Chapter 283: Chapter 283: Matt

"Most likely by evening," Ronak replied in a nonchalant tone. He trusted Ivy would keep her word, and sure enough, Ivy didn’t disappoint her.

Water as clear as a diamond, packed in a transparent water bottle, was getting sold.

The stall was located right outside Ronak’s house.

The citizens of Moonjewel Base were grateful to Ronak for selling the water at the cheap price of 20 crystals.

When Ronak emerged from the house, he saw the crowd forming a line and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Leader Ronak, thank you so much for your mercy!" Someone from the crowd shouted.

Ronak waved his hand and explained, "This water was bought from my sister-in-law, who couldn’t bear to see the masses suffer. She has already left after giving up her portion of supplies, so if you want to thank someone, please thank her!"

Though he wanted to keep Ivy’s identity safe, he received a strange request from Ivy stating that she wanted to leave behind her name.

Ronak repeatedly warned her about the dangers of leaving her name behind, but Ivy still insisted. At last, he agreed.

"Your sister-in-law? She is so kind! Please thank her on my behalf!"

"May God never let her go hungry!"

"Others use this apocalypse to benefit, but she? She chose the kind path! She must be a god’s messenger."

Most of the people only felt gratitude bubbling in their hearts; however, a few bad seeds still intervened.

"Ha! God’s messenger? Don’t make me laugh!" A rough voice scoffed from the back of the line. Heads turned to see a burly man with unkempt hair and a sneer twisting his face. "If she truly was kind, would she even have asked for crystals?"

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

"Watch your mouth, Blake!" a woman shouted, clutching her bottle protectively. "You should be ashamed for asking for free things in an apocalypse."

But Blake only smirked, clearly enjoying the attention. "I’m just saying what everyone’s too scared to. Want to act kindly while looting crystals from us? Dream on!"

Blake’s words swayed the weak-minded people in the crowd, and one by one they exchanged glances.

Ronak’s expression turned cold; however, before he could defend Ivy, someone from the crowd rushed toward Ronak and knelt down.

"Sir, please ask your sister-in-law to make a concession and let me take this water on loan! I am elderly, my son is disabled, and I haven’t hunted down even 3 zombies till now. However, if I don’t get one bottle... I will die from thirst."

This elderly man’s name was Matt, and his condition was truly poor.

With a lot of care and love, he had raised his son, and his son didn’t disappoint him. The day his son was admitted to the biggest architectural firm, the old man started to live leisurely.

Just when 90% of the loan was paid off and the old man thought of travelling around the world, the apocalypse descended.

In the blink of an eye, everything Matt had built crumbled. His savings turned useless; his son... once full of promise... was injured during an evacuation and lost both legs.

From that day on, Matt’s world shrank to the four cracked walls of their temporary shelter, where survival meant begging, scavenging, and praying that tomorrow would come.

Ronak’s gaze softened as he looked down at the trembling old man. Matt’s clothes were torn, his lips dry and cracked, yet his eyes still held a faint spark... the will to live.

"Sir, please..." Matt’s voice broke. "I’ll repay it. I swear on my son’s life. I’ll hunt zombies, work for the base, anything... Just don’t let us die of thirst."

Ronak didn’t rush to help out. He knew the possible implications of helping Matt.

If he helps Matt, then others will follow suit, and in the end, Ivy will earn 0 profit... worse... she might even go into debt!

However, if he didn’t help, then others would call Ivy heartless. Sigh! Why is selling something in an apocalypse so difficult? Precisely because of this reason.

His mind was quickly thinking of various solutions, and at last, he answered, "Sir, I..."

"What’s going on?" A feminine voice interrupted the scene, and everyone turned to look at the newcomer, only to realize... it was Ivy.

"Sister-in-law." Ronak called out. He dared to reveal Ivy’s identity only because of Silas’s presence beside her!

"Sister-in-law? So she is the one in charge of making decisions?"

"Matt, quickly go and beg her; maybe she will feel pity and agree!"

Matt’s eyes sparkled with gloom as he stared at Ivy. A glimpse flashed in his mind, and he hesitated, wondering whether or not he should go and confront Ivy to ask for help.

After all, she was a woman, and even though he accepted that he was shameless enough to beg in front of a man, he wasn’t shameless enough to put Ivy in front of the eyes of many.

Matt wasn’t an idiot. In fact, he was much more clever than he looked.

The precise reason why he had begged Ronak in front of everyone was because of his own selfish motive.

He thought that with the mass watching, Ronak would definitely give him at least, if not a bottle of water, then a cup of water, and if not a cup of water, then even a small bowl of water would be enough for him.

His son, who had been lying on the bed without any water for the past two to four days, would definitely die.

And hence, out of a selfishness that Matt had never thought himself capable of, he finally decided and shamelessly clung to Ronak, begging him to make a decision.

But now, when he encountered Ivy, he didn’t want to put her under the scrutiny of many people.

He pressed his lips together. Some of the people continued to egg him on, saying, "Go on, now’s your chance!"

However, Matt remained silent.

He clenched his fist, and a trace of hesitation flashed in his eyes as he was torn between seeking help and taking advantage or remaining silent and watching his son die.