CHAPTER 294: CHAPTER 294: PROTECTIVE

Ivy and Ember both winced and instinctively lifted their hands to shield their faces.

Grey and Harry followed close behind. Once inside, Ember frowned. "Why is it so hot in here? What’s going on?"

"This is just the entrance," Harry replied smoothly. "We’ll reach the market soon."

He gestured for them to follow. Ivy and Ember exchanged a silent look before trailing behind.

After a short walk, they reached an open chamber... an eerie clearing lit by faint, flickering bulbs.

The air here was different. Thick. Heavy. The faint sound of muffled sobs echoed off the walls.

Ivy’s heart sank. Dozens of men and women were tied up inside, their faces pale, eyes hollow, and bodies slumped in exhaustion. Several guards patrolled the area lazily, laughing and chatting.

Ivy and Ember froze in horror

Though they had expected to come across an inhuman scene, it still made their heart tremble.

Especially Ivy, the memory of being trafficked to a laboratory was still fresh in her mind.

And instinctively she tried to back away. Ember worried about Ivy as she inched near her.

But Grey and Harry misinterpreted their reaction and took action.

They moved swiftly, grabbing Ivy’s and Ember’s arms before they could retreat.

"Don’t even think about it," Grey sneered, his grip tightening.

Isaac, one of the guards, couldn’t help but comment, "Looks like you’ve got fresh stock this time."

The other guards burst into laughter. One of them whistled.

"Well, well... Grey and Harry really outdid themselves this time. These two are gorgeous."

Ivy and Ember pretended to struggle, masking their disgust.

But when Grey’s filthy hand suddenly groped Ember’s chest, her fury flared instantly.

She barely stopped herself from unleashing her full power right there.

’Calm down,’ she reminded herself. ’Not yet.’

But then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry groping Ivy.

In that instant, something inside Ember snapped.

Fury turned in her heart. How dare they! How dare they molest her younger sister!

’These bastards! I will kill them!’

Without hesitation, she struck Grey square in the jaw, sending him flying backward.

Before anyone could react, she turned and kicked Harry with brutal force.

He staggered, crashed into the wall, and rolled off the platform, landing hard in the clearing below.

Everyone went silent. Ember’s voice echoed furiously through the tunnel.

"You dared to touch my sister? I will chop off your hands and feed them to crocodiles!"

Ivy stood frozen for a moment, awe flashing in her eyes.

At the same time a warm current shot through her heart.

Ember was like how she was in Ivy’s past life. Protective to the point that she will never let Ivy suffer, even if it is for some grand cause.

’My sister is truly incredible... but this isn’t the time to admire her.’

She blinked quickly at Ember, sending a silent signal. Ember’s expression stiffened in realization... right, the plan!

Clenching her fists, she deliberately dropped to the ground, shaking violently as if she were having a seizure.

The guards, who had been paralyzed with shock, hesitated.

For a moment, they wondered if this woman was part of some covert rescue team.

But seeing her convulse on the floor, they relaxed.

"She’s just suffering from shock," one muttered.

None dared to approach her. It took several minutes before they noticed Ivy hugging Ember’s limp body and crying dramatically.

In fact, Ivy did this act to convince others.

She even let out a mournful sob, "Sister, please wake up! You don’t know how I survive! They will traffic me!"

Believing the more dangerous sister was now down, they gathered around Ivy.

However, no one dared to touch her. The sight of Grey lying unconscious and Harry sprawled below was warning enough.

Still, one guard cautiously grabbed Ivy’s arm to drag her toward the clearing.

Even with her faint struggles, the man flinched and backed away.

’Pathetic,’ Ivy thought, exasperated. ’Can these cowards even be called guards?’

She even started to wonder if they were just some random people hired by Austin to intimidate the trafficked people.

At that moment, Isaac, the same guard who had earlier joked with Grey, stepped forward, trembling but forcing authority into his voice. "Move," he barked. "Or I’ll shoot!"

Ivy noticed every guard was armed.

From their confidence and familiarity with the area, she could tell this operation had been going on long before the apocalypse.

’I fear that this criminal organization isn’t as small as it seems...’she she thought grimly.

They led her into the clearing where the captives were kept.

Men and women sat tied to iron posts, their mouths stuffed with dirty rags.

Their faces were gaunt, and their bodies frail from heat and starvation.

Some struggled weakly against the chains, but most had already fainted.

Ivy’s chest tightened. She hadn’t expected anything better, but the hollow eyes and lifeless stares of the captives stirred a flicker of pity in her heart.

She could sympathize with them.

There were far more men than women.

’So that’s it,’ she realized grimly. ’They prefer men, for experiments.’

Her mind replayed Silas’s words: Austin was looking for chemicals to create potions that could grant temporary powers.

If Austin is the leader of this trafficking ring, then he must be using these men as test subjects... and selling the women.

The more she thought about it, the darker her expression became.

Still, she allowed the guard to chain her up without resistance. Fighting now wasn’t part of the plan.

Her team had already decided: Ivy would stay behind while Silas, Kael, Ember, and Felix executed the main assault.

Aside from her stealth ability, which rendered her invisible to zombies, she was no match for strong humans.

Her combat skills were decent, but compared to evolved superhumans at level three or four, her strength was lacking.

And from the looks of it, even if these guards weren’t high-level, their combined strength could overwhelm her easily.

Just as Ivy was lost in her thoughts, she heard Issac’s voice.

"Captain has given the signal."