Zombie Apocalypse: I Have Safe Zone Superpower

Chapter 454: Chapter 454: Desperate Thoughts

Annie’s breath hitched. ’He’s planning to die... quietly.’

The thought terrified her.

Before he could move again, she pulled him into a tight embrace, her arms wrapping around him protectively.

”I’ve never hated you,” she said, her voice shaking. ”You were never a burden. You’re the reason I kept living.”

Her memories flooded back uncontrollably.

The years of neglect. Being called a bastard by other children. Having no father, no protection. The crushing loneliness that once pushed her to the edge.

There had been a time when she wanted to give up on life completely.

But her younger brother, only two or three years old back then, would toddle over to her, pat her hand clumsily, smiling with innocent warmth.

From the ages of three to eight, he followed her everywhere, making her feel loved, making her feel that at least in this broken world, someone was always waiting for her.

She tightened her hold on him. ”You saved me. You don’t even know how many times you did.”

She remembered how he always saved a portion of his food for her, no matter how little it was.

Even if he only had half, he made sure the other half belonged to her. Those small gestures had touched her heart so deeply that she never looked back again.

She never thought of ending her life after that.

She used the tiny motivations her brother gave her to move forward, step by step, until she finally made a name for herself.

”And now you want me to let you die?” she whispered fiercely. ”How could I ever do that?”

She kept talking, repeating words of reassurance, clinging to him as if letting go would mean losing him forever.

But deep down, she could feel it.

Her brother had already made up his mind.

Meanwhile, the woman finally realized the consequences of her actions.

She had been so busy exploiting Annie that she had completely neglected her own son. She had assumed he would survive as long as Annie loved him.

She never imagined that love itself could become a burden.

She rushed forward, arms outstretched. ”Let me hold you... ”

The moment she stepped closer, her son recoiled instantly, hiding behind Annie and clutching her tightly, his body trembling in fear.

Annie gently patted her brother’s head, then lifted her gaze toward the woman. Her eyes burned with restrained fury.

”If you don’t want to end up in jail, you’ll do exactly as I say.”

The woman stiffened.

”You’ll write a letter. A legal statement. It will declare that you and I have completely severed all ties,” Annie continued coldly. ”And you will give up custody of my younger brother to me. In front of the courts.”

The woman’s eyes widened, her lips parting as if rejection would spill out any second.

Before she could form the words, Annie’s voice cut through.

”As long as you agree, I’ll give you one thousand kilograms of rice.”

Those words struck the woman harder than hunger ever had. Her breath hitched, pupils dilating in raw disbelief.

’Food... this much food... even now?’ She had never imagined such an outcome, not when the world had reduced itself to survival.

Silence stretched as her thoughts churned, sticky and calculating.

’I’ll take the rice first. Then I’ll use my son. Slowly. Carefully. If I play it right, she’ll keep supplying food every month.’

After all, Annie had been handing over less and less lately, and everyone knew why.

The military had tightened its grip, prices rising like floodwater.

’She must be struggling too,’ the woman had thought.

’No way she has anything hidden.’

So she never suspected a secret stash, only that Annie had been working herself to the bone.

Now, with this proposal laid bare, greed warmed her chilled insides.

’Food, comfort, my son taken care of...’

The more she thought, the more it felt like victory was already hers. She was ready to agree immediately... until Annie calmly lowered the number.

”Nine hundred kilograms.”

The words landed like a slap. The woman stiffened, her cracked fingers curling. ”What do you mean by that?”

Annie’s lips curved into a faint smile, her eyes cold and steady. ”Every moment you hesitate, the price drops.”

Panic surged, sharp and bitter.

”Nine hundred and fifty,” the woman blurted out. ”I’ll agree at nine hundred and fifty.”

Annie did not respond. She merely watched.

The woman’s heartbeat thundered in her ears, sweat trickling down her spine. ’No, no...she’ll walk away.’

”Fine,” she rushed out, voice tight. ”Nine hundred. Right now. I agree.”

Annie nodded, the decision final. ”Then we’ll sign the contract.”

She reached for her younger brother’s hand, his fingers cold against her palm, and led him toward the waiting military personnel.

When it was over, Annie stood there in a daze.

’I thought I’d never escape her grasp,’ she admitted to herself, the realization unreal.

Not only had she severed every chain, she had ensured her brother would receive blood regularly.

That clause was written clearly, unforgiving in black and white, leaving no room for manipulation.

Every month, the woman would provide blood to her own son. Failure meant Annie had the absolute right to take her life and claim it herself. No loopholes. No excuses.

The woman stared at the contract, her face stiff, then lifted her gaze. ”You’ll give the food but when?”

Beside her, the boy looked at his mother with quiet dismay before tightening his grip around Annie’s hand.

’She never loved me,’ he thought dully.

’Only used me.’

The disappointment that once hurt had dulled into acceptance, and now, with Annie beside him, warmth replaced it.

’She sold me for nine hundred kilograms of rice. Why should I hesitate to leave her?’

He refused to even look back. He knew his mother’s schemes too well.

’She’ll try to use me again. Or she thinks Annie feeding me now means she’s safe.’ He didn’t want to burden Annie any further.

Even as he acted obediently, he resolved not to drag her deeper into his mother’s shadow.