Chapter 217: Chapter 217 I disagree.
"Of course she’s alright," one of the base leaders replied before Ivy could answer. His tone was filled with sarcasm. "She’s perfectly fine and that’s only because she never participated in last night’s battle. While the rest of us were risking our lives fighting monsters...she slept peacefully inside that truck like a baby."
Another leader immediately added. "If she had no intention of contributing to this mission, then she shouldn’t have agreed to come in the first place." He folded his arms across his chest. "Or maybe she planned to wait until the rest of us died before completing the mission alone. Is that it?"
Someone behind him sneered.
"Funny how people like this rarely achieve their goals."
Erick pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out a long, helpless sigh.
"You all seriously need to calm down." Erick said promting everyone to keep quiet. "Since none of you seem to know...let me explain then. Fierce Hunter Base has agreed to complete Hope Base’s assigned responsibilities during this operation." He gestured toward Ivy. "Captain Ivy and only one subordinate came on this mission hence for the purposes of this operation, Hope Base and Fierce Hunter Base are to be treated as a single unit."
The surrounding survivors stared at Erick in stunned silence.
"Huh?" One of the base leaders blinked repeatedly. "Are you... serious right now?"
"Oh, that actually makes sense." Anya’s voice suddenly rang out as she walked toward the gathering.
Everyone instinctively turned to look at her.
"If Commander Erick says Hope Base and Fierce Hunter Base are cooperating," she continued calmly, "then that’s exactly how it is." She folded her arms before looking at the surrounding base leaders. "I don’t see any reason to question his decision."
The base leaders exchanged glances with one another and after a brief moment of silence, several of them nodded in understanding.
"You should’ve told us earlier," one of them said with an awkward smile.
"Exactly," another leader agreed, scratching the back of his head. "We were wondering why she was sitting comfortably inside the truck while the rest of us were fighting for our lives."
"If we’d known Hope Base was cooperating with Fierce Hunter Base from the very beginning, there wouldn’t have been any misunderstanding."
Another leader laughed sheepishly.
"Looks like we misunderstood Captain Ivy."
A few others chuckled in embarrassment, the tense atmosphere easing considerably.
"I disagree."
A deep, authoritative voice suddenly interrupted everyone making the surrounding survivors immediately fall silent.
Every head turned toward the source of the voice.
Antelope slowly rose from where he had been sitting, his sharp eyes swept across everyone present as he calmly walked toward the group.
Outwardly, his expression remained as indifferent as ever, however...his thoughts were anything but calm.
Which one of these idiots tried to inspect my ability earlier? His gaze slowly moved from one face to another until it landed on Ivy. Is it her?
He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. Is that why she stayed out of yesterday’s battle? Was her real mission to gather information instead? A mental-type ability user...?
Antelope discreetly attempted to sense her mental fluctuations...unfortunately...no matter how carefully he observed,he couldn’t detect anything unusual from her.
After several seconds, he silently let out a frustrated sigh.
"Those who do not participate in battle have no right to receive resource allocations." His voice was calm but carried unquestionable authority. "I refuse to allocate any resources to Hope Base."
Erick immediately stepped forward. "I’ve already explained the situation.Hope Base is working together with Fierce Hunter Base."
Antelope looked directly into Erick’s eyes. "Hope Base is an independent base and so is Fierce Hunter Base." He folded his arms. "Enough with this nonsense about merging two bases as it doesn’t work that way."
"It does work that way," Erick replied without backing down. "I never said Hope Base should receive additional resources simply because we’re cooperating. Whatever amount of resources Fierce Hunter Base earns through our own contributions is exactly what Hope Base will receive a share of. No extra allocations or special treatment."
Antelope stared at him for several long seconds and eventually, he gave a dismissive scoff.
His lips curled into a faint smile that contained no warmth whatsoever.
"I suppose you’re quite the generous man." He shrugged carelessly. "And you’re right. I’m not giving your base any additional resources simply because two different bases decided to cooperate. If Fierce Hunter Base is the only one fighting then your resource allocation will depend entirely on your own performance.As for Hope Base, you’re free to give them whatever portion of your own resources you feel like sharing. I won’t interfere."
With that, Antelope turned around and walked away without another glance.
Only after Antelope had disappeared into the distance did Ivy finally click her tongue.
"That bastard..." she muttered under her breath, her eyes remaining fixed on his departing figure.
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