Chapter 104: Chapter 104: I Am Not the Cause of Your Suffering

The moment she caught the scent, Sierra Sullivan’s brow furrowed.

She didn’t know why, but the smell made her feel nauseous.

As Sierra was puzzling over it, she caught a change in General Aldridge’s expression out of the corner of her eye.

Although General Aldridge usually wore a stern look, there was a world of difference between when he was angry and when he wasn’t.

Just one look at his eyes now, and Sierra knew he was angry.

And not just a little angry.

’But why is he angry?’

They had only just walked in and hadn’t even gotten a clear look at the room’s interior, let alone had any sort of conflict or disagreement. There was none of that. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

For General Aldridge to suddenly get angry for no apparent reason was a bit baffling to Sierra.

’Wait!’

A possibility suddenly struck Sierra, and her eyes widened.

’Could it be related to the smell I just noticed?’

Sierra had read her fair share of novels, especially post-apocalyptic ones.

In many of those stories, there was the concept of "two-legged sheep."

Some books would only mention it in passing, while others would describe it in detail.

Even without ever having smelled it for real, Sierra could imagine it.

And the smell now permeating the air was just as nauseating as she had imagined!

"You three, are you from the base?"

A man’s voice suddenly cut through the air, instantly grabbing Sierra’s attention.

Sierra looked toward the speaker and saw a young man.

He looked to be in his twenties or thirties with short-cropped hair and harsh features. His eyes were calm, yet they held an indescribable ferocity.

At first glance, Sierra got the feeling that he was not a good person.

’To be precise, this guy was bad news.’

He just sat there quietly, with no exaggerated movements or expressions, yet he gave off a palpable sense of utter madness.

The insanity hidden beneath his calm exterior made Sierra deeply uneasy.

General Aldridge was also staring intently at the man. "Are you the leader here?"

"That’s right! The boys trust me, they’re willing to call me Todd. My name is Todd Jacobs."

Todd Jacobs bared his teeth in a grin.

"The apocalypse has been going on for two or three months now, and the base is only just sending people over? What for? To bring us supplies, or take us to the base? Are we supposed to be grateful?"

After speaking, Todd Jacobs broke into a wide grin.

In that instant, the other people in the room erupted in laughter.

Faced with these provocative words, General Aldridge didn’t show much emotion.

"This room smells of meat," General Aldridge stated calmly.

Todd Jacobs, who had just been laughing, felt his smile freeze on his face.

A moment later, Todd Jacobs smiled again, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

"Good nose! You smelled it! That’s right! We just ate some meat—Exotic Beast Meat. The base doesn’t care about us, so if we don’t figure something out ourselves, we’ll just starve to death, won’t we? A guest is a guest, and I’m not a stingy person. Are you hungry? Why don’t you sit down and have some? There’s still meat left over from lunch."

As he spoke, Todd Jacobs looked at a man standing not far from him. "What are you standing around for? Go get the meat!"

The man answered, a look of reluctance on his face.

But he was clearly terrified of Todd Jacobs, and despite his reluctance, he didn’t dare disobey.

Just as he was about to head toward the kitchen, General Aldridge raised his hand.

With that movement, a metal dart shot toward the man, striking him squarely in the back of the knee.

The man cried out in pain and dropped to one knee.

But the pain was too intense; he couldn’t hold the position for long.

In the blink of an eye, his body swayed and he collapsed heavily onto the ground.

Agonized screams spilled from his mouth, piercing the ears of everyone present.

Todd Jacobs and the others were stunned by the sudden turn of events and failed to react for a moment.

It wasn’t until he heard the man’s screams that Todd Jacobs snapped out of it, his gaze turning sinister as he looked at General Aldridge.

"What... is the meaning of this?"

"What do I mean? Don’t you understand?" General Aldridge’s voice was ice-cold. "Don’t you know perfectly well what kind of meat he was going to get?"

Todd Jacobs raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You haven’t even seen the meat, just smelled some of the lingering aroma, and you already guessed what it is. Looks like you’re an expert! You’ve had your share before, haven’t you? How was it? Delicious, wasn’t it?"

As he spoke, Todd Jacobs licked his lips as if savoring the memory of some delicacy.

"That Exotic Beast Meat is dry, has a foul smell, and feels like chewing on sand. You can’t even swallow it. Even to stay alive, I’m not willing to suffer through that!"

"But two-legged sheep are different! The tender ones have a delicate flavor, the young ones are nice and chewy, and even the old ones are pretty fragrant. Every single one is much tastier than Exotic Beast Meat! If you had to choose between the two, which would you pick?"

"No!" Todd Jacobs shook his head. "You wouldn’t choose. You don’t *have* to choose! You’re from the base! You have food and drink, so what choice is there for you to make? You people enjoy a stable life, with endless food and water. How could you possibly know how hard our lives are?"

"Why aren’t you talking? Are you angry? You want to call us animals, don’t you? But what did we do wrong? We’re just trying to survive! Even if you have to blame someone, you can’t blame us. You can only blame yourselves! It’s your inaction! It’s because you didn’t come sooner! This is all your fault!"

Todd Jacobs ranted on, growing more and more agitated.

He started out sitting on the sofa, but by the end, he was standing on the table.

With every word, he stomped his foot hard on the table, making a dull thud.

Todd Jacobs’s men all glared furiously at Sierra, Jayce, and the General.

Though they said nothing, it was clear they all agreed with what Todd Jacobs was saying.

Watching the impassioned Todd Jacobs, Jayce scoffed. "Alright, stop trying to make yourself sound noble. Just because you’re loud doesn’t mean you’re right. Plenty of people are suffering. Plenty of people have nothing to eat. But not all of them resort to eating their own kind."

Todd Jacobs’s eyes were bloodshot. "You have food and drink at the base, so of course you can say things like that. It’s easy for you to talk! What if we swapped places? I refuse to believe you could still say all this so easily."

"I’m not the cause of your suffering," Jayce said calmly. "The fact that I have food and drink has nothing to do with the base. In this apocalypse, no one has it easy."