"I am simply asking you a question. Where is the camp?" Leon asked again, his tone flat. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

The burly man locked eyes with him for a moment, then glanced at Marie. After observing the duo for a while, he nodded.

"Fine, we’ll lead the way. But you better not try anything stupid. We have strong ones among us."

Leon just shrugged without care. He could tell that these guys were just normal humans, so they posed little threat to him.

’That said, I’m curious about the strong ones they mentioned.’

The burly man and his mates led them deeper into the neighborhood, until they arrived at a thick fence made of sandbags. There were several cars parked outside, and a few odd ones among them.

’Hm, this place seems to have been constructed for a while. It seems they aren’t the ragtag bunch I thought them to be.’

"We’re here," The man said, turning to face Leon. "Now what business do you have with us?"

Leon ignored him for a moment, silently observing his surroundings.

"I’d prefer if you take us to your leader," He said calmly, surprising the burly man.

However, before he could reply, another man pulled him into a corner and whispered something while glancing at Leon—or more precisely, Marie.

Soon, the two returned, and the burly man said, "You better behave yourself. Follow me."

While the other guy stayed back, he took Leon and Marie into their base. Walking a few steps behind him, Leon looked around curiously, his sharp gaze sweeping across every detail as they walked.

The settlement revealed itself gradually.

What had once been a quiet rural neighborhood had been transformed into a crude fortress. Pickup trucks, tractors, and abandoned farm equipment were dragged across roads to form barricades. Stacks of old tires and sandbags reinforced the defenses, creating narrow choke points that could be defended against zombies.

Several houses had been connected together with makeshift wooden walkways built across rooftops, allowing people to move between buildings without stepping onto the streets. Watch posts occupied the upper floors of taller structures, where armed sentries kept constant watch over the surrounding farmlands.

The signs of human habitation were everywhere.

Clothes hung from improvised lines stretched between buildings. Smoke drifted lazily from metal drums converted into cooking stoves.

The atmosphere felt strangely alive.

Once again, Leon could hear something other than the groans of zombies or the growls of mutated beasts.

Yet beneath that appearance of safety, something felt wrong.

Many of the residents who were still awake looked thin, and their eyes followed every newcomer with suspicion. Some carried weapons openly despite being inside their own settlement.

Others stared openly at Marie in a way that made Leon sigh.

’Good thing it isn’t Selene who came here. There’d have been a bloodbath.’

Even though it wasn’t actually visible, Leon could feel the fear lingering in the air.

The camp wasn’t a sanctuary.

It was merely a group of survivors held together by a greater power that ruled over them all.

As Leon continued forward, he noticed a larger building at the center of the settlement—a converted warehouse surrounded by armed guards. Unlike the other structures, it looked well maintained and heavily protected.

His eyes narrowed, ’Oh?’

Without asking anyone, he already knew where the real power of this settlement resided.

The burly man led them into that building, then asked them to wait while he went deeper to speak with the boss.

"What do you make of this place, Marie?" Leon asked, his arms crossed behind him.

The young lady sighed and said in a low voice, "Creepy as hell. It feels like every human we saw here has degraded into something not human."

Leon nodded in understanding. It wasn’t surprising at all. At times like this when there were no rules to restrain human actions, would the darkest desires of a human be shown.

The eyes with which Marie was stared at was not surprising too. It was primarily the men expressing their desire to sleep with her. Also, since there were no rules or law to punish them, they would have forced themselves on her and raped her if given the chance.

’Well, that’s if they don’t get killed first,’ He thought as he glanced at the red spear he had given her.

While they were waiting, one of the armed men approached them, struggling to hide the greed in his eyes as he stared at Leon’s armor and Marie.

"Did you come here to sell something?" He asked, casting glances at their weapons, then the lady. Marie shivered in disgust.

"Sell? Not that. Let me ask, though. What do you guys buy?"

The guard shrugged, pretending to be casual, "Well, we buy a lot of things as long as it’s valuable. Intel, food supplies, ammunition, star weapons, women, and slaves."

Both evolvers blinked in surprise, then Leon asked, "Why do you buy women and slaves, though?"

He could feel Marie already trembling with anger, so he gently reached out and held her wrist.

Unaware that he could have lost his head to a red spear, the guy answered him, saying, "Of course it’s to relieve stress among our brothers. Sometimes, tension can only be relieved through something intense, pleasurable, and tiring. You understand me, right?"

He grinned at Leon, feeling that he was a man of culture.

The black-haired student paused for a moment, then nodded. He could understand them, but couldn’t relate. After all, he had never really felt such a need.

’Is it because of Thyra’s presence? I thought she’d make it worse as she’s a half-succubus, but I guess it’s the opposite.’

Still, what these guys were doing was wrong. Buying and forcing women to become sex slaves was disgusting, and anyone in their right mind would not agree to such a thing.

Unfortunately, in the apocalypse where no law was absolute, only strength could control such a thing. If the woman was strong, then she wouldn’t become a bargaining chip.

But if she was weak, there was no way she could resist. Either she killed herself, or served to please her buyers.

Leon’s head dropped slightly, deep in thought. He had strength, and he could surely try to liberate the captured women and slaves.

However, he didn’t even consider it for long. Why? They weren’t his responsibility.

Rescuing strangers was something only a person with a strong moral sense of justice would do.

Still oblivious to Leon’s thoughts, the guy continued, "As for the slaves—"

He was interrupted when the burly man returned and said to Leon, "The boss is ready to see you."