Chapter 297: Chapter 297: Destination

Soon, Felix and Silas had already tied Isaac to a nearby rock.

Of course, they had used rope, not Felix’s hands, since even if Felix might not feel pain, from Ivy’s perspective, it was still something she couldn’t bear to see him do.

Everyone turned their attention to Isaac, who began to speak, his tone wavering between anger and fear.

Isaac sighed, his eyes flickering with something unidentifiable, before saying,

"Austin was a politician before the apocalypse. But in the background... he ran a human trafficking network."

His words made the air grow heavy.

"This network had access to every kind of resource," Isaac continued. "Organ selling, slaves being sold, and experimental subjects... all of it existed even before the apocalypse. When chaos struck humanity, it became easy for them to transport people. No one noticed anything... no one cared."

Ivy’s fist clenched. The next second, she punched Isaac without hesitation.

Her cold voice carried an edge of cruel laughter.

"Did you ever wonder how it would feel if your own family members were trafficked away?!"

Isaac glared at her, but the moment Silas’s cold aura pressed down on him, his defiance crumbled. He lowered his eyes and chuckled bitterly.

"This world hasn’t given me anything beautiful," he sneered. "So why should I care about others?"

Ivy’s gaze hardened. "What do you mean by that?"

Isaac’s tone suddenly grew fierce, almost unhinged. "I was trafficked too!" he shouted.

"But no one came for me! I watched others being rescued and watched parents cry for their children. And I... I became jealous. Why were they happy when I was dying inside?!"

His voice cracked, trembling with rage and despair.

"So, I wanted them to feel what I felt. The same darkness. The same hopelessness. That’s why I helped this network. I wanted to see their happiness turn into screams!"

He looked away, muttering,

"It took years... so many connections... But I finally rose in ranks. If you and that brown-haired girl hadn’t appeared, I would’ve continued this forever."

Before he could finish, Ivy’s hand struck again. The slap echoed sharply through the tunnel. Blood splattered from Isaac’s lips.

Ivy’s laugh was chilling. "If you love darkness so much, why are you afraid of dying?"

Isaac stared at her with trembling eyes. "I don’t want to die! Why should I?! It’s the others, the happy ones; they should die!"

Ivy tilted her head slightly, a cold smile twisting her lips. "Don’t worry," she said softly. "Others will continue to be happy. You just won’t be here to spread your darkness anymore. This... is your end."

Isaac’s laugh cracked into panic. "Wait! You still need information about the higher-ups! You can’t kill me now!"

Ivy let out a low chuckle. "Oh, you’re right, we weren’t planning to kill you... yet."

Her eyes glimmered dangerously. "But your attitude screams you’re stalling for time."

Isaac’s eyes widened... that split-second reaction was all it took for everyone to realize Ivy was right.

Indeed, Isaac was hoping that the other guards who had left would return, and he would finally overpower Ivy and her group with their help.

Ember frowned. "Ivy... how did you know he was stalling?"

Ivy smirked. "Because he’s been talking nonsense. His story doesn’t make sense... trafficked as a child, yet became a trafficker? Feeling darkness yet joining the same evil? No. He’s lying. Maybe he just did this for money."

Silas gazed at Ivy proudly and thought in his mind, ’My wife is the smartest!’

Isaac’s expression froze. His mind spun in disbelief.

’How... how does she know that?’ he thought, panic flickering in his pupils. ’No one ever figured out why I joined this business. They all believed my sob story. Even my allies thought I had a tragic past! That’s how I survived... by feeding them sympathy. But this girl... she’s different. She sees through everything... every lie, every layer.’

Ivy looked at him and laughed softly.

"Your face says it all. You think you’ve hidden behind your tragic mask well? I’ve seen hundreds like you. You’re just another coward afraid to die. If you truly lived through such darkness, you’d have killed yourself long ago."

In her previous life, Ivy had personally withstood what evil and darkness mean. Isaac? He was nowhere near. His aura screams about those fake people who aren’t capable of spending a single day in a dark room.

Let alone endure the dark past he was talking about!

Isaac’s fury exploded. "You...!"

Before he could continue, Ivy made a subtle motion.

Felix understood immediately. He drew his knife and pressed it against Isaac’s throat.

In that instant, Isaac saw his life flash before his eyes. Panic seized him.

"Wait! I’ll tell you everything!" He screamed. "It’s Austin! It was all Austin’s plan!"

Felix paused for a mere heartbeat.

Ivy frowned, irritated. "Austin?"

Isaac’s voice shook. "Yes! Austin ran everything! But if you wants to know about the other contacts... I can tell you! Just let me live!"

Ivy’s lips curved in a dark grin. "You have one minute. Prove your usefulness, and I’ll let you live. Fail, and you die. Simple."

She looked at her watch.

Isaac began speaking rapidly, sweat dripping from his forehead.

"This tunnel... It leads outside the city. We were afraid of zombie attacks, so we built trucks, zombie-proof ones, to escape. Our destination is only twenty kilometers away. It won’t take more than two hours to reach."

Everyone listened silently.

Ivy asked coldly, "Where exactly?"

Isaac gulped. "Fortis Base."

The moment he said it, Ivy and Silas exchanged a look of shock. But Kael, Felix, Helena, Victor, and Ember remained calm... as if they had expected it.

Ivy took a deep breath, suppressing her rage.

"Fortis Base... so that’s your main destination. What happens to the people there? And how are Twilight Base and Fortis Base connected?"

Isaac laughed weakly.

"Austin’s half-brother is the base leader of Fortis Base. It’s one of the largest hubs for human trafficking. Every captive, every experiment subject... all are sent there for research. While women are sold as slaves or prostitutes."

Ivy’s brows furrowed. "What kind of research?"