Natalie Russell
Tenth Layer of the Supernatural Realm
After seeing off Mason Cooper and the others, Natalie closed the main entrance and then stayed in the dim basement, waiting for Matthew's arrival.
She had checked Matthew's location with the Medallion of Sweethearts last night and was surprised to find that Matthew's movement speed was indeed very fast.
Initially, Matthew was on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, most likely somewhere in Eastern Europe or a little further east. But after one night, he had already reached the coastal area here.
This was still due to Matthew stopping many times along the way.
Presumably, he encountered monsters blocking his path and had to kill them before moving on.
Such a movement speed was astonishing. Natalie even felt that perhaps Matthew would arrive very soon.
However, things did not go as planned. Throughout the entire day, Matthew, for some unknown reason, remained in the coastal area and did not move.
Natalie frowned. She knew that Matthew must have encountered a serious problem, entangled in something terrifying, which had delayed him this long.
And with Matthew's current strength, only a Devil Moster could restrain him. Furthermore, it should be a very troublesome Devil Monster.
Thinking of this, Natalie felt a little anxious. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do, no matter how anxious she was.
First, her current location was inland, somewhere near Austin, Texas, still very far from the coast. Even if she could rush there, with her strength, it would be impossible to help Matthew.
So, all Natalie could do now was wait.
This wait lasted a full nine long days. It wasn't until the evening of the ninth day that Matthew finally started moving again.
Feeling Matthew getting closer and closer, Natalie let out a heavy sigh of relief. As long as Matthew was fine, that was all that mattered.
As for the possibility of Devil Monster defeating Matthew and using the Medallion of Sweethearts to track her...
It was impossible.
The two Medallions of Sweethearts, once they fell into Matthew's and Natalie's hands respectively, almost became a bound item, serving only the two of them.
After all, as the name suggests, this item could only be used by lovers.
Moreover, that feeling of telepathic connection was a genuine one that monsters could not imitate at all.
As Matthew got closer and closer, Natalie even began to prepare for Matthew's arrival.
She used the remaining mineral water to wash her face, leaving only two bottles for backup.
After cleaning off the dirt from her body.
Natalie came to the basement entrance, opened the door to welcome Matthew.
However, instead of Matthew, she saw another figure running towards her.
"April. Save us!!!"
The figure, from a distance, called for help.
Natalie immediately became alert. Observation Haki was activated to its full power, and her senses were heightened. Her eyesight was very good to begin with, and with the enhancement of Observation Haki, she could see that, clearly, it was Paige Cooper.
And at this moment, Paige Cooper looked very bad.
There was a lot of blood on her body, and one of her arms was severed from the elbow, with blood still continuously flowing down. Her malnourished face was now even paler, completely devoid of color.
Seeing Paige Cooper so severely injured, Natalie was startled and immediately went to meet her.
And Paige Cooper directly fell into Natalie's embrace.
"Quick… quickly close the door..."
After saying these few words, Paige Cooper's eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
Natalie did not dare to delay. Holding the young girl, she quickly retreated into the basement and then closed the main door.
The entrance door was a blast door and was very heavy. Whatever monster was pursuing Paige Cooper, it could at least resist for a while.
After arriving in the basement, Natalie first used a cloth strip to tie Paige Cooper's severed arm to prevent further bleeding, then poured some water for the young girl, and finally pressed her philtrum to wake her up.
Because she knew that now was not the time for Paige Cooper to rest, she needed to find out what had happened.
When Paige Cooper slowly woke up and saw Natalie in front of her, she immediately cried out, "April, please save my uncle and the others. I'll give you my life, please save my uncle and the others..."
Natalie's heart sank, but she said calmly, "What exactly happened? How did you end up like this?"
Paige Cooper cried as she spoke, "After we left here..."
Listening to Paige Cooper's narration, Natalie finally understood what had happened.
At first, Mason Cooper and the others' journey was relatively smooth.
They reached Shelter No.33 and successfully reunited with the old Battalion Commander of Mason Cooper, then prepared to go to Thunder God Shelter together.
However, in Shelter No.33, the old Battalion Commander and his men were not the only ones there.
There was a group of people who believed that traveling thousands of kilometers to Sacramento was purely suicidal.
Even if they were lucky enough to reach Thunder God Shelter in Sacramento, they might not be safe there. They even believed that everything in Thunder God Shelter was a hoax, and with current technology, it was impossible to establish a complete ecosystem in a single shelter.
