Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Don’t Tell Me Autumn Lynch Was Left at the Cannery?

"But there’s one more thing."

Kevin Everett said, looking at Jayce.

"The base is down one Water Ability User, but our water consumption is only increasing. From now on, you need to—"

Before Kevin Everett could finish, Jayce nodded. "I get it. I’ll release more water every day from now on. As long as there are enough containers."

He knew his own son well.

The moment Kevin Everett heard this, he immediately guessed what it meant.

"Your Superpower has improved?"

"Yeah. It’s improved a bit more."

"HAHAHAHA!"

Kevin Everett roared with laughter, poking Jayce repeatedly with his finger.

"You’ve actually learned to be humble! That’s not like you at all!"

Normally, Jayce would have already lifted his chin and proudly declared that it had improved a lot.

But it was understandable. After all, Sierra Sullivan was standing right beside him.

It was perfectly normal for a man to want to save face in front of the person he liked.

Sierra Sullivan had just been listening quietly. Now that they had both fallen silent, she voiced her curiosity.

"Why are you down one Water Ability User?"

Water Ability Users were already rare, and each one was incredibly precious.

They were treated even better than giant pandas before the apocalypse.

How could one just suddenly disappear?

Kevin Everett sighed. "It’s all because of Hugo Cheney. He went out on a mission and insisted on bringing that Water Ability User with him—that woman by his side, Autumn Lynch. And what happened? She was left behind, never to return!"

Sierra Sullivan, "???" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Though it seemed unbelievable, a guess had already formed in Sierra Sullivan’s mind.

’Don’t tell me Autumn Lynch was the one left at the cannery?’

"Was she left at the cannery?" Jayce asked.

Kevin Everett looked at Jayce, surprised. "How did you know? Did you hear about it already?"

"No." Jayce shook his head. "I saw it."

"What?"

Jayce explained the whole story.

"...When we left, they were still trading with those people. Who would have thought... they’d end up losing one of their own in the deal."

Judging by his words alone, it sounded like he was lamenting the situation.

But his tone and expression were filled with schadenfreude.

Seeing this, Kevin Everett didn’t think much of it, assuming it was just because of the bad blood between Jayce and Hugo Cheney.

"Hugo Cheney must have been rattled by the whole thing. He was determined to awaken a Superpower the moment he got back. And he actually succeeded, awakening a Wood Element Ability of all things. Now his ego is through the roof."

Speaking of which, Kevin Everett had incredibly mixed feelings about it himself.

If a Water Ability User was an indispensable spring of life...

...then a Wood Element Ability was the provider of food and clothing.

As long as you had seeds and the Superpower was strong enough, you could make any crop grow.

They would truly never be short on supplies again.

Just by looking at the expression on his face, Jayce guessed what Kevin Everett was thinking. "Dad, don’t overthink it. Everyone has a chance to awaken a Superpower. It’s not like Hugo Cheney will be the only one to awaken a Wood Element Ability. How’s his Superpower now? What can he grow?"

At Jayce’s last question, Kevin Everett’s expression suddenly turned peculiar.

A man like Kevin Everett, who had weathered the ups and downs of life for decades, should have long since learned to keep his emotions from showing on his face.

Yet, in this situation, he couldn’t hold back a laugh.

Clearly, the matter was genuinely hilarious.

Kevin Everett chuckled again before saying, "I think... he can grow enough for a stir-fry!"

The moment the words left his mouth, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing again.

Hearing this, Sierra Sullivan and Jayce laughed along with him.

’That’s Kevin Everett for you!’

He’d been around so long that even his insults were this witty.

"Alright." Kevin Everett composed himself. "You two must be exhausted. Go get some rest. Come over for dinner tonight..."

"We’re not coming!" Jayce refused directly. "We’re tired and don’t want to go out tonight. The two of us will just eat something simple!"

Kevin Everett didn’t insist. "Fine, then you two head back!"

While they were talking, Yvonne Shelby had been sitting to the side, listening.

When she heard they were leaving and not coming for dinner, Yvonne Shelby immediately moved to get them some food.

"Mom!" Jayce stopped Yvonne Shelby. "We don’t need anything! The best thing for us is for you and Dad to eat well!"

Yvonne Shelby couldn’t win against Jayce and finally had to agree.

They left the tenth floor and headed up the stairs.

The smell in the stairwell seemed even worse than before.

If the issue of housing the survivors wasn’t resolved, the smell would only get worse over time.

Sierra Sullivan’s brow furrowed, and she quickened her pace.

But she knew this wasn’t a problem she could solve.

This residential complex was large, but the number of survivors would only continue to grow.

For now, this situation was unavoidable.

Unless they expanded the base’s perimeter to include the nearby residential complexes.

But then, safety could no longer be guaranteed.

If what happened at the mall repeated itself... the thought alone was terrifying!

They walked all the way from the tenth floor to the thirty-sixth without stopping for even a moment.

An ordinary person would probably be gasping for breath, their legs unable to move.

But both Sierra Sullivan and Jayce were perfectly calm, not even flushed or out of breath.

Sierra Sullivan even felt like she could climb dozens more floors.

Just as they reached their apartment door, they saw a woman pressed against it.

She seemed to be trying to peer inside, or perhaps listen to the sounds within.

Sierra Sullivan recognized her at a glance—it was the young woman she had rescued before.

"Have you seen enough?" Sierra Sullivan asked.

The young woman jumped, her body stiffening for a moment before she slowly turned her head.

It was still afternoon, so some light filtered through the stairwell window, allowing them to see each other.

Sierra Sullivan could clearly see not only shock in the young woman’s eyes, but also, more prominently, disappointment.

’Disappointed about what?’

’That I came back alive?’

’Well, that’s just too bad for her!’

After they locked eyes for a moment, the young woman silently returned to her corner and sat down against the wall.

Sierra Sullivan ignored her and opened the door to her apartment.

Jayce followed close behind, closing the door after him.

Sierra Sullivan walked over to the sofa and threw herself onto it. "Ah, there’s no place like home!"

Jayce walked over with a smile. "Want to take a bath?"

"Yes!" Sierra Sullivan said, immediately jumping up. She ran to the bedroom and brought out a bathtub.

Jayce walked to the tub and filled it with water of a suitable temperature. "Take your time and enjoy your bath. I’ll be right outside."

"You should take one too!"

Sierra Sullivan ran to the living room, brought out another bathtub, and also grabbed some toiletries and a change of clothes.

If they didn’t have the means, they could make do and survive.

But since they did, there was no reason to shortchange themselves.