Apocalypse: I'm the Landlady of the Refuge

"Confinement..." Ji Wanwan couldn’t help but mutter, "It seems you really don’t love her..."

Wen Yuheng couldn’t hear clearly, and couldn’t help but quicken his pace, "Miss Ji, what did you say?"

Ji Wanwan sighed, "Nothing."

She felt sorry for Hu Die at the bottom of her heart, remembering that it was she who had indeed asked Wen Yuheng to seduce the girl, which inevitably gave rise to many feelings of guilt.

Yet on second thoughts, from ancient times military conflicts had seldom been void of using beauty as a strategy.

Hu Die belonged to the Baize Union. Everyone had different stakes; all were fighting for their own survival and benefits. It was not possible for her to simply wait for Baize to lead an attack without doing anything. She was neither that selfless nor foolish. Thus, even if she dealt with Hu Die now, no one would be able to fault her for any wrongdoing.

Upon reflecting on this, Ji Wanwan slowed her steps and turned to look at Wen Yuheng, "Brother Wen, why did you decide to keep Hu Die?"

Why keep Hu Die?

Doubt appeared in Wen Yuheng’s eyes. He felt that Hu Die was pitiable, and did not want to see her die, so he had kept her at the base.

Thinking of the days he had spent with Hu Die, he had always felt guilty and wanted to make amends, so he naturally kept her.

After a brief silence, Wen Yuheng stammered, "I always feel like I owe her, I want to do something to make up for it, so, I..."

"So you forcibly kept her here," Ji Wanwan finished his sentence, "In your eyes, as long as you stop her from leaving the base, prevent her from seeking death, you think you have saved her life.

With this act of saving her life, you owe her nothing, and later you can each go your separate ways, living your own lives again, right?"

Wen Yuheng’s eyes went blank, his mind a complete mess.

Was that really what he thought?

Before he could figure it out, Ji Wanwan stopped walking and stared earnestly into his eyes, "Brother Wen, you need to think clearly whether you kept Hu Die because you feel guilty and want to make up for it, or because you genuinely don’t want to see anything bad happen to her."

Looking into Ji Wanwan’s eyes, Wen Yuheng’s mind became even more chaotic, "I... I don’t know..."

Ji Wanwan said earnestly, "Not knowing is fine. Sooner or later you will understand. But now that you’ve kept Hu Die, you need to figure out how to solve this problem.

I suggest you properly persuade her, rather than simply and crudely confining her. After all, locking someone up is never a solution to the problem.

Moreover, with the base in such a chaotic state, I don’t want Hu Die to become a variable that could threaten the base. Therefore, I need you to help stabilize her emotions, or else, I can’t guarantee that I won’t expel her. Brother Wen, can you do that?"

With a dazed look, Wen Yuheng lowered his gaze, "I understand."

Watching the man shuffle towards the dormitory in a somewhat dejected manner, Ji Wanwan exhaled a breath of foul air and turned to continue walking toward the villa.

Before she had even entered the villa, Ji Wanwan heard the crying sounds coming from inside.

At that time, the kind-hearted Father Ji and Mrs. Ji had not gone to rest but were there, watching over everything, fearing someone might do something foolish.

The reality was as they had expected.

A newlywed couple was there, the husband of which had been sacrificed in battle. When the wife saw her husband’s body, she collapsed, wanting to commit suicide. Mr. Ji, quick to react, discovered and stopped her.

Looking at the young wife’s tear-stained face, Mr. Ji felt helpless.

Losing a beloved, he knew the young wife felt that life was worse than death, but only through living was there hope; death ended everything.

Mr. Ji was reflecting on the impermanence of life when suddenly he saw his daughter’s figure at the entrance of the villa.

Ji Wanwan, at first glance, didn’t notice her parents, but was overwhelmed by the crying sounds filling the house, making it hard to breathe, feeling an immense discomfort in her head.

An elderly woman closer to the door saw Ji Wanwan; she rushed over at once, tears streaming down her face as she clung to her legs and wailed, "Leader, please save my child! He’s my only son, and he hasn’t even started a family yet! If he’s gone, how am I supposed to live?"

Before she could even speak, the commotion drew the attention of others around.

Though Ji Wanwan was just a young girl, at this moment, everyone seemed to view her as an all-powerful deity, crowding around her in desperation.

"Leader! Save my husband, please! My child is only 7 years old, he can’t be without a father!"

"My sister lay here for the sake of the base! Leader, you must take responsibility! You have to bring her back to life!"

"Wuwuwu, Leader, please save my dad! I don’t want to be without a dad!"

"Qianqian! My treasured child! You battled through mountains of corpses and seas of blood every day for me, never having enjoyed a single day of fortune. How could you just leave me behind!"

"..."

Ji Wanwan moved her lips; a thousand words stuck in her throat, unable to come out.

The hopeful pleading of these people left her at a loss.

If she could, she too would wish to be all-powerful, to save every single person in this world.

But she was not; she was merely a slightly luckier ordinary person...

After taking a shallow breath and about to speak to break their unrealistic expectations and fantasies, a concerned voice suddenly came from behind Ji Wanwan.

"Although the leader has built a refuge base for everyone, the leader is also human, and she cannot bring people back from the dead. Please contain your grief."

The man’s deep and magnetic voice sounded somewhat cold and merciless at the moment, but to Ji Wanwan, it was like the sound of heaven.

At this moment, Zhou Kai was like a deity, with his aura of justice and sanctity, pulling Ji Wanwan out of the mire of human affections and morality.

Unexpectedly, in such a tragic moment, a sense of relief and joy sprouted in the depths of Ji Wanwan’s heart.

She looked towards Zhou Kai, casting him a grateful glance.

The latter nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then turned his gaze to Father Ji and Mrs. Ji, nodding to greet them, and finally looked indifferently at the stunned family members of the sacrifice.

Following Zhou Kai’s gaze, Ji Wanwan then realized that her parents were also present.

Just as she was about to call out to her parents, an elderly woman tremulously stood up, disbelief in her eyes as she shook her head at Zhou Kai.

Just when Ji Wanwan thought she might collapse at any moment and was prepared to go support her, the elderly woman furiously rushed towards Zhou Kai and slapped him across the face, "You bastard! My son is dead! He died for the base! You heartless beasts just stood by and did nothing! You’re the ones who should die!!"

The elderly woman acted so swiftly that none could react in time.

She slapped with such force that Zhou Kai’s cheek visibly swelled.

Ji Wanwan’s brows furrowed, about to step forward to intervene, but Zhou Kai looked up at her.

She understood the meaning in his eyes; Zhou Kai was telling her not to come over.

But how could she let Zhou Kai face the wrath of the victim’s family members alone?

However, Zhou Kai didn’t give her a chance to speak.

He looked sternly at the elderly woman, his gaze calm, showing no anger despite the slap, "Your son has died, and I’m deeply sorry. His sacrifice for the base is something we all have seen, but—"