Zombie Apocalypse: I Have Safe Zone Superpower

Chapter 355: Chapter 355: Kindess?

”No... it might not be possible. Bella has a recommendation letter. She can bring one or two extra people inside. You don’t have that. But I’m very grateful you offered. Truly. If I get a chance in the future, I’ll repay your kindness.”

She even bowed dramatically.

Bella stared blankly at her. ’How did I get dragged into this? What did I do? Wait... why do I feel that man is going to scold me now?’

And yes, just as she predicted, the man puffed up in self-importance, turned toward Bella, and narrowed his eyes at her.

He scoffed.

”You look so obedient, but it’s only on the surface. Why can’t you act like a kind patron? Don’t you know this base has a rule about kindness? They sell food at low prices, and they give out permanent residences with good housing options. It shows how kind the base leader is. If you can’t even follow that spirit, how do you have the face to enter this place?”

Bella’s patience snapped.

She pointed at the man sharply.

”First of all, you don’t have a place to stay because you’re not the one with the recommendation, so don’t lecture me on how I should use mine. Second, the base leader selling food for a lower price doesn’t prove kindness; it shows she still has her humanity. What you’re doing right now is inhuman.”

The man’s jaw dropped.

”You’re forcing me to do something I don’t want to do, just because this girl shed a few tears. You sided with her instantly. Doesn’t that make you fickle? Maybe even foolish?”

The man’s face turned beet red.

”You! You dare disrespect me? I’ll teach you a lesson right...”

The pot-bellied man lifted his hand, his face twisted with the kind of self-righteous anger that made Bella instinctively shrink back.

She felt the heat of his shadow fall over her, thick and threatening, and her heart thudded painfully in her chest. Is he actually going to hit me? Here? In front of everyone?

.....................

Ember muttered under her breath, voice tight with a strange shock. ”My, my... she looks so much like Gwen...”

Ivy blinked, her entire body stiffening at that single word. She turned to Ember instantly.

”Ember... did you just say Annie looks like Gwen? Are you sure?”

Ember’s nod was slow but firm. ”She looks exactly like her, Ivy. Almost like a mirror.”

Ivy inhaled sharply, the breath catching in her throat.

A sudden coldness spread down her spine as if someone had poured ice water into her bones.

She turned fully toward Annie, studying her carefully, the shape of her eyes, the curve of her cheekbones, and the way her jaw tightened when she was confused.

A premonition hit Ivy so abruptly that she almost staggered.

”Oh no...” she whispered under her breath. Then louder, ”Annie... I think we need to talk.”

Annie looked at Ivy in confusion. ”What’s wrong?”

Ivy moved closer, lowering her voice.

”Just now... I had a premonition. A very strong one. Annie... I think you need to get a DNA test with your mother.”

Annie stared at her, completely stunned. ”Why... why would I need that?”

Ivy’s tone turned serious, almost heavy.

”There’s a nine-out-of-ten chance you were switched at birth.”

Annie’s breath hitched. ”Switched at birth?”

”Yes,” Ivy murmured. ”If that’s the case... then you have a twin, a biological twin who looks exactly like you, which is why Ember recognized you as Gwen, because Gwen might actually be your sister.”

Annie froze, her blood turning icy.

A twin sister? Her?

She hadn’t even considered that possibility. Not once. Her mind had always dismissed the idea because... because her mother wouldn’t do something so monstrous... right? Switching babies? Concealing a twin? It sounded insane.

But then she remembered.

The MMS incident.

Her mother threatening her. Her mother selling her videos without hesitation. Her mother, turning her life into currency, from the moment she won’t have enough to eat in the future.

Her stomach churned violently.

She whispered, voice cracking,

”She... she wouldn’t do that... she wouldn’t stoop that low. Even if she’s... even if she’s cruel...”

But her words faltered. Hesitation. Doubt.

And Ivy caught it instantly.

”Annie,” Ivy said softly, ”you already know she would. You said it yourself. A person who sells her own daughter’s MMS for profit... a person who threatens you with things no mother should even think of... a person like that wouldn’t hesitate to switch babies if it benefited her.”

Annie felt the world tilt. Her knees weakened. Her throat tightened until it hurt.

’If she really did this... if I really have a twin... then everything I’ve believed until now... everything I thought I knew about myself...’

Her mind raced back to every horrible memory, every moment of cruelty from her mother.

Evil does not appear suddenly. It grows. It festers. It leaves traces... ugly, undeniable traces.

Her vision blurred for a moment.

Ivy reached out, steadying her shoulder.

”We’ll figure this out, Annie. But you need to be prepared. If this is true, then everything makes sense. Everything your mother has done. Everything that’s happened to you.”

Annie swallowed hard, her voice barely a whisper. ”What... what should I do?”

Ivy’s eyes flashed with a sharp, calculating glint, and she lowered her head slightly, muttering the solution under her breath.

The moment Annie heard the whispered plan, a fiery light burst through her gaze.

It wasn’t that she desperately needed Ivy’s solution; she already had her own. Annie simply wanted to confirm that her thoughts aligned with Ivy’s.

And now that she heard Ivy speak something almost 80–90% identical to her own plan, relief washed over her shoulders. She exhaled slowly and nodded, as if a weight had finally slid off her chest.

Just as the two were speaking, a firm knock echoed through the door.

Ivy blinked once, her irritation faint but visible.

’Who now? ’

From the moment Annie had entered, chaos seemed to follow her like a tail, with revelations, premonitions, and dramas unfolding one after another. Ivy drew a deep breath and called for the visitor to enter.