Chapter 224: Obsession
Chapter 224: Chapter 224: Obsession
Back then, the leader of the Special Operations Department had patted his shoulder, his eyes lighting up. "Young man, you have quite a talent for your superpower! The Combat Group is short on people, do you want to join? The points are high, supplies are plentiful, and you’ll eat like a king!"
In the past, Dylan Rhodes would have jumped at the chance. But now, his mind was entirely occupied by his wife and child.
He wondered, "Join the Combat Group? Going head-to-head with zombies every day means that if I die, who will look for Rhonda Dawson and Hector?"
Without a second thought, he refused directly. Ultimately, he was assigned to the second-line Logistics Group.
The Logistics Group sounded respectable, but it was essentially just a bunch of errand runners. Their duties included digging for Crystal Cores, cleaning up the battlefield, organizing scavenged supplies, and occasionally going out to use their Earth Abilities to reinforce defenses.
Other than lacking the danger of the Combat Group, the Logistics Group had to handle all the dirty and grueling work. Women were worked like men, and men were worked like animals. Someone like him, who was tall and sturdily built, was simply treated like a workhorse on steroids. The treatment they received was also a far cry from that of the Combat Group! A monthly salary of five hundred points seemed like a lot, but in this apocalypse, a man could be brought to his knees by an empty wallet.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to earn more points, but he knew what he was doing; only the relatively safe Logistics Group gave him a higher chance of surviving long enough to find his wife and child. Once he found Rhonda Dawson and Hector, mother and son would definitely need to live a good life.
He worried, "If I don’t have enough points, how can I buy them food? How can I move them to a safe place to live?"
Therefore, he was incredibly stingy. He and his mother, Monica Bishop, rented a single room of about ten square meters inside the base. It had running water, electricity, and an independent bathroom. At one hundred and sixty points a month, it was a bit expensive, but its redeeming quality was safety.
He stretched every remaining point as far as it could go. Their daily meals consisted of the bland, watery rice porridge, steamed buns, and pickled vegetables issued by the Logistics Department. The porridge was so thin that one could see their reflection in it. He and his mother only ate until they were half-full at every meal, squeezing out savings from their own mouths to forcefully save two to three hundred points a month.
Because of this, he had to endure daily complaints from his mother, who constantly accused him of abandoning her for his wife.
He also harbored resentment toward his mother. If she hadn’t constantly told him that his wife was too striking and that he needed to keep a close eye on her in case she ran off with a rich man, he wouldn’t have been a paranoid bundle of nerves every day. He wouldn’t have been unable to suppress his anger just from seeing Rhonda Dawson say a few extra words to a wealthy father driving a luxury car at the kindergarten, and he wouldn’t have hit her the moment they got home.
Nearly three months after joining the Logistics Department, coupled with the points he had exchanged for scavenged supplies when he first entered the base, he had finally accumulated over a thousand points on his identity card. Over a thousand points wasn’t an exorbitant amount in the apocalypse, but it wasn’t a small sum either.
He looked at the number on his identity card, feeling slightly more reassured.
Over these past few months, he had been acting like a madman, running to the base’s registration office every single day. Every few days, the base would rescue a new batch of survivors. Whenever a new list was posted, he was the first to rush forward, scrutinizing every name and analyzing every character, terrified of missing "Rhonda Dawson" and "Hector Rhodes."
He knew the Dawson Family had all come to Kensington! A shrewd woman like Luna Dawson would definitely have taken Rhonda Dawson and Hector to hide in a safe place. He was certain they were in Kensington, absolutely certain!
But reality dealt him a harsh slap in the face. Since he had entered the Kensington Base, he had scoured every rescue list countless times. Let alone Rhonda Dawson and Hector, he hadn’t even seen Luna Dawson’s name!
He was utterly broken. For countless late nights, he lay on the cold, hard board of a bunk bed, keeping his eyes open until dawn. It felt as though a piece of his chest had been hollowed out, leaving him cold and aching.
That was, until today.
At the base’s commendation assembly, he saw the woman who made him seethe with hatred—Luna Dawson! She wore a clean, eye-catching, latest-model combat suit, her hair tied into a neat ponytail. In the broadcast video, she was flanked by several tall, equally presentable men. Every one of them was brimming with Spirit and exuded a powerful aura.
