Chapter 257: The Shameless Father

Chapter 257: Chapter 257: The Shameless Father

Seeing this, Seraphina Sullivan barely hesitated. She immediately stepped forward to intercept Crystal Lynn.

Her voice was quick and clear. "I’ll go with you. I can help look after your sister, so you’ll be free to... handle things."

Crystal Lynn stopped in her tracks, looking at Seraphina Sullivan with some surprise.

She wasn’t close with Seraphina Sullivan; they had only done business twice. She never expected the other woman to offer help at a time like this.

But the calm and supportive look in Seraphina’s eyes seemed genuine. Besides, her offer to look after Freya Lynn would truly free Crystal Lynn from any worries.

Time was short, leaving no room for second thoughts.

Crystal Lynn gave Seraphina a deep look. Without any unnecessary pleasantries, she uttered two words:

"Thank you."

An agreement was reached.

Seraphina Sullivan took the hand of Freya Lynn, who was still shaken but gripping her hand tightly.

Sean Chandler followed silently by Seraphina’s side.

The group moved quickly toward the direction where Crystal Lynn had parked her RV.

Their group was not a quiet one, and Freya Lynn’s earlier cries had already drawn attention. Now, a crowd of onlookers had started to follow them.

In the oppressive atmosphere of the safe zone, this sort of family drama—involving morality, betrayal, and conflict, with the added possibility of a physical fight—was undoubtedly a potent stimulant.

People whispered and pointed, trailing behind from a distance, fully displaying the unshakeable human instinct for rubbernecking that persists in any environment.

「Meanwhile」

Damian Lynn, the father who had abandoned Crystal and Freya Lynn, was standing smugly in front of a reasonably intact RV. He had his arm wrapped around an attractive young woman whose flashy attire was completely out of place.

He puffed out his chest, boasting wildly as he spoke:

"What do you think, baby? Your man here has got what it takes!"

"I knew those two money-losing baggage had something good stashed away. See? Didn’t I get it? With this RV and the food inside, we won’t have to worry about our future anymore!"

His face was filled with the smug satisfaction of having taken advantage of someone, showing not a shred of a father’s shame.

The young woman snuggled into his embrace, cooing her flattery, "Buck, you’re the best! I’m so lucky to be with you. When our son is born, I’ll make sure he dotes on you!"

As she spoke, the woman gently caressed her still-flat stomach.

Damian Lynn was ecstatic from the praise. He waved his hand magnanimously. "Mhm! You just focus on giving me a son to carry on the family line, and you’ll be set for life! Anything you want, you just tell me, and I’ll get it for you!"

The woman’s eyes darted around, just as she was about to ask for something else.

Just then, a furious shout that seemed squeezed through clenched teeth shattered their smug conversation.

"DA-MI-AN—LYNN—!!!"

Crystal Lynn’s figure appeared in the distance. She approached step by step, her gaze ice-cold and locked squarely on Damian Lynn.

The White Spirit Snake on her wrist was now fully awake. It had raised the upper half of its body, its scarlet tongue flicking rapidly and letting out a heart-stopping "HISS HISS."

Its cold, vertical pupils were also focused on the man who had abandoned his family.

The large crowd of rubberneckers formed a semicircle behind them, holding their breath in anticipation.

Seraphina Sullivan sheltered Freya Lynn behind her, standing at a slight distance with Sean Chandler as she calmly observed the situation.

Damian Lynn and the woman in his arms flinched at the sudden, sharp cry. The smug looks on their faces froze, replaced by shock and a hint of panic.

They hadn’t expected Crystal Lynn to track them down so quickly, and with... such a terrifying presence.

"You money-losing baggage!"

Having his own daughter roar his full name in public made Damian Lynn lose face completely.

He cursed, blustering to hide his cowardice, "Such disrespect for your elders! I’m your father! Is that how you speak to your own father?! Have you no manners?!"

Crystal Lynn wasn’t buying his act at all.

Her gaze shot toward him, her voice cold enough to freeze. "I’ll ask you this: who hit Freya!"

Damian Lynn’s eyes darted away. He subconsciously avoided Crystal Lynn’s gaze, his guilt obvious.

He had lost his temper, annoyed that Freya was getting in his way and crying, so he had struck her hard.

However, the woman in his arms had a cunning glint in her eye. She suddenly clutched her stomach and let out an exaggerated, delicate cry.

She shrank into Damian Lynn’s embrace like a frightened rabbit. "Buck! I... I’m scared! Look at her eyes, they’re terrifying, like she wants to eat me alive! My stomach... my stomach suddenly hurts! Buck, what if she scared our son? Sob... what should I do? I still want to give you a big, healthy boy..."

Her contrived performance, combined with her on-the-verge-of-tears expression, immediately elicited a wave of suppressed hisses and contemptuous whispers from the surrounding crowd.

The woman was clearly sowing discord and fanning the flames.

Seraphina Sullivan stood a little farther away, observing the situation. Her gaze lingered on the woman for a moment, filled with a thought-provoking, all-knowing look.

Such low-level tricks were not uncommon in the apocalypse.

Sure enough, egged on by the young woman in his arms and fueled by the stares of the crowd, Damian Lynn’s pathetic male pride and chauvinism swelled to their peak, completely overpowering his flicker of guilt.

He stuck out his neck and roared at Crystal Lynn:

"I’m her father! So what if I hit her?! It’s my right! That little brat dared to disobey me and stop me from taking my things. It’s a miracle I didn’t beat her to death! Who are you to question me?"

"Sister," Freya Lynn cried out from behind Seraphina Sullivan, her voice choked with sobs as she made her accusation.

"Dad was the one who tried to kick me out, and he wanted to take all our food, without leaving us anything! That’s why I didn’t listen to him, why I wouldn’t let him take it..."

Hearing this, the last shred of unrealistic fantasy Crystal Lynn held for her so-called "father" was utterly obliterated.

She looked at the selfish, shameless, cowardly, and violent man before her and felt nothing but disgust.

She wasted no more words. Reasoning with such a person was a complete waste of life.

She simply raised her wrist slightly and uttered a single word:

"Beau."

Beau, the White Spirit Snake, who had been coiled and ready, shot from Crystal Lynn’s wrist like a bolt of white lightning, aiming straight for the still-shouting Damian Lynn!

From start to finish, Crystal Lynn paid no attention to the woman who was fanning the flames.

She knew perfectly well that while the woman was just as detestable, the root of the problem was Damian Lynn.

It was this man’s heartlessness and cowardice that had led to all of this.

To catch the bandits, you first catch the king. Once Damian Lynn was dealt with, the woman would be no threat.

Beau’s body seemed to grow in the air, instantly becoming longer and thicker. Like a nimble white rope, it coiled precisely and swiftly around Damian Lynn’s body, its powerful constricting force suddenly erupting.