CHAPTER 293: CHAPTER 293: HARRY

Kael’s voice was laced with helplessness. "I panicked... I didn’t know how she would react."

Ember rolled her eyes.

"The moment my senior finds a cute guy and starts dating him, I’ll definitely send you a post to remind you what it means to hesitate and regret."

Kael’s expression darkened. "Stop talking and let’s just leave," he muttered.

His eyes flashed with self-blame, and for a moment, he had the urge to beat himself up... sigh!

...

Ivy couldn’t help but laugh at her brother’s awkwardness.

Shaking her head, she wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.

"No wonder my big brother is still single, even after being handsome and rich," she teased.

Felix ran a hand through his hair and smirked. "At least I was lucky enough never to have that kind of unattainable love."

Hearing that, Ivy turned to him with a raised brow. "Really? How impressive."

Before Felix could respond, Ember burst out laughing.

"Don’t believe him! Felix is just a coward. He did like a girl once, but she beat him up so badly that he became scared of proposing to anyone ever again. What’s even funnier is that he still hasn’t forgotten her!"

Ivy stared at Felix in surprise, while Felix’s face turned red with fury.

He stood abruptly, slammed his hand on the table, and pointed at Ember.

"You’re crossing the line this time! How could you say..." He paused mid-sentence, then changed his tone stiffly. "You’re falsely accusing me. I’ve never had such an encounter."

Ember laughed even harder and turned toward Ivy. "See? He still likes that girl. But because of his pride, he’ll never admit it. I’ve even seen him hiding under his blanket, crying over her!"

Felix’s eyes widened in outrage. "Have you been spying outside my room?!" he shouted, pointing at her in disbelief.

Ember stuck out her tongue and ran away.

The siblings goofed around for a while.

Soon it was 8:45 pm.

The siblings, along with Silas, exited the tent and made their way to the tunnel entrance. Because of the extreme heat, many of the citizens only leave their houses at night.

Though there was a huge crowd flocking to various places, hardly anyone inched near the entrance of the tunnel.

Reason? The strict patrolling. Two guards were constantly surveying the surroundings. As long as anyone entered their vision range, they would shoot the other party without warning.

Hence, when Ivy, along with Silas and Ember, Kael, and Felix, exited the tent, the guards stared at them with a predatory gaze.

Another fact that couldn’t be helped was... the aesthetic beauty of the group. Even without doing much, they naturally stood out.

Two guards, however, stared at Ivy and Ember with a gleam in their eyes and exchanged glances. A thought flashed in their mind simultaneously.

’These two beautiful women will fetch a good price. At least 20 Kg of rice each!’

One of the guards, named Harry, even recognized Ivy; her naturally pink hair stood out in the crowd, while her goddess-like aura made them salivate.

"I will take the pink one; you go with the black-haired one," Harry suggested to his partner, Grey.

Both Harry and Grey had a tall build, but while Harry gravitated toward the lean side of muscularity, Grey had a bulky frame, making him look intimidating.

"Alright. But we would need to make sure that all the men are away. If my experience serves me right... they are powerful." Grey frowned.

Just as they were debating whether to make a plan or simply shoo those men away with some excuse, they saw the men leaving along with the pink-haired woman.

Grey and Harry both frowned. After all, they’d planned to take Ivy too, and now she was leaving with those men.

Before they could hatch another scheme, the pink-haired woman... who had vanished with the men to God-knows-where, returned. Grey and Harry’s faces split into wicked smirks.

’Even the gods are smiling on us,’ they thought.

They marched over to where Ivy and Ember stood and, eavesdropping on the conversation, heard that the men had gone to look for grain.

A plan clicked into place in both their minds.

The two guards strode up to the women. The moment Ivy and Ember felt a towering shadow fall over them, they turned to face the guards.

Grey and Harry exchanged a meaningful look, then Grey asked, "Are you in need of grains?"

When Ivy and Ember nodded, Harry cut in, "I know of a secret black market where grains are sold for cheap. If you agree, we can lead you there."

Ivy and Ember immediately brightened, nodding enthusiastically; for a suspended second, Grey and Harry almost thanked the heavens.

’These women are so gullible. Their beauty’s eaten their brains,’ they thought, grinning as they began to shepherd them toward the underground tunnel entrance.

Inside, Ivy and Ember smirked secretly, though they kept innocent expressions on the surface.

Grey slipped into small talk. "What are you doing here? Are you planning to stay?" he asked.

Ivy explained, "I got intel there’s a special black market... things are much cheaper than where I originally came from."

Grey and Harry inwardly smirked; it was exactly what they’d hoped.

After all, they’d been the ones who spread rumors about a cheap black market to lure more humans this way.

Their scheme was simple: trap these people, throw the men into experiments, and sell women as sex slaves.

Soon, they arrived at the entrance of an underground tunnel.

Once there, Grey and Harry asked Ivy and Ember to go inside.

The two women exchanged doubtful glances before Ivy asked,

"What’s going on? Why do we need to enter an underground tunnel?"

Grey and Harry smiled reassuringly. "Right below this tunnel is a secret black market," Grey explained smoothly.

"It’s built underground to prevent the crowd from looting."

Ivy and Ember feigned excitement and nodded before stepping in.

The moment they entered, a suffocating wave of heat and dust engulfed them.

The air was thick, dry, and heavy, carrying the burnt scent of soil.

It was like stepping into a sauna, only without moisture. The oppressive heat made breathing difficult.