Chapter 189: Chapter 189: Obeying Orders Is His Bounden Duty
He made it sound nice, but it was a threat all the same.
Don’t want to follow the arrangements?
Then get out of the base!
No one understood the current environment and living conditions outside the base better than Sierra Sullivan and her two companions, who had just returned from the outside.
Would they ever agree to leave the base and live out there?
It was this very assumption that allowed Hector Grant to act with such impunity, his attitude condescending and superior.
Looking at Hector Grant’s smug expression, Sierra Sullivan wanted to laugh coldly.
’Does he really think he has us cornered?’
’So what if we leave the base?’
’It’s not like we have nowhere else to go!’
"It’s the apocalypse, and you’re still treating us like cattle?"
"We refuse to follow your arrangements! You won’t let us stay in this Subterra, is that it? Fine, we’ll leave right now!"
"You really think we have nowhere else to go if we leave? You’re hilarious!"
When she suddenly heard this tirade, Sierra Sullivan froze.
’Did I just accidentally say what I was thinking out loud?’
’No, that can’t be right!’
’I’m not usually that careless!’
Listening more closely, she realized it really wasn’t her own voice.
It was Nathan Thorne’s voice!
’That’s it!’
Given Nathan Thorne’s personality, it was completely in character for him to voice his discontent so directly.
In a way, this outspoken Nathan Thorne was rather endearing.
As Sierra Sullivan thought this, she looked over at Nathan Thorne.
She saw Nathan Thorne with his chin up, looking at Hector Grant with a disdainful expression.
Hector Grant, however, didn’t get angry.
On the contrary, Hector Grant even started to laugh.
"Nathan Thorne, are you thinking of leaving Subterra and taking them to your Dawnlight Base?"
Nathan Thorne wasn’t embarrassed that his thoughts had been guessed.
He didn’t think it was anything to be embarrassed about.
He did, after all, have somewhere else to go!
Hector Grant didn’t seem to care what kind of answer Nathan Thorne would give, because he spoke again right after.
"You probably don’t know how big Subterra is. I doubt Captain Everett has had a chance to tell you. This underground city extends all the way to beneath Dawnlight Base. In other words, the people from Dawnlight Base are here in Subterra right now—including your parents!"
"What?"
Nathan Thorne shot to his feet. "Is that true? Are my parents really here?"
"Of course. Why would I lie to you? If you don’t believe me, you can ask Captain Everett."
Nathan Thorne immediately looked over at Kevin Everett.
Kevin Everett looked at Nathan Thorne guiltily. "Nathan, I’m so sorry. There was so much going on with the potions just now, I completely forgot..."
Nathan Thorne wasn’t angry at all. The only thing he cared about right now was whether what Hector Grant said was true.
Hearing Kevin Everett’s words, Nathan Thorne knew that everything Hector Grant had said was actually true.
His parents were in Subterra right now.
He would soon be able to see the people he had been longing to see!
Was there anything that could make him happier?
Nathan Thorne was practically buzzing with excitement. "Captain Grant, can you have someone take me to see my parents?"
Hector Grant raised an eyebrow. "Your attitude certainly changed quickly!"
If it were anyone else, being told that to their face would surely make them feel a bit awkward or embarrassed.
But Nathan Thorne was not that kind of person at all.
He didn’t know the meaning of the word "embarrassed."
Facing Hector Grant’s teasing, Nathan Thorne chuckled. "I’m the one asking for a favor now, so of course my attitude is different. Please don’t hold it against me, Captain Grant."
Hector Grant, "..."
A speechless expression appeared on Hector Grant’s face.
You could tell he had never met anyone like Nathan Thorne before.
After a moment of silence, Hector Grant finally said, "In a little while, you can leave with me. I’ll have someone take you to see your parents. It’s quite a long way from here to there. You have to take a special passageway."
After thinking for a moment, Hector Grant turned to Sierra Sullivan and Jayce. "Don’t worry, I won’t sell him off. Subterra is a proper place, with laws, just like a city before the apocalypse."
Sierra Sullivan, "..."
’Isn’t this a classic case of protesting too much?’
She hadn’t been thinking along those lines, but now that Hector Grant had said it, she couldn’t help but wonder.
However, Sierra Sullivan also had a feeling that Hector Grant was telling the truth and wouldn’t actually sell Nathan Thorne out.
Although there was no evidence, and although she had only just met Hector Grant today, Sierra Sullivan believed him deep down.
Even she herself couldn’t explain why she felt this way.
Sierra Sullivan suppressed the chaotic thoughts in her mind. "You can rest assured, Captain Grant. We don’t doubt you. But there is something else we’d like to ask you."
"Go ahead."
"Candice Tate... the five-year-old girl with the Plant System Superpower. Why is she being treated like that?"
This time, Hector Grant didn’t answer immediately, falling silent instead.
For a moment, the expression on Hector Grant’s face was so complex that Sierra Sullivan couldn’t quite decipher it.
After a while, Hector Grant finally spoke slowly.
"I know about her situation, but I wasn’t the one who arranged it. It was a decision from my superiors. I have no say in the matter."
Sierra Sullivan was not satisfied with this answer.
"What about you? Do you think this is right? Candice Tate is only five years old. Is it right to make a five-year-old child spend ten hours a day forcing crops to grow?"
Hector Grant was silent for a moment. "With great power comes great responsibility. Heaven gave her such a gift and Superpower, so she must make good use of it. Besides, she’s just growing crops in a room. There’s no danger, she can rest when she’s tired, and she has Crystal Cores to replenish her Superpower. Compared to many others, she’s already very fortunate..."
As he spoke, Hector Grant’s voice trailed off.
Sierra Sullivan sneered, "Why did you stop, Captain Grant? Did you find you couldn’t even stomach your own words?"
Hector Grant turned his face away. "I already told you, this isn’t something I can control. All I can do is obey orders."
Obeying orders was his duty.
Hearing this, Sierra Sullivan formed a theory about his past identity.
To be precise, she had already had a guess about his identity from the moment she first saw him; this just confirmed it.
’Obeying orders might be his sacred duty, but what if the one giving those orders is wrong?’
Sierra Sullivan only considered the question in her mind and didn’t ask it out loud.
Because Sierra Sullivan knew that even if she asked, she wouldn’t get an answer.
Hector Grant’s personality, and his background, would not allow him to change his current stance.
"I have one last question. Captain Grant, can you take me to meet the person who has the final say on this matter?"
