Chapter 319: Chapter 319: Looting The Evil?

But inside Ivy’s base, it was calm, cool, and safe... almost like the paradise the world had once been.

"Ivy is truly a visionary," Talia whispered, unable to hide her awe. "She got into this base before anyone else. She’s so smart."

Silas chuckled. He wanted to brag and tell her that Ivy had built the entire base with her own hands, but he held back, deciding to remain silent until his wife let him tell the truth to others.

Instead, he simply guided Talia inside.

When she entered the living area, she noticed a man sitting on the sofa, his posture elegant and relaxed. He had striking purple eyes, so captivating that Talia involuntarily stared for a moment before she regained her composure.

"Bro?" she asked quietly.

Silas glanced at the man and said, "This is Kael. Ivy’s brother."

Talia blinked in surprise. "Brother?"

Silas nodded. "Before Ivy was adopted by the Ravencroft family, she had a real family. Later, she found them again. Kael is her biological brother."

Talia nodded slowly, processing the information. Kael stood up gracefully and said, "Since Silas is busy, I’ll take my leave for now." With a polite nod, he left the room.

The moment he was out of sight, Talia elbowed Silas lightly. "He’s cute."

Silas stiffened instantly. "Forget about him. He’s a complete block of wood when it comes to romance."

Towards Kael, Silas held an undeniably complicated feeling.

After all, Kael was not a bad person... far from it.

But when it came to romance, he truly resembled a block of wood.

’If my sister ended up with Kael, she would cry for six years straight,’ Silas thought helplessly.

Talia was already a naturally cold woman. Someone like her would fare far better with a man like Felix, who possessed instinctive charm and a ridiculously sweet tongue.

Compared to that, Kael’s emotional dullness made him the least compatible option imaginable.

Only someone cheerful and bubbly, or someone Kael genuinely liked, could match him.

Aside from those conditions, Silas could not imagine Talia and Kael ever forming anything close to a relationship.

Talia simply shrugged.

In truth, she had no real feelings for Kael.

She was still struggling to move past the betrayal of her former fiancé.

How could she even consider romance with someone else?

She had only made a passing comment, yet her brother was already spiraling into unnecessary assumptions.

’If he knew what I was thinking, he’d scold me for sure,’ she thought with a faint sigh.

When Talia finally took a seat, Silas brought her a cup filled with a cool, thick red liquid: tomato juice.

Talia stared at it in disbelief before looking up at her brother.

"In our military base," she said slowly, "having fresh food is the same as having vegetables. It’s basically a luxury."

Silas paused. Only then did he remember that although many people knew about food being sold SiIvy base, very few knew vegetables were actually being sold inside the Silvy base.

If word got out, everyone would attack the base in desperation.

"Vegetables are sold here," Silas explained calmly.

Talia’s eyes widened. Her voice trembled slightly as she asked, "Are you serious?"

Once Silas nodded, Talia couldn’t help the shock filling her chest.

’The world is changing so fast,’ she thought.

While countless survivors were struggling to earn a single scrap of food, people here could casually purchase vegetables... vegetables so rare that even in the black market, they cost ten or twenty grams of gold.

The moment gold crossed her mind, Silas was reminded of Ivy’s peculiar habit of collecting precious items.

She had been telling him repeatedly about collecting gold, platinum, diamonds, silver, properties, antiques, and jewelry.

He had no idea why she was so obsessed with these things, but because she wanted them, he had already decided to support her wholeheartedly.

So he turned to Talia and said,

"If you know any buyer who’s interested in these valuables... and if he’s evil... then bring him here. I want Ivy to drain him completely. Jade, gold, platinum, silver, diamonds, properties, equities, bonds, funds... everything. If he’s evil, she won’t feel bad looting him dry."

Talia’s eyes lit up instantly. "I think I know someone."

Her tone alone was enough. Silas immediately knew who she meant. He grinned broadly and said, "You really are my sister."

Talia laughed and replied,

"If General Frank can take so many actions against us, then it’s only fair that we retaliate."

Silas nodded. But then Talia frowned and asked,

"Shouldn’t we do something? Maybe start gathering people like General Frank did and compete for the military leader’s position?"

Silas shook his head slowly.

"Why not?" she asked, her brows knitting together.

Silas leaned back and sighed.

"Because the military base has already routed itself to corruption. Before, I thought it was fine for the military to support its rival bases in secret. But now that I think about it, it’s disgusting. If those grey-zone bases commit crimes in the future, how will the military deliver justice? They can’t... because they’re already supporting them from the shadows."

Hearing those words, Talia’s expression softened into understanding.

She too had felt the discomfort of watching the military secretly back morally ambiguous bases.

But Silas’s perspective made her see it from a wider angle.

After a moment, Silas added,

"Stay here for tonight before leaving. The temperature outside is increasing drastically."

Talia nodded, but then she hesitated.

"Brother... Do you think natural disasters are going to start? Like in those apocalypse novels?"

Silas fell silent.

In recent months, rumors had spread everywhere... about how the world was ending, how disasters would strike one after another, and how nature itself would turn against humanity.

Silas and Talia had dismissed it at first, believing people were simply panicking.

But after witnessing the extreme heat themselves, they could no longer ignore the possibility.

"If extreme heat continues," Talia whispered anxiously, "humanity is done for. No one will be able to leave the base. If no one leaves, no one can hunt zombies. If no one hunts zombies, there will be no zombie crystals...."