CHAPTER 349: CHAPTER 349: LURING AREA

Ivy nodded, taking in Felix’s words.

"What about corruption? Did you feel it?"

"Nope. Honestly... other candidates who have been chosen during the time I was waiting, they seemed normal like citizens; none of them had the confidence or arrogance of a nepo kid." Felix stated nonchalantly.

Ivy frowned in confusion. Now, she didn’t know what to do. Jenna’s confidence told her something was amiss, but Felix’s observation should be on point, too.

"Am I missing something..." Ivy murmured.

Knock! Knock!

The knock on the door interrupted Ivy’s thoughts. Meanwhile, Felix went to open the door, only to freeze.

"What the heck! What are you doing here?" His yelling attracted Ivy’s attention, and she rushed out of the living room. Sure enough, outside the door, she saw a confused Annie and Felix, whose face was alternating between a shade of pale white and red.

"What’s going on?" Ivy asked in a confused voice, while Felix pointed at Annie as if he had seen a ghost.

"She... she... Do you know her? You know Gwen?"

"Gwen? Her name is Annie." A hint of confusion appeared in Ivy’s eyes as she pointed out, making Felix freeze.

"What? No! She is Gwen Jackson! The heir to Jackson Martial Arts Hall!" Felix corrected her sister, thinking that she was misunderstanding, while his eyes occasionally strayed to Annie.

Instead of the familiar mischievous glint of satisfaction Gwen used to flash him when she succeeded in pranking her, he only saw confusion on Annie’s face.

"No. She is Annie; she has been working in our base for the past 2 months or so." Ivy’s words made the atmosphere turn still.

For a flicker of a moment, Felix almost thought that her sister was pranking him together with Annie, but seeing how serious both Annie and Ivy looked, Felix started to doubt his own memories.

"You...I...No! Wait! I will call Ember! She will testify for me!" With that, Felix rushed out as if hellhounds were chasing after him.

Annie stared at Felix’s back and whistled, "What a strange man."

Ivy smiled at Annie’s words and let her in. "I apologize for my brother’s rude behavior. He might have mistaken you for someone else."

Annie waved her hand, flattered by Ivy’s apology, and explained,

"It’s alright. No biggie. By the way, Miss Ivy, this is the report Miss Martha had asked me to hand over. Just like you requested, another background verification was conducted, and almost 30% of the citizens are proven to have a questionable background."

Ivy’s brows arched at such a high number, and she quickly went through the reports.

Sure enough, the range of crime went from a constant habit of stealing to committing murders. There were also a few serial killers who had entered her base.

Her eyes, however, stayed fixed on a name... Raymond Thompson.

A hint of ruthlessness appeared in Ivy’s eyes, and she smirked when she saw the crime listed in front of his name: organ stealing.

’Wow... who would have thought that I would meet you here, Raymond? So maybe... your father and his friend are here too, huh.’

When she was caught by the first batch of researchers, of course, she had met Raymond, his sick dad, and that bastard’s friend.

Ivy tilted her head, seemingly lost in thought.

Annie watched Ivy engrossed in deep thought and didn’t think of interrupting; instead, she sorted out the document. Midway through, she saw Ivy marking something and knew that her boss had started her work.

Her mind started to wander on her own problem.

A trace of worry appeared in Annie’s eyes. Recently, her mother started to act all sweet and cozy. Even the offer given by her was rejected by her mother.

For the past 2 months, Annie waited and waited... but her mother never showed any sign of abandoning her. Annie even wondered if her mother had changed for the better.

She was filled with conflict and wanted Ivy’s advice; however, seeing Ivy so busy with the base matter and enjoying herself with her family, Annie often stopped herself from asking anything.

Why ruin her good mood? Why trouble her with something as trivial as her family matters? Ivy had most likely even forgotten about that matter by now.

A self-deprecating smile spread across Annie’s face. Since her childhood, she didn’t have any friends because of her identity as an illegitimate child.

And now... though no one cares about her awkward status, and some even are trying their best to become her friend... they all do it because of her connection and capability.

’Who would even care about someone as gloomy as you, Annie?’ She questioned herself.

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

"Here is the report. You need to deal with these people and kick them out. There are also some criminals with severe charges that aren’t kicked out because I want to deal with them on my own. As for..."

Ivy talked about certain changes that Annie noted down one by one.

Once the talk was finished, Ivy thought about her upcoming plan for the base.

"Due to the rising heat, hunting zombies will become difficult; hence, I am planning to build a luring area that will be connected to our base. The luring area will have items or materials that can attract zombies, while the terrain will be such that citizens could kill the zombies, earning just enough to stay afloat. There is also the need to create some cage traps for zombies that can be dragged to the base. So later on, these zombies could be used for practicing."

"But won’t that be dangerous for all?" Annie questioned in a worried voice.

Ivy understood Annie’s unspoken words.

What if a zombie runs out of the fighting zone and attacks others? What if a citizen turns into a zombie mid-fight? Worse possibility... what if the zombie virus spread through the air?

The base’s reputation may plummet!

For all Annie knew... the risk wasn’t worth it!