Chapter 156: Shameless

Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Shameless

Many residents in the villa district had previously received Luna Dawson and her family’s help in clearing out zombies, so they were quite familiar with one another. Right now, they were all gathered around to watch the drama unfold. Their eyes were fixed on Autumn Atkins and her daughter, whispering and pointing without any hesitation.

Most of the people living in the villa district had been social elites or prominent figures before the apocalypse. Who among them hadn’t heard of or witnessed families being torn apart over illegitimate children? Some had their family fortunes diluted, while others had their equity divided, and there were plenty of people who had fought lawsuits for over a decade over such matters.

Hearing about Autumn’s drama of "the mistress forcing the legal wife to her death," they instantly projected their own emotions onto the situation. Curses rose one after another.

"Bah! How shameless! It’s the apocalypse and you’re still thinking about leeching off others!"

"What law is there to speak of in this day and age? The illegitimate daughter and the mistress need to get the hell out of the villa district!"

"You killed the legal wife and still dare to show up here? Do you have any shame at all? Go to hell, you homewrecker!"

The sharp curses pierced Autumn’s heart like knives. Her face pale, she tightly gripped the hem of her clothes, her heart turning completely cold.

A wave of despair washed over her. Just half a month ago, she and her daughter had been rescued and brought to the base by the official troops. She herself had no superpower; she was just an ordinary person. Although her daughter, Zoe Palmer, had a Water Ability, it was only low-level. Even if Zoe gave it her all, she could only produce a single bucket of water a day, which was barely enough to cover their basic daily needs. Sectors One and Four in the base had electricity and heating, but they couldn’t afford the rent. They could only squeeze into a cold, damp little single room in Sector Five.

To make matters worse, their current supplies would last them half a month at most. Zoe’s superpower level was too low. It took her three or four days of supplying water to exchange for a single Rank One Crystal Core, which was barely enough to pay their rent.

It was too cold right now, and Autumn really didn’t want to go out and haul corpses. Before the apocalypse, she had always been kept by Ryan Palmer and had never worked a day in her life. How could she possibly go do something like hauling dead bodies now?!

While Autumn’s mind was racing, a few dissenting voices popped up from the crowd.

An older man spoke slowly, "Since she’s his biological sister, he should at least lend a helping hand."

"That’s right. He’s living in a massive villa spanning thousands of square feet, yet look at how destitute his sister is."

"The little girl is quite pitiful."

"She’s still so young, and her brother just abandons her."

Luna Dawson arrived at the courtyard gate at that moment. Seeing that they were still in a standoff, Evan Olson glanced back at her and motioned for her to stand beside him. Luna had already overheard most of the situation, so she didn’t bother asking any questions.

"Exactly! Your father’s dying wish was for you to take good care of us. Do you want him to not rest in peace?" Hearing someone speak up for them, Autumn quickly chimed in, hoping to at least get Zoe inside.

Aaron Palmer remained completely unmoved. "That bastard got off easy by dying."

Zoe lunged toward Aaron, trying to hug his leg, but he swiftly dodged her.

"Brother, you’re already at the Third Rank, and your combat team is the best in the entire base! Even giving us a little bit of charity would be fine!"

Zoe had truly had enough of that lifeless little room. She even had to fight over a single bathroom with the two middle-aged men next door, and she was absolutely sick of their wicked, slimy stares! She had to escape that kind of life. The villa in front of her was big enough to house ten of her! She stared at the other three men standing at the doorway, every single one of them making her heart flutter. She was already beginning to fantasize about a life where she lived in the villa, protected by them every single day.

Hardening her resolve, Autumn threatened, "If you don’t take us in, I’ll go around every day telling everyone that you abandoned your family, that you’re ruthless and utterly inhuman!"

Aaron wasn’t buying it. "Thank you very much. Please go do it right away. I love nothing more than being notorious."

