After buttoning most of his shirt back up, Darren finally looked at Ivy again with narrowed eyes.

"Do you even know who I am?" he asked with disbelief laced in his tone. "You’re asking someone like me to serve you?"

He scoffed again before fastening the last button of his shirt, effectively ending the distracting display that had momentarily stunned Ivy earlier.

"Who exactly do you think you are?" Darren added.

Ivy merely leaned back lazily in her chair before crossing one leg over the other.

"Who cares about who you are right now?" she replied indifferently. "The only thing you should care about is your captain."

Her expression slowly turned serious.

"Whether he lives or dies depends entirely on your decision."

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

"I already told you," Ivy continued calmly, "I possess the drug capable of saving him. But I’ll only hand it over if you agree to stay here and serve me—and only me."

"No!" one of the soldiers suddenly shouted as he rose to his feet angrily.

The others quickly stood up as well. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Do you even know who he is?" the soldier continued indignantly. "Just like the captain, Darren is highly respected too!"

His fists clenched tightly at his sides before he took a step forward.

"If you need someone to serve you, then take me instead," he said firmly. "The captain has done so much for all of us. Giving up my freedom for him isn’t a big deal."

"Yes!" another soldier agreed immediately. "Choose any one of us instead. Just leave Darren out of this."

Albert, who had remained silent for a while, finally stepped forward too.

His arms were folded tightly across his chest while frustration filled his face.

"Take one of the rest of us," Albert said coldly. "But not Darren."

"He’s practically the captain’s right-hand man."

Albert’s jaw tightened visibly before he added, "He can’t just hand himself over to some random woman."

Ivy listened to all of them quietly before finally letting out a faint scoff.

"If none of you can comply with such a simple request," she said calmly, "then you’re free to leave."

Her gaze swept across the group sharply.

"I saw all of you before I chose Darren specifically."

The soldiers fell silent immediately.

"In fact," Ivy continued bluntly, "you can all leave right now if you want."

She pointed toward Erik’s unconscious body.

"The medicine needed to save him is extremely precious. I’m not talking about ordinary medicinal herbs here."

Her tone carried absolute confidence.

"What I possess is a potent drug capable of pulling someone back from death itself. Compared to how valuable it is, the price I’m asking for is honestly ridiculously cheap."

The soldiers exchanged conflicted glances.

Some looked angry.

Some looked helpless.

And others simply looked exhausted.

"Y-" one of them attempted to speak again—

But before anyone else could argue further, Darren suddenly stepped forward once more.

This time, his head lowered quietly.

"I agree," he said firmly.

The entire group froze.

Darren swallowed hard before speaking again.

"I’ll serve only you if that’s what it takes to save our captain."

"Darren!" Albert immediately snapped in frustration as he grabbed his shoulder. "Stop this nonsense."

He moved closer and lowered his voice.

"The others can replace you if that’s what she wants."

Albert’s brows furrowed deeply.

"You’re practically the captain’s right hand. You can’t just hand yourself over to this woman."

However, Darren simply removed Albert’s hand from his shoulder calmly.

"If this is the only way to save Captain Erik, then I’ll do it," Darren replied quietly.

There wasn’t even hesitation in his voice anymore.

Hearing that, Ivy slowly rose to her feet.

"If you’ve truly agreed," she began seriously, "then you may bring your captain inside the bunker."

Then her eyes narrowed slightly at Darren.

"But before that, there’s something you should know."

Darren looked at her silently.

"I have three children inside," Ivy said calmly. "So when you see them, I expect you to at least smile instead of looking like someone whose entire life has been ruined."

Darren blinked slightly in surprise.

Children?

The other soldiers looked equally shocked.

"And what about us?" one of the team members asked with a frown.

"You’ll all wait outside, of course," Ivy replied immediately. "Only Darren and your captain are allowed inside the bunker with me."

The soldiers instantly looked dissatisfied.

However, before any of them could protest again, Ivy had already turned around and begun walking toward the bunker entrance confidently.

Seeing no other choice, Darren moved toward the unconscious Captain Erik before carefully lifting him onto his shoulder.

Despite Erik being injured, Darren carried him steadily without complaint.

Then, without another word, he followed closely behind Ivy into the bunker.

The other soldiers remained outside silently, watching the scene with worry written all over their faces.

As Darren stared at Ivy’s back while following her, complicated thoughts filled his mind.

This was his first time meeting her.

Yet despite that, everything about her felt strange.

The way she carried herself with confidence...

The heavily protected bunker...

The massive amount of supplies and livestock she possessed during the apocalypse...

And even the calm authority in her voice.

None of it seemed ordinary.

For some reason, Darren felt that trusting her might not actually be the wrong decision after all.