The Day Love Betrayed Me and Never the Plan 213

Mia plopped down on the ground, her voice trembling with tears. “Please, don’t take our food. My dad died saving you. How can you betray his kindness like this?” 

The man’s eyes darted away, then slowly turned cold and ruthless. 

He let out a cold laugh. “I never asked him to save me. He brought it on himself. I’m strong enough to survive on my own.” 

Then he shot Mia a wicked look, licking his lips. 

He said, “Mia, you should know there are only three women left in the village, including you. If it weren’t for me looking out for you, do you really think you’d still be safe and sound?” 

Mia might only be fourteen, but she knew more than people gave her credit for. The way the men in the village had been staring at her lately was getting more intense, and she had a pretty good idea what was going on. 

That’s why she barely left her house these days, only going out if she had no choice. 

Miranda kicked the man in annoyance and spat. “Is this really the time to be thinking about that? Just grab the supplies and go,” 

She turned to Mia. “The men work hard to keep the village safe. Every household has to hand over supplies as a protection payment. That’s how it’s always been. 

“If you don’t want to pay, then get out of the village right now.” 

The man looked pretty disappointed. 

He said, “That’s not gonna work. There are only three women left in the village, and dozens of men. The other two are already worn out from all the attention.” 

Mia might be young, but she was pretty, and the men were practically drooling over her, barely holding themselves back. 

They were practically circling her door a dozen times a day. 

Mia finally understood what the man, who always acted so friendly, really wanted. She was shaking all over with fear. 

Her voice shook as she said, “Here, take all the supplies.” 

She finally released her grip. 

Miranda gave a satisfied nod, then marched off with her two muscle–bound guys to the next house. 

There used to be a good number of women in the village, but after the apocalypse hit, most of the folks who developed powers were men. After that, men were just way stronger than women. 

Most of the women were too weak to survive. Some died from sickness, some got killed off for being seen as a drain on resources, and some were simply abandoned during supply runs 

The few women who made it through ended up as nothing but toys for the men, just there to satisfy their animal urges. 

Mia’s dad was the first in the village to awaken his powers, and everyone made him the leader. But in the end, he got torn apart by zombies while trying to save his teammates. 

Now, Mia was the only girl left, all by herself. 

If it weren’t for her dad’s old position, she wouldn’t have made it this far. 

1/3 

10:10 Fri, Feb 13 BB 

Chapter 213 

But even the shadow of her father’s authority couldn’t keep her safe for much longer. 

Those hungry, predatory eyes were already locked onto her. 

༥༣, 75% 

On a moonless, windy night, Mia stared out into the darkness, despair gnawing at her heart. She gritted her teeth and ran for her life, heading out of the village. 

Her eyes were filled with terror for whatever unknown horrors might be waiting out there. 

After Chloe and her crew finished their planning, they set out that very day to look for survivors. 

As soon as they stepped outside the base, everyone was floored. I had only been three days since they last came out, but the outside looked totally different. 

With mutant creature blood soaking the ground and other mutant plants rotting as fertilizer, the mutant cacti were shooting up like crazy. 

In just three days, the area outside the walls was completely taken over by mutant cacti, each one thick as an ancient tree. Every single cactus was packed with dense, black spines. 

If anyone accidentally got jabbed by those spines, it would be like getting stung by a venomous scorpion, not enough to kill, but the pain would be huge. 

Blaze Haven had two exits. One was way down south, leading into an endless mountain range, hidden away by young, tangled ivies. 

The other exit was right here, with a simple wall and a watchtower. The gate was just wide enough for a single RV to squeeze through. 

The whole area was packed with cacti bristling with venomous spines. 

The original mother cactus they planted had already shot up to 60 feet tall, and at the very top, it was already bearing fruit. 

With a flick of her wrist, Chloe conjured a breeze that shaped itself into a hand, snatching a mutant cactus fruit right off the top. 

The moment the fruit touched her palm, the system chimed in her head. “Mutant cactus fruit detected. Exchange for 1,000 points available. Host, do you want to trade it in?” 

‘Seriously? This thing is worth more than a zombie core?‘ Chloe thought. 

She didn’t rush to decide. Instead, she asked, “What’s the benefit of eating this cactus fruit?” 

Then, on her spiritual space panel, a message popped up: [Exchange 10 points for the answer.] Chloe couldn’t help but sigh. 

“Exchange,” she said. 

The system answered, “Mutant cactus fruit is packed with immunity factors. Eating it makes you less likely to get sick and even boosts your resistance to viruses.” 

“So it’s similar to immunity liquid?” Chloe asked. 

“Yeah, they work in similar ways,” the system replied. 

Chloe remembered that pretty much everyone at the base had already used the immunity liquid, so she just went ahead and traded the fruit in for points. 

Using her wind–crafted hand, Chloe picked every single fruit off the top of the level–four mutant cactus, ending up with over fifty of them. 

2/3 

10:10 Fri, Feb 13 B 

Chapter 213 

‘Scored a ton of free points, Chloe thought to herself. 

As they walked along. Frank suddenly remembered something. 

“Chloe, do you remember those guys who were snooping around our base before? I was the one who took care of them. Frank said. 

Chloe nodded. 

“Before I took them out, I heard their village was less than five miles from here. There should be quite a few survivors over there, right?” Frank asked. 

Emily frowned when she heard that. “But those people had such terrible character. Can we really trust the survivors from their village? What if they go blabbing about how we can grow crops at our base?” 

That was what really worried her. 

Frank smiled with confidence, totally unfazed. “You can’t spend every day worrying about thieves. Sure, we should do our best to keep the base’s secrets safe, but we can’t let that hold us back, can we?” 

Chloe had to admit he had a point. 

Joan nodded, totally on board. “If trouble comes knocking, we handle it head–on. Right now, we need to level up before anyone catches wind of our base’s secrets. 

“Let’s make our base the strongest one out there. No one will be able to touch us.” 

Joan had always been straightforward and blunt, but after everything that went down, she’d gotten pretty quiet. Now, after some time here, she was back to being her usual outspoken self. 

Mindy nodded. “We’re just looking for some hands to help us harvest the wheat. It’s not like we’re letting them into Blaze Haven or anything. As long as they can get the job done, that’s all that matters.” 

Once everyone agreed, they made a beeline straight for the lakeside villas. 

By the time they set out, it was already afternoon. When they finally arrived at the villa village, it was well past midnight. 

It was only about six miles away, and at their usual pace, they could’ve made it in just over ten minutes. 

But they didn’t know exactly where it was, and along the way, they ran into a few powerful mutant creatures blocking their path. That was why they didn’t find the village until the middle of the night. 

The desolate night was pitch black, with the wind whipping through the trees and making the leaves rustle. The air was filled with the unsettling sounds of insects and birds, sending chills down people’s spines. 

3/3