After I Fully Prepared for the Apocalypse, the Ungrateful Cried with Regret-Chapter 80: Returning Again

The people in the other vehicle got out, raised their weapons, and unhesitatingly struck at the zombies.

Seeing this, Nina Jacobs couldn’t help but crack a smile.

She was much more willing to save those who tried to save themselves than those who simply waited to die.

Fortunately, the open farmland didn’t attract any more zombies.

With their combined efforts, the several dozen zombies were wiped out.

[Host’s actions will result in saving 14 humans in 0 days. Title "Selfless Savior" triggered. Reward: 14 bottles of "Healing Potion".]

However, one person was unfortunately scratched by a zombie.

"It’s alright. At least I lived long enough to see you all get free.

Once you reach the shelter, you have to live on for me, too,"

the middle-aged man said with a smile, sitting on the ground.

The others around him immediately broke down in tears.

"Thank you. Even if I die,

I’ll die with hope."

The middle-aged man looked at Nina Jacobs and Wayne Warner, but Nina just stared at his wound, her brow furrowed.

"That wound... I don’t think you’ll die from it."

"What did you say?"

Robert Abbott and the others looked at Nina Jacobs, their faces lit with surprise.

How could she be so sure?

"Let’s wait and see. I’m not sure either,

but he hasn’t started to turn yet, so it’s just a guess."

In truth, Nina Jacobs wasn’t sure.

But the system had just announced she’d saved fourteen people.

Counting the middle-aged man, there were exactly fourteen people present. Besides, his wound was only slightly red and didn’t seem to be changing color.

That’s why she’d made that assumption.

"I... I’m really going to be okay?"

The middle-aged man looked at his wound, his eyes filled with delighted surprise.

Nina Jacobs took some water and food out of the trunk.

The Healing Potions diluted in the water amounted to less than two bottles’ worth, and these people had already earned her that back.

"Get your strength back. It’s worth a shot."

Nina Jacobs prepared to leave.

She’d already dug out the Crystal Cores. It was time to go.

"Thank you so much. You saved us.

We’re looking for the shelter. Are you from there, by any chance?"

Winnie Langdon saw Nina Jacobs taking the glass-like cores from the zombies’ heads, so she quickly had Robert Abbott fetch a bag from their car.

"Oh, right. These are what we’ve collected over the past few days.

We don’t know what they’re for, but you can have them,"

Robert Abbott said.

They had just been curious about the things falling out of the zombies’ heads, so they’d started collecting them.

’The girl who saved us seems to really need these.’

Seeing the Crystal Cores in the bag, Nina Jacobs was slightly surprised by the group’s capabilities.

It seemed they had just been exhausted, not simply running for their lives.

So, after accepting the Crystal Cores, she turned, went back to her car, and took out a hand-drawn map.

"I’m not heading to the shelter, but I can show you the way."

"Really?!"

Charles Rowan and the others were instantly thrilled.

They hadn’t even been sure a shelter really existed.

They had only heard the word "shelter" crackle intermittently from the radio of their company’s old janitor.

"Yeah. Right now, the safest place is the shelter.

When you get to the fork in the road ahead, remember to detour around here..."

Nina Jacobs was sketching out the route planned by her system.

Given their capabilities, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to reach it as long as they followed these roads.

"I’m Winnie Langdon. I hope we can meet again someday."

Winnie Langdon said, looking at the sharp, decisive girl before her.

The others also introduced themselves to Nina Jacobs, watching until her car disappeared from view.

[Host’s daily quest for today is complete. Experience reward has been issued.]

[Host has triggered the "Heart of Gratitude" title. Bonus Reward: Wood Element Skill Book!]

’Heart of Gratitude?’

It was the first time Nina Jacobs had ever seen that title.

’Was it because Winnie Langdon and her group thanked me?’

But this wasn’t the first time she’d saved people in person, and it had never been triggered before.

["Heart of Gratitude" has no specific trigger conditions. The host accepting an item of gratitude is a mandatory condition.]

The system’s explanation made everything click for Nina Jacobs.

She had just accepted their Crystal Cores.

The Crystal Cores were the "item of gratitude"—their token of thanks.

’There might be other conditions, too,

but the item is the mandatory one.’

"No wonder."

She’d saved people many times without even showing her face, let alone accepting any items of gratitude.

They drove all the way until just after four in the afternoon.

She arrived two hours earlier than expected.

Nina Jacobs was surprised to find there weren’t many zombies in the alley. It was probably because they had cleared the area before leaving last time.

That, and the fact that Leo Hale had used scrap metal to block both entrances.

Nina Jacobs ran over seven or eight zombies directly.

Feeling that half of her Superpower had recovered, she decided to use the rest of it on the remaining zombies.

’Still too slow.’

Finishing off the rest of the zombies took her half an hour.

Just then, Nina Jacobs realized that Wayne Warner hadn’t gotten out of the car to follow her.

At some point, Wayne Warner had fallen asleep in the back seat.

He still hadn’t woken up by the time she pulled the car into the old house’s courtyard.

Wayne Warner still hadn’t woken up.

’Don’t tell me he’s turning?’

Nina Jacobs jumped. She checked for his breathing, and only after feeling its steady rhythm did she let out a sigh of relief.

’He must have been exhausted.’

Not wanting to disturb Wayne Warner, Nina Jacobs turned on the car’s AC and closed the door.

She needed to get out the essential supplies for the next few days.

After she had washed up and gotten everything organized, Nina Jacobs noticed Wayne Warner still hadn’t woken up.

That’s when she realized something wasn’t right.

Wayne Warner was a big man, and it took a lot of effort for Nina Jacobs to shake him awake. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

After waking up, Wayne Warner looked at Nina Jacobs and said a single word: "Hungry."

"..."

’So he fainted from hunger?’

"I’m so sorry, I completely forgot."

Nina Jacobs was deeply ashamed.

Early that morning, when she was taken away by Dawn Donovan’s people, Wayne Warner had still been eating breakfast.

He had put down his breakfast to follow her.

She had been in such a hurry that she hadn’t stopped to eat. On top of that, he had fought alongside her against zombies time and time again.

Strength Element Superpower Users burn through a lot of stamina.

It was no wonder Wayne Warner had fainted from hunger.

To make it up to Wayne Warner, Nina Jacobs took a table’s worth of food out of her system inventory.

There was roast chicken, braised meat, and more.

"Eat as much as you can. If it’s not enough, there’s more in the fridge."

Only then did Nina Jacobs call Wayne Warner inside.

She’d been a little worried that Wayne Warner would question where the food came from, so she had mostly prepared items in vacuum-sealed packages.

But Wayne Warner didn’t show any sign of suspicion. As soon as he heard her, he started wolfing down the food.

This was the first time she had witnessed the true extent of Wayne Warner’s appetite.

The main staple Nina Jacobs brought out was rice, pre-portioned into rectangular glass containers before the apocalypse.

She took out six full containers of it.

Since she was hungry too, she ate most of one container.

Wayne Warner ate all the rest, not even hesitating to finish off the rice left in her container.

The roast chicken, braised meats, and another six or seven plates of meatballs, potato chunks, and pickled vegetables on the table were also eaten, leaving not a single scrap behind.

"Are you full?"

Nina Jacobs asked.

It suddenly occurred to her that she might be the only one who could afford to keep Wayne Warner fed.