Dark Queen Of Apocalypse (by Morgan Hale) novel Chapter 283

“My wife is pregnant, and all she wants is some fruit. Can you cut me a deal?” the man asked.

Level 6 mutant beasts were almost extinct these days, so the price was outrageous.

He hesitated, but when he saw the chilled watermelon, he couldn’t help but lick his lips.

Chloe looked over at the crowd gathered around, then shook her head with a cold expression.

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It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help, but she couldn’t. If she did, everyone would want a discount, and she wouldn’t be able o run her business.

The man walked away with his shoulders slumped, clearly disappointed.

Chloe rented the stall next door, set up a big sunshade, and arranged fresh seasonal fruits, melons, and veggies underneath, uch as cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelons, and cantaloupes.

The sound of people gulping filled the air.

Finally, when Chloe saw a few familiar faces, she couldn’t help but grin, thinking she’d make a big deal.

These were the top dogs from bases all over the world, and they definitely had plenty of cores to spend.

They were strolling down the street like they were on an inspection tour, and when they caught sight of Chloe’s stall, their yes widened in surprise.

Are you selling all this?” one of them asked.

Chloe nodded. “Yeah.”

I’ll take everything,” one of the men said quickly.

The others shot him a glare. “We saw it at the same time. Why should you get to buy everything? No way, I want some, too.”

Chloe quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “I’ve got plenty here. As long as you can pay with cores, you can have as nany as you want.”

When Chloe announced the price, the group was stunned; they couldn’t help but gasp at how expensive it was.

That’s too expensive, one of them blurted out,

Chloe shrugged. “What can I do? Fresh fruits and veggies like these are crazy rare, and it’s insanely hard to grow them

‘Grow? Do you mean these fruits and veggies are actually fresh–grown?” one of them asked.

The men shot each other a look, a scheming glint flashing in their eyes.

Chloe let out a wry smile. “Of course. How could anything from before the apocalypse still be this fresh after all this time?”

One man smirked. “Name your price, and hand over your cultivation method.”

Chloe kept her smile, but inside, she thought, ‘Seriously? Are they asking me to give them all my stuff?‘

“Not for sale,” she replied.

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11:16 am

Chapter 283

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They hadn’t expected Chloe to stand her ground like that. Just as they were about to lose their temper, someone tugged at their sleeve and leaned in to whisper a few words.

When they turned back, their attitude toward Chloe had softened.

“Never mind. Just tally up how many cores all this costs. I’ll take everything,” one of them said.

Amid the crowd, a family was begging for food.

They were skinny, dressed in rags, their hair a tangled mess, faces filthy.

They stopped in front of Chloe’s stall, their eyes glued to the watermelon on the table.

The boy gripped his father’s hand tightly. “Dad, I want some watermelon.”

It was scorching hot, and the boy’s father couldn’t help but swallow hard at the sight of the watermelon.

He was dying for a taste, too, but he didn’t even have a single Level 1 core to his name; the only one he’d ever had was stolen from someone else.

“Niko, hang in there. We’ll find some food soon,” the man reassured him.

Before he could finish, Niko’s gaze locked onto Chloe’s face. “It’s you.”

His words made Chloe snap to attention. She looked up and met the stunned faces staring back at her.

There was Sam, with Kiera and Niko by his side, all of them frozen in shock as they looked at her.

Sam was the first to snap out of it; he looked like he was about to rush over any second. “Chloe, I finally found you. I’m so glad that you’re safe.”

Tears welled up in his eyes, and he looked every bit the loving father.

Kiera grabbed a glass of chilled watermelon juice from the table and started gulping it down. She even made sure to grab a glass for Niko.

She kept complaining, “We searched everywhere for you. Turns out you’ve been here living the good life while your family has been suffering.”

‘Chloe, I’m starving. Hurry up and hand over whatever food you’ve got,” Niko demanded. He gulped down his watermelon juice and reached for more, but Chloe rapped his hand with her stick.

She said, ‘Get lost, you filthy beggars.”

Sam put on a fawning smile. “Come on, Chloe, I’m your dad. How could you not recognize me?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m your grandma. We haven’t had any food in days. Hurry up and hand over whatever good stuff you’ve got,” Kiera added.

Chloe quickly packed up all the fruit and sold it to the big shots, all while Kiera shot her jealous looks.

Then, arms crossed, she gave them a cold look. “Where did you come from? My whole family is gone, yet you have the nerve to claim you’re my family, huh?”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but thanks to her special status, the patrol squad always gave her extra attention.

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11:16 am

Chapter 283

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Hearing her, they hurried over right away. “Captain Yates, what’s going on?”

Chloe pointed at the group with a frosty glare. “They snatched my drinks.”

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Hearing this, Kiera immediately threw herself onto the ground, making a dramatic scene. “Why is my granddaughter so cruel? She won’t even say hi to her family. This is so sad.”

Before the apocalypse, people might intervene, but now, everyone just watched it as a show.

The guards snatched the whole group up on the spot.

“What nonsense are you talking? That’s the base chief of Blaze Haven. Do you think you can just latch onto someone like her?”

“Take them away.”

As soon as they realized they were about to be arrested, their faces went pale, and they started to plead desperately for mercy.

However, no matter how much they made a scene, cried, or begged, Chloe watched with icy indifference, completely unmoved.

She stared as they were dragged away, streaks of blood smeared across the ground in their wake.

Sam turned back, about to start yelling, but when he met those chilling, shadowed eyes, he froze.

It hit him that he’d never really known his daughter at all.

A bitter sadness filled his heart.

He thought, ‘If I’d shown her a little warmth and cared about her just a bit, would things have turned out differently for me

now?‘

Chloe stood by, arms crossed, watching them get dragged away, her heart a swirl of complicated emotions.

She thought that the man who once seemed invincible was just another defeated soul.

She thought, ‘Sam, you deserve this!

The resentment and fear from her previous life when Sam gave her away to be abused finally melted away.

After spending just a week at Ebony Base, Chloe had sold out every last bit of fresh produce she’d grown in her spiritual space, and she was trading with bases all over the map.

Blaze Haven, being the only place in the world where production had bounced back, instantly became the center of attention, and everyone was scrambling to get a piece of it.

In the end, the Leviathan slipped right through their fingers.

Still, they managed to cut deals with Chloe at Ebony Base and walked away with a mountain of supplies, so nobody left empty–handed.

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