As a result, a dispute arose between the two sides. Finally, the two sides chose to go their separate ways.
Those willing to go to Sacramento would follow the Battalion Commander, and those unwilling would stay behind.
In the end, most people wanted to follow the Battalion Commander.
Perhaps because Shelter No. 33 suddenly lost most of its personnel, dissatisfaction arose among the "stay-behind faction."
Coupled with the Battalion Commander taking many important supplies with him when he left, it completely enraged the "stay-behind faction".
They actually used the shelter's radio on a public channel to contact a group of nomads.
And finally, they colluded with the nomads, wanting to swallow the Battalion Commander and the others, and divide the "spoils of war".
Almost on the second day of the Battalion Commander and the others setting off, they encountered an ambush attack by a group of nomads.
"...Those nomads were all powerful ability users. We fell into an ambush and were no match... The team was quickly scattered, and only I escaped because of..."
"April, if it weren't for the corpse crystal you gave me, which enhanced my speed, I might not have been able to escape, sniff sniff..."
Hearing this, Natalie frowned. According to Paige Cooper's description, the nomad group was not weak.
After all, the Battalion Commander's side also had ability users and strong firepower support. Yet, they were defeated in one encounter.
This indicated a significant disparity in strength between the two sides. Paige Cooper asking Natalie to save them was a bit of a tall order.
It seemed Paige Cooper herself realized this, wiping away tears and saying, "I'm sorry, April, I've caused you trouble. I shouldn't have said that. Those people are too terrifying. If you go, you won't be a match and will only get yourself involved."
As she spoke, Paige Cooper's pretty face was filled with despair.
Although she had long thought they might one day be completely wiped out, she still found it difficult to accept when that day truly arrived.
What made it even harder for her to accept was that her uncle and the others had fallen into the hands of the nomads. Falling into the hands of those beasts would definitely be worse than death.
Just then, Natalie seemed to sense something. She turned Paige Cooper so that Paige's back faced her.
This action tugged Paige Cooper's wound, making the young girl break out in cold sweat from the pain. However, the young girl still gritted her teeth and endured.
"What's wrong, April? Is there something on my back?"
Natalie did not speak. She frowned and used paper to scrape something off Paige Cooper's back that looked like chewed gum.
This thing was actually alive. When thrown on the ground, it squirmed and continued to crawl towards Paige Cooper.
"Ah." Paige Cooper was startled, "What is that thing?"
Natalie didn't hesitate. She conjured a flame and burned the unknown thing to death.
"It should be some kind of tracking device." She said.
Then, her gaze turned towards the basement entrance and added, "It's not safe here anymore. Let's go."
Upon hearing this, Paige Cooper quickly endured the severe pain and, together with Natalie, walked towards the exit.
However, as soon as the two reached the door, Natalie stopped and made a shushing gesture.
Paige Cooper froze. Not long after, she heard the sound of motorcycle engines approaching. And not just a few.
Suddenly, Paige Cooper's face turned pale, and her eyes were filled with fear.
"I remember now, it must have been when Uncle Mason was covering me and told me to come find you, those people must have heard..."
Speaking of this, Paige Cooper looked at Natalie in despair, her eyes filled with guilt, "April, I... I caused you trouble."
Natalie glanced at the young girl and sighed softly. She had no intention of blaming Paige Cooper and comforted her, "Don't worry, my friend is coming soon. When he arrives, everything will be fine."
When she finished her sentence, they heard several motorcycles arriving at the basement entrance, stopping right at the door.
Only a heavy iron door separated the two sides.
"Hyena, are you sure this is it?"
"Absolutely. The signal disappeared right here. Someone who can find my bug must be an Ability User."
"Very good, Red-Eye, you open the door."
"No problem."
Subsequently, they heard the sound of machinery turning and cutting outside the door.
Paige Cooper was already too scared to speak. Natalie, however, released Paige Cooper and prepared for battle.
She didn't choose to escape through the ventilation shaft because Matthew was about to arrive. There was no need to escape.
It only took two minutes to make a long cut in the lock of the heavy blast door.
The next moment, the door was slammed open, and a group of people rushed in. But when they saw Natalie, each of them showed a look of surprise and delight.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.211: He's Here, and You're About to Die
Ch.212: Give Him a Painful Death
Ch.213: Nomad Camp