Read Novel Full Chapter 654: Diana’s Protection
Chapter 654: Chapter 654: Diana’s Protection
"Tell me," he said, his voice firm, "in this apocalypse, many people own land. But can that land protect you?"
Silence. No one answered.
"They could not protect it," Drake continued, "because they lacked the means. It is Ivy who provides that protection."
His expression hardened further. "So how can I claim any credit? Everything you see here... exists because of her."
He paused before adding, his voice turning colder, "Let me make this clear. I admire Ivy. She is my savior. If anyone dares to insult her again, I will personally remove them from here."
With that, he cast one final glance at Sherry before turning away.
A heavy silence lingered behind him.
Ivy, who had been watching quietly, could not help the small smile that formed on her lips.
’Being protected like this...’ she thought, warmth spreading faintly through her chest, ’it feels... surprisingly nice.’
She stepped forward, walking toward Tammy.
Tammy was still glaring at Sherry, her anger not yet settled.
Ivy gently tapped her shoulder.
Tammy turned abruptly, still irritated, but the moment she saw Ivy, her expression changed instantly.
"Oh, you are here!" she said, her tone brightening. "Come, let us have breakfast together."
Ivy nodded lightly. "Alright."
Beside them, Diana maintained a composed, professional smile.
But as she passed by Sherry, she paused just briefly.
Her voice was calm, yet cutting. "People without manners... belong in places that reflect them."
Then she continued walking, her posture straight, her presence dignified.
Ian Morris was filled with hatred.
Recently, he had come to realize that the population of his base was slowly decreasing.
’This shouldn’t be happening... not like this,’ he thought bitterly.
It might have been tolerable if he had been receiving a massive influx of zombie crystals, something that could at least justify the losses, but that was not the case.
Instead, even his own people had gradually stopped hunting zombies altogether. The reason behind it was painfully simple.
Both he and his people had learned that a zombie virus antidote had been released.
When he first heard the news, he had laughed it off dismissively.
"An antidote? That quickly? What a joke," he had muttered at the time, his lips curling with disdain.
From his experience in his previous life, he knew that creating such an antidote would take an immense amount of time, resources, and countless failed attempts.
’It has to be a trick... a false lead to manipulate people,’ he had convinced himself.
Who would have thought that it was not a clue at all, but the undeniable truth?
There truly was an antidote, and it had been developed by the SiIvy base.
The moment that realization settled into his mind, his hand began to itch uncontrollably, as if his body itself were reacting to the humiliation he had once suffered at their hands.
’I haven’t forgotten... not a single moment of it,’ he thought darkly.
Yet, despite the burning resentment, he knew his limits.
He had no standing to go against Ivy or her people directly.
At the same time, confusion lingered within him.
’Why does she hate me this much?’ he wondered, though no answer came.
In the end, he suppressed his pride and made a decision that tasted like ash in his mouth. He would lower his head and approach the SiIvy base to negotiate a deal.
"As long as I can purchase a batch of antidotes at a low price and resell them..." he murmured under his breath, his eyes gleaming with calculated greed,
"...I’ll make a fortune." The thought alone made his heartbeat quicken.
He had even devised a more ambitious plan.
’If I can monopolize the reselling rights, then everything changes... I’ll control the market itself.’
Without wasting time, he sent several of his men to the SiIvy base.
However, what he had not expected was the immediate and cold rejection they faced.
The guards did not even allow them to step forward; they blocked them outright.
When the news reached Ian, the fragile restraint he had been maintaining shattered instantly.
"That woman... she’s doing this on purpose!" he roared.
He was convinced that Ivy was deliberately making things difficult for him, turning every possible path into a dead end.
Refusing to give up, he attempted another approach.
He tried to bribe one of the SiIvy base members, hoping to have them deliver a message to Ivy.
"Take this and pass along my words," he had instructed coldly, offering an enticing reward.
However, even in this, he had severely underestimated Ivy’s influence over the entire base.
Starting from the military personnel, their loyalty to Ivy was absolute.
They would not allow anyone even remotely associated with Ian to approach the base.
"Turn back," they would say without hesitation.
After them came the businessmen and merchants, who proved to be just as resolute.
They outright refused, some even rejecting the idea with visible disgust.
"We won’t get involved," they declared, even going as far as to warn their own families to avoid any connection with Ian’s faction.
If that was not enough, the commoners reacted even more fiercely.
Even when offered an enormous bribe of fifty thousand zombie crystals, they remained unmoved.
"Do you think we’d sell ourselves for that?" one of them snapped, their voice filled with contempt.
Instead of accepting, they reported the matter, leading to Ian’s people being forcefully expelled and even banned from entering the perimeter of the base.
When Ian heard this series of failures from his subordinate, the last thread of his patience snapped.
"Useless! All of you are useless!" he bellowed, his voice trembling with rage as he swept everything off his table.
His base itself was in ruins, barely holding together.
It lacked proper housing, had no functioning waste management, and could hardly be considered a livable place.
’Can this even be called a base anymore?’ he thought bitterly.
He desperately needed help, and there was only one person who could provide it... Ivy. Yet, she refused him again and again.