Seeing that Aaron was impervious to reason, Autumn laid down a harsh ultimatum. "You! Then I’ll come here every day from now on and give you no peace!"

"Suit yourself. My house is practically soundproof anyway."

Luna hadn’t wanted to interfere in Aaron’s family affairs, but she needed to make her stance clear. She was afraid he might overthink it and beat himself up, feeling like he was dragging everyone down. She thought for a moment before chiming in. "Ugh, how annoying. The villa next door belongs to Brother Leo too, you know. Even if it’s sitting empty, you’re still not allowed to live there." As she finished speaking, she flashed a wicked smile at the pitifully groveling Zoe.

Aaron felt a little embarrassed when he saw Luna come out. He was the reason they had attracted this trouble, and now the noise was making everyone uncomfortable. If they were outside the base, he would have killed that woman Autumn in a heartbeat.

"Luna, I brought this on us. I’m really sorry."

Evan stepped forward and patted his shoulder. "It’s no big deal. Ignore them. Let’s head inside."

Blake Blue had known the reason for a while but hadn’t said anything. After all, Aaron had to resolve this himself. Seeing this situation, Blake suddenly felt incredibly lucky to have grown up safely under the care of his orphanage director.

"Leo, don’t let it weigh on your mind."

Luna also spoke up to comfort him. "Brother Leo, don’t start doubting if you’re a piece of shit just because some flies showed up."

Aaron was speechless.

So was everyone else.

Miles Dawson was left exasperated. "Sis, maybe you should just stop talking."

Saying that, he slung an arm around Aaron’s shoulder, paying no more attention to the mother and daughter.

Just as the front gate was about to shut, Autumn and Zoe lunged forward desperately, intending to stop it from closing. However, as they tried to get up, their limbs suddenly grew stiff, as if refusing to obey their commands. By the time they finally managed to scramble up, the gate was already firmly shut.

Seeing that the drama was over, the crowd outside—who had just been taking sides and accusing each other of having twisted moral values—argued for another ten minutes before gradually dispersing. Only the mother and daughter were left, pounding on the gate and wailing.

The group returned to the living room, rubbing their hands together. They had rushed out in such a hurry earlier that they hadn’t put on their gloves, and now they were freezing.

Aaron briefly explained his family situation. Both Mrs. Dawson and Grandpa gave him a sympathetic hug.

"Leo, whatever you decide is up to you. We’ll respect your choice." Grandpa’s kind voice rang out. Every family had its own share of troubles.

Wayne Dawson pondered for a moment before choosing his words carefully. "Even if you want to support your sister, that’s fine too. As long as it’s what you want, we will respect it."

Aaron’s eyes were filled with absolute resolve. "No! I don’t want to! If I had run into them outside the base, I would have avenged my mom directly!"

Grandpa let out a soft sigh. "Good boy. Let’s drop the subject. Don’t upset yourself."

Looking at the gloomy atmosphere in the house, Luna shouted, "The whole family is on vacation! Let’s go! We’re heading to the media room to sing and drink! Unlimited booze, meat, and snacks!"

And so, the group spent the entire afternoon belting out songs in the media room until the ceiling nearly flew off. They stumbled back to their rooms drunk and fell asleep, completely unbothered by whenever those two women outside finally left.

Kevin Keane and Lynn Shelby hurried back before dinner, only to find Grandpa, Uncle Verne, and Mrs. Dawson waiting to eat with Hector. That was when they learned what had happened.

"Blake actually got drunk too?" Kevin was quite surprised. After all, Blake was the kind of person who kept one eye open to stay on guard even while sleeping.

"Haha, aren’t Purple Bean and Little Sweet Potato around?" Grandpa laughed heartily. "Young people need their sleep. They ought to relax a bit."

"Let’s eat first. They just went back to their rooms not too long ago," Wayne said, his cheeks flushed as he ushered everyone over. He had knocked back a few glasses himself and would have to go to bed early later.