CHAPTER 353: CHAPTER 353: SPY?

He brushed away the dirt and narrowed his eyes, a faint smirk curling on his lips.

"Ivy... she is a strange one. It would be better if she touches the ring. As long as she does, I will know whether she is a danger to me."

A sudden ripple passed through the air. He closed his eyes, tilting his head as if sensing distant movements. When he opened them again, a cold flame gleamed within.

"They’ve started to move," he murmured. "Truly... it is time for me to take action as well."

.............

Two figures slowly slipped out of the SiIvy base, their steps almost soundless against the cracked ground.

Once outside, they drifted toward the military base, moving with a calm confidence that contrasted sharply with the chaos around them.

A faint smell of rot and dust lingered in the hot wind, carrying the distant groans of wandering zombies.

Every few meters, a figure lunged toward them, but the pair dispatched each one with such precise movements that onlookers could only stare in awe.

Some survivors peeked from behind broken walls or rusted vehicles, whispering under their breath.

The masked pair kept their faces hidden, lowering their heads whenever someone tried to get a closer look.

’We can’t afford to be recognized,’ each of them thought silently, and so they moved quickly until the looming walls of the military base finally appeared.

Passing through the gates, they were swallowed by the heavy atmosphere inside.

The figures did not waste time and made their way straight to General Frank’s office.

Once inside, they greeted him politely. General Frank’s sharp gaze swept over them from head to toe.

They were dressed completely, black masks covering their faces, tinted goggles hiding their eyes, heavy cloaks draped over their bodies.

They looked like shadows pretending to be human.

In normal times, this would have raised suspicion or at least curiosity, but the military had fallen into such disarray that hardly anyone cared who walked in anymore.

General Frank leaned back slightly, studying them.

"Did you find anything useful about the base leader?"

For a moment, silence lingered like a held breath. Then a soft feminine voice finally responded, her tone clear but weary.

"We haven’t found anything. Other than Ivy, we didn’t see anyone else at all."

Frank’s fingers began tapping the table, a habit he’d developed recently from stress.

’Could Ivy really be the true base leader?’ The thought repeated in his mind like a stubborn echo.

There were reasons... too many reasons, to suspect it.

From what he knew, Ivy had always been the one to appear publicly.

Even during the land purchase, she was the representative.

No other person or leader had shown up.

’If no one else exists,’ he mused, ’then Ivy is the one behind everything. But if that’s true... why is she even selling food in this apocalypse? And where does she get that food?’

He had investigated her, thoroughly. According to every record, Ivy once owned barely a thousand kilograms of meat.

She had left with Silas and his team for the mountains, supposedly to hunt a large haul.

Yet the official report stated they hadn’t brought back even a single kilogram.

Frank refused to believe that. There is no way a team like theirs returned empty-handed. They must have hunted something.

Even so, the meat alone didn’t explain the vegetables. Ivy’s base had been selling vegetables when almost no one could grow them anymore.

With the heat rising every day, growing anything had become nearly impossible. Vegetables were scarce and precious.

Unless Ivy has a power... a power to grow food. If that were true, Ivy was far too valuable to let slip into Silas’ hands or the Blackthorn family’s influence.

A faint trace of regret pinched his chest.

’If only I had intercepted her earlier... if only I hadn’t underestimated her usefulness.’

The longer the apocalypse dragged on, the bleaker humanity’s reality became.

Farms were dying. Workers refused to go out into the scorching sun.

Protests erupted every other day, people demanded lower rent or they would not work at all. Even the hunters were collapsing from heatstroke before killing anything.

Frank massaged his forehead. His headache never left these days.

He had wanted to take the leadership seat, but before that, he wanted to make use of General Dante.

Yet Dante had been acting strangely... too sneaky, too unpredictable.

Frank couldn’t shake the uncomfortable premonition sitting like a stone in his gut. But his own child was still too weak to provide any divinations, leaving Frank to rely only on instinct.

Trying to shake off the heavy thoughts, he shifted his gaze to the cloaked pair.

"Have you found a way to transport food through direct means?"

The female envoy stepped forward.

"We’ve found a channel. Very soon, we’ll be able to get you food in large quantities."

For the first time in days, Frank’s face showed a flicker of relief.

"Good. If you succeed, I’ll make sure you’re rewarded. I’ll take care of both of you... and your families."

The two figures lowered their heads slightly. The silence they fell into carried a heaviness that even Frank couldn’t interpret.

Meanwhile, far away from them, Bella stood at a distance, staring hesitantly at the SiIvy base.

Her palms were damp with nervous sweat. She still remembered the tense conversation she’d had with General Dante and Talia.

Talia had been the one to rescue her and bring her out of that dreadful place.

After pulling her from danger, they had taken her to the general area of the military camp.

Bella had felt incredibly insecure there, unable to shake off the feeling that someone was staring at her... watching her too closely.

Every breath she took tasted of dust and unease.

’Should I rent a place outside? Should I hide until everything calms down?’

She had barely formed the thought when Talia appeared and brought her straight to Dante.

Inside General Dante’s office, Bella stood stiffly beside Talia as Dante’s grim voice filled the room.