8mi Chapter 3401 - 2537: Cape Contest (58)
Chapter 3401 - 2537: Cape Contest (58)
Chapter 3401 - 2537: Cape Contest (58)
The location of the fourth bomb was announced.
At first, Peter and Jason had no impression of the place until a big guy found them on the lawn.
"Hey, you guys, remember me? I'm Carol."
Peter and the others looked up, and Peter frowned at the face. He thought carefully before he dredged up the man's features from the depths of his memory and said, "Are you Thompson's little lackey?"
"That's me." Carol nodded and said, "Thompson is living in this block now; I need to go check on him. Do you guys want to come along?"
Peter looked down at the location pointed out on the map; it was exactly where the fourth bomb was. However, it was not a very nice neighborhood; in fact, it was much more chaotic than where they lived.
"Thompson didn't go to college?" Peter asked.
Carol shook his head and said, "His father got into trouble, and the whole family was implicated. He didn't get into college, and no professional sports team was willing to take him. He's working as a mover on Mason Street; his little daughter is already three years old."
Peter and Jason both sighed in unison, but said nothing. Peter turned to Jason and said, "We need to go check it out, we need to find a way to stop this disaster."
Jason looked around; obviously, sitting back and hoping everything would go back to normal was not an option. More likely, if they continued to delay, everyone here would die.
Peter and Jason set out, but actually, because the specific locations of the next few bombs were announced in advance, the people in that district had mostly evacuated. Still, the two of them managed to find Thompson at the place Carol had mentioned.
After so many years, he was still very strong and had become even stronger than the current Jason due to long-term physical labor.
Seeing Peter and Jason approaching, Thompson was first taken aback, and then he sneered, "I didn't expect you two to still be alive."
"After all these years, your mouth is still as foul." Jason retorted unapologetically, noticing that Thompson was loading goods onto the truck and that inside the cargo hold sat two scrawny, dirty-looking individuals.
"This is my own truck; I have to make a round on the street next door to get these people out." Thompson said tersely.
The people Thompson spoke of clearly referred to the two in his truck, who appeared to be homeless based on their build and appearance.
His street was definitely home to many homeless people because the neighborhood had poor security, and the police rarely patrolled the area. Many people without homes used this place as a base.
Some of them would watch the news and flee, but some were either addicted to drugs or too old and weak; some didn't know to run, and others could not, even if they wanted to. It seemed Thompson was using his moving truck to transport these people out.
"How many trips have you done?" Peter asked.
"Five so far, but there are a few troublemakers who insist on running deep into the woods to pitch tents." Thompson said with a hint of disgust.
They did not have so much time to reminisce about their strife-filled youth; 20 years later, upon reuniting, any past grudges paled in comparison to the current urgent situation.
"I'll go with you." Jason said as he got into the passenger seat of the truck and waved at Peter, "Check out the situation ahead, Peter; call me if there's any problem."
Peter nodded and didn't get into the truck. Thompson and Jason were the stronger types, able to carry people; he, on the other hand, was rather skinny. After so many years as a re
After all, those hobos had abandoned themselves; their life or death was irrelevant to society. Why should he sacrifice the safety of his own family for a group of strangers who had given up on themselves?
Jason took a painful breath, and it was evident that Thompson, too, was lost in confusion. He was a middle-aged man with his own concerns.
He had helped these people only because, back when he was just a porter shuttling goods through these streets, many of the locals, including some hobos familiar with the area, had shown him the way. So, after moving his own family to a safe place, his first thought was to get these people out as well.
There had been over an hour left at that time, and he had a vehicle with spare room, so making a round trip through the nearby districts to rescue people didn't seem like a big deal.
But now, he had to choose between this group of hobos and his beloved wife and daughter; what was he to decide?
In the moment of their indecision, the van had already approached the crowd blocking the road, who clearly had no intention of moving aside.
At the critical moment, Thompson swerved the steering wheel; the van grazed the sides of buildings lining the street as it rushed out, rolling onto its side the instant before the explosion thundered behind them.