Chapter 529: Reunion

"Assurances?"

Adrian Paige turned his head to look at Myra Lawson.

Myra Lawson nodded. "She isn’t just driven by profit. She just doesn’t want to work for nothing. I think it might have something to do with her past experiences.

As for what she wants, it could be a guarantee, or it could be Crystal Cores, supplies, or... status, something like that?"

Whatever Nina Jacobs wanted, she could afford to give.

In her opinion, what Nina Jacobs had done already far exceeded the value of anything she might ask for.

"Then that makes things simple."

With that, Adrian Paige walked toward Nina Jacobs, who had already come down.

’What makes things simple?’

Myra Lawson suspected Adrian Paige hadn’t understood a word she’d said, so she hurried after him.

Nina Jacobs looked quizzically at Adrian Paige, who was now blocking her path.

"What is it?" she asked.

"There are three more river channels like this one. I’ll give you Crystal Cores. Starting tomorrow, you’ll work for me."

As soon as Adrian Paige finished speaking, Myra Lawson, who had followed him, looked utterly exasperated.

She had heard rumors before that Adrian Paige had trouble understanding social nuances, and now she was seeing it firsthand.

Sure enough, Nina Jacobs answered without hesitation, "No."

Seeing that Adrian Paige was about to ask something else, Heath Chandler quickly cut him off.

"Nina just got back from training out in the field, and her family is waiting for her at the base. We can talk about this later."

Myra Lawson also chimed in, "Nina, I’ll have someone escort you and your friends back to the base first."

"Okay."

Nina Jacobs nodded in agreement. She really was tired.

Three consecutive days of intense exertion had made her long for rest like never before.

Wayne Warner and Ethan Young were also completely exhausted.

Nina Jacobs decided to take Nia and Ethan Young back to the base first and have them stay with the Stella team for the time being.

Meanwhile, although Vera Coleman was watching her twin daughters, her thoughts had long since drifted far away.

Her daughter, Nina Jacobs, knew about the current situation in City D Base, but she didn’t seem to have any plans to seek temporary refuge at another base.

Several days had passed. Nina would message her on time every evening, but she still couldn’t help but worry.

The sound of the door opening came from outside, and she could already hear Daniel Hale’s hearty laughter.

She hadn’t heard him laugh like that in a long time.

’Could it be good news?’

Vera Coleman walked out the door and froze on the spot.

"Mom, I’m back," Nina Jacobs said.

She had expected Vera Coleman to scold her, but after a moment of surprise, Vera’s face broke into a wide smile, her eyes glistening with moisture as she said,

"As long as you’re back, that’s all that matters. It’s too cold outside. Hurry and come in."

"Mm."

After returning home, Nina Jacobs found the room toasty warm. Although it was still cold enough to need a winter coat, it was a warm haven compared to the outside.

She immediately spotted two tiny figures sitting on the soft couch in the middle of the living room.

"They can sit up on their own now?"

Nina Jacobs said in surprise. When she left, Sabrina Hale and Leontine Hale had just turned one month old, but back then, all they did was sleep and drink milk.

She never expected that after more than three months, they would have already learned to sit up.

The two soft little bundles propped up their upper bodies with their chubby, segmented arms, their small torsos leaning slightly forward.

Two identical, pink, round little faces were tilted up, their black-grape-like eyes staring curiously at the newcomer.

"Da-da!"

"Da-da-da!"

Leontine Hale waved her chubby arms and babbled, her body tipping to the side now that she had lost the support of her arm. In the next second, Nina Jacobs had already caught her steadily.

GIGGLE GIGGLE GIGGLE...

Beside her, Sabrina Hale let out a giggle and then, like a roly-poly toy, toppled onto Nina Jacobs’s other hand.

"This..."

Nina Jacobs, with one round little head in each hand, was suddenly at a loss.

’Her two little sisters were still so small.’

"It’s fine. They only just learned to sit up in the last few days. They fall over a hundred times a day."

Vera Coleman gently pulled Nina Jacobs’s hands away. Once the twins were lying down, they each started pulling at the little white socks on their feet.

