Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Your Reward Is to Die First

Sierra Sullivan didn’t answer Winston Lowell’s question.

From the moment she first saw this group of people, she felt that something was off.

But she didn’t have time to think about it then.

Now, she suddenly understood what was wrong.

Behind Winston Lowell stood dozens of survivors.

Without exception, they were all men.

’Are there no women in their factory?’

’Or are the women hiding in the basement and haven’t come up?’

But as soon as that possibility occurred to her, Sierra Sullivan dismissed it herself.

While it wasn’t entirely impossible, she felt things were definitely not that simple.

Sierra Sullivan looked at Winston Lowell. "Are there no women in your factory?"

Winston Lowell was taken aback by the question.

He didn’t give any answer, but his eyes darted away for a second.

It wasn’t just Winston Lowell. The survivors behind him were in a similar state.

A few of the younger ones looked away or lowered their heads.

These men might as well have had the word "guilty" written all over their faces.

At first, Dominic Crawford and the others didn’t understand why Sierra Sullivan had suddenly asked such a question.

But after seeing the reaction of Winston Lowell and his men, they understood instantly.

It was impossible for a flour mill to have no female workers.

Yet now, only men were standing here.

So, what about those female workers?

Were they left behind to block the Aberrant Beasts during an escape, or were they harmed by the very men standing before them?

The looks in the eyes of Dominic Crawford’s group changed in an instant.

The two women with them took a step back, disgust written all over them.

Seeing this, Winston Lowell dropped his act completely.

"You damn bitch! I tried to be nice, but you wouldn’t take it! I already told you we wouldn’t let you stay, but you just had to keep pushing! You really are trash!"

"Since you refused to do this the easy way, don’t blame us for getting rough! If you won’t take us with you, then you’re not leaving either!"

"What are you all standing around for?! Let’s get ’em! Kill all the men! Leave the women!"

The dozens of men who had just been silent heard Winston Lowell’s words, and each of their faces twisted into a hideous, terrifying mask.

They not only brandished all sorts of makeshift weapons but also charged menacingly toward Sierra Sullivan’s group.

Jayce’s expression remained unchanged as he conjured a row of Water Arrows out of thin air, which shot directly toward Winston Lowell and his men.

Winston Lowell and his men were cruel, twisted, and depraved.

But they were just ordinary people.

Among all of them, there wasn’t a single Superpower User.

They didn’t even know Superpowers existed.

They thought Jayce and his group had driven away the Aberrant Beasts using guns and ammunition.

Seeing the Water Arrows now, they were all scared stiff.

It wasn’t until someone was struck by an arrow and fell, blood pooling on the ground as they went silent, that they realized just how formidable Jayce’s group was.

Just a moment ago they were acting ferocious, and now they had all become docile.

Those still alive all squatted on the ground, instinctively putting their hands on their heads.

Winston Lowell was also still alive.

He was more terrified than anyone else.

After all, he was the one who gave the order, the one who led the charge!

Panic-stricken, Winston Lowell’s expression kept changing.

"I... I was wrong!"

Winston Lowell blurted out an apology, his voice full of desperation.

"I just... when you said you were leaving, I got scared and angry, and I acted rashly... Please, give me another chance! Spare me!"

"If you want to leave, just go! We won’t stop you again! Even if you don’t come back for us tomorrow, it’s fine! We won’t hold any grudges!"

Jayce sneered. "A moment ago, you wouldn’t let us leave. Now you want us to go? It’s not that easy anymore."

Sierra Sullivan couldn’t be bothered to waste her breath on Winston Lowell’s meaningless drivel and simply repeated her earlier question, "Are there no female workers in your factory?"

Winston Lowell didn’t dare ignore her question again. He swallowed hard and answered, stammering, "R-Right! There aren’t! A flour mill is hard work, all manual labor. Women can’t handle it..."

His words seemed to make sense.

But with a moment’s thought, it was clear he was talking nonsense.

How could a flour mill this large have nothing but manual labor jobs?

Besides, who says women can’t do manual labor?

There wasn’t a single truthful word coming out of Winston Lowell’s mouth!

Sierra Sullivan looked at the other men. "I’ll give you a chance. There’s a reward for anyone who speaks up."

Those simple words sent an immediate stir through the crowd.

They had been worried they were all going to die.

Now, with a reward for speaking up, they had a chance to live!

"There are female workers!"

A man stood up, raising his right hand high.

"There are quite a few women at our factory..."

Before he could finish, a taller man shoved him.

"After the apocalypse, a lot of monsters appeared in our factory. They eat people, they’re incredibly vicious. The women were scared and couldn’t run fast, so a lot of them got eaten!"

"Later, when we were fleeing this way, the factory manager deliberately injured some of the women and left them behind to cover our retreat!"

"Actually, there are still a dozen or so women in the basement, but..."

As they all started talking at once, laying out the whole story, Winston Lowell’s face grew uglier and uglier until he collapsed onto the ground.

Terrified to his core, Winston Lowell was suddenly overcome with a sense of reckless abandon.

He let out a cold laugh, looking at the other men. "You idiots! If you’d kept your mouths shut, you might have had a chance to live! Now that you’ve spilled everything, you can just wait here to die with me! Weren’t you the ones who did all those things you just mentioned? And now you dare speak up to claim credit?"

"You forced us to do it!"

"Yeah! You instigated it! We were just accomplices!"

Winston Lowell sneered. "Do you think this is the world before? Or do you think they’re judges? You really think saying that will get you a lighter sentence?"

The group of men stared blankly for a moment, then turned their desperate gazes to Sierra Sullivan.

"We told you everything! Does that mean you’ll spare us?"

"We were really forced!"

"Please give us another chance! We promise we’ll never do it again!"

Sierra Sullivan remained expressionless, her eyes calm and unwavering.

’These people used others as stepping stones to save their own lives, and now they’re trying to shift the blame and struggle to survive. Where in the world could you find such a good deal?’

They!

All had to die!

"Spare you?" Jayce’s voice was ice-cold. "People like you are a waste of resources just by being alive!"

Hearing Jayce’s verdict, Sierra Sullivan looked over in surprise.

’He’s thinking the exact same thing as me!’

Hearing Jayce’s voice, those men were also completely shocked.

"No!"

"But she just said! There’s a reward for reporting!" The first man to speak pointed a finger at Sierra Sullivan.

Sierra Sullivan raised the gun in her hand and aimed it at him. "There is a reward. You’re rewarded with being the first to die!"