It turned out that Bernard was supposed to leave the base this morning. Nathaniel had given the orders the night before. Since the earthquakes had stopped, and Crow said there wouldn't be another one for at least two months, Bernard—who was already getting ready to leave—could finally go. Nathaniel knew Caroline's group didn't get along with Bernard. So, after thinking it over, he gave all of Bernard's tasks to Francis and told Bernard to leave quickly. He wanted to avoid any problems. But at sunrise, Bernard didn't wake up on time. Someone went to knock on his door. As soon as they touched the door, it swung open by itself. Inside, Bernard lay on the floor, clearly long dead. Even if people didn't like him, he was still an officer. That was enough to put Nathaniel on high alert. After a little investigation, the clues pointed straight to Tyler. The problem was—Tyler was nowhere to be found. "W-we saw Tyler ourselves. Last night, Tyler walked through the residential area and went into Colonel Hansen's room," Zach said, struggling to get the words out. Before he could finish, Denton let out an angry roar, "Nonsense! If Tyler wanted to kill someone, do you really think you'd catch him in the act? What do you think he is?" Zach clenched his teeth at Denton's shout but kept talking. "Bernard slept in the duty room last night. Our room is close by. We had the door open, talking about what work to do today, when we saw someone pass by and go into his duty room. Tyler's tall and stands out, so there's no way we could have been mistaken." He spoke firmly, making it clear he wasn't lying. The people around him started speaking up, one by one, agreeing with Zach—they all said they had seen Tyler. Caroline crossed her arms and stepped forward, looking at these old neighbors with a small, knowing smile. "Isn't this too convenient? You all just happen to know Tyler, just happen to be awake all night with your doors open to see him. And you all recognize him." Zach pressed his teeth together, refusing to admit he was lying. Caroline didn't argue with him any longer. She turned to Francis. "Colonel Sutton, are you saying you couldn't find Tyler anywhere in the shelter?" Francis nodded. "Yeah, and it's really strange. No one else saw him, except these guys. Even the base cameras never picked him up. And we've confirmed that no one entered or left the base last night. This is strange." Caroline frowned, processing the information. "We need to find Tyler first." Just as she said this, a mournful voice came from the distance, "You ungrateful people! Commander Ball trusts you—Francis respects you—and you let someone get killed in the base? Colonel Hansen is dead because of you! You have to pay!" The voice sounded older, filled with real sorrow. That man ran over quickly. He looked to be in his fifties—tall, thin, with a sharp, hooked nose that stood out. Caroline stared at him. He looked strangely familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him before. "Commander Ball, you have to defend Colonel Hansen! Even though we're all from Commander Zimmer's team, you can't take sides! Some of our people have died on missions lately, and now Colonel Hansen has died under mysterious circumstances. If word spreads, people will think you did it on purpose, to punish Commander Zimmer's team. It'll break people's trust!" As soon as he finished, Francis stepped forward angrily. "Watch your mouth! You're over fifty, a lieutenant colonel, and you still act so reckless? Blake, you're just trying to stir up trouble!" But that man called Blake suddenly turned his eyes toward Caroline and her group, looking at them like they were his enemies. He pointed at Caroline sharply. "Don't think I don't know. This woman caused problems back in the shelter. Everyone was afraid of her. She can kill without a second thought. Colonel Hansen crossed them before, so of course they wanted revenge! Before the apocalypse, people like them would have been gangsters, the worst of the worst! We're trying to make order now, we can't let people like this stay. They have no respect for any rules!" "Enough!" Nathaniel suddenly shouted.