Free Web NovelChapter 31: Ch 31: Humanity’s Last Hope
Raidan did the same trick with several more groups of players. If they die, then their greed is to blame. But if they survive and bring the food into the settlement, then it is a mercy to the helpless people.
By the evening, the shadow of hunger could be seen on every survivor’s face in the camp.
Children wearing tattered clothes clutched their stomachs, feeling the stinging hunger.
"Mommy, my tummy hurts. When are we going to eat?" a little girl asked whimpering.
The mother pulled the fragile child into her arms, trying to share what little body heat she had left.
"Soon, sweetie. Just close your eyes and try to sleep. The pain goes away when you are dreaming."
A teenage boy sitting against a nearby kicked a small pebble into the mud.
"You are lying to her. There is no food left. I saw the military guards take the last ration truck away this morning. They are saving it for the army."
"Keep your voice down, Deon. If the guards hear you, they will kick us out of the camp perimeter. At least here we have the fences to keep the beasts away."
His grandfather’s words didn’t scare him in the slightest.
"What difference does it make, grandpa? We are going to starve to death behind these fences anyway. The world abandoned us when those Rifts opened in the sky! Only the Superhumans get to live like real people now."
The old man sighed helplessly, "Then we must pray that one of those Superhumans decides to show us mercy."
"Mercy?"
Deon let out a mocking smile.
"They do not care about us. They only care about their levels and their loot."
Inside the army a different meeting is ongoing.
"Commander Graves, this is a survival camp, not your fucking barrack that you will use the rations however you like. Look what have done to the reserve within a week. You have brought the entire Detroit City Camp on the brink of a famine."
Mayor Von slammed his fist down, making the heavy oak table groan.
His face was red with righteous fury.
But Commander Graves just leaned back in his plush leather chair, completely unbothered.
He was an awakened Player, and his massive muscle frame made the seat look like a child’s toy.
"Watch your tone, Von. My soldiers are the only reason those pathetic refugees are not being eaten by Rift monsters right now. Awakened bodies burn through calories faster than ordinary humans. If my men do not eat, they cannot fight. If they cannot fight, this whole camp falls."
Mayor Von started shaking with anger.
"Do not give me that excuse! I saw the manifest. You are not just feeding your soldiers. You are hosting banquets for your Superhuman buddies! You traded three tons of grain to the Silver Wolves just so they would guard your personal armory!"
Graves replied calmly,
"It is called strategic alliances, Mayor. The Silver Wolves have two Level 10 Mages. Their firepower is worth a hundred tons of grain. The ordinary people will just have to tighten their belts."
"Tighten their belts? How can you say that?do you not have any humanity left? They are eating boiled shoe leather and grass! Children are dying of malnutrition! You are supposed to protect them, not bleed them dry!"
Graves stood up with cold snort.
"Listen to me very carefully, old man. The old world is dead. Democracy, equality, human rights... all of that died the day the Rifts opened. In this new world, power is the only law. The System dictates who survives. The weak exist to serve the strong. If they starve, it is because they are too weak to secure their own food."
All colour drained from Mayor Von’s face. He realized there was no reasoning with a man who viewed himself as a god among insects.
"Knock! Knock!" Suddenly, someone knocked on the command tent.
Before Graves could answer, a young scout came inside the room. He was sweating and panting as if he had ran a marathon.
"Commander! We have a situation at the southern gates!"
Graves frowned, "Is it a Rift breach again? Speak clearly, soldier."
"No, sir!"It is the Superhumans! Four different groups of high ranking Superhumans just arrived at the gates. And they are dragging wagons full of premium game meat and high grade wheat!"
Graves and Vance both froze.
"What? Food? They brought food?" Mayor Von asked with hope.
"Tons of it, Mayor Sir! They are demanding to enter the camp and distribute it to the refugees immediately. They keep yelling about some ’Scholar Verde’ and a Gold-Tier quest. Sir, they weren’t even willing to listen to our orders earlier, but now they look completely crazed!"
Mayor Von looked completely relieved.
"It must be the intervention of the Gods. Quick! Distribute them to the refugees immediately."
Just then—
"Bang!"
Graves slammed his fist on the table, cracking the thick wood in half.
He was angry... All because he thought players bringing food directly to the commoners without his authorisation is undermining all of his authority.
"Those fuckers! Lock down the southern gates. Do not let them distribute a single grain of wheat. I am going to confiscate everything they brought."
Mayor Vance immediately tried to stop him, but he wasn’t strong enough.
He was pushed back into the dirt.
Outside, at the southern gates, several people (from kids to adults) noticed those strong men carrying crate after crate of unidentifiable objects.
However, their hunger instincts told them there had to be some kind of rations inside.
Their instincts were proven right when the man with spiked hair stopped, lowered his crate, and shouted: freewebnσvel.cѳm
"Line up, you beggars! The food is here!"
Instantly, the nearby refugees were in an uproar. freёwebnovel.com
"Mom, look! Those people are bringing food. We won’t have to starve anymore!"
"Ah, I can see that, honey. Wait here."
"Daddy, I want food!"
"Sure, son. Let me see if I can grab something for you."
Their own stomachs were burning with acid, but as responsible parents, their priority was their children.
However, all of a sudden, a barricade of armed militants blocked their path.
"No one moves!"
