Chapter 208: Chapter 208 The Brooke’s family.
Ivy and Erick made their way closer to the commotion, but they still couldn’t tell what was happening. Survivors had gathered from every direction, completely surrounding the area and blocking every possible angle from which they could see.
"What’s happening?" Erick asked, frowning. "Are they fighting over food now? They can’t possibly be fighting over tents. Everyone was given one."
Curiosity filled his eyes as he addressed one of the nearby survivors.
"It’s a family dispute," the survivor replied immediately. He raised his head to see who had spoken to him, only for his eyes to widen in shock.
Just as he was about to obviously call Erick commander, Erick quickly pressed a finger against his lips, silently signaling him to keep quiet about his identity.
The survivor immediately understood. Without attracting attention, he discreetly stepped aside and created a small opening in the crowd, allowing Erick and Ivy to get a clearer view of the scene.
"That family is always fighting," the survivor added with a helpless sigh. "We’re already used to it by now."
Erick simply nodded in response before shifting his full attention to the scene unfolding before him. Beside him, Ivy’s gaze remained fixed on the confrontation as well.
"So, even though you’re living inside Commander Erick’s base, you don’t know you still have to pay for the spot you’re staying in?" a burly man shouted angrily as he stood in the center of the gathering. "If you don’t have food to pay, then one of you can offer yourselves to me whenever I want! That’ll count as your payment."
"Commander Erick personally granted us this tent and this spot!" a middle-aged woman, whose hair was streaked heavily with white, shot back furiously. "Why should we still pay you? We’ve paid with food most of the time, but we can’t anymore! Please... just spare my family. We have nothing left to give you."
"Whoa..." Erick muttered under his breath, his expression darkening. "I had no idea something like this was happening inside my own base."
He let out a quiet scoff.
"Thank goodness I decided to show you the market today. These people knew I rarely come here, so they’ve been doing whatever they want."
His eyes slowly swept across the surroundings before settling on several guards standing not too far from where the commotion was taking place, watching everything unfold without lifting a finger.
"And the soldiers in charge?" he whispered bitterly. "I guess they’re in on this too. Otherwise, tell me why none of them are doing anything about it? I’m certain these people must have reported this before."
His voice remained barely above a whisper, yet it was loud enough for Ivy alone to hear.
"Just what exactly are the two of you even useful for?!" a masculine voice suddenly roared.
The owner of the voice stormed out of the tent before delivering a powerful kick to the plate of rice and vegetable soup the middle-aged woman had been clutching.
The plate flew from her hands as the rice, vegetables she had painstakingly gathered scattered across the dusty ground.
The woman immediately dropped to her knees in panic, desperately trying to salvage what she could.
"What the hell is so special about a little rice and some vegetables?" the man sneered coldly. "You couldn’t even hand them over as payment? Is it really a crime if you starve for a day or two? You’re already old too. You can as well just die."
"How dare you speak to your grandmother like that, Lucas?!" another masculine voice thundered.
The speaker wasn’t as old as the elderly woman, though streaks of white hair were already visible among his black hair.
"Just shut up, old man!" Lucas bellowed.
Without the slightest hesitation, he drove a vicious punch straight into the man’s stomach.
"Ugh!"
The older man instantly doubled over before collapsing onto the ground, both hands clutching his stomach in agony.
Gasps erupted throughout the crowd as several survivors instinctively took a step backward, their faces filled with horror.
"How can you do that to your own father, Lucas?" the elderly woman cried as tears welled in her eyes. "He’s your father! You may hate me....you’ve always hated me but your own father?"
Before she could finish speaking, Lucas lashed out once more as his heavy boot slammed violently into the old woman’s stomach.
"Ahhh!"
The elderly woman cried out as the impact sent her crashing onto the ground beside her son.
Lucas looked down at both of them with nothing but disgust in his eyes.
"Honestly," he said coldly, "what use are either of you anymore?"
His voice was completely devoid of warmth.
After speaking, he slowly turned toward a woman who appeared much younger but was no longer in her youth either.
His expression softened ever so slightly as he looked at her.
"Look at Mother," he said through gritted teeth. "Just look at what she’s become." His eyes then snapped back toward the old woman and man. "Is this what she looked like before she married into this family?"
Among the crowd, Ivy remained rooted to the spot, her gaze fixed on the heartbreaking scene before her.
Tears had already begun gathering in her eyes as she had recognized the family immediately.
It was the Brooke family. Her family.
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