Chapter 322: Chapter 322: Observation Station

Nina Jacobs and the others knew Nathan Moreau was probably right.

After cresting a slope, they all heard the distant roar of a tiger.

The roar echoed through the valley, a sound so powerful it made their hearts tremble.

"There are several hundred Mornfell Tigers in the nature reserve, but I didn’t tell them that. I really hope the tigers tear them to pieces, one by one."

Nathan Moreau said bitterly.

"How many of them are there in total?" Nina Jacobs asked after a moment’s thought.

"Including their hired help, there are probably seventy or eighty of them now, all Superpower Users. The one named Magnus York is a very powerful Thunder Element Superpower User. She also has a Compass, and she’s actually used it to find Prayer Stones a few times."

"Is there a route they have to take?" Nina Jacobs asked.

’A route they have to take?’

Nathan Moreau didn’t understand what Nina Jacobs meant.

"A path they must take to get to the reserve," Nina Jacobs explained, "or a spot with a good view of the area."

She hadn’t held out much hope, but to her surprise, Nathan Moreau actually thought of a place.

"There’s a station, but I’m not sure what condition it’s in now, or if there are any Mawdrakes."

Nathan Moreau seemed very familiar with the station she was describing:

"Even though it’s a nature reserve, meant to be undisturbed, zoologists used to come periodically to observe the wild Mornfell Tigers. Sometimes they even helped with breeding programs."

"But they always arrived by helicopter, and the station itself is extremely well-hidden to avoid causing a disturbance."

Nathan Moreau didn’t understand why Nina Jacobs was asking these questions.

"Take us there first." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Nina Jacobs decided instantly.

"You don’t want the Prayer Stones anymore?" Nathan Moreau stopped, asking in surprise.

’Just a moment ago, they all seemed so desperate.’

’Getting to that observation station requires a much longer detour.’

"Of course we do. But there are only ten of us, aren’t there?"

The enemy had superior numbers, and there was no telling when Alistair White’s group might appear.

A head-on clash, coupled with the hordes of Mutated Animals that could appear at any moment on this mountain, would be too great a challenge for just ten people.

Besides, she didn’t know Magnus York’s true strength and didn’t dare underestimate her opponent.

Nathan Moreau smiled. "So you’re scared after all?"

"You could say that."

Nina Jacobs didn’t try to defend herself.

Nathan Moreau, however, seemed to be sulking and didn’t say another word for some time.

"Are you a Gemini?"

Adrian Shaw ventured, trying to break the silence.

"Weirdo."

Nathan Moreau quickened her pace, walking ahead.

Seeing Adrian Shaw get shot down, Shirley Lucas couldn’t help but jeer, "Are you in grade school or something? Hahaha..."

Adrian Shaw didn’t get angry. "Geminis are the most likely to be two-faced. I just wanted to test a theory. By the way, you love hoarding all that junk... don’t tell me you’re a Taurus?"

Shirley Lucas’s laughter died instantly.

Nina Jacobs glanced at Shirley Lucas, the smile frozen on her face.

’Looks like Adrian Shaw actually guessed right. Is Shirley Lucas really a Taurus?’

"Hmph! Just a coincidence. What’s there to believe about some stupid zodiac sign?"

Shirley Lucas muttered.

Walking at the head of the group, Nathan Moreau clenched her fists.

’Of course she knew her sign. Back when Stellan Gallagher was pursuing her, he had researched it, too...’

The group moved quickly. Nina Jacobs noticed that the farther forward they went, the fewer Mutated Animals they encountered.

However, that didn’t mean they could lower their guard.

’The Mutated Animals here must have been eaten by something even more powerful,’ she guessed.

’A Mutant Tiger?’

In her past life, Nina Jacobs had never encountered anything like this while clearing out the mountains around her base.

After the group scrambled over several huge boulders and steep slopes, the path ahead suddenly widened.

The tiger roars grew more frequent.

Even without Nathan Moreau saying a word, the others knew they must be getting close.

"We’re almost there. Consider yourselves lucky you didn’t run into any of those things on the way."

The moment the words left Nathan Moreau’s lips, a massive shadow fell over them.

Atop a boulder up ahead, a colossal, crouching figure appeared before them.

"Look out!"

Adrian Shaw yelled.

Nathan Moreau was frozen in place, terrified by the gaping, bloody maw looming over her.

ROAR!

An earth-shattering roar erupted, spraying the foul-smelling saliva of a predator across her face.

Just as Nathan Moreau was sure she was about to die, a figure zipped in and pulled her from the spot.

"Aren’t you a Speed Element Superpower User, too? Your reflexes are so slow."

Holden Shaw said disdainfully.

As he finished speaking, a loud THUD echoed from behind them, followed by the cry of the Mutant Tiger. Nathan Moreau whipped her head around in astonishment.

Wayne Warner had kicked the Mutant Tiger in the stomach and was now sitting on its back, pinning it so it couldn’t move.

"A Strength Element Superpower User?!"

Nathan Moreau stared in shock. The Mutant Tiger’s body was several times larger than the man, yet he was able to hold it down and keep it from getting up?!

Wayne Warner was hammering the Mutant Tiger’s head with one punch after another.

Seeing the Mutant Tiger still struggling to rise, Nina Jacobs conjured a Stone Spike and severed its throat.

"So this is a Mutant Tiger? Seems like it’s just big and not much else,"

Leo Hale commented.

"I wouldn’t say that. Without Wayne Warner, it would’ve been a tough fight for the rest of us."

Chase Gallagher thought that when it came to large Mutated Animals, Wayne Warner was practically a cheat code.

"True that. This thing’s hide is super tough."

Leo Hale patted the Mutant Tiger’s corpse, and then Nina Jacobs had Shirley Lucas store it away in her space.

"How much farther?"

Nina Jacobs asked Nathan Moreau.

Nathan Moreau finally snapped out of it. "We’re already here," she said quickly.

"We’re here? Where?"

Beckett Abbott scanned the area.

They were on high ground, true, but the surroundings were barren. He couldn’t see any kind of man-made observation station.

"It’s right behind you."

Nathan Moreau walked over to the massive boulder.

Leo Hale moved in for a closer look and finally noticed a nearly invisible seam in the rock face.

At Nathan Moreau’s signal, he manipulated it with his Gold Element Superpower and actually managed to open a door.

"It was specially designed to avoid detection by wildlife. It just looks like a big rock, no matter how you look at it, right?"

Nathan Moreau stepped inside.

She looked around with a deep sense of nostalgia.

’She used to be one of the caretakers here.’

"I used to work here," Nathan Moreau said. "When the zoologists weren’t around, I was responsible for keeping the place clean."

Nina Jacobs was the last one in, closing the door securely behind her.

Just before she did, however, she released two Little Zombie Rats outside.

Everyone looked around, curious. From the outside, it was just a rock, but the space inside was surprisingly large.

More than a dozen monitors hung on the station’s walls, but none of them could be turned on now.

Below the observation room was another floor, which appeared to be a lounge area.

It contained beds, lounge chairs, and a desk.

Nathan Moreau went back up to the observation room and opened several metal boxes mounted on the walls.

"There’s no signal, so the monitors are useless, but we have several backup long-range telescopes."

With that, she leaned in to the eyepiece of one of the telescopes.

There were over a dozen such telescopes positioned around the room, each pointing at a different angle.

Jessica Vance copied her, choosing a telescope and peering through it.

"There are people over there?"

For a second, Jessica Vance thought the telescope was broken.