These four were none other than the ones who were supposed to return to Dawnlight Base with Nathan Thorne.

Jayce froze for a moment, then hurried to Sierra’s side. "What’s going on?"

"They’re all... just like Nathan Thorne was before..."

Sierra’s voice was soft and her words weren’t entirely clear, but Jayce understood instantly.

Just like Nathan Thorne before, they were all infected with the zombie virus.

He didn’t even need to ask; this was definitely the work of Autumn Lynch and Felix Foley.

Those two were truly deranged.

’Even though they’re both already dead, seeing this makes me want to kill them a hundred more times.’

Nathan Thorne had managed to pull through because he had a Healing Ability.

His Superpower wasn’t a very high level yet, but it was better than nothing.

But these people weren’t Nathan Thorne. Whether they could survive was truly uncertain.

Nathan Thorne obviously understood this, which was why he was using his Superpower to help them.

But how much of a difference it would make... that was hard to say.

A Superpower couldn’t be used indefinitely.

Especially since Nathan Thorne had only recently awakened his Healing Ability; his Superpower wasn’t even at the Second Level yet.

He could barely manage to treat one person, let alone four at the same time.

Seeing Nathan Thorne’s face grow paler and paler, his body starting to sway, Dominic Crawford finally couldn’t hold back any longer.

"Nathan Thorne, you’ve already done your best. The rest is up to them!"

But Nathan Thorne didn’t stop.

They had followed him here.

What had happened to them was partly his fault.

’What’s exhausting my Superpower compared to them teetering on the brink of life and death? It’s nothing.’

"Nathan Thorne—"

Dominic Crawford wanted to try and persuade him again.

Sierra took a step forward. "Mr. Crawford, let it be. Don’t say any more."

At a time like this, it was better to let Nathan Thorne do everything he could than to stop him.

No matter the outcome, at least Nathan Thorne would have given it his all. When he looked back on this later, he wouldn’t be too hard on himself.

If they really did stop him, and something happened to those four, Nathan Thorne would probably be filled with regret every time he thought about it.

Regret for not holding on a little longer.

It wasn’t that Dominic Crawford didn’t understand. He just felt that since the four of them already looked... well, there was really no need to waste any more of the Superpower.

Pushing his Superpower past its limits wouldn’t do Nathan Thorne any good, either.

But on second thought, what Sierra said did make sense.

’If I were in Nathan Thorne’s shoes, I’d definitely want to keep trying.’

’Maybe there’ll be a miracle!’

’And if I were one of those four, I’d definitely hope Nathan Thorne would hold on a little longer.’

’For Nathan Thorne, holding on a little longer just means draining some of his Superpower.’

’But for me, it could mean I get to live.’

Dominic Crawford took a step back and didn’t try to stop him anymore.

Everyone watched the scene in silence. No one spoke again.

An unknown amount of time passed before Nathan Thorne’s Superpower was completely drained. Before he could even get up or say a single word, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out.

Seeing Nathan Thorne collapse, Jayce and Dominic Crawford immediately rushed forward, lifted him together, and placed him on a nearby sofa.

A moment ago, there were four unconscious people. Now there were five.

Dominic Crawford looked at Nathan Thorne, then at the four people lying on the floor. "Now what?"

"We wait," Sierra sighed. "Right now, all we can do is wait."

Jayce added, "Just in case, we should tie the four of them up separately."

No one knew if they would turn into zombies. To be safe, the best thing to do was to tie them up.

Sierra took some rope out of her space, and together with Jayce and Dominic Crawford, they tied up the four people securely.

As it turned out, they had done the right thing.

Not long after the four were tied up, their bodies began to change.

To be precise, they had already started to zombify before. Nathan Thorne’s intervention had only interrupted the process.

But now, without his intervention, the zombification was starting again.

Watching them, Sierra was filled with a complicated mix of emotions.

’Some things are just beyond human control.’

’We can only do what we can, but the final outcome isn’t up to us.’

Jayce walked over and gently patted Sierra’s shoulder. "Sierra, don’t overthink it. Everyone has their own fate. Right now, they’re just showing signs of zombification. We don’t know for sure how it will end. Don’t dwell on it."

Dominic Crawford overheard this and was confused. "What does this have to do with Sierra? Why would she be overthinking it?"

Before Sierra could answer, Dominic Crawford’s eyes widened. He stared at her in disbelief. "You don’t actually think this is happening to them just because you knew Autumn Lynch, do you? Sierra, don’t be ridiculous!

Nathan Thorne and his team were on their way back to Dawnlight Base. Who knows why they came to this neighborhood, and nobody knew they’d be captured by Autumn Lynch and her group. Even if they didn’t know you, do you think those two lunatics, Autumn Lynch and Felix Foley, would have just let them go? Absolutely not! What does this have to do with you?

If you want to talk about a connection, the only one is that you happened to know Autumn Lynch and Felix Foley. Other than that, it has nothing to do with you. You can’t just take the blame for everything."

This was Sierra’s most secret thought.

Sierra wasn’t surprised that Jayce had guessed it.

But for Dominic Crawford to have figured it out as well was something Sierra truly hadn’t expected.

Seeing Sierra’s silence, Dominic Crawford knew he must have guessed correctly.

"Sierra, you really can’t think that way! This really isn’t your fault!"

Seeing Dominic Crawford getting anxious, Sierra quickly shook her head. "I did think that at first, but only for a little while. I don’t think that way anymore."

She knew Dominic Crawford was right.

Even if she and Nathan Thorne didn’t know each other, Autumn Lynch and Felix Foley wouldn’t have spared them.

And if Nathan Thorne really hadn’t known her and hadn’t used the walkie-talkie to call them over, his and his team’s fate would have been even worse.

Nathan Thorne himself might even be dead by now.

So in a way, it was actually better that she and Nathan Thorne knew each other.

Seeing that Sierra’s expression seemed sincere, Dominic Crawford finally breathed a sigh of relief. "As long as you’re not blaming yourself! Let’s not think the worst. Maybe their luck is good enough and their willpower is strong enough that they’ll pull through!"

As long as they haven’t completely turned into zombies, there’s still a chance!

Sierra nodded. "You’re right! They’ll definitely pull through!"