Chapter 129 Michelle's Husband
Caleb was waiting anxiously outside the door, but he didn't dare show any dissatisfaction. He kept nodding and smiling at the two guards at the entrance.
Before the apocalypse, he was just a minor official in a government office, a small figure in the municipal center.
If there was anything noteworthy about him, it was that he had a powerful father and a beautiful wife, who was also quite famous.
His wife was an exceptionally outstanding and highly decorated female armed police officer.
Because of this, even high-ranking officials knew his name.
However, after showing off for a while, he started to feel unhappy because people would always introduce him as Michelle's husband.
Before he got married, people would introduce him as Secretary Flores's son. After marriage, it became Michelle's husband.
This feeling of being overshadowed drove him crazy.
Before the apocalypse, he wanted to get rid of these titles, but before he could achieve anything, the apocalypse came.
His father turned into a zombie on the first day, and his wife, who was on duty at the armed police headquarters, disappeared. Caleb initially felt an unprecedented sense of relief, but reality soon shattered him.
He realized that without his father and wife, he was nothing.
He no longer enjoyed the privileges brought by his father or the admiration brought by his wife. He was weak and even had trouble getting food.
Fortunately, he knew how to win people over. By doing odd jobs for one of Brady Cox's confidants, he managed to get some food and water.
But Caleb's life was far from good. Brady's confidant, Quentin Parker, would beat and insult him constantly. In the peacetime, Quentin was just a temp worker who had no right to speak to someone like Caleb. But in the apocalypse, Quentin became an Evolving person and Brady's confidant. He found a sense of superiority by tormenting Caleb.
Caleb was humiliated everywhere, not just by Quentin.
As more Magic Crystals were obtained, the number of Evolving persons in the base increased. These Evolving persons had absolute power. They ate the best food, used the best things, and even their lightest commands were harsh on ordinary people.
When they were in a good mood, they would tease ordinary people; when in a bad mood, they would beat and insult them. Caleb had been beaten three times in the past few days. Although the Evolving persons didn't use their full strength, Caleb's body was covered in bruises, with barely any uninjured spots.
Therefore, Caleb decided to go out and take risks, hoping to find some Magic Crystals or at least some food and water to have a decent meal.
But after going out once, he discovered something big. He saw hope in obtaining the Evolution Elixir.
Unfortunately, after coming here, he had high hopes of meeting Brady and Simon King, the top leaders of the base. But he was told to wait outside, and only Miles was allowed to go in.
Although disappointed, he was still hopeful. After all, he and Miles discovered this together, so any reward should include him.
After a while, Miles came out, glanced at Caleb strangely, nodded, and left with a cold expression, leaving Caleb confused and wondering what was going on.
Gritting his teeth, Caleb decided to go in and see the two leaders. He used to be good at flattering, and the hardships of the past few days had made him forget about dignity.
After giving the guards a pack of crumpled cigarettes, they finally agreed to go inside and report. Caleb rubbed his hands hopefully as he waited. After just half a minute, the door opened again, and the guard came out with Quentin. Quentin walked up to Caleb and slapped him hard, knocking a few teeth out of Caleb's mouth and sending him sprawling onto a chair in the hallway.
Quentin said arrogantly, "Who do you think you are, wanting to see the leaders? You trying to get yourself killed? Get lost and go wash my clothes."
Quentin's words left Caleb in despair.
The leaders inside didn't care about him or his request. They didn't take him seriously at all!
Caleb felt a surge of anger and, fueled by some unknown courage, stood up and rushed towards the office, shouting, "I also discovered that team! I also saw them fighting the boar monster!"
But the two guards he had just bribed showed no mercy. The hard buttstock rained down on Caleb, making him roll on the ground in pain. He finally couldn't bear the pain and begged for mercy, pleading with the guards not to kill him.
In the end, it was Quentin who intervened and asked the guards to spare him. Seeing that there was no reaction from the office, they let go of Caleb.
"Get lost. If you don't finish washing my clothes before I get back, you're in for it." Quentin snorted and added coldly, "This time, use my bathwater from the morning. If I catch you touching my drinking water, you're done for. Got it?"
Caleb didn't dare disobey and nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Inside the room, a middle-aged man in a neat black suit, holding a cigar, listened to the commotion outside and smiled. He sneered, "Secretary Flores's son is getting dumber by the day."
Opposite him, a chubby man squinted and laughed.
Leaving the building that had taken his blood and dignity, Caleb walked back in a daze. As he entered his place, he ran into someone he recognized—a woman who served another Evolving person living there. It was said that the two were relatives.
"Caleb? How did you get beaten up like this?" the middle-aged woman said, but her face showed no concern, as if she would be happy if Caleb died.
Caleb lowered his head and ignored her.
"Thought you were a big shot before?" she remarked snidely. The woman's tone turned sharp, and seeing Caleb's cowardice, she lost interest and was about to leave.
But after a few steps, she stopped and turned back to Caleb. She inquired, "Is your wife tall, with medium-length hair, and very charming? Oh, and she has a small red birthmark on her left earlobe?"
Caleb was stunned. His wife Michelle did have a birthmark near her earlobe.
"Today, I saw a woman like that at the exchange, asking around about you. Could it be your wife?" the woman informed, intrigued.
Caleb shouted and, ignoring his pain, ran out.
Cultivation and activation are the two initial skills of the Gardener profession. Due to environmental constraints, William hadn't formally used cultivation yet.
Today, he planned to use it to see if he could grow some fresh vegetables.
Because he had obtained the Gardener profession, on his way to Hope Base, he specifically found a seed store and took various types of seeds. He took out a bag of cabbage seeds from the space crystal and evenly scattered them on the artificial land Jack had prepared.
Gently covering them with soil and watering them, William squatted beside the artificial field and used the cultivation skill.