Upon hearing the host’s enthusiastic introduction, he realized that Luna Dawson was now the captain of the Sunset Squad! The Sunset Squad was the strongest team at the Kensington Base! They exclusively handled large-scale official missions assigned by the higher-ups. Every member was impeccably equipped, and they lived even better than the Combat Group of the Special Operations Department!
Dylan Rhodes’s eyes turned red. This woman, Luna Dawson, was certainly not simple! Even before the apocalypse, she had turned his home upside down, and after the apocalypse, she was actually thriving this much!
He gritted his teeth, the hatred in his heart churning like a stormy sea. He thought, "It’s definitely Luna Dawson! She must be the one who hid Rhonda Dawson! That man who’s been accompanying Rhonda is clearly bad news, and Luna undoubtedly brought him in! As long as Luna is around, she’ll brainwash Rhonda, driving her further away until she’s forever out of my control! She installed the surveillance cameras, hired the lawyers, and instigated the divorce. Now, she’s even hiding my wife!"
Dylan gritted his teeth in sheer hatred, wishing he could charge forward and bury Luna Dawson alive using his Earth Abilities!
Just as he was trembling with rage, the gears in Monica Bishop’s head were turning rapidly beside him. She tugged at her son’s arm and lowered her voice, a grin stretching almost from ear to ear. "Son! Did you see that? That’s Luna Dawson! The captain of the Sunset Squad!"
Dylan glared at her, thoroughly annoyed. "So what if I saw her? I absolutely despise her!"
"What’s there to hate!" Monica Bishop smacked the back of his hand, her voice brimming with excitement. "Are you stupid? Luna Dawson is Rhonda Dawson’s biological sister!
"Besides, think about it!" She paused, her eyes gleaming with snobbery and her voice dripping with smugness. "Your wife is in the top squad, and Luna is the squad captain! Will the Rhodes Family ever have to worry about food and drink again? When the time comes, won’t those Logistics Department leaders who order you around every day have to bow at your feet?"
At the mere thought of this, Monica Bishop couldn’t help but beam with joy, the wrinkles on her face scrunching together. She dragged Dylan by the arm, eagerly squeezing into the crowd. "Let’s go, let’s go! Hurry up and ask around to see where this Sunset Squad lives! We’re knocking on their door today!"
Dragged by his mother, Dylan stumbled along as they went around inquiring about the Sunset Squad’s address. When night fell, they actually managed to find out that the Sunset Squad lived in the Dragon Lake Villa Area. Hearing this, he suddenly calmed down and hurriedly pulled his mother back to their single room in District Four.
"Mom, find some presentable clothes. Don’t dress so shabbily tomorrow. Wendy hates people who aren’t clean." Dylan smoothed out the wrinkles on his clothes while instructing Monica Bishop, his tone carrying an unquestionable seriousness.
Monica Bishop curled her lip. Though she felt there was no need to be so particular in the apocalypse, she still agreed when she thought of Luna Dawson’s status as a squad captain. "I know, I know. Would your mother ever mess things up for you? Once we find Wendy, the two of us won’t have to suffer like this anymore."
Her mind was entirely focused on clinging to Luna Dawson, completely ignoring Dylan’s instructions. She merely rummaged casually for a thin jacket that didn’t have any tears.
Dylan didn’t say anything more. He went to a barbershop near the trading hall in the dark. Spending twenty points, he had his full beard shaved clean and his messy hair trimmed neatly. Although the man in the mirror had exhaustion and paranoia in his eyes, he had finally shed some of his wretchedness, looking a bit more like he did before the apocalypse.
He tugged at his shirt collar in the mirror, his eroded confidence finally returning just a little. Returning home, he eagerly took a proper shower. As the hot water flowed down over his head, Dylan closed his eyes. He repeatedly rehearsed what he would say when he saw Rhonda Dawson, wondering how he could repent to change her mind and how he could bring his son back to his side.
He deliberately ignored Luna Dawson’s existence, as if as long as his attitude was sincere enough, that woman who ruined his family would no longer be able to stand in his way.