Chapter 328: Chapter 328: Victims

Ivy patiently waited for Jessica to continue. Jessica took a shaky breath before speaking.

"The profits he made, he never shared with me... That’s when I realized he’d been lying from the start," she admitted.

"But I still helped him... because I thought, if I cooperated long enough, he would finally transfer the permanent house under my name. But once we got deeper into it, I understood he never planned to give me anything at all. Instead, he blackmailed me. He said if I didn’t keep helping him smuggle saline bottles, he would expose my involvement."

Hearing that, Ivy couldn’t help the sharp laugh that slipped out. She looked at Jessica with a cold, incredulous expression.

"I’ve seen stupid people," Ivy said slowly, "but even then I kept hoping you would eventually grow out of your stupidity. But now? It turns out you’re the dumbest person I’ve ever seen."

Jessica’s face flushed, her fists clenching. "You can’t call me dumb!"

"I absolutely can," Ivy snapped back, her voice tinged with fury.

"What were you thinking when you used your position to abuse the resources entrusted to you by this base? Did you ever consider the salary you receive? The benefits you have? The privileges that normal survivors don’t even dare dream of? And you threw it all away for a permanent house?"

Jessica’s eyes filled with a mixture of shame and desperation. "You don’t understand! You don’t know what a permanent house means to us!"

She pointed at the crowd. "Ask any survivor here! Ask them if they wouldn’t take the chance to own a home in this apocalypse!"

Ivy glanced at the crowd, and to her disappointment, she saw a few lowered heads. Whether out of guilt or agreement, she couldn’t tell.

Jessica’s voice grew louder, her emotions spilling out.

"In this apocalypse, everything is uncertain! We don’t know if we’ll even live to see the next day! A house in a strong base... It’s security! It’s the only thing that guarantees survival! Even if I have a good salary, even if I have bonuses, what’s the guarantee that I’ll keep this job forever? One day, someone better will replace me, and then what? What choice will I have except begging for another job?"

Ivy folded her arms and looked at Jessica with a cold, piercing gaze.

"So instead of improving yourself to become irreplaceable, you chose to scheme? Instead of coming to me and discussing your fears, you chose betrayal? Instead of searching for a solution, you chose corruption?" Ivy asked.

Jessica froze.

"Do you know why?" Ivy continued, her voice suddenly cold as ice. "Because none of you ever trusted me as your representative."

Those words hit the crowd like a hammer. Several people lowered their heads, especially the man who had earlier rushed at Ivy in anger.

Ivy continued, the chill in her tone making the air grow heavy.

"Till now, I tried to be understanding because the base leader told me to. She told me that I didn’t need to coddle or pamper the citizens. She said I should draw clear boundaries."

She glanced around, her expression tightening.

"But I didn’t listen. I thought if I took care of all your needs... your food, your comfort, your living conditions, you would understand and appreciate the efforts behind it. Instead, you grew entitled."

She clenched her fists, then exhaled slowly.

"The base leader was right. I shouldn’t have spent so much time worrying about your luxuries. I shouldn’t have tried to fix every problem for you. You don’t deserve that level of effort if you can’t even recognize what you already have."

The man kneeling on the ground quickly shook his head. "Representative Ivy, please... please reconsider. I realize now that I was wrong to resent you. I didn’t know the truth..."

"Was it my responsibility," Ivy cut in, "to hand-deliver saline bottles to you?"

He faltered.

Ivy pointed at the crowd, her expression sharp.

"I am not responsible for your lives. I am not your guardian angel. I am not some holy mother whose duty is to carry each of you on her back."

The citizens were struck silent.

Ivy continued in a steady, measured voice.

"The base’s goal was always simple: to provide temporary shelter. To give humanity the buffer time it lost when the apocalypse struck. A space to breathe. To think. To rebuild mentally before stepping into the world again."

She shook her head slowly.

"But instead, you all began treating this buffer as an entitlement. As if you were owed comfort and security without accountability. As if every inconvenience were my fault."

Her eyes swept across them.

"If you couldn’t access saline, why didn’t you come to me? Why didn’t you report corruption? Why did you let resentment build instead of seeking clarity? Why did you assume the worst before checking the facts?"

Someone from the crowd suddenly stood and shouted, "Then why didn’t you notice anything, Ivy?!"

The moment he finished, he realized his mistake... but it was too late.

Ivy laughed softly, bitterly. "Because, unlike what you seem to think, I also have a family. A family I would like to take care of."

The man’s face flushed with shame.

Ivy continued.

"Jessica wasn’t the only one at fault. All of you were. Some of you ignored irregularities. Some of you noticed but didn’t report them. Some of you chose to assume the worst about me instead of asking. And I stayed in the dark because of all that."

She exhaled slowly, the frustration and disappointment clear in her eyes.

"Stop acting like victims. You are not helpless children waiting to be spoon-fed. There were mistakes on the side of the base, yes, but there were mistakes on your sides too."

A hush fell. Many heads dipped low.

In truth, several of them had wanted to complain earlier, but they held back... believing Ivy wouldn’t care or would ignore them.

But now they realized how wrong they were.

Ivy took a steady breath, her tone softening but still firm.

"I apologize for not catching the corruption sooner. That is my failing as a representative. But going forward, if you have any complaints, if you see anything suspicious, then come directly to me."