Free Web NovelChapter 124: Chapter 124 I’ll stay here Captain.
Suddenly, the bunker door creaked open.
Erick had finally awakened again, causing every member of the group to instantly rise to their feet.
“We thought you were asleep, Captain. Turns out you’re awake.” Josh was the first to speak as he hurried toward Erick alongside the others. “How are you feeling now? You look much better today... more radiant even.”
He’s perfectly okay now? Ivy asked inwardly in surprise.
Ding!
{Yes, Host. You should have seen how Darren held his hand while crying like a baby earlier. He kept talking to him nonstop even though Erick was unconscious the entire time.}
That’s nice, Ivy replied inwardly before shifting her gaze toward Darren, who was already walking toward her.
He stopped beside her silently.
His eyes were swollen, red, and slightly puffy from crying so much earlier. There was no doubt he had truly been terrified of losing his captain.
Just then, Erick turned his attention toward Ivy before giving her a deep bow.
“Thank you so much, Mrs. Ivy,” he began sincerely. “I believe the fact that I’m no longer feeling pain all over my body means I’m perfectly fine now, right? There’s no discomfort anymore... no itching, no soreness, nothing at all.”
“Sure. You’re perfectly fine now.” Ivy replied with a warm smile, which instantly made Darren heave a sigh of relief. “The fact that you were able to sleep naturally and wake up on your own this time means your body has fully healed.”
Darren finally relaxed after hearing her confirmation.
Earlier, he had worried that Erick had only regained consciousness temporarily again, just like before. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
Those tears he shed earlier truly weren’t in vain.
Just then, Erick stepped forward once more and gave Ivy another respectful bow.
“Thank you so much once again, Mrs. Ivy,” he voiced out sincerely, gratitude overflowing within his heart. “You saved my life.”
“You’re welcome.” Ivy replied immediately with a light chuckle. “Though... you still need to pay for the medicine.” She added playfully.
Unfortunately, Erick took her words completely seriously.
Without hesitation, he reached into his pocket and brought out a dozen monster cores.
The moment Ivy saw them, her eyes widened in utter shock.
“Please accept these as payment,” Erick said earnestly with a pleading tone. “I know it’s not much, but this is all I can afford right now.”
Not much?!
Ivy screamed inwardly while swallowing hard.
This isn’t small at all! I was only joking earlier! I honestly wasn’t expecting him to actually pay me... and definitely not with this many monster cores. But rejecting it now would probably seem rude, wouldn’t it?
“Thank you,” Ivy finally said after composing herself before accepting the cores.
“Darren already told me everything that happened while I was unconscious,” Erick continued seriously. “Including the deal that was made before Mrs. Ivy agreed to save my life.”
The atmosphere immediately became heavy.
Erick then turned toward the rest of the group, whose expressions had all become solemnly quiet.
“We’ll all be leaving tonight,” Erick announced calmly. “But Darren will return here soon.”
After saying that, he turned his attention back toward Ivy before suddenly bringing out another pouch.
This time, he offered her one hundred monster cores at once.
"This is a hundred monster core." Erick voiced out as he poured the cores onto a bowl just on the table.
Ivy’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in disbelief.
What the actual fuck?!
Ivy screamed inwardly again as her breathing almost hitched.
How does this man even have this many monster cores?!
Even she couldn’t remain calm anymore.
But despite the temptation, another thought quickly surfaced in her mind.
I’m not letting Darren go for just a hundred monster cores. I’m pretty sure this whole “he’ll return later” thing is just an excuse to safely save Darren from me, break the deal. Once they leave, nobody’s coming back. This captain is seriously troublesome.
“It’s still not enough?” Erick suddenly asked after noticing her silence.
He sighed heavily before speaking again.
“How about one thousand monster cores instead?”
“A thousand?!” Ivy nearly choked inwardly.
Her heart skipped violently.
Before she could even respond, Darren suddenly stepped forward and stood directly in front of her.
“I’ll stay here, Captain,” Darren declared firmly, instantly sending shock through Erick’s entire body.
Erick’s eyes widened.
“I’m staying here by my own choice,” Darren continued seriously. “Not because I was forced to.”
The surrounding members immediately looked at him in disbelief.
Darren, however, remained calm.
“It’s better for you to keep those monster cores and continue exchanging them for resources and supplies your team might need,” he added quietly. “None of us know when this apocalypse will finally end.”
The entire bunker instantly fell silent. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Even Erick was momentarily speechless as he stared deeply at Darren.
Clearly, he hadn’t expected Darren to make such a decision so openly... nor so firmly.
Ivy couldn’t believe her ears either. This was the perfect opportunity for Darren to leave, and to be honest, she was tempted to accept the one thousand cores if not for the fact that Darren would most likely become her most reliable assistant. Yet, despite everything, Darren had actually chosen not to leave. He had chosen to stay true to his promise.
