Chapter 236 I owe you a favor.

"Commander Erick!"

The group of men chorused in unison, immediately lowering their heads into deep bows the moment their gazes landed on Erick and Darren.

Rather than responding to their greetings, Erick simply walked forward. His cold eyes settled on the woman who had just accused Ivy of being a scam. A scoff escaped his lips before he spoke in a calm but firm voice.

"She’s not a scam," he said, his tone carrying unquestionable authority. "She’s a leader. And a good one at that."

The woman lowered her head further, too ashamed to meet his eyes.

"It’s fine, Erick," Ivy replied with a light chuckle, waving her hand dismissively. She wasn’t interested in embarrassing the woman any further. Turning toward Erick, she smiled before asking, "Can I take these twenty people with me to Hope Base Villa? They’ve all agreed to join my base and live there, but I thought it was only right to ask for your permission first. After all, they’re survivors currently under your care."

"You’re free to take anyone with you, Captain Ivy, as long as they’re willing to leave with you," Erick answered without the slightest hesitation.

He paused briefly before adding with a helpless shrug,

"As long as you’re not taking Fiercehunter Base’s supplies, you’re welcome to recruit as many survivors as you want. It’s not like we can properly provide for everyone here anyway. Right now, we’re barely managing to keep everyone alive."

A grateful smile spread across Ivy’s face.

"Oh, thank you, Commander Erick," she said sincerely. "I owe you a favor."

As their conversation came to an end, Ivy suddenly remembered someone.

A young man with an incredibly short temper. He had always looked fierce, almost as though he was ready to punch someone at the slightest annoyance. In fact, he really did have a habit of punching people over the smallest mistakes.

However...despite his explosive personality, Ivy remembered that he had secretly helped her several times in her previous life.

Back then, while she was still pregnant, her husband and mistress would constantly force her out to search for food despite her condition. Although her pregnancy hadn’t been very noticeable yet, she was still carrying a child.

Whenever she found herself in dangerous situations, that young man had silently stepped in to help her once or twice.

He wasn’t kind and he wasn’t gentle either but one thing Ivy knew for certain was that he never bullied innocent people. The only ones who suffered under his fists were the scheming, greedy, and despicable individuals who preyed on others.

He was also a dual-ability user with terrifying combat strength but unfortunately In her previous life, he had eventually been recruited by another powerful survivor base. Not long afterward, that base had been overwhelmed by an enormous monster tide, and he had died along with countless others.

’I wonder if he’s still alive...’ Ivy swallowed subconsciously. ’Did history change this time? Is he still alive somewhere in the apocalypse... or has he already died?’

She genuinely hoped he was still alive. Someone with his strength would become an invaluable asset to Hope Base Villa if she could recruit him before anyone else did.

"Alright, so that’s settled," Erick suddenly said, snapping Ivy out of her whirlpool of thoughts, "And if you still want to recruit more survivors later, you’re free to do that as well. You’re doing the Fiercehunter base s favor by doing so already."

"Oh, no." Ivy laughed softly and shook her head. "I’ll take these twenty first. One step at a time." She scratched the back of her head before adding with an embarrassed smile, "And... I’ll have to borrow your truck again."

A hint of annoyance flashed across her face. "My own truck still hasn’t been recovered from that bastard who stole it. But I’m sure we’ll catch him sooner or later."

Erick nodded without objection while Ivy offered a warm smile in appreciation.

Darren, who had remained silent throughout their conversation, finally stepped forward and clapped his hands once to get everyone’s attention.

"Alright, everyone," he called out loudly. "Please form a straight line.We’ll be taking all of you to Hope Base Villa this evening, where the rest of the survivors are currently staying. But before that, we need to register everyone and collect your information."

He glanced toward Ivy before continuing,

"Actually, someone else will be handling the registration. My job is simply to get you all settled."

The survivors nodded obediently and without wasting another second, they quickly arranged themselves into a neat line before following Darren toward the temporary registration area.

Meanwhile, the husband and wife who had repeatedly called Ivy a fraud remained rooted to the same spot, their heads hung low in humiliation as the other survivors who had agreed to follow Ivy walked pass them.