Chapter 394: Chapter 394: A Loving Family

Lornwood Base.

Inside the dormitories of the Water Source Management Division.

"Numbers 71 through 91, get out here! Stop dawdling!"

An electric baton rapped haphazardly against the metal door, the loud noise instantly making the people locked inside tense up.

Naomi Summers glanced down at the number tag on her chest.

Number 75.

"Hurry up, Naomi. If we’re late for assembly, they’ll add more time again,"

a companion beside her reminded her.

Hearing this, Naomi Summers immediately stood up and followed the men and women who were automatically forming a line as they walked out.

The fat man in charge of leading them out saw this and started to laugh.

"Looks like you really are eager to get out."

But it was a shame they would probably never get out.

This so-called "adding time" was a rule the higher-ups had established for the Water Element Superpower Users in the Water Source Management Division.

Each person just had to stay here for one full year and train well, and after that year, they would be allowed to leave.

If they didn’t participate in training or defied the rules, more time would be added to their one-year sentence.

For example, being late for the three-minute assembly would earn them an additional ten days.

That was why every time the iron door clanged, these Water Element Superpower Users, no matter how reluctant, would line up with lightning speed.

They would obediently follow him to where they were supposed to go.

Naomi Summers, like everyone else, ignored the fat supervisor’s mockery.

Previously, some people, unable to stand the supervisor’s gloating tone, had tried to fight him.

The result was being shot and killed by the guards on the spot.

This time, they were led into a massive stadium.

Before them was a swimming pool, about thirty meters long and seven or eight meters wide.

"Your task today is to fill this with fresh, clean water. If you don’t finish by nightfall, everyone gets another thirty days added on,"

the fat supervisor said.

"Didn’t we just fill this up three days ago?"

a Water Element Superpower User next to Naomi Summers asked.

The fat supervisor grew impatient. "Didn’t you hear what I said? It needs to be fresh, clean water. Our Young Miss likes to swim and play in the water. How could we let our Young Miss use water that’s been sitting here for three days? It’s barely good enough to flush a toilet."

"Enough with the nonsense. Get a move on. The Young Miss is coming to play tomorrow."

With that, the fat supervisor rapped his electric baton against a nearby metal handrail, the loud sound echoing throughout the stadium.

After the fat supervisor left,

the column of water in Naomi Summers’s hands transformed into a thick Water Tornado, which churned as it fell into the swimming pool.

She liked to shape water into various forms—sometimes swords and blades, sometimes shields. She’d heard that this was how Superpower Users on the outside killed zombies.

"I heard that a few days ago, several of Justin’s group nearly died from Superpower exhaustion just to fill that pool,"

a companion said from the side.

"And they drain it after just one use. They really don’t see us as human."

"Human? We aren’t human here. We’re just tools."

"But with Naomi here today, we should be able to finish the task, right, Naomi?"

Naomi Summers’s Water Element Superpower was the strongest among them. It was said she practiced day and night because she wanted to get out sooner to see her mother and sister.

"Yes, we’ll finish,"

Naomi Summers replied.

She stared at the clean, blue swimming pool before her, but the faces of her mother and sister appeared in her mind.

The fat supervisor had only said they were safe and sound in the base, telling her to work hard and she would be free in a year.

But for a while now, she had been feeling an inexplicable anxiety and worry.

Unfortunately, they had no contact with the outside world here and absolutely no source of information.

"The base’s main gate should be open by now,"

someone said, looking in the direction of the gate.

"Yeah, it should be."

Naomi Summers looked in that direction as well.

That was the direction of the main gate, but a high wall blocked their view.

They had been locked up here for 113 days...

At that moment, the main gate of Lornwood Base was wide open.

But only a handful of people were walking out.

A sharp, childish cry of reproach rang out, followed by the sound of an adult’s angry curses and the thuds of punches and kicks.

And another faint voice, choked with sobs, begging for mercy.

"Alright, stop hitting her. She’s just a child."

At the base entrance, a woman wearing a lace sun hat stepped out of a car. She gently helped the filthy child on the ground to her feet.

The child was about eight or nine years old, and from her long, tangled, and matted hair, one could tell she was a girl.

"Are you alright?"

the woman asked with concern, looking at her.

The little girl shook her head, still clutching the water bottle she had just picked up.

There was still a mouthful of water in it. It had just been thrown from that car, which was why she had picked it up.

"She’s not allowed to pick up my things."

Just then, another little girl popped out from behind the woman.

This little girl was neat and clean, with fair skin, and she wore a light, gauzy dress.

"Evelina, you can’t act like that. Since it’s something you threw away, it’s fine if someone else picks it up."

The woman chided the little girl behind her, but in contrast, she affectionately took the girl’s hand, crouched down, and gave her a kiss.

"That’s right, life isn’t easy for anyone. And you guards, honestly, how could you beat a child over such a small thing?"

A tall man then stepped out of the car.

He took out a bottle of water and handed it to the little girl who had just been beaten.

"Here, child, take this and drink. Consider it an apology on behalf of my thoughtless daughter."

He pressed the full bottle of water into the beaten girl’s arms.

Then he swept his daughter up from the ground, took the woman’s hand, and got back into the car.

Watching them leave, many people revealed looks of envy and longing.

After all, it was rare to see such a loving family these days.

"Mrs. White is such a good person. She even gave water to some people a few days ago."

"Yeah, it’s rare for General Hughes and Mrs. White to be so devoted to each other. They’re a perfect match."

"..."

Listening to the discussions of the people around them, Cordelia explained to the person beside her:

"That’s General Hughes and Mrs. White, and the little girl is their daughter. The story goes that the General rescued the mother and daughter from some ruins a while back, which is why he’s so caring toward his wife and child now. He’s probably trying to make it up to them."

The person standing beside her was none other than Nina Jacobs. They had also just entered Lornwood Base.

But Nina Jacobs was currently staring at the filthy little girl.

"There used to be kids like that all over the base, many of them orphans. That bottle of water should last her for several days,"

Cordelia said, noticing that Nina Jacobs seemed interested in the little girl.

But Nina Jacobs shook her head. "If he were truly kind, he wouldn’t have given her that bottle of water."

"What do you mean?"

The moment Cordelia’s words fell, she saw a group of people from a corner walk toward the little girl.

She instantly understood what Nina Jacobs meant.

Something as precious as water would only bring disaster upon the little girl if it was in her hands.

"Should we go help her?"

Silas Crowley asked.

However, to their surprise, the little girl simply placed the bottle of water on the ground and then ran off with her empty bottle.

"Clever,"

Nina Jacobs said.

An ownerless bottle of water on the ground was bound to attract a fight. Already, many greedy eyes were fixed on it.

The little girl, on the other hand, had moved into the shadows at the side of the road, doing her best to fade into the background.

"Let’s go. She doesn’t need help right now,"

Nina Jacobs said.

They had deliberately disguised themselves before entering the base, all of them wearing old clothes so as not to attract attention.

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