After I Fully Prepared for the Apocalypse, the Ungrateful Cried with Regret

That being said, knowing Liam Grant and Renee Strong as she did, Nina Jacobs was certain they wouldn’t just give up.

Especially since her rebirth had changed the game, she believed the pair would surely find another way. They might even come to resent City D Base because of it...

’Let’s see when they’ll show their trump card.’

Nina Jacobs’s eyes darkened.

’Liam Grant must have some other ace up his sleeve.’

In her past life, Liam Grant knew full well that she possessed most of the base’s supplies, yet he still chose to eliminate her.

It would be impossible to sustain the base’s development without supplies.

’So what exactly was his ace in the hole?’

As her thoughts settled, Nina Jacobs began to feel drowsy.

She slept relatively peacefully that night, but the members of Team 1 outside her door were restless.

Early the next morning, before Nina Jacobs even opened her door, she heard voices from outside.

”Since when does Harlan manage this sort of thing?

He’s making every one of us bet on those two. Isn’t he trying to ruin us?”

”Yeah, today they’re up against those lunatics from Team 3.

I hear Old Ghost placed a huge bet.”

”Old Ghost is back? Wasn’t he called out of the pod unexpectedly yesterday?”

”He’s back. He was waiting over there before the sun was even up...”

Just then, Nina Jacobs opened the door.

”Who is Old Ghost?” Nina Jacobs asked.

The people outside the door were startled.

Zachary Sterling’s heart sank when he saw that Nina Jacobs knew nothing.

’Maybe we shouldn’t have let these two newcomers compete,’ he thought. ’Everyone in Team 1 is already poor, and now we’ll probably have no food or water.’

”Old Ghost is Team 2’s supervisor. He’s a gambling addict who bets on every single match, so everyone calls him Old Ghost.”

Zachary Sterling said.

”He’s also a Water Element Superpower User, so all the Water Element users in the pod are under his control.”

A woman standing nearby added.

Nina Jacobs nodded, then asked, ”Are there any limits on Crystal Core bets? And where do I place them?”

”I’ll take you.”

Theseus York said.

The betting took place in a long corridor outside the fighting arena.

It was the first time Nina Jacobs had seen anyone use burlap sacks to hold Crystal Cores.

After being counted, the Crystal Cores were dumped into the sacks, and quite a few of them were already piled up along the corridor.

”Name? Which match?”

There were many betting stalls along the corridor, and the man in charge of recording the bets couldn’t even be bothered to lift his head.

”Nina Jacobs. Betting on Nina Jacobs in the third match.”

Nina Jacobs decided to place a small bet first to see how it worked. Wayne Warner’s match was in the afternoon, and bets could be placed any time before it started.

Only then did the man look up in surprise.

It wasn’t the first time he’d seen someone bet on themselves, but this Nina Jacobs was a newcomer. Plus, her opponent was the formidable Dominic Sloan of Team 3.

However, glancing at the paltry little bag of Crystal Cores, the man shrugged and sneered,

”Sure. With that few Crystal Cores, you’re just playing around.

There’s a term for it, right? ’All or nothing.’”

Nina Jacobs had only bet 500 Crystal Cores. Theseus York had told her that 500 was the minimum bet.

Judging from the odds displayed on the screen, the disparity between the two sides was huge.

But if she won, based on the payout multiplier, her Crystal Cores could increase by several dozen times, if not more.

Without a Space Superpower User to accompany her, winning too many Crystal Cores would likely attract unwanted attention.

”Tch, who even bets 500 Crystal Cores these days?”

After Nina Jacobs left, someone signing the registration sheet spotted the entry for the glaringly small 500 Crystal Core bet.

”Makes sense. Look, they bet on Team 1. Who bets on Team 1? I heard their contestant is a woman, too.”

”True. Probably just betting for fun.”

”...”

Overhearing the crowd’s chatter, Zachary Sterling and the others who had just caught up felt their despair deepen.

Nina Jacobs only bet 500 Crystal Cores on herself.

To put it in perspective, 500 Crystal Cores could barely buy a bowl of thin soup here.

Clearly, not even she had any confidence in her own chances.

”What do we do, Sterling? Harlan is demanding we each bet at least 10,000.”

A member of Team 1 beside him said, his face grim.

”What choice do we have? Ten thousand each. Pay up.”

Zachary Sterling said to the Space Superpower User beside him.

If they disobeyed Harlan, he might actually tear them limb from limb.

After all, it wouldn’t be the first time.

At the mention of Harlan, no one dared to object further, and they quickly and obediently placed their bets.

Nina Jacobs and Wayne Warner hadn’t arrived early. She found a corner to sit down in, then looked toward the room above the arena.

Unfortunately, her Little Zombie Rat hadn’t found a way up yet, but she could sense someone was already in there.

’Evander Langdon is here this early?’

”I finally found you.”

Tobin hurried over as soon as he saw Nina Jacobs.

He seemed to have picked up more injuries.

But his eyes were more resolute than before.

”Did you get beaten up?” Nina Jacobs asked.

Tobin hadn’t killed his opponent yesterday. Apparently, doing so halved the team’s winnings, and the person responsible would get beaten up by their teammates.

”Yeah, but they didn’t get off easy either.

I’ve finally figured it out. In this place, kindness gets you bullied.”

Tobin said.

”Your Team 5...”

Nina Jacobs trailed off. It seemed she had thought only the people in Team 1 were like that.

”How are things? The supervisor for Team 1 didn’t give you a hard time, did he?

I hear he drags anyone he dislikes off for dissection and loves to make human specimens.”

Tobin asked with concern. Even though he knew Nina Jacobs was strong, this place was full of unhinged people, and it was always possible to fall into a trap if one wasn’t careful.

”Don’t worry. He won’t.”

Her other two Little Zombie Rats had discovered something unexpected last night: Harlan seemed to have a hidden agenda here.

”That’s good. Your opponent today is Dominic Sloan from Team 3. He’s a Gold Element user who specializes in cutting with Golden Threads. He’s also obsessive, so you might have to kill him before he’ll concede.”

Even though Tobin had only been here for a few days, he had already learned a bit about some of the people in the pod.

”If I kill him, the requirement will become a 10-match winning streak.”

Nina Jacobs still wanted to stick to the five-win streak if at all possible.

After all, she could only participate in one match a day.

Ten matches was too slow.

”You know, you didn’t have to bring Wayne Warner here for my sake. This place is too dangerous...”

Tobin said, sounding guilty.

He felt he had dragged Nina Jacobs into this.

”It wasn’t entirely for you.”

Nina Jacobs stated simply.

”Is there anything you need me to do?” Tobin asked, slightly taken aback.

’Not entirely for my sake... so is it for Tomorrow Base?’

”Do you know that there are underground tunnels here?

Is there any way to get down into them from here?”

Nina Jacobs asked.

But, just as she had expected, Tobin didn’t know there was another passage underground.

The first fight of the day finally began.

The entire crowd watching the fight was frenzied, everyone guessing who would die first.

Cries of ”Kill him!” filled the air.

The two Superpower Users in the arena were instantly consumed by bloodlust.

They had no personal grudge, yet they had to use every ounce of their strength to kill each other.

’A meaningless slaughter,’ Nina Jacobs thought to herself.

’Then what is the point of this place’s existence?’

The entire Correctional Pod wasn’t correcting people who had done wrong; instead, it had been fashioned into a natural colosseum for beasts.

SCHLICK!

In the arena, one fighter pierced the other’s heart, and the entire venue erupted in a deafening roar of cheers.

The second match went the same way.

”I’m going to get ready.”

Nina Jacobs stood up and said.