Chapter 293: Do you want to become strong?

Sierra and the others also prepared for battle.

“Candice, don’t leave my side, you hear me?” Sierra warned sternly.

The zombies and Aberrant Beasts trying to break in were certainly terrifying, but Sierra hadn’t forgotten about Dr. Hayes.

Compared to the zombies and Aberrant Beasts outside, Dr. Hayes was no less terrifying.

Their current situation was the very definition of being caught between a rock and a hard place.

Thinking of this, Sierra actually felt a strange urge to laugh.

It was a bitter, frustrated laugh.

Candice first earnestly promised Sierra she wouldn’t leave her side, then curiously asked, “Sierra, what are you laughing at?”

Candice deliberately lowered her voice as she asked, afraid of drawing attention to them.

Everyone was terrified at such a tense moment, yet Sierra was laughing.

‘If anyone saw this, what would they think of Sierra?’

Feeling Candice’s worry, Sierra’s heart immediately warmed.

Even being caught between a rock and a hard place didn’t seem so bad anymore.

“It’s nothing. I just thought of something funny. I’ll tell you all about it after we take care of this mess, okay?”

“Okay!” Candice agreed instantly, her eyes lighting up.

She loved it when Sierra told her stories!

Nearby, Nathan, who had been a bit nervous, perked up at their conversation and looked over. “Sierra, what are you going to tell Candice? Can I listen in, too?”

Seeing the curiosity brimming in Nathan’s eyes, Sierra felt a little exasperated.

‘This Nathan… honestly. He leaves me speechless!’

When he was serious, he was clearly a serious person.

But at other times, he was terrifyingly naive.

‘It made sense for Candice to believe the things I say to comfort a child, but how could he fall for it too?’

But before Sierra could answer, the Aberrant Beasts began to break through.

Everyone’s attention snapped back to the fight.

The smile on Sierra’s face vanished instantly. Her expression turned blank as she stared at the zombies and Aberrant Beasts, moving forward with the others to unleash a barrage of attacks.

A dazzling array of Superpowers flared to life, painting the scene in a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors, but no one was in the mood to admire the spectacle.

They had only one thought: wipe out every last zombie and Aberrant Beast.

Even though their chances of survival were slim, no one was ready to give up.

And Sierra certainly wasn’t about to.

As more and more zombies and Aberrant Beasts fell, Sierra’s gaze suddenly sharpened.

‘Did I just… see a familiar figure in the horde?’

But the figure was gone in a flash, moving far too quickly.

When Sierra tried to get a clearer look, she couldn’t find the figure anywhere.

‘Were my eyes playing tricks on me?’

Sierra thought so, but she didn’t want to believe it.

Her vision was excellent, and it was highly unlikely she’d start hallucinating now.

Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

Jayce quickly noticed something was off with Sierra. “Sierra, what is it?” he asked urgently.

Sierra shook her head. “I’ll tell you later.”

The figure was gone, so there was no point in talking about it now.

‘We need to deal with this first. We can talk after.’

Although Jayce was worried, he didn’t press the issue.

He knew it too. The most important thing right now was to deal with the immediate threat.

Every Superpower User was on edge, not daring to let their guard down for a second.

An unknown amount of time passed, and people gradually began to run out of stamina.

When a Superpower User ran out of stamina, they were in grave danger from the ferocious onslaught of zombies and Aberrant Beasts.

Superpower Users fell one after another, but the number of zombies and Aberrant Beasts barely seemed to decrease.

Despair began to creep into some people’s hearts.

‘Are we really going to die here?’

‘If I’d known it would come to this, I never would have been so greedy for the mission’s high reward.’

‘It’s true what they say… the greedier you are, the faster you die!’

But no matter how they looked at it, they couldn’t accept this fate.

‘We’ve been through so much just to survive this long. Is this really how it ends?’

Just as these people were despairingly waiting for death, a group of Superpower Users walked out from behind them.

Their faces were expressionless as they strode to the front with determined steps.

They were the same familiar people with the same faces, yet they gave off a completely different aura.

They attacked with lightning speed and without a moment’s hesitation.

Not only were their Superpowers formidable, but their aim was also incredibly precise.

With every attack they made, a zombie or an Aberrant Beast would fall.

With them joining the fray, the tide of battle turned instantly.

Seeing this, the Superpower Users who had been on the ropes and had lost their will to fight found their confidence renewed. They pushed through their exhaustion and resumed the slaughter of zombies and Aberrant Beasts.

Sierra noticed the shift as well, but she had no time to dwell on it.

The most important thing was finishing off the remaining zombies and Aberrant Beasts.

The state of high morale did not last long.

Although the newly arrived Superpower Users were indeed powerful, the sheer number of zombies and Aberrant Beasts was overwhelming. They swarmed in relentlessly, and as the battle dragged on, everyone’s Superpowers were being steadily depleted.

Despair began to creep back into some people’s hearts.

‘Is it still not enough in the end?’

The battle continued for another ten minutes or so. Compared to the beginning, the number of Aberrant Beasts and zombies had decreased by two-thirds.

However, even with only a third of the horde left, they were in no condition to finish them all off.

But then, instead of pressing their attack, the Aberrant Beasts and zombies began to retreat.

Like a receding tide, they were gone in moments, leaving nothing but a field of corpses behind.

Many people were stunned watching this scene.

Soon, the tension broke, and they collapsed to the ground.

Some laughed foolishly, some wept, some screamed.

But every face showed the same thing: the pure relief of having survived.

Nathan was exhausted, too, but he didn’t rest.

Nathan quickly used Crystal Cores and food to replenish his Superpower and physical energy, then went to treat the wounded.

No one knew if or when the zombies and Aberrant Beasts would return. All they could do was recover their energy and stamina as quickly as possible, just in case.

Watching Nathan’s retreating figure, Sierra felt a surge of emotion.

‘Nathan really has… changed.’

‘He can be goofy a lot of the time, but when things get serious, he’s completely focused.’

Hector didn’t rest either. He took his people and began to clear the field of corpses.

A Space Ability User collected the bodies of the fallen Superpower Users to be returned to their families and friends later.

The Aberrant Beast and zombie corpses were processed, and all their Crystal Cores were harvested.

The carcasses of some of the more palatable Aberrant Beasts were collected by another Space Ability User to serve as emergency rations.

Just then, Dr. Hayes emerged from inside. He surveyed the scene with an indifferent gaze. “Do you… want to become stronger?”