Apocalyptic World: Surviving with my husband and my cute little babies
Chapter 224: Gathering of Forces

Chapter 224: Gathering of Forces

After a few seconds of tense silence, both the government and the military finally backed down—one after the other.

By then, the commotion had already drawn a crowd. People stood at a distance, quietly watching the authorities argue.

If the conflict continued, it would only damage their reputation. So, they agreed to settle down and discuss things properly.

"How about this—each official may enter with one guard," General Reid suggested.

The officials were ready to object; one guard each seemed too few. But then they caught sight of Dr. Cee’s darkened expression.

His sharp gaze sent a clear message: Enough.

To him, this argument was pointless.

What truly stirred his interest now was learning more about the mutated cat.

"I won’t argue with you anymore. Let’s begin," an official finally conceded, though his tone still carried contempt.

Soon after, they entered the meeting room and saw several military officers already seated, along with representatives from the Paradise Shop.

At first, the officials were confused about why the Paradise staff were present.

But once the military introduced them as experts hired to help hunt the mutated cat, the government then began to eye them with interest.

Especially Dr. Cee, whose eyes sparkled with excitement the moment he saw them.

He was already thinking about the possibility of kidnapping them.

If Elena had known what was going through his mind, she would’ve kicked him hard on the spot.

"Nice to meet you! I’m glad to finally see the famous Paradise Shop staff," the official leader said with a warm smile, trying to appear friendly, though his calculating eyes told a different story.

They still needed the Paradise Shop to buy supplies, but so far, there had been no reply from their side.

Now that the shop’s staff were right in front of them, it seemed like the perfect chance to bring up the matter later.

Hearing their enthusiasm, Elena and Ethan simply nodded in acknowledgment, unfazed by the officials’ obvious act.

Elena could already sense that the government was scheming again—especially the man wearing a glass, whose sinister gaze made her alert.

However, Elena and Ethan nonchalant replies only earned the displeasure of the officials.

To make matters worse, the sight of them wearing masks and concealing their true identities was perceived as a blatant sign of disrespect.

Despite this, the officials restrained their frustration, forcing themselves to remain calm.

After all, another argument right after the earlier commotion would only make them look small and petty.

Actually, when Elena saw them enter earlier, her brows lifted slightly; there were far too many of them for such a small unit.

What caught her attention was a man wearing glasses who kept staring at them intently—both she and Ethan instantly disliked him.

Among the group was also Troy Heather, trying to blend in with the high-ranking government officials.

She then calmly observed as everyone took their seats.

After a brief round of introductions, they all settled into place, and the meeting officially began.

The military started by sharing what they knew about the mutated cat—its weaknesses and their planned operation.

When the government officials heard the detailed explanation, they were genuinely impressed by the military’s knowledge.

At last, they understood why the mutated cat had always slipped through their hands—it had a shadow ability.

"So, you’re suggesting we form a circular siege in an open space, trap the mutated cat, and then bombard it with heavy firearms and missiles?" one official asked, confirming the plan that had just been discussed.

"Yes, that’s the gist of the plan. So, our next agenda will be to discuss the exact location and each team’s role."

"Alright," the officials agreed without much pushback since the military clearly knew more about this mutated cat.

For the rewards, they simply wanted to take some samples from the mutated cat so they could study them later.

As per their plan, the government would cover the south and east sides, while the military would take the west and north, effectively surrounding the area.

The operation would be held in the open space near Camel Tower.

The staff from the Paradise Shop were tasked with luring the mutated cat into the trap.

Upon hearing this, Dr. Cee’s interest was clearly piqued. He wanted to understand how they planned to pull it off.

"It seems you’re quite capable. Would you mind sharing how you plan to bait it?" Dr. Cee asked, eyeing them like a predator sizing up its prey—ready to capture and dissect.

"We have our own methods, and it’s confidential," Elena replied calmly. "But don’t worry—we’ll do it perfectly. Just make sure all of you are ready to contain it."

Not satisfied with that answer, Dr. Cee pressed arrogantly, "How can we trust you if you won’t tell us?"

"You don’t need to trust us," Ethan said flatly.

"We speak through actions, not words. Our task is to lure the mutated cat—yours is to make sure it has no chance to escape and gets killed. And let me remind you, you didn’t hire us. So you have no right to demand anything."

The government officials were stunned by his sharp response.

While, Ethan chuckled lightly, making it clear he had no interest in pandering to them.

The Paradise Shop was working under a military contract. If anything went wrong, it was the military who would deal with them—not the government.

Seeing the tension rising, a military officer quickly stepped in to defuse the situation.

"That’s enough," General Kaiser said firmly. "If they fail to lure it in, the military will take full responsibility and pay any compensation."

"If that’s the case, then let’s set a date," one official said stiffly.

"Two days from now," General Reid confirmed. "We’ll gather early in the morning to prepare, and the operation will begin by noon."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and with that, the meeting came to an end.

Just as Elena and Ethan were about to stand up and leave, a government official suddenly called out, wanting to discuss their supply request.

"Wait a second," the official said.

Everyone paused and turned to look at him.

"What is it?" someone asked.

"I’m speaking to the Paradise Shop staff," the official clarified.

Elena raised a brow.

"What is it?" she asked calmly.

"About our supply request—we’d like to buy a large quantity."

Elena responded, "We’re still low on stock. For now, we can only manage daily, small-scale sales. We can’t handle bulk orders at the moment."

The government officials exchanged doubtful glances.

It had been several days since they made the request, yet the Paradise Shop remained open and was selling consistently without interruption.

It seemed far-fetched to claim they didn’t have enough supplies.

One of them pressed further. "What if you close your shop to the public and sell the goods directly to us instead? Wouldn’t that be more convenient?"

Elena chuckled, her eyes filled with disdain.

These officials clearly didn’t care whether the people of City A starved or not.

Now, they even wanted to take the goods meant for regular customers.

If the government managed to buy everything, they would surely hoard the supplies for their own use, leaving the citizens with nothing.

Elena wasn’t a saint—but cutting off supplies to the public would only lead to death.

She still wanted the people to survive and fight in the future.

"Sorry, it’s a no. We’ll contact you once we’ve gathered enough stock," she said flatly.

She then sat back down, letting the officials leave the meeting room first before they quietly entered the space later.

She preferred this over walking out and being followed or watched from behind once they were outside.

The government officials were about to insist further, but Dr. Cee stepped in, noticing how cold the Paradise Shop staff were acting.

It was clear—they had no intention of working with the government.

He smiled darkly and offered a new angle.

"Hello, I’m Dr. Cee from the research center. I truly admire your knowledge of mutated beasts. Would you be interested in working with us? Just name your price and terms."

"Sorry, not interested. Anything else?" Elena replied bluntly.

Dr. Cee’s smile twitched as he clenched his fist. He was clearly irritated by the outright rejection.

"Very well. If you change your mind, you can contact me," he said, barely containing himself.

He knew that kidnapping them now would lead to the military coming after him.

This building wasn’t his territory, making it too risky to act.

Still, the thought lingered. Now that they had piqued his interest, he began to quietly craft a plan.

Soon after, the government officials left with their faces full of anger, followed by the military officers who were secretly chuckling at their frustration.

Troy was the last to exit. He shot a sharp glare at the Paradise Shop staff, his eyes filled with burning hatred.

According to a report from one of his men, it was the Paradise Shop people who had wiped out the Iron Gang.

He silently vowed to take revenge during the upcoming operation.

A twisted smile crept across his face as he glanced at them one last time.

But unknown to him, Elena was also watching—quietly planning how to eliminate him along with the mutated cat.

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