Surviving the Apocalypse: All I Want Is to Find a Husband-Chapter 226: City C (2)

Tian’s eyes narrowed. "If there’s no hope left ... then why are you still alive?"

His words hit Finn’s heart like a dagger, so that he didn’t dare to open his mouth anymore.

Medeia glanced at him quietly, remembering the place where Finn used to live.

A so-called utopia, where children were fed well, dressed in clean clothes, and given a safe place to sleep.

But Medeia knew the truth. It wasn’t a paradise. It was a prison.

Or maybe worse.

It was like a research lab disguised as a home, where children were raised like lab animals for the sake of experiments.

Sure, their lives seemed better than kids who struggled outside the military bases, but they paid for it with their bodies.

Every part of their bodies belonged to the laboratory, and the moment they took their first bite of food in that so-called heaven, their chances of living like normal humans dropped to less than ten percent.

If there was truly no hope, wouldn’t those children have chosen to give up instead of holding on, no matter how painful it was?

Humans were complex creatures. Each of them thought differently, like a tangled mess of codes from different computer systems.

They couldn’t be formed in the same way, because if they were, most of them would end up breaking, suffering in silence as they were forced to fit into the same environment, the same beliefs, year after year.

Finn was one of them.

He wasn’t just a survivor.

He was a product of that hell.

If hope really didn’t exist, he would have probably chosen to put a bullet in his head rather than keep obeying the people who turned him into a timid puppet.

Even in hell, hope still found a way to echo inside people’s hearts.

"I think that’s the church," Lucian said, breaking the heavy silence inside the van.

"Stop here," Medeia said without hesitation.

Lucian immediately pulled the handbrake as she ordered, even though the church was still quite far ahead.

"What’s wrong?" Naomi asked, looking confused.

"Don’t you think they’d shoot us if we stopped right in front of the church?" Medeia pointed at the tower on top of the building.

All they could see was an old metal bell, but they all knew very well, that tower was the perfect place for a sniper to take a shot at anyone who got too close.

It wasn’t that Medeia was afraid they’d get hit. Lucian could easily block any bullet coming their way.

But if they showed up causing a scene, the researchers inside might not even give them a chance to talk.

"Pass me the binoculars," Tian said calmly.

Medeia handed them over. Tian slightly opened the window, just enough to poke the binoculars through without drawing attention. He squinted, carefully scanning the church from a distance.

"That’s too far, isn’t it?" Ethan asked. He wasn’t even sure if anyone could spot something as small as a human from so far away.

"He’s fine," Medeia said with a small smile.

Since Tian’s ability focused on hyper-precision, his vision was naturally sharp, allowing him to spot objects from a great distance.

"Yes, there’s someone up there," Tian said calmly. "I’m sure they’ve already spotted our van."

"So ... what do we do now?" Naomi asked, tapping Medeia’s shoulder. "Should we just pretend we’re being kidnapped by a bunch of bastards, then run to the church and beg for help?"

Honestly, it wasn’t a bad idea. Medeia would’ve used it without a second thought if she was looking for some fun.

"That’s a good one, but ..." Medeia sighed. "If we pull that trick, they’ll end up hating those ’bastards’ and might shoot us the second they find out we were lying." She let out a dramatic sigh. "Such a waste of a fun strategy."

Tian let out a dry chuckle. "Besides, who in their right mind would want to kidnap you? I’d rather drink acid."

Medeia and Naomi might seem harmless at first glance, but anyone who knew them understood one thing, if anyone ever dared to kidnap them, those poor fools would be tortured beyond belief and made to suffer in ways no one could imagine.

Naomi grinned at Tian’s comment. "Aw, Tian, is that your way of saying you care about us?"

Tian rolled his eyes. "No. It’s my way of saying you’re terrifying."

Medeia chuckled. "I’ll take that as a compliment."

"Let’s ... just do this the proper way," Lucian, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up. "There’s no safer option than simply knocking on their door and asking politely."

If they tried to approach with lies, it would likely end badly, especially since they needed the researchers’ help to remove the chips from the soldiers’ brains.

If the researchers even sensed the slightest threat, they might destroy the soldiers’ brains instead of helping.

"Ethan, since you’ve already met and spoken with them, it might be better if you’re the one to knock on their door," Lucian suggested.

Ethan’s face immediately darkened. "Me? I mean, I don’t mind, but won’t they get suspicious? I was the soldier who once let them go ... if I show up now, won’t they think I came back to finish the job?"

Finn mumbled nervously, "Then ... who should—"

"I’ll do it," Medeia said, cutting him off. "And Finn, you’re coming with me."

Finn’s face turned pale. "Why me?!"

Before Medeia could step out, Lucian caught her hand. "What exactly are you planning to do?"

Medeia gave him a small, playful smile. "Just trust me."

She calmly took off her jacket and began removing all her weapons, setting them aside. Then she turned to Finn. "Come on, you too. No weapons."

"Wait! Wait! You’re really just going to walk up and knock?!" Naomi said, widening her eyes. "You’re strangers! Why would they open the door for you?!"

"Oh, they will," Medeia said confidently. Then she grinned and pointed at Naomi. "Let’s make it interesting. If I go in and come back alive, you’ll take over my night patrol for a whole month."

"What if you get shot instead?" Naomi challenged.

"Then I’ll work in your hydroponic greenhouse for three months," Medeia said without hesitation.

"Deal!" Naomi grinned. "I hope you get shoo—" but she quickly shut her mouth when Lucian shot her a sharp glare. "I mean ... I hope you’ll be fine."

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