Chapter 228 Danger host!

The moment the Fierce Hunter truck left, Caleb turned his attention toward Anya.

“Why do you have to refuse such an opportunity?” he asked, raising an eyebrow, confusion written all over his face. “Opportunities like this don’t come every day. What if she changes her mind about accepting anyone else into her base? What if she decides she doesn’t want to recruit anyone anymore?”

“There’s no way she’ll say that,” Anya replied immediately with a scoff, her eyes fixed on the road as she continued driving the truck toward Dawn Base. “Hope Base doesn’t have any skilled soldiers. Therefore, Captain Ivy probably wants to recruit more people after seeing the other bases and their members. That’s the only reason she asked if I wanted to join her base. Do you honestly think she’ll change her mind that easily and still leave her contact information with me? Hell no.”

“But what exactly is stopping you from accepting her offer immediately?” Caleb asked, his eyebrows still raised as curiosity continued to fill his expression.

“That’s because I still have to think about it,” Anya replied, her voice becoming slightly quieter. “I have to think about what will happen if I leave you alone in Dawn Base, even though you volunteered to stay behind.”

“What’s there to think about?” Caleb questioned, letting out an exasperated sigh. “Besides, I’m not a baby. You don’t have to worry about me or think about my welfare every second. I can take care of myself. Just call Captain Ivy and tell her that you accept her offer. I’ll be perfectly fine.”

Anya briefly glanced at him before returning her attention to the road.

“To be honest, I really can’t believe you turned down her offer,” Caleb continued, shaking his head in disbelief. “Even though she doesn’t have many strong soldiers yet, she still has almost everything survivors need. Food, shelter, weapons... She even has a proper base where people can live without constantly worrying about where their next meal will come from.”

“I’ll think about it once we get back to Dawn Base, Caleb,” Anya replied firmly. “Can you please stop talking about it now? I’ve heard you the first time.”

Her tone carried enough seriousness to make it clear that she didn’t want to continue the conversation.

Caleb stared at her for a few seconds before finally letting out a heavy, frustrated sigh. Clearly, he wasn’t satisfied with her answer, but he knew better than to keep arguing when Anya had already made up her mind. He eventually turned his gaze toward the window, watching the scenery outside as the truck continued moving down the road.

Meanwhile, the other survivors from Dawn Base sat quietly in the back of the truck. They were unable to hear the entire conversation between Anya and Caleb because the two of them had been speaking in low whispers.

******

Meanwhile, after the members of Fierce Hunter Base had finished offloading their own bags of grains, Ivy was finally allowed to take the truck away so she could transport the grains meant for Hope Base. She accepted immediately and drove the truck directly toward her base.

Once the truck entered the compound, Ivy and Darren climbed out afterwhich Ivy glanced around the area before clicking her fingers.

Instantly, all the bags of grains she had stored inside her system appeared directly in front of them. One bag after another materialized out of thin air until a huge pile of neatly stacked grain bags occupied a large section of the compound.

Darren stared at the mountain of supplies with wide eyes before a warm smile slowly spread across his face.

“That’s great,” he said, his voice filled with genuine satisfaction as he walked closer to inspect the neatly stacked bags. He eventually settled down on one of the benches nearby and looked toward Ivy. “But why did you bring them all out? Do you want to store them somewhere else?”

“Yeah. I’ll store some of them here while keeping the rest inside the system,” Ivy replied.

She walked over and sat down beside Darren. However, the relaxed expression she had been wearing disappeared almost immediately, replaced by a thoughtful and serious look.

“But first...” Ivy paused briefly, turning her attention toward Darren. “What do you think about recruiting survivors from Fierce Hunter Base?”

“You want to recruit people?” Darren asked, raising an eyebrow as slight surprise flashed through his eyes. He hadn’t expected the topic to come up so suddenly. "Well, that’s not a bad idea,” he added after a moment of consideration.

“You could see for yourself that the other bases have actual members, people who have been trained to fight monsters and protect their respective bases,” Ivy began, letting out a heavy sigh. “Hope Base only has you and me when it comes to experienced fighters. We can’t continue operating like this forever.”

Darren nodded slowly, listening carefully.

“We’ve both been to Fierce Hunter Base, and we saw the number of survivors there,” Ivy continued. “Some of them haven’t even been allowed to enter the camp because there isn’t enough space for them. I also saw several strong men and women among the survivors. They might not be trained soldiers yet, but they have potential.” Her eyes narrowed slightly as she considered the possibilities. "If we recruit these people and train them properly, they’ll eventually become strong enough to accompany us during future monster wars. We won’t always have to rely on just the two of us whenever something happens.”

“You’re right,” Darren replied immediately, nodding his head in understanding. “But there’s something else you need to consider. Most of those survivors probably have families. If they agree to join Hope Base, will you also be willing to accept their family members? Their children, elderly parents? Those who can’t fight ”

“Oh, yeah,” Ivy replied without hesitation. A warm smile appeared on her face as she leaned back slightly. "As long as the people we recruit are willing to work hard and fight monsters bravely after receiving the necessary training, then their efforts can be considered payment for allowing their families to live in Hope Base.”

“Each monster core they earn will also count as their reward,” Ivy added. “They’ll be able to exchange those cores for food and other resources, so I don’t see any problem with accepting their families."

“I support you, then,” Darren replied with a nod. “Are you planning to recruit them today?”

“Sure!” Ivy exclaimed, nodding her head in response. She suddenly looked more determined than ever. "We have to return Erick’s truck to Fierce Hunter Base anyway, so we might as well begin our recruiting mission while we’re there,” Ivy explained. “Erick won’t have a problem with it either. He already has a group of trained soldiers under his command, so me taking some of the survivors will actually reduce the number of people he has to feed.”

Darren nodded thoughtfully.

“And once we’re done recruiting, we’ll have to go and check up on my children and the others,” Ivy continued. “I noticed that Antelope’s truck was following us earlier, but I couldn’t detect them anymore. That’s why I believe they’ve already left.”

“That bastard!” Darren suddenly exclaimed, anger immediately flashing across his face. His hands tightened into fists as his expression darkened. “He was actually following us?” he asked, his voice filled with disbelief and fury. “I can’t believe that man still hasn’t learned his lesson. I guess some people never learn until you teach them a lesson they’ll never forget for the rest of their lives.”

“Exactly,” Ivy replied calmly, though a dangerous glint briefly flashed in her eyes. “I just hope he doesn’t do anything stupid that will force me to deal with him personally.”

Darren looked toward her as he replied. “Because if he does, he won’t like what happens next.”

“Exactly,” Ivy voiced out with a determined expression on her face.

With that, she clicked her fingers once more and instantly, the huge pile of grain bags that had appeared in the compound disappeared one after another, returning to her system.

“I’ll sort out the grains later,” Ivy said as she stood up and dusted her hands. “For now, let’s go.”

“Yes, Captain!” Darren replied.

He quickly stood up and followed Ivy toward the truck while he climbed into the driver’s seat and Ivy settled into the passenger seat.

He then started the engine and drove out of the compound into the street.

However....

“Ding!”

The familiar sound of the system suddenly rang inside Ivy’s mind making her expression change instantly.

{Danger, host. An attack is being launched at the area where your children are located.}