Chapter 299: Chapter 299: Selling food

Turning her face toward the curious crowd, Ivy’s face turned grim.

She adjusted the megaphone right near her mouth and began, "Everyone, you might be wondering why we have the captives who were lost a few weeks or months ago. The answer is simple: they were trafficked, and the one who had helped the most was the base leader of this base, Austin."

Her words were like a stone being thrown in still water. Whispers and gasps echoed in the air like ripples in the water.

"Are they telling the truth?"

"I always felt that there was something amiss about our leader!"

"Me too! Haven’t you seen his wives? They look so scared! And the strange part is that all of them were replaced every week and were never seen again!"

A man with triangular eyes and pale skin interrupted the discussion.

"What nonsense! I don’t believe them! How can they suddenly appear and call our base leader a trafficker? What if their plan is to gain our trust? Maybe they want to sow discord and become the base leader themselves?"

"Oh, don’t worry about it. We are leaving anyway. It will be you all who will be left to deal with these traffickers." Ivy’s nonchalant voice chopped off the seed of doubt brewing in the hearts of people.

Just as she finished speaking, a figure rushed toward Ivy and knelt in front of her.

"Thank you! Thank you so much for helping!" It was a female figure; her pale skin and melodious voice echoed in the chaotic atmosphere.

What followed was the silence... utter silence.

Ivy reacted quickly and helped Miley up. How can she forget the woman from whom the entire mission started?

The poor young woman’s entire body was trembling.

Miley stared at the beautiful woman with cascading pink hair, and her heart welled up with gratitude.

When Ivy had left, Miley knew... she was soon going to be sold as a sex slave, and her life was soon going to spiral into chaos.

She had lost her hopes when she was trafficked. However, when she opened her eyes... she found herself inside Twilight Base. Except... this time, she wasn’t under Austin’s control or monitored by the guards.

This time, facing her were the curious stares of the crowd. Her eyes lit up with hope when the melodious voice exposed Austin’s black deeds.

It was then that she realized... the desperate plea for help was heard by Ivy, and the beautiful woman executed a plan and exposed a monster hiding in human skin.

When others started to question Ivy, rage bubbled in Miley’s chest, and instead of using a stupid method of defending, she opted for the most sincere one.

Letting others know of what Ivy had done and inspiring the rescued captives to take Ivy’s side.

Sure enough, the next second, all the captives rushed toward Ivy and knelt one by one.

"Thank you!"

"Thank you, lady!"

....

By this time, the effect of anesthesia had worn off, and all the victims understood the scene.

How can they stand by and watch their savior being scolded?

Some of the conscious captives turned toward the triangular-eyed man and stated with narrowed eyes,

"I was awake and saw how this lady was captured! She is our rescuer and not some discord sower! Respect her!"

Others followed the man’s example and growled.

A few of Austin’s subordinates felt sweat dripping from their foreheads. This time, they might truly be done...

After all, half of the captives have already seen the mastermind behind the scenes (Austin); now, even with Austin’s explanation, the matter won’t be salvaged at all!

One by one, they started to slip away from the crowd.

Silas’s sharp eyes noticed them, and he followed them. Ivy stayed behind and exposed the scheme of human traffickers.

"They lure innocent people by spreading fake rumors about a black market with cheap food and some special place that others don’t have access to enter; however, they will let you in because of the connection or so-called fate." Her grim words made the crowd’s hearts reach their throats.

"These people are depraved and won’t stop till they squeeze every value out of humanity. Now the apocalypse has descended, and it becomes easier for evil to prey on the innocent. So I request you all not to fall for such a scam. Your children, spouse, relatives... no one is safe. Expect betrayal and be paranoid to avoid dangers."

Ivy wouldn’t have bothered to give these lengthy speeches.

However, when she rescued the captives, she realized something important...

If someone had informed her of these matters, perhaps she would have made fewer mistakes, and the tragic fate of her beloved people could have been averted.

"Also, the apocalypse is temporary; don’t let the darkness within you win... because if you do... you will be left alone once this chaos ends." Ivy sincerely stated those words.

Her goal was clear. Save as many lives as she could and let others see the end of the tunnel.

"It’s easy for you to say! But only the empty stomach knows the burning pain of hunger." Someone from the crowd shouted.

While others nodded along. Who can resist the temptation of having enough to eat in an apocalypse?

Ivy arched a brow. "Oh? So your solution is to sell or betray your beloved one for temporary hunger or your own life?"

A stunned silence ensued. This time, those people didn’t have anything to say.

"As for hunger... I heard the Moonjewel base has a shop where you can buy food with zombie crystals. So now the excuse of ’I did it because of my own circumstances’ won’t work."

"You are lying! You must have your agenda!" Someone from the crowd shouted; their voice was filled with wariness.

"Hm? I bought 2000 kg of rice from there. That was all I could afford; however, I am ready to sell it to prove my stance." Ivy assured, and this time, everyone’s heart skipped a beat.

Food? Was someone ready to sell their food?

Before anyone could question, Ivy stated in her melodious voice, "5 kg of rice per person. Currency is zombie crystal."