Chapter 127 Three Roulette Wheels?
A woman was squatting there, her head lowered, with messy long hair covering her face.
In front of her was a piece of white cloth with a photo of herself on it, and beside it was a line of words saying, "One bag of bread at a time."
Everyone knew what it meant.
Selling herself to survive!
In his previous life, this was as common as eating and drinking, but at the beginning of the apocalypse, it seemed so glaring.
William just glanced at it and then looked away. In his previous life, he would only linger at these stalls after a life-and-death battle, spending a small price to find a pleasing woman to vent the fear and desire accumulated in his heart.
But for the women who were also not yet accustomed to some things in the apocalypse, their hearts were filled with confusion, sadness, pity, a bit of anger at the world, and a touch of frustration towards the woman for not fighting against their fate.
It would have been better if they hadn't seen it, but once they did, they noticed many similar situations in the market. Here, trading one's body for food had become a common practice.
William remarked, "They're all trying to survive. At least I think it's much cleaner than those fighting for food in the sewers."
William came to a stall and found many brand-new bedding items. While selecting and asking about the price, he spoke to his companions who were still staring at the woman.
The prices of these bedding items were very cheap. It wasn't cold yet, so warm clothing wasn't a necessity. Only food was the most sought-after item. When William offered to trade meat, specifically mutant animal meat, the stall owner was overjoyed. Just one pound of meat could get him all the items.
William didn't haggle and directly threw a piece of cut meat to the stall owner, then asked his companions to come and take the items. The stall owner caught the meat, swallowed hard, and carefully hid it in his clothes. He wouldn't eat it; he would take it to the official base exchange point to trade for supplies. If it was indeed mutant animal meat, it would be enough to feed his family of three for a week.
Carrying the bedding, Lucy bit her lip and whispered to William, "Can we help her? Give her some food."
William's cold gaze made the teacher lower her head.
William said sternly, "As a companion, let me explain this one last time."
William pointed at the woman and then at other women trading their bodies for food, saying, "If you give her food, you'll have to give food to all the other women like her. If you give food to these women, you'll have to give food to everyone in the market. If you don't, they'll just take it from you!"
"They can't beat you, but you need to prove you can beat them. Beating them down isn't enough; you have to kill them so they won't bother you. Ms. Foster, are you ready to kill? Not just one person, but many. You give food, but you also have to kill to protect yourself. Are you sure you still want to give her food?"
Everyone in the market was struggling to survive, and everyone was hungry, so they coexisted peacefully. If someone suddenly had a lot of food, the only outcome would be that person getting robbed and possibly killed for resisting.
Lucy wouldn't be killed; she was an Evolving person. As long as she wasn't careless or surrounded, she would be fine. But if she resisted, she would have to kill, or she wouldn't be able to keep her food or her life.
William's words might be harsh, but that was the reality!
The women weren't foolish; they understood, so their faces turned pale, and they remained silent for a long time.
Donovan, listening on the side, finally spoke when everyone else was silent, "Mr. Wright is right. Sometimes having a lot of food isn't a blessing; it's a curse. These days at Hope Base, people are getting killed every day, mostly because they have food. It's like a double-edged sword now—having food means you're marked for death. If you don't have any, you starve; if you have too much, you get killed. Being an Evolving person, you guys are really lucky."
Donovan's words were filled with envy towards William and the others.
The women fell silent, each with a thought rising in their hearts.
'If it weren't for William, would I also be tormented by hunger until I gave up my dignity and used my bodies to survive?'
Candice might not feel it as deeply, given her combat skills. Even without William, she had a good chance of becoming an Evolving person. But Natalie and Lucy knew that without William, their chances of becoming Evolving persons were very low.
So their gratitude towards this man deepened at that moment.
They intended to pick up some rice and canned food since they couldn't just eat meat. But before they reached the place, William suddenly turned around and looked towards one side of the market, where two men were walking in side by side.
The people in the market showed fear at the sight of these two men, lowering their heads and not daring to speak. Many even began to hide their goods discreetly.
"Who are they?" William asked in a low voice.
Donovan immediately replied, "Garrett Scott and Desmond Russell, both Evolving persons."
These two Evolving persons looked around and then walked to the woman William and the others had seen earlier. Garrett, the more burly of the two, looked at the photo and said, "Look up."
The woman, who was trading her body for food, shook her head rapidly, repeating, "I'm done, I'm done."
Desmond cursed, "Damn it, how dare you refuse me!"
Desmond kicked the woman down. Although he didn't use much force, the strength of an Evolving person was not something an ordinary person could withstand. The woman clutched her kicked shoulder, revealing a face that was exceptionally beautiful despite being covered in fear.
Garrett took out a bag of bread, threw it at the woman's face, and then grabbed her hair, dragging her out of the market while cursing, "Bitch! Selling yourself and then refusing? Who do you think you're fooling?"
Everyone in the market watched silently as the woman pleaded, but no one dared to intervene, watching as the two Evolving persons took her away.
Lucy, somewhat angry, said, "How can they do this? Forcing someone, what's the point?"
Natalie, puzzled by the woman's fierce resistance, added, "Why wouldn't she want to go?"
"If Evolving persons don't hold back, ordinary people can be tortured to death. Those two must have done something similar before, so the woman didn't want to go with them," William explained.
Hearing William's explanation, Donovan nodded repeatedly, he added, "Mr. Wright, you're spot on. These two beasts don't treat ordinary people as humans. Just in the past few days, three or four women have been killed by them. Their reputation is already rotten. That's how it is with the Evolving people here—they hold absolute power in the base, deciding life and death as they please."
The three women were shocked, finally understanding the situation. That woman... they couldn't even imagine.
"Damn it, if it weren't for them controlling all three roulette wheels, they wouldn't be acting so cocky!" Donovan complained.
William was stunned and suddenly grabbed Donovan's arm, asking, "What did you say? How many roulette wheels are here?"
