Chapter 409: Chapter 409: Not Indiscriminate Killing

"According to the facility’s rules, I haven’t broken a single one. Have I?"

Nina Jacobs looked down upon the referee standing below her.

The rules for the combat tournament allow killing, but they make no mention of killing spectators.

The referee was instantly terrified by her gaze.

He suspected that if he provoked her any further, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.

"N-no, no violations."

The referee replied hastily.

"You can announce the results now. He’s lost."

Nina Jacobs gestured toward the immobilized Dominic Sloan.

Tiny Stone Spikes, like falling rain, surrounded him. He couldn’t move an inch.

"M-match three... Team 1... Nina Jacobs of Team 1 is the winner."

The referee announced hastily.

Watching Nina Jacobs slowly descend from the fighting platform, his legs finally gave out, and he slumped against the wall.

’When did a monster like her show up in this correctional facility...’

As the sharp spikes vanished from the air, someone in the silent arena finally dared to speak.

"...Th-that person... they’re from Team 1?"

"That’s her! That’s her! She’s the one who killed Fergus Abbott yesterday!"

"I remember now! The one with that Strength Element Superpower User!"

"Is she new? How can she be so strong?"

"I wonder who’s the bigger killer, her or Everett Young."

"..."

Nina Jacobs and Wayne Warner walked straight out of the arena.

Wayne Warner’s match was in the afternoon, and the payout for her 500-Crystal-Core bet hadn’t been processed yet.

In the meantime, she planned to take a good look around the correctional facility, hoping to find a path to the tunnels below.

The two of them hadn’t gone far before Harlan appeared, blocking their path.

A strange man stood beside him.

The man was brazenly sizing her up.

"Something you need?" Nina Jacobs asked, looking at Harlan.

"Not at all. I was just worried this guy might have ill intentions."

Harlan stepped to one side, his tone blunt.

"Jumping to her defense already?"

"Relax. Even if I were going to kill someone today, I’d start with that useless oaf, Dominic Sloan."

"He made me lose a tremendous amount of face."

His words were part reassurance, part taunt.

"But this Nina Jacobs here just killed several of my people,"

he added.

"And you are?" Nina Jacobs asked.

"That’s Everett Young, Team 3’s supervisor. Ignore him. His people are the most obnoxious."

Harlan answered.

"So, killing isn’t allowed in the correctional facility?" Nina Jacobs retorted.

"Of course it is. I kill people every day."

The man shrugged, as if talking about something routine.

"But among the people you killed was someone who was supposed to fight this afternoon. So, what do you suppose we should do about that?"

"Rule one of the correctional facility: if a combatant dies unexpectedly, they can be temporarily replaced."

At Nina Jacobs’s words, Everett Young threw his head back and roared with laughter.

"’Unexpectedly died,’ I like that. This is your friend?"

"I hear he’s a Strength Element Superpower User."

His eyes locked onto Wayne Warner, like a predator staring down its prey.

"That’s right," Nina Jacobs replied.

"Then I’ll be looking forward to it."

He left them with that cryptic remark and walked away.

"You’ve surprised me. I didn’t think you were a killer."

Hearing that Nina Jacobs wanted to look around, Harlan decided to accompany her for a bit.

"I just decided to strike first,"

Nina Jacobs said.

She didn’t kill indiscriminately.

The men she’d killed would have most likely come after her once the match was over.

Just like Tobin, who had shown up that morning with fresh wounds.

Better to deal with them publicly on the spot than privately later on.

Besides, after killing them, she had even triggered the system’s "Selfless Savior" title, unexpectedly gaining a dozen or so Healing Potions.

"You really are quite something."

"I’m almost reluctant to turn you into a specimen."

Harlan said.

Nina Jacobs took a few more steps before stopping.

"It must be inconvenient to make specimens here, wouldn’t you say?"

"Or are you just looking for a place to conduct your research, away from prying eyes?"

Harlan’s expression flickered. "Who are you, really? Why would you say that?"

"Just making conversation."

"I’m just curious why a doctor would do something like that."

Nina Jacobs answered.

’Last night, one of the little mice had accidentally wandered into a room where Harlan was, in fact, doing something to a corpse specimen.’

’It looked to her like he was experimenting on how to control the corpse.’

’This couldn’t help but make her think of the so-called base commander, Evander Langdon.’

’She suspected Evander Langdon was under someone’s control.’

’But whether Harlan had anything to do with it was still unknown.’

"You’re investigating me."

Harlan said after a moment of silence.

"I’m not interested in you, and what you do is none of my concern."

"Just don’t get any ideas about me."

Nina Jacobs didn’t know how deep the waters ran in Lornwood Base, or how many people harbored secret agendas.

Now that she had found a trail leading to the supplies, she had no choice but to issue a preliminary warning to someone like Harlan, whose motives were a mystery.

Harlan caught the threat in her tone. He leaned in closer and said with a grin:

"Fine. In that case, I’ll just have to watch and see what kind of chaos you can stir up."

"Oh, right. Just a word of warning: the corpse disposal center is that way. I doubt it welcomes the living."

Watching Harlan’s retreating figure, Nina Jacobs looked ahead.

The path led to the end of the corridor. Being on the first floor and filled with a strange mist, it looked rather eerie.

Just then, she heard the sound of dripping water. DRIP... DRIP...

The dripping was constant, and large puddles were spreading out across the floor ahead.

BANG. BANG.

It sounded like something was banging against a surface. Nina Jacobs, who had been about to leave, stopped in her tracks.

She activated her Five Senses Enhancement.

After focusing, she could indeed hear a voice.

Someone was crying for help.

The voice was faint and weak.

It was the voice of a young woman.

"I’m going to check it out."

Nina Jacobs told Wayne Warner.

Wayne Warner naturally followed. They stopped in front of a peeling, vermilion wooden door.

The water was seeping out from under the door.

And with it came the stench of rot and death.

"Help... save me..."

The voice was clearer now.

Nina Jacobs saw that the so-called corpse disposal center was deserted.

So she pushed open the peeling wooden door.

Just as Harlan had said, the room was full of corpses.

Bodies were strewn about, some covered with ragged cloths, others with blood-stained plastic sheets.

Some had died with their eyes wide open; some were missing their lower limbs...

Nina Jacobs said nothing. The most rotten, hideous zombies didn’t faze her.

But seeing so many human corpses still churned her stomach and sparked a flicker of rage.

She pointed to a tied-up burlap sack, and Wayne Warner, understanding immediately, stepped forward and lifted it.

The two of them then retreated from the gloomy, oppressive, and fetid room.

Wayne Warner could feel what seemed to be a living person inside the sack. Once Nina Jacobs found an empty space under a stairwell, he gently set it down.

A blade of wind sliced through the air, and the mouth of the sack split open. Inside lay a girl with disheveled hair.

Her condition looked terrible. Her hands dangled limply at unnatural angles, obviously broken by force.

Her ankles, too.

The girl was trembling uncontrollably, clearly terrified.

"Don’t be afraid," Nina Jacobs said. "How did you end up in there?"

’The girl’s profile was vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place where she’d seen her before.’

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.