The couch was covered with soft cushions, so the twins wouldn’t get hurt even if they fell.

Vera Coleman saw that Nina Jacobs’s hands were uninjured, just a bit dry, and some of the worry in her heart eased.

"Nina? You’re really back?!"

A familiar voice called out from the doorway. The family heard Leo Hale’s voice before he even stepped inside.

Leo Hale had just come from next door. Seeing Nina Jacobs already sitting on the sofa, his eyes filled with excitement.

"Quick, tell me! Where did you go after you left Mornfell? Was it fun?"

Leo Hale squatted beside Nina Jacobs, bursting with curiosity.

Daniel Hale couldn’t resist giving him a light punch on the head.

"Nina just got back, and she performed a great service for the base today. She needs to rest. She doesn’t have time to gossip with you."

’Performed a great service right after returning to the base?’

This only made Leo Hale even more curious.

Even Vera Coleman looked at Nina Jacobs. ’What did my daughter do?’

"Miss Jacobs, why don’t you all eat first? I’ve prepared the noodles."

Walsh, wearing an apron, brought out several bowls of steaming hot noodle soup on a tray.

The noodle soup was topped with braised pork belly and garnished with finely chopped green vegetables, looking especially tempting.

"Walsh grew these vegetables himself! Oh right, you don’t know yet, do you? Walsh awakened a Wood Element Superpower!" Daniel Hale said happily.

"Congratulations."

Nina Jacobs feigned surprise.

The day she left the base, she had awakened the Wood Element Superpower for Walsh, the family’s cook. Vera Coleman had mentioned it in a message later, but Daniel Hale and the others didn’t know that Nina was behind it.

"It’s all thanks to everyone’s good fortune. Please, eat while it’s hot."

Walsh blushed.

Vera Coleman pushed Nina Jacobs toward the dining table. She and Wayne Warner were indeed starving, and the two of them immediately began to wolf down their food.

Seeing Wayne Warner finish a bowl of noodles in just a few bites, Walsh’s eyes lit up, and he immediately refilled his bowl.

"Walsh, your biggest fan is finally back," Leo Hale joked.

After Wayne Warner left, Walsh would always unconsciously cook too much food. Fortunately, Chase Gallagher and the others from next door were there to help finish it.

Meanwhile, as they ate, Daniel Hale gave a rough account of what had happened at the abandoned docks that day.

"Melting the river’s surface with a Superpower?"

Leo Hale was both amazed and impressed.

You have to understand, the base’s Water Element Superpower Users had tried to melt the ice before. Although they could turn the ice into water, in that kind of weather, it would freeze over again in less than two minutes.

He never thought that Nina Jacobs would actually succeed using the Fire Element.

"We had no choice. If we hadn’t done that, we really wouldn’t have been able to get back to the base," Nina Jacobs explained.

She hadn’t really done it for the base’s sake, but she never expected it to end up being such a huge help by coincidence.

"That’s our Nina," Leo Hale couldn’t help but applaud.

"Yes, but it looks like the base will be coming to ask Nina for help again tomorrow," Daniel Hale sighed.

He also hoped Nina could rest for a couple of days, but the zombie horde problem wasn’t solved yet. And from the tone of that person from command headquarters, they wanted Nina’s assistance.

"Who’s in command of the base right now?" Nina Jacobs asked.

She wanted to ask about Justin Lawson’s situation but couldn’t bring herself to ask directly.

"After that high fever, Mr. Lawson’s health has been much worse than before. But then again, not many elderly people can handle this god-awful weather.

Myra Lawson is still in charge of the base for now, but this zombie horde situation is probably going to be very bad for her."

"Command headquarters places a lot of importance on our City D Base, for reasons you can probably guess. So they’ve sent quite a few people over.

In Chase Gallagher’s words, every faction over there wants to shove one of their own people in here."

Daniel Hale explained the details to Nina Jacobs, his tone laced with resignation.

"What about that guy, Adrian Paige? He can’t be that idle, can he?" Nina asked.