Chapter 245: That’s Yvonne Shelby
As Nathan Thorne spoke, he took out half the Contribution Points he was holding, his expression turning much more serious.
"Sierra, I’m serious. Take these. This is the only way I can come mooch food and drinks off you all with a clear conscience. If you don’t accept them, I’ll honestly be too embarrassed to show up anymore."
Nathan Thorne had put it so bluntly; it wouldn’t be right to refuse again.
Sierra Sullivan nodded. "Alright, I’ll take them then."
Fortunately, she had her space and could store all the Contribution Points directly inside. Otherwise, walking around with so many points would be rather dangerous.
As they were talking, Dominic Crawford watched them from a short distance away with a complicated expression.
’If it weren’t for what happened before, he would definitely be standing there with them right now, laughing and joking.’
’But now...’
Dominic Crawford lowered his gaze, not letting himself dwell on it.
Things had already come to this. Thinking about it further was useless; it couldn’t change the current situation.
He had made his own choice, and he wouldn’t regret it.
Dominic Crawford took a deep breath and left through the back door.
The moment Dominic Crawford left, Sierra Sullivan and the others all looked over in that direction.
As Superpower Users, their Perception Power was relatively strong.
Dominic Crawford’s stare had been so obvious, it was impossible for them not to have felt it.
They just hadn’t looked over because they didn’t want to make things too awkward.
Now that they sensed he was gone, they all turned their heads at the same time.
Nathan Thorne sighed.
’How did things end up like this!’
Although he lamented inwardly, he had grown used to it after all this time. He didn’t say much more, just, "Let’s head back too! I don’t want to do anything else right now except go home and take a nice, long shower!"
Over the past month or so, he could tolerate almost anything, but there was one thing he couldn’t stand: not being able to shower.
It wasn’t for a lack of water.
He was a Water Ability User, so of course he wasn’t short on water.
It was just that the place was too cramped.
Showering was really inconvenient.
Even if he could rig up some privacy, the thought of so many people right outside made Nathan Thorne give up on the idea of bathing.
He had endured it until now. Finally back in Subterra, finally able to go home, all he wanted was to wash up properly!
Before Nathan Thorne brought it up, Sierra Sullivan hadn’t really thought about it.
But suddenly hearing him talk about it, she remembered too and instantly started to feel uncomfortable all over.
"Let’s go, let’s go! Let’s hurry back!"
Candice Tate giggled. "Time to go home, time for a shower!"
The group looked over toward Hector Grant and saw he was still busy.
Just as they were wondering if they should go over and say something to him, Hector Grant waved at them.
The meaning was clear: they should go on ahead.
Sierra Sullivan and the others didn’t hesitate. They waved back and turned to leave.
Eager to get back, their pace quickened unconsciously.
Back on the third sublevel of Subterra, Jayce didn’t head back to their living quarters with them.
"Sierra, I’m going to go see my mom first and let her know I’m back."
Without a second thought, Sierra Sullivan immediately said, "Then Candice and I will go with you."
"No need, you guys—"
Before Jayce could finish, Sierra Sullivan cut him off.
"We’re already back. We can shower anytime. There’s no need to rush off this very second. We’ll go with you, so Aunt Shelby can stop worrying."
Candice Tate nodded her little head in agreement. "Yeah!"
Seeing that the two of them were insistent, Jayce didn’t argue. "Alright, let’s all go see her together!"
The three of them having settled it, they all looked at Nathan Thorne.
"What are you looking at me for? Aunt Shelby is so good to me, and she was so worried. Of course I’m going to see her!"
Not only did he say so, but as soon as he finished speaking, Nathan Thorne took the lead, heading in the direction of where Yvonne Shelby and Kevin Everett lived.
Watching Nathan Thorne’s back, Sierra Sullivan and Jayce glanced at each other, shared a silent smile, and followed after him.
They moved quickly and arrived at Yvonne Shelby’s door in no time.
Jayce took a deep breath and stepped forward to knock.
He had only knocked once, not even having a chance to speak, when the door was forcefully and urgently pulled open from the inside.
The one who opened the door was none other than Yvonne Shelby.
When she saw the four people standing outside, Yvonne Shelby froze for an instant, but then quickly broke into a smile.
"You’re back? It’s good that you’re back! If you hadn’t come back soon..."
Her words trailed off, unable to continue.
"Mom." Jayce gently pulled Yvonne Shelby into a hug. "We’re back now, aren’t we? There’s nothing to worry about. You just have to remember, even if we don’t return at the designated or agreed-upon time in the future, you don’t need to worry about my safety. If we really run into Aberrant Beasts and zombies now, we can handle them. There won’t be any problems."
"Don’t say that!" Yvonne Shelby chided. "You brat, what are you talking about! How can you say things like that so casually? If you keep spouting such nonsense, I’m going to get angry for real."
Jayce smiled placatingly. "I was wrong! We definitely won’t run into any Aberrant Beasts or zombies. We’ll definitely be fine."
"That’s more like it." Yvonne Shelby was finally satisfied. She ushered them inside to sit down. "Why were you gone for so long this time? Did the mission go smoothly? Did you run into any danger? None of you are hurt, are you?"
They had just sat down, not even having had a chance to look up, when they were met with Yvonne Shelby’s barrage of questions.
Fortunately, on their way over, they had already discussed how to answer her questions.
They definitely couldn’t say there was no danger at all.
Yvonne Shelby wasn’t a fool; she wouldn’t believe that.
They could only tell a half-truth.
They had to downplay the dangers as much as possible to keep her from worrying.
Sierra Sullivan thought they did a pretty good job. Yvonne Shelby listened intently the whole time and didn’t show any signs of disbelief.
Just when Sierra Sullivan thought they had gotten away with it, Yvonne Shelby let out a long sigh.
"I know you’re definitely not telling me the whole truth. But that’s alright. Just from what you’ve told me, I’ve pretty much figured out what you encountered. There was danger, but the important thing is that you’re back safely, so we won’t talk about what’s past."
Sierra Sullivan was speechless.
’So all that time we spent discussing what to say was a complete waste!’
’But on second thought, it’s understandable.’
’This is Yvonne Shelby we’re talking about!’
’Before the apocalypse, she was a powerhouse in the business world.’
’Even though the world has changed, there’s nothing wrong with Yvonne Shelby’s mind.’
Jayce beamed at Yvonne Shelby. "That’s our mom, always looking out for us. You didn’t even call us out when we were talking just now."
"Stop trying to sweet-talk me." Yvonne Shelby shot Jayce a mock glare. "I only have one request: for the next little while, stay put here in Subterra. No more running around outside."