Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Is Jayce Persuading or Insulting?

The three of them looked at each other, but no one spoke.

Even without saying a word, they all knew exactly what the others were thinking.

Something had definitely happened.

It was impossible for so many people to vanish without a trace in a single morning.

Even if Bruce Rhodes had decided to lead them away from here, they wouldn’t have just left empty-handed, would they?

After a quick look around, Sierra Sullivan had seen it clearly: everyone was gone, but everything else was still there.

Food, drinks, supplies, clothes.

This wasn’t like before the apocalypse, where if you ran out of something, you could just go buy more somewhere else.

In the current situation, every single supply was incredibly precious. How could they just abandon them?

Realizing this only made Sierra Sullivan’s heart grow heavier.

"We’ve searched the entire mall and found nothing..." Dominic Crawford said with a frown.

Sierra Sullivan shook her head, gently cutting him off. "No! We’re not done yet! We still haven’t checked the basement."

Although the mall only had three floors above ground, its footprint was massive.

It also had two levels underground.

The first basement level had a huge supermarket and a parking garage.

The second basement level was entirely a parking garage.

They had only just finished checking the three floors above ground; they hadn’t been to the basement yet.

Dominic Crawford froze for a moment, but then his brow furrowed even deeper. "I have a bad feeling about this mall. It feels... off. Why don’t we leave for now? We can go back to the base, get more people, and avoid any unnecessary accidents..."

Dominic Crawford’s suggestion was actually a good one.

But you could call Sierra Sullivan stubborn, or say her emotions were overriding her logic.

She didn’t want to wait.

Right now, this very moment, she wanted to go see the basement for herself.

She was determined to find out what had caused Bruce Rhodes and the others to vanish without a reason.

Sierra Sullivan said nothing, but her expression said it all.

Dominic Crawford didn’t know Sierra Sullivan well and realized that trying to persuade her now would be useless, so he turned to Jayce instead.

"Mr. Everett, you should try to convince her! The situation is unclear. It’s too dangerous to go down there. What if something happens..."

Jayce waved his hand, signaling for Dominic Crawford to stop talking.

"Captain Crawford, you’re right, and you’ve thought this through very carefully," Sierra Sullivan said. "You should take your men and go back to the car. I’ll go down and take a look. Wait ten minutes. If I’m not out by then, just drive away. Oh, and when you get up there, turn the car around so you can make a quick getaway."

Dominic Crawford was speechless.

’She’s certainly thought it through!’

’If she can be so thorough about something like this, why can’t she take a little advice?’

"Mr. Everett, look at this..." Dominic Crawford looked at Jayce again, troubled.

This time, Jayce nodded. "Let’s do as Sierra says. Captain Crawford, you go ahead and get your men to the car. Remember to watch the time!"

’What???’

’Wait, is watching the time the important part here?’

’When did I agree to this?’

It would be one thing if it were just Sierra Sullivan, but why was Jayce going along with this nonsense?

He’d thought Jayce had matured and become much more level-headed recently. Apparently, that was a complete delusion!

’Level-headed? Mature? Not a chance!’

’This is just too reckless!’

’He’s not taking his own life seriously at all!’

If something happened to Jayce, every single one of them would be in deep trouble when they got back to the base.

Kevin Everett might not take his anger out on them directly, but they could forget about ever being given any important roles again.

Most importantly, after everything they had been through together, Dominic Crawford considered them friends.

How could he just stand by and watch his friends walk into danger when he knew it was likely?

Dominic Crawford’s brow was knitted tightly.

After a moment of hesitation, he clenched his jaw and said, "If you’re both going, then I’m going with you!"

Sierra Sullivan was surprised to hear this, but after her initial shock, she flatly rejected his proposal.

"No!" Sierra Sullivan’s voice was firm. "I’m the one who decided to go. I’ll be fine on my own. You don’t need to come with me!"

Dominic Crawford’s attitude became just as resolute.

"No! We came out here together. I can’t watch you go take risks alone. I have to go with you!"

Jayce walked over to Dominic Crawford, raised a hand, and patted him on the shoulder. "Mr. Crawford, just stay up here. We don’t know what the situation is down there, and your Superpower isn’t on the same level as mine or Sierra’s. If there’s real danger, Sierra and I can coordinate and get away faster. If you come along, you’ll just be dead weight we have to worry about. We might all end up trapped. Don’t you think?"

Hearing Jayce’s speech, even Sierra Sullivan gave him a sidelong glance.

’Is he really trying to persuade him, or just insulting him?’

’But on second thought, what he said actually makes a lot of sense!’

Jayce patted Dominic Crawford’s shoulder again. "Alright, it’s settled. Don’t hold us back! Go get in the car and be ready to leave at a moment’s notice! If we’re not back up in ten minutes, just go!"

"No!" Dominic Crawford refused. "Twenty minutes! If you’re not out in twenty minutes, we’ll leave!"

Jayce nodded nonchalantly. "Fine! Now go!"

In the end, Dominic Crawford took his men and returned to the car.

Now, only Jayce and Sierra Sullivan were left, standing face to face in front of the escalator.

The escalator had stopped long ago, but it could still be used as stairs.

Sierra Sullivan grasped Jayce’s hand. "Don’t stray too far from me. If there’s danger, I’ll get you out!"

"I know!"

They smiled at each other from behind their glasses and masks.

They hadn’t wanted to bring Dominic Crawford along, and not just because his Superpower wasn’t as strong as theirs.

It was also because Sierra Sullivan had her spatial pocket as a backup.

If they ran into a real emergency and couldn’t escape, she could pull them directly into her space to hide.

But if Dominic Crawford were with them, their hands would be tied.

It was precisely because of this trump card that Sierra Sullivan could be so bold.

And it was precisely because Jayce knew about this trump card that he could let Sierra Sullivan do as she pleased.

Otherwise, even if Sierra Sullivan had protested, he would have knocked her out and dragged her away today.

The two wasted no more time and headed down the escalator.

They had already let go of each other’s hands.

Each wore a headlamp and held a gun, taking every step with caution as they scanned their surroundings.

Their two beams of light cut through the darkness, clearly illuminating the dust motes floating in the air.

At the bottom of the escalator, the entrance to the parking garage was on the right, and the supermarket entrance was on the left.

The parking garage was full of cars, each one covered in a thick, undisturbed layer of dust, showing no signs that anyone had been near them.