The Day Love Betrayed Me and Never the Plan 228

Chapter 228 

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Bell, how did this abandoned city suddenly show up here? Is it a ghost town or something?” one of them said. 

They looked up at the sky. The sun was blazing, hot enough to dry them out like jerky, but goosebumps still prickled their skin, and cold sweat ran down their backs. 

The 15–feet–wide stretch at the city gate was lined with towering cacti, their tops loaded with bright red fruit. 

They hadn’t had a single drop of water all day, and seeing those red fruits, their parched lips couldn’t help but lick themselves. 

‘You guys think those mutant cactus are safe to eat?” Orion asked, practically drooling at the sight. 

Suddenly, the cactus moved. It actually moved. 

The four of them recoiled in terror, gaping at the spot where they’d just been standing. The ground was now covered in scores of 1.5–feet–long black spikes. 

Those spikes had been fired straight from the cactus itself. 

“Holy crap, that’s a mutant plant! Run for your lives!” one of them yelled. 

Their bodies reacted faster than their minds, bolting back ten steps in an instant. The ground in front of them was now littered with 1.5–feet–long, razor–sharp cactus spines. 

Bell patted his chest, gasping for breath. “That was close. We almost got turned into human pincushions.” 

“Seriously, what kind of hellhole is this?” one of them muttered. “Every single plant’s mutated, but they all seem pretty low- level.” 

They’d run into plenty of mutant plants along the way, but these cacti, at most fourth level, were definitely the nastiest they’d seen so far. 

Just as they were about to find another way around, the side gate next to the watchtower suddenly creaked open. 

The sound made the grown men jump in fright. 

The 1.5–feet–wide iron gate swung open, and a group of men and women stepped out, all dressed in shorts and short- sleeved shirts. 

They were spotless, their faces glowing with health, as if they’d never known the harshness of the apocalypse and were still living in a world of peace and plenty. 

They glanced down, suddenly self–conscious, 

Their clothes were nothing but rags, faces, legs, and feet smeared with mud, and their hair, who knew when they’d last washed it, was greasy and twisted into clumps. They couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. 

Honestly, it was like they belonged to two completely different worlds. 

When their eyes met, everyone just stared, stunned for a moment. 

Caspian might’ve been the brains of the group, but he was also the biggest chicken. The second he saw those folks step out of the side gate, he let out a terrified yell 

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Chapter 228 

He practically leapt three feet into the air and dove behind Bell, his hair spiked up like a startled porcupine. 

“Oh my god, it’s a ghost!” Caspian yelled. 

Frank and his crew just stared, lost for words. 

Emily planted her hands on her hips and snapped, “Who let this idiot out? Looking for a beating, are you?” 

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Frank and his crew looked down at their own filthy rags, totally speechless. ‘Honestly, if there are ghosts around, we’re the ones who look like them,’ they thought to themselves. 

But as soon as Emily started talking, Caspian went quiet and just stared at her, dumbfounded. 

He had a strange look on his face, like he couldn’t quite figure her out. 

“Wait, you guys aren’t ghosts?” Caspian blurted out. 

“Screw you!” Emily shouted, sending Caspian sprawling with a swift kick. “Look who’s talking! You and your whole family are the real ghosts!” 

Chiara had finally managed to talk Chloe into letting her come out hunting today, only to run into this mess. She immediately stepped out from behind Emily, copying her tough–girl swagger. 

“Where’d this little punk come from? Got a mouth on you, huh? Let’s see you handle this!” Chiara snapped. 

Chiara had always been under Emily’s wing. She was tough and fearless to begin with, and now she was just as much of a badass as Emily. 

With a flick of her wrist, Chiara launched several water arrows straight at Caspian. 

She knew her powers weren’t enough to really hurt him, and sure enough, Caspian just waved his hand and blocked the attack. Chiara didn’t even get annoyed. 

‘Whatever, I wasn’t expecting to do much anyway,‘ she thought. 

She was just itching for a fight, wanting to scratch that battle itch. 

Caspian stared, eyes wide with disbelief. 

He never would’ve guessed that any girl in this place could be such a badass. He found himself looking at them with a whole new level of respect. 

“Uh, hi there, miss,” Caspian said, trying to sound as respectful as possible. “We’re survivors from outside. Those mutant rats chased us all the way here.” 

He hesitated, then stole a glance at the big guy leading the group. The dude looked downright intimidating, like he’d seen his share of bloodshed. 

‘He’s probably the toughest one here. Definitely not someone you want to cross,‘ Caspian thought to himself. 

Caspian checked out the rest of the crew. They all looked pretty harmless, but he had a feeling they were powerful powered humans. No way was he going to mess with any of them. 

What really sent a chill down their spines was that the mutant cactus hadn’t attacked them at all. 

Orion wasn’t overthinking things. When Caspian clammed up, he didn’t hesitate to speak up. “Hey, what is this place?” he 

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Chapter 228 

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blurted out. Orion blurted it out, loud and rude as ever. 

Caspian saw Frank’s face darken and instantly thought, ‘Oh no, we’re screwed. 

He quickly slapped a hand over Orion’s mouth and shot Frank a fawning grin. 

“He’s not right in the head, don’t take it to heart. We honestly just stumbled in by accident,” Caspian said. 

That smoothed things over pretty quickly. 

“Alright, then you guys need to leave. Now,” Frank said coldly. 

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He was about to lead his crew away when Bell quickly jogged over, catching sight of Frank’s sour expression and nearly jumping in surprise. 

“W–Wait, sir, don’t get me wrong,” Bell stammered. “I just wanted to ask if we could rest inside your base for a while?” 

“Yeah, yeah, we’ve been running all day. We’re totally wiped out and starving,” Caspian finished, then hurriedly fished a core out of his backpack. 

“We can trade this core for some rest,” he added. 

Honestly, none of them really wanted to step into this strange base. But with mutant rats chasing them and the sun already setting, if they kept wandering the woods, they probably wouldn’t live to see the morning. 

Even though the base looked like some ancient city, it was their only way out. 

Frank stayed firm. “We don’t let outsiders into our base. You guys need to move along, now.” 

Blaze Haven got its own rules. There were secrets inside, and unless one was one of them, outsiders weren’t welcome, period. 

Orion scratched his head, genuinely confused. “What’s up with you people? Every other base is desperate for new talent, but you’re actually turning people away?” 

Emily snorted, “So you really think you’re some kind of big deal?” 

She gave them a once–over, her gaze dripping with disdain. 

“No, no, come on, we’re all human here. Shouldn’t we be looking out for each other?” Orion protested. 

Help each other out?‘ They all exchanged looks, eyes full of mockery, wondering. ‘Are these guys serious? What planet are they living on? 

‘Help each other? Yeah, right. Humans tear each other apart worse than any wild animal ever could‘ 

By now, the sun was setting, and Chiara was getting impatient. She’d finally convinced Chloe to let her come out hunting today, and now these guys were wasting her precious hunting time. 

“Get out of here, already! We’ve got mutant creatures to hunt,” Chiara snapped. 

Seeing how unwelcome they were, Bell actually let his guard down a little. 

Frank thought for a moment, then offered, “Actually, if you’re interested, you could join our base.” 

Join them?‘ they wondered. 

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They all shot each other uncertain looks, clearly torn and not sure what move to make next. 

At the same time, they couldn’t help but think, ‘Man, this base is seriously weird. Most places just let you walk in as long as you weren’t bleeding out, but here? 

You actually had to sign up just to get through the gate? What kind of rule was that?‘ 

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