Chapter 119: Chapter 119: Five Crystal Cores

The middle-aged man was left speechless, clutching his child tightly.

His face was livid, wishing he could escape immediately.

Before the apocalypse, he was quite successful, with a happy family.

He had a gentle wife, a lovely daughter, and a high-paying job.

After the apocalypse, he didn’t awaken any superpowers. To survive, he didn’t fear death; armed with the only weapon he could find—a kitchen knife—he left the base in the morning and returned at night.

He had no superpower. Before the apocalypse, he was an office elite, not in great physical shape. Barely managing to kill one or two zombies was already quite an achievement.

To enter the safe base, you needed a crystal core. After returning to the base, the leftover crystal cores were barely enough to live on.

Recently, he was unlucky, having only killed one zombie, and after returning to the base, he no longer had any crystal cores.

Unexpectedly, his wife wanted to sell their child!

He knew he was incompetent, but to survive, he had already exhausted all his strength.

The couple’s squabble didn’t attract a crowd.

This kind of scene was too common; people had long lost their curiosity about gossip.

Occasionally, a few idle bystanders curiously watched the drama unfold.

They weren’t shocked by the idea of selling a child. They were just curious whether the child could still be sold.

“Feng Xian, let’s separate!”

The scholarly middle-aged man looked pained, stepping back with the child in his arms, tears in his eyes.

He didn’t know why things turned out this way.

He had tried so hard to chop zombies, never feared hardship, yet he still couldn’t support his wife and child.

He was a graduate student—not as talented as a Ph.D., but not poorly educated either.

Before the apocalypse, he had an enviable annual salary.

After the apocalypse, he lived worse than a dog.

“Heh, you think I still want to be with you?”

Feng Xian sneered, without any emotional fluctuation.

The damned apocalypse had worn down all her feelings.

To be alive and have enough to eat was her greatest pursuit.

The scholarly middle-aged man took a deep look at his wife, whom he had shared a bed with for five years, and then with his child in his arms, walked out of the black market.

“Wait! The child stays with me!”

The middle-aged woman saw him taking the child away, her expression finally showing a trace of fluctuation. She hurriedly chased after him, blocking the middle-aged man’s way.

This was a crystal core.

A crystal core that could ease her food and drink worries for the next few days.

“The crystal core, consider it my debt to you, I’ll repay it in a few days as compensation for having you suffer with me here.”

The middle-aged man’s demeanor wouldn’t allow for such a public falling out.

Moreover, the one in his arms was his daughter.

He couldn’t let his child suffer any emotional trauma at such a young age.

“Nonsense! You must give it now; who knows if you’ll run away tomorrow!”

The middle-aged woman clutched the middle-aged man’s clothes tightly, refusing to let him leave.

“Giggling…”

The little girl suddenly started laughing, thinking her parents were joking around as they used to.

The child’s voice was as pure and beautiful as ever.

No matter what hardships she’d endured with her parents these past two months, she always laughed so carefreely.

A trace of ferocity flashed in the middle-aged woman’s eyes, and she started to feel jealous of her own daughter.

Why was her life in the apocalypse so hard, while Xiao Ling was still as carefree as before?

“Brother Shui is here!”

Someone exclaimed.

Those selling children suddenly perked up.

The children sat wearily at the stall’s center, and their parents quickly prodded them to appear more energetic.

Some even hurriedly took out a cloth to clean their children’s faces.

The middle-aged woman’s eyes lit up, pulling more desperately at her child.

Brother Shui had come to collect children!

Brother Shui was a mass of fat, like a walking meatball.

In the apocalypse, being able to have such a body of fat was quite an achievement.

As Brother Shui arrived, he headed directly to the stalls selling children, squinting his eyes as he inspected them one by one.

The adults put on forced smiles, repeatedly praising the children’s health.

“Feng Xian, stop, I really will give you the crystal core, but we can’t sell the child!” The scholarly middle-aged man showed a trace of panic in his eyes.

Amidst the panic, for the first time, the scholarly middle-aged man struck his wife.

Viciously, he pushed her to the ground.

“Mommy, it hurts!”

The small child in the middle-aged man’s arms burst into tears, crying bitterly.

That was her mommy!

“Ah!”

Feng Xian, sitting on the ground, suddenly went mad and lunged at the middle-aged man.

She had enough of this damned apocalypse; she had to sell their child.

Today, she had to get that crystal core!

Her starving stomach had driven her insane, charging at her husband recklessly.

She needed to snatch their child.

Bai Yifan finally couldn’t stand it any longer, his body instantly enveloped in a yellow glow, stepping in front of the middle-aged man and reaching out to hold back the middle-aged woman.

“You, you’re a Superpower User!”

The middle-aged woman intended to erupt, but then she saw the faint yellow glow emanating from Bai Yifan.

She instinctively took a step back.

Ordinary people wouldn’t dare to conflict with a Superpower User.

The surrounding people instinctively stepped back as well, and a few onlookers turned and left.

“Boo hoo, mommy hold me.”

The little girl tilted her head, her face still wet with tears, looking aggrieved, wanting to be held by her mom.

Because she saw her mom was hurt, she wanted to be with her mom.

The middle-aged woman looked at her daughter expressionlessly, without any emotion.

When people have enough to eat, only then will they have emotions, such illusory things.

The child’s crying caught Brother Shui’s attention, and he glanced in their direction.

He immediately liked what he saw.

The child was cute and tender, fair-skinned, way better looking than the other children for sale.

Ignoring those eagerly promoting their children, Brother Shui strode toward the middle-aged man holding the child.

Brother Shui’s whole body of fat quivered violently.

The middle-aged man’s eyes showed a hint of fear, and he turned to leave.

The middle-aged woman lunged forward, grabbing tightly to his hem, refusing to let go.

Bai Yifan tried to pry the middle-aged woman’s hand away but was powerless.

The middle-aged woman, risking having her hand broken, was determined to sell her child.

As they struggled, Brother Shui jogged over, already in front of them.

“Are you selling your child?” Brother Shui asked the middle-aged woman.

He had seen many such scenes, where one parent was unwilling to sell their child, but it didn’t matter.

As long as one side was willing to sell, he could make a deal.

“No!”

The middle-aged man, holding his child, was about to leave, the middle-aged woman’s hand clutching his clothes, dragging along with him.

“The price is negotiable, how about I give you five crystal cores?”

Brother Shui pulled out five white, transparent crystal cores from his pocket.

Hissing—

The onlookers gasped.

The middle-aged woman’s eyes glistened greenly, pulling even harder on the middle-aged man’s clothes.

She had only one thought in mind.

Today, she must sell the child!!!

After today, this offer wouldn’t come again.

Those who relied on selling children to exchange for crystal cores, how much more could they have!

For Superpower Users, obtaining crystal cores was as easy as a wave of a hand.

In some wealthy families, crystal cores were stored in sacks.

Yet for ordinary people, surviving and having enough to eat was incredibly difficult.

“`

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep