CH : 32 Darkness Within

Ever since she was saved by Ethan, Leah never had to starve. Although the food was not as good as before the end of the world, there was no shortage of white rice and instant noodles.

The other girls also took a sip, then spitting it out. It was not something that people would eat.

Seeing the girls spitting out the gruel, the kids that were secretly hiding beside the house ran over. The kids picked the vegetables up from the floor, wiped it on their clothes, and then put it into their mouth.

[Note: Not a very nice imagery :( ]

A little boy ran up to Leah, with his big round eyes staring at Leah, said: "Beautiful big sister, if you don't eat these things, can you give it to us? We are so hungry!"

Leah's eyes filled with sympathy seeing the hungry little boy. She pulled out a biscuit and handed it to the boy: "How can you eat these things! This is a biscuit for you! "

The little boy took the biscuit, expressed his gratitude and fled away: "Thank you big sister! Thank you, big sister!"

"Beautiful big sister! Please give me something to eat! I'm hungry!!"

"Beautiful big sister! You are a good person, I beg you, please give me something to eat! I'm hungry!! "

"..."

Seeing Leah so kind, the kids quickly surrounded Leah, pleading miserably.

Leah was perplexed, but finally took out all the snacks in her clothes and gave it to the kids.

All the other women were also compassionate, taking out all the snacks that they had carried and giving it to the kids. They also gave the gruels to the kids.

Watching those kids eat the gruels, the women who did not suffer under the protection of Ethan, felt very sad.

Leah looked at the kids devouring the gruel, gnashed her teeth and said: "This is an outrage. How can the leader here treat the kids like this? Does he have any humanity left in him?"

Olivia was startled by Leah's words, she then immediately snapped at Leah: "Don't talk nonsense! Are we not in hostile territory? Do you want to die?"

Leah glanced at Olivia, and did not say anything else. She is not stupid, she was just too angry. But she was clearly aware that this is Tiger's turf.

Those kids in the village ate with hunger. They ate the bowl of gruel cleanly and even licked the bowl.

After eating, the kids immediately ran toward the outer courtyard.

Outside in the courtyard, a militant carrying a Type 81 rifle kicked one of the kids to the ground, causing candies and snacks to fall all over the ground.

"Small monkeys, your harvest is not bad! Biscuits, lollipops, haha, good stuff!" The militant laughed, then threatened the rest of the kids: "Take out all the good stuff, or I will beat you to death."

Seeing the militant appear, fear flashed in the eyes of all the kids. Hesitating for a bit, the kids took out the candies and biscuits from their body, handing it to the militant.

The former police officer, Sydney, finally could not stand it any more. She stood up and shouted at the militant: "How can there be people like you? Taking the stuff from kids, do you have no shame? "

The militant looked wantonly at Sydney, laughed out loud and said: "Big cow, my business is none of your concerns. If you were willing to play with your father's gun here, I will give the stuff back to them. We can count it as payment for a prostitute. HA HA HA!"

Sydney trembled with anger, cursed loudly: "You bastard, you fucker, you're shameless!!"

Sydney received a good education, she only knew a few sentences of cursing.

The militant looked at Sydney and mocked her: "You dare to curse at your father? Hey! You can be furious here. I will have you on this father's leg, spanking you till the next day."

After speaking, the militant quickly turned and left the place.

Sydney sat back in her seat, could not help but said in anger: "What kind of place is this, how can there be such scum fuckers."

Luna smiled dryly and said: "I'm afraid they are the same as bandits. We should be in a den of thieves."

Maya fearfully said: "What will happen to us?"

In this place, not only do the kids have to go hungry, they are also bullied and beaten. Maya was so scared about the future. Also, the power here did not care about equality between men and women, ladies first concept. From the food that was served to the women, one could see that the leader of the place did not see the women as people.

Julia smiled and said: "Don't worry, big brother Ethan will find a way."

Julia truly believed in Ethan, she believed that he would be able to get everyone out of this place.

"The presence of Grace, Luke, and especially Ethan ensures our safety, no matter what." Olivia looked at Julia with jealousy. She could see that on the way, Ethan had cared more about Julia. If anything happens, the ones that would be abandoned would be those that do not have strong relations to Ethan.

The women eyed one another, besides Grace and Julia, the rest of the women were trapped in an overwhelming gloom. Sarah, who was holding her daughter, had fear in her eyes about the future.

Among the women, only Sarah and Olivia did not give the kids snacks. Looking at the suffering of the kids in the village, Sarah was full of worry for the future of her own daughter and herself.

Sarah, being the most recent addition to the group and barely knowing Ethan or the others, felt an overwhelming sense of unease. Unlike the rest, who had bonded through shared trials, Sarah was still an outsider. Hearing the stories and experiences shared by the other girls—Julia, Olivia, Grace, and Luna—only deepened her anxiety. She was convinced that if things went wrong, she would be the first to be left behind, abandoned by the group and by Ethan. The weight of that fear lingered heavily in her thoughts, casting a shadow over her every move.

Arriving in the village only amplified Sarah's anxiety, sending it into overdrive.

Ethan bluntly ate the white cut chicken and stir-fry dishes such as the stir-fry mollusc on that table. These common dishes in this post apocalyptic world were extremely rare. In Lei Jiang City, Ethan's meal consisted of luncheon meat, ham, sausage, and cooked chicken. He quickly forgot the taste of those foods.

Soon after, the dishes were nearly empty, leaving only three white steamed buns in the bowl.

Two women walked in, taking all the empty dishes away, leaving only three white steamed buns on the table.

Tiger looked at Ethan and smiled, then looked toward the courtyard and said: "Little brother Ethan! In order to celebrate our meeting, let me give you a gift. You guys come in!"

Tiger's words had hardly faded, when six pretty women wearing makeup entered from the courtyard. The six women kneel in front of Tiger and Le Chen, massaging their feet.

William looked at the six women massaging the feet of Tiger and Lei Chen, his eyes flashing a touch of disbelief. The six women looked quite pretty, and their temperament was quite good. In the past, countless men would have wanting to possess them, but now they were kneeling in front of Tiger and Lei Chen while massaging their feet.

William could not quite believe this.

Tiger looked at Ethan, chuckled and said: "Little brother Ethan, out of these women, which one do you fancy. These women do not have much use, but what they are good at is warming beds."

Ethan observed the six women kneeling before Tiger, their beauty overshadowed by the haunting emptiness in their expressions. Their faces, once vibrant, were now marked by a numbing despair. Their eyes, hollow and devoid of spirit, reflected a deep-seated hopelessness, like living corpses stripped of everything except the shell of their existence. They looked more like shadows of their former selves, resigned to a fate they couldn't escape, their souls seemingly extinguished.

Ethan towards Tiger said: "You should not covet your friend's wife. The unspoken rules of the BroCode, Bros girlfriend, wife, sister or closest cousin is off limits, Brother Tiger, these women are all yours. How can I take your women?"

Tiger smiled towards Ethan, and then kicked the women kneeling at his feet as if kicking a beast and said: "I know that these women are not as beautiful as the women that you have brought along. But these women are very obedient. Elisa, go and properly serve Ethan. Today, he is your master. If you do not serve little brother Ethan comfortably, you will be put inside the henhouse."

The woman wearing the uniform, Elisa, quickly crawled in front of Ethan. She then lowered her head and kissed Ethan's boots.

Ethan frowned, pulling his foot back before she could kiss his boot. The idea of being served in such a degrading manner repulsed him, leaving a sour taste in his mouth. He wasn't interested in such displays, especially when they were born from desperation and fear. It felt wrong, twisted even, to be treated like some sort of tyrant.

It wasn't something he desired unless it was a mutual game of playful indulgence. The idea of being served in such a way felt too much, almost off-putting, when it wasn't grounded in mutual consent or understanding.

Elisa's face turned ashen as Ethan pulled his feet away. She then turned and looked at Tiger.

The henhouse in Always Bright Village is a place of prostitution. The women in the henhouse have to serve all the armed militants.

And it wasn't only about forced sex but militants with all kinds of weird, gross, and goreful fantasy and kinks get fulfilled there. Not only that, the women in the henhouse are only allowed to eat soup water and gruel.

If serving Tiger is like living a life of humiliation, then living in the henhouse is like living a life not any better than sex doll for desires. At least when serving Tiger, there would be enough to eat and he won't go as far as some of his militants.

Tiger's face had become sullen, with coldness in his eyes, fiercely looking at Elisa. He was courteous to Ethan because of Ethan's strength, but he is merciless to a disobedient woman.

"I'm sorry, master! I'm sorry, master! Please, let me serve you! I'll do anything, as long as you say, I can satisfy all your needs. I beg you, let me serve you!" Elisa was very scared from Tiger's stare. She knelt at Ethan's feet, firmly holding his leg, with her soft breasts rubbing Ethan's calf, while crying and begging.

Tiger, seeing Elisa holding Ethan's leg, his complexion grew solemn, and coldly said: "Come, take this woman out."

Two militants holding Type 79 submachine guns soon arrived, looking at Elisa with greedy eyes. They then reached out toward Wang Lan and grabbed her.

The most beautiful women were divided among Tiger, Lei Chen, Chen Yan, and Zhang Xiang. The women in the henhouse were average looking, a beauty like Elisa were rare. Even if there were several, in that harsh environment, tortured, beaten and forced to fulfil gore fantasies they no longer had their look and human emotion. Elisa coming to the henhouse would allowed them to have a good time for a bit.

"Don't! Please! Master, I am willing to do anything! Help me please!! You can do anything you want to me, help me! Help me!!" Wang Lan pleaded while hugging Ethan's leg.

Ethan looked at Elisa crying and pleading with him, Ethan clearly knew what Tiger was trying to do here so he just turned to Tiger and said: "Wait a minute! Boss Tiger, I will accept Elisa."

Tiger's face finally brightened, then waved his hand, the two men with disappointed eyes retreated.

Going in a circle from death to life, Elisa's inside was like a roller coaster. After Tiger told the two men to back down, Elisa immediately knelt in front of Ethan, and carefully massaged his legs.

Seeing Ethan couldn't do anything and finally accept the woman's message, Tiger smiled, and started to speak to Ethan: "Ethan, you and I should work together! You see now the world has changed, it is time that we rise."

"The world we knew was a rigged game. Those who were born into privilege, riding on the coattails of their parents' achievements, reaped the rewards without lifting a finger. They inherited wealth and power, not through their own merit, but simply by the luck of birth. Their parents overthrew the old regime, and in doing so, built an empire where their offspring could indulge in every luxury. They live in mansions, drive the finest cars, and drink the rarest wines, all while the law turns a blind eye to their excesses.

Meanwhile, the rest of us, the ones who actually toil and sweat, are left to scrape by. We're the ones who have to work ourselves to the bone just to afford a modest home, taking on crushing loans that we'll spend the next 20 years paying off. Miss a payment, and they'll have no problem throwing us in jail, while the rich are above reproach. They evade taxes, manipulate markets, and when they do something blatantly illegal, their lawyers twist the law to keep them safe.

They hoard resources, making the rich richer, while the poor are left to fend for scraps. They buy influence, control the media, and ensure the rules are always in their favor. And what happens if we don't pay a bill on time? Our lives can be ruined overnight. But they? They could crash the economy and still walk away with golden parachutes. They are beyond the reach of the law, while we are shackled by it. It's a rigged system, where the elite thrive on the backs of everyone else.

"Do you know the irony in all this?" Tiger asked, his voice tinged with bitterness. "Why does one person accumulate more wealth than they could ever spend, while another can't afford to miss a single day of work without risking their family's survival?"

He paused, gazing up at the sky as if lost in thought. "If a poor man does not repay the loan, his house gets sold, and if a rich man does not repay the loan, the bank, not him. The rules have always favored those at the top, leaving the rest of us to bear the brunt."

Tiger's expression hardened, and a brilliant light ignited in his eyes. "But it's different now. The world has turned upside down, and the old order has crumbled. Now, in this chaos, it's our time to rise. If we stand together, gather survivors, and establish our own new regime, we can carve out a future in this hellscape. We can kill the zombies, reclaim the land, and build something better. Once we've unified the country, our descendants will bask in the glory and splendor we've created."

Tiger's eyes burned with ambition as he turned to Ethan, his gaze fierce and unyielding. The fire in his words was undeniable, revealing the depth of his aspirations.