Chapter 236: Chapter 226: Hell on Earth

That girl was the only one in the room upstairs. No one else was there.

Wrapped in a bathrobe, the girl sat anxiously on the bed, awaiting whatever fate had in store for her.

Tang Mo waited for so long she nearly fell asleep in the corner. Finally, a man walked in through the front door.

The man looked to be in his forties and was wearing a suit. He hadn’t come alone; two attendants followed him.

The two attendants stood guard at the front door while the man went upstairs alone.

’He looks like some kind of base leader, or at least a person of status.’

’But in this apocalypse, a man with status could have any woman he wanted. Why would he need to come to a place like this for fun?’

’There could only be one reason: the man is a well-dressed hypocrite in public.’

’He probably even cultivates a positive image of a happy, perfect family, which is why he only dares to engage in these sordid dealings in secret.’

The apocalypse was a free-for-all of moral decay for the common person, but many of those in high positions still had to maintain a respectable image.

It was the only way to maintain their credibility and keep people’s trust.

’No wonder that Brother Hu dares to run this despicable operation so openly.’

’It seems he’s already paid off the higher-ups. They’re all in this together, tied to the same string, which is how he gets his protection.’

’Of course, the women are only one part of it. He must be sharing a significant cut of the money and resources he’s raking in.’

Tang Mo committed the middle-aged man’s face to memory.

She had learned everything she needed to know. There was no point in staying any longer, so she climbed out a window at the far end of the first floor.

The middle-aged man’s people were now guarding the entrance, so she couldn’t just waltz out the front door.

Tang Mo slipped away from the house and made her way to the warehouse where the children were being held.

Night had fallen, but surprisingly, the warehouse doors were wide open, and a loud commotion was coming from within.

Hiding behind a tree, Tang Mo used her spiritual power to observe the situation inside the warehouse.

The scene that met her eyes made Tang Mo feel as if she wasn’t in the world of the living...

Under the dim lights of the warehouse, she saw the terrified faces of child after child.

The children were mostly between three and eight years old. Every single one of them was painfully thin, clearly malnourished.

Children at that age haven’t experienced much of the world. They’re the most obedient and the easiest to frighten.

Right now, the children were all cowering against the wall, their bodies trembling like leaves as they stared at the center of the warehouse.

In the very center of the warehouse was a small cot. Tied to it was a little boy who looked to be about seven or eight years old.

Two men stood over the boy. One of them was sawing at his leg.

Blood sprayed everywhere...

Even Tang Mo, who was accustomed to the sight of blood, could barely bring herself to watch. But the other children were forced to keep their eyes wide open.

"Keep your eyes open and watch! This is what happens when you don’t listen! If anyone dares to close their eyes today, I’ll throw them to the wolves tomorrow."

Huaxi Base only offered protection to children under the age of seven. Once they were older, they couldn’t be used for the injury scams.

Children past that age weren’t just useless; they ate more, and as their minds grew sharper, they were more likely to cause trouble. So, once a child here turned seven, they were disposed of.

They were going to die anyway, so they might as well be used as an example for the other children in the warehouse—killing the chicken to warn the monkeys, so to speak. It would crush any budding defiance.

They were only a few years old. A shock like this would ensure they never dared to disobey again.

’Vicious. Truly vicious.’

The boy on the wooden cot soon died from blood loss. He lay there, motionless, like a dead fish.

This scene was probably what people meant by Hell on earth.

Human children, who should be the most protected, were instead being forced to witness the world’s most bloody and cruel side.

Children were difficult to raise, especially in the apocalypse.

What’s more, the children here were deliberately injured every day so they could be sent out to run scams. There were more than a dozen of them in total, and every single one was wounded to some degree.

Some had even lost body parts and were already extremely weak.

Among the dozen or so children, Tang Mo saw the little girl who had run the scam on her earlier that day—Little Bun.

Little Bun wasn’t huddled together with most of the other children. Instead, she was curled up in a corner by herself, watching everything unfold.

Her face seemed to show no fear, but the small fist clenched beneath her sleeve betrayed her terror.

This child was terrified—terrified of what was happening before her, and terrified of what her own future held.

Tang Mo liked this kind of defiant child. Compared to the ones who could only cry, run, and be afraid, this was the only way to survive in the apocalypse.

’No matter the circumstances, you have to be brave, strong, and actively fight for your own survival. That’s the only way to face the apocalypse.’

Compared to the women in the other warehouse, the dozen or so children in this one were clearly living a far more terrifying existence.

And unlike with the women, Tang Mo felt something different for these children.

After all, the women were adults, capable of independent thought and action. These children, on the other hand, were like flower buds that had just begun to bloom, only to be plunged directly into Hell by the apocalypse.

They should have been at that carefree age, safe in their mothers’ arms. They were still so innocent, without even the ability to protect themselves.

This world was just too cruel.

’I have to get these children out of here.’ The thought surfaced in Tang Mo’s mind the moment she saw their tear-filled eyes.

This wasn’t some empty boast. She had the ability, and she was going to do what she felt was right.

The two men dragged the wooden cot and the dead boy outside to dispose of them. The warehouse door was left wide open, with no one standing guard.

A child had just died right in front of them. The men were confident that the children in the warehouse would be scared stiff. No one would dare make a move.

Besides, everyone knew they couldn’t get past the fence. Escaping the warehouse was pointless.

Little Bun watched the two men drag the dead boy away, her gaze lingering on the doorway.

In the sky outside, a bright moon hung.

So close, and yet so far.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in Little Bun’s line of sight. It was the special big sister she had met that morning.

’Wasn’t that big sister locked up in the warehouse next door?’

’Is she... waving at me?’

Tang Mo knew Little Bun had seen her, so she waved for her to come out.

After witnessing something so horrific, not everyone would have the courage to take that step.

Tang Mo wanted to test her, to see if everything she was about to do would be worth it.

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