurry, but she could still make out what was happening below.

A large group of people was in the first-level basement garage, killing zombies.

Those zombies must have been deliberately locked on the first basement level to drive off intruders and prevent anyone from discovering the supply garage deeper down.

’Who on earth are these people?’

There were at least 200 of them, and they worked with decent coordination while killing the zombies, even using silenced firearms.

They had clearly come prepared.

"...Pick up the pace, before someone finds us."

Nina heard an unfamiliar man’s voice.

Through the rat’s blurry vision, she could see several people behind him.

"So what if we’re discovered? We’re the ones clearing out the zombies. Are you saying we should just hand the supplies over to someone else?"

That voice was strangely familiar. Nina felt like she’d heard it somewhere before.

"Irene, this is City D.

Getting discovered wouldn’t be good. But if there really are supplies here, we’ll have hit the jackpot."

After speaking, the man pulled the trigger several more times in quick succession.

Several zombies collapsed.

"Kael, your marksmanship is getting more and more incredible!

You killed so many zombies just like that, even without a Superpower."

Irene Palmer praised from the sidelines as screams erupted from up ahead.

’Kael Dolan, Irene Palmer?’

’So it’s them.’

Nina understood now.

The voice had sounded familiar because she had met Irene Palmer from City F when they were collecting solar panels.

She just hadn’t expected Kael Dolan to be here as well.

’What are they doing in City D?’

’Is it just to collect the supplies here?’

But it looked like the rumors from her past life were true: Kael Dolan, the leader of Falken Base, didn’t have a Superpower.

In her past life, she’d heard rumors that Kael Dolan, having no Superpower, had focused on mastering firearms instead. He was a firm believer that conventional weapons were supreme and had even scoured the country to amass them.

Some called him The Gunslinger, able to kill a hundred zombies in a minute.

Others called him The Fiend, the epitome of the ’better you than me’ philosophy.

"Irene is a Dual Element Superpower User. Naturally, I have to work that much harder to keep up with you."

Kael Dolan, a pistol in each hand, fired several more shots.

A line of Gold Element Superpower Users stood before him, solely responsible for his defense.

’He uses Superpower Users as shields while he takes all the kills for himself?’

Nina was amused.

She had no intention of leaving, though. Not even when it seemed they had the first basement level under control.

’To get to the third basement level, I’ll have to pass through the second, and I have no idea what’s down there.’

She sent a Little Zombie Rat down to the second basement level.

Strangely, the vast second basement level was completely empty. Not a single zombie.

’The first level was crawling with zombies. Why is the second one completely empty?’

Nina had originally planned to find a direct route to the third basement level, but now she decided to wait and observe.

Down on the first basement level, the slaughter continued.

Fortunately, while the zombies were numerous, there weren’t many Mutated Zombies among them.

After a little over an hour, the zombies on the first basement level were finally cleared out.

"Kael, how many supplies do you think are here?

Will my storage space be able to hold it all?"

Irene Palmer cheered. She started to walk to the front of the group, but Kael Dolan pulled her back.

"Let them go first."

Kael Dolan said in a low voice.

"Okay, Kael. I almost forgot how cautious you are."

Irene wasn’t actually that worried. They’d been fighting on the first basement level for so long without anything coming up from the second.

Seeing the completely empty second basement level, Lucas Abbott and the others at the front of the group breathed a sigh of relief.

Dust-covered vehicles were parked on either side of the second basement level, but they also appeared to be empty of zombies.

The path downward was a gently sloping ramp that curved out of sight. Another metal roll-up door blocked the way.

Kael Dolan was extremely cautious.

He had everyone fall silent. After a moment, hearing no movement from behind the door, he finally relaxed.

"Straight to the third basement. The informant said the supplies are all on the bottom level."

Kael Dolan commanded from the rear.

"Yes, Base Leader."

An Earth Element Superpower User, holding a Stone Shield, cautiously took the lead.

"You Gold Element users, get over here and help me open this door."

Lucas Abbott said immediately.

He had volunteered to lead the charge on this mission specifically to impress Kael Dolan.

If they successfully recovered the supplies, the position of Personal Guard Captain at Falken Base would surely be his.

Under the control of the Gold Element Superpower, a seam was quickly torn down the middle of the metal roll-up door.

The gap widened, revealing the pitch-black level below.

Just then, a faint CLICK echoed from behind the door.

But no one noticed.

Just as the men at the front leaned in to get a better look, streaks of cold light suddenly shot out toward the group.

"AHH!!"

A scream rang out instantly. Lucas Abbott stared in shock at the sharp arrow protruding from his chest.

"A... trap."

He spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed in a growing pool of it.

Seeing the entire front line of Superpower Users fall in an instant, the others scrambled backward.

A volley of blades, like a rain of arrows, continued to fire. Kael Dolan grabbed Irene and prepared to make a break for it.

"What about the supplies?"

Irene asked, her face a mask of anguish.