Chapter 315: Chapter 315: Bella

Derek’s eyes narrowed, curiosity and calculation warring across his face. "You mean... make everything official? Use the base as a cover?"

"Exactly," Luke replied, a faint, clinical smile touching his lips.

"With a legitimate front, we can institutionalize operations that currently get us risk and profit in unequal measure."

Aaron leaned forward, impatience seeping into his voice. "Like what? Trading? Smuggling?"

Luke’s answer was careful and broad.

"More than that. We can run experiments, traffic people, siphon resources, and force labor. We can set quotas, levy fees, and claim it’s all administrative. Under the guise of charity or protection, we can command obedience."

Derek’s mouth twitched into a grin that didn’t reach his eyes.

Luke continued to speak, his tone calm yet filled with grand ambition.

"Once we establish a base with a façade of stability, we can begin molding our own loyal soldiers. With enough manpower, we can gradually start attacking smaller bases, absorbing their resources. From there, we expand step by step. Eventually, we grow into one of the most powerful bases in the entire apocalypse. That would be the beginning of our rise."

Hearing those words, Derek’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

"You really are the smartest of us," he said, admiration and greed mixing in his voice.

Luke laughed lightly. "This is all just theoretical for now. None of it will matter if we don’t start taking proper action."

Derek paused mid-nod. "What do you mean?"

Luke adjusted his glasses, his expression turning serious.

"Even if we’re officially recognized as a base, we still need food. A lot of it. The first step is forming a cooperative relationship with the SiIvy base. Once we have an agreement, we’ll be able to buy food at a cheap price. After that, we begin attracting people, slowly, strategically, through marketing, word of mouth, and promises that seem better than what they currently have."

Derek frowned.

"But with how well the SiIvy base treats its citizens, why would anyone even consider coming to us? We opened our base weeks ago, and barely one person stepped through the gate. Even the ones who came didn’t stay. No one sees us as an option."

It still stung, creating a base in name only to find himself ignored by the very civilians he had expected to flock to his command.

He had imagined influence, control, and domination; instead, he got empty rooms and silence.

Luke chuckled.

"That’s because we didn’t have anything to offer. No food. No security. No system. Nothing. But now that we’ve looted several villages, we have enough resources to use as bargaining chips. We trade them for zombie crystals, and once we have crystals, we exchange them for food with the SiIvy base."

Understanding dawned on Derek’s face. "Then what?"

"Then," Luke continued, his tone low and calculating, "we infiltrate. Quietly. Department by department. We place spies within the SiIvy base’s internal structure, management, logistics, medicine, supplies, and even their military division. Once enough departments are compromised, we’ll have the leverage and the intel needed to plan a full takeover from within."

Derek sucked in a breath, startled despite himself.

Luke continued as if discussing the weather.

"It may take a year or more. But once we take down the SiIvy base, we gain their technology, their food supply, and their structural network. With those two factors alone, no other force in this apocalypse would be able to stand against us."

Derek nodded slowly, his blood thrumming with dark excitement.

"The first step," Luke said, "is to choose the right people."

Derek looked around the warehouse thoughtfully, his gaze trailing over his men until it finally landed on a woman and a man standing in the far corner.

Meanwhile, far away inside the military base...

A young woman stood behind a cracked concrete wall, watching the young man from a distance.

Her face was tense, her fingers gripping the fabric of her tattered shirt as she witnessed the scene unfolding.

Perry was speaking animatedly to two bulky strangers. His grin was wide, cruel, and self-satisfied.

"So, like I said," Perry chuckled, "you two can resell her as many times as you want. And since you’ve got those higher connections, you’ll make even more profit. Don’t worry, she won’t resist. The girl hasn’t awakened any power. Shock therapy didn’t work, starvation didn’t work. She’s useless for combat. Just a pretty face that can fetch a good price."

Bella’s blood ran cold as she listened.

The two large men exchanged glances before one of them spoke. "One kilogram of rice is still a lot. We aren’t paying more than that."

Perry clicked his tongue aggressively.

"One kilo? Too low. At least ten kilos. She’s young, she’s healthy, and she’s quiet. You’re practically stealing her."

Seeing the men prepare to argue, he quickly added, "Nine kilos. Bottom line."

The two men shook their heads. "Five kilos," one said flatly.

Without hesitation, without even pretending to think, Perry nodded. "Deal. Take her."

Bella’s eyes widened as if her heart had cracked open. She shook her head, struggling violently against the ropes binding her wrists.

"No! You can’t sell me to strangers! Do you even know what will happen to me? Do you not care at all?" Her voice trembled with both fear and fury. "Human traffickers will torture me!"

Perry rolled his eyes as if she were a nuisance rather than a person. "You should be grateful you’re at least useful for something."

Bella felt something inside her snap. "Do you feel no shame? You already sold my sister. Now you’re selling me too?!"

Perry scoffed. "We aren’t related. Why should I care?"

"We are related!" Bella cried, her voice cracking. "My sister was your fiancée!"

Perry laughed, a hollow, callous sound.

"Her mistake was falling for the wrong man. And honestly? I was planning to sell you before the apocalypse anyway, to pay off my debt. But then... well, things changed."

Bella clenched her jaw, hatred burning like molten metal in her chest.

"If I survive this... I swear I will take revenge. Pray that I never escape."

Perry waved his hand dismissively. "Your sister didn’t survive. You think you will?"