Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse-Chapter 130: The Source, The Truth
The base’s leadership was at their wits’ end. After failing to shift the blame onto each other, they had no choice but to gather and come up with a plan.
Each faction had lost one of its own—whisked away and killed in silence, their bodies then surrounded, beaten, and fought over by a mob. Every member of the leadership feared for their own life. They were all terrified.
"Who the hell is this person? We have to find them. My son will not have died in vain! I’ll grind their bones to dust and make them join my son in death!"
Patriarch Hooper slammed his hand on the table, his expression grim. He couldn’t compare to the Holloway Family with its numerous heirs. He only had two sons, and the one who had died was his successor. His other son was nothing but a good-for-nothing playboy.
Chairman Holloway said nothing, but his position at that moment was the same as Patriarch Hooper’s. They were both pressuring the officials to find the person responsible.
"There are two days left. If the base can’t come up with a solution... didn’t the perpetrator say it? ’None of the leadership will live.’ At that point, won’t you know exactly who they are?"
Director Lowell of the official faction looked at Patriarch Hooper and said sarcastically. They had also lost a person; did the Patriarch think they weren’t furious?
These powerful families were insufferably arrogant when they were making money, and they were just as arrogant when they needed a favor, as if they expected the officials to serve them unconditionally.
"What did you say?"
Director Lowell gave a cold smile, ignoring Patriarch Hooper, who was so furious he looked ready to leap to his feet.
"Director Lowell, that’s enough."
"Secretary Hawthorne, I’d love to hold my tongue, but the priority right now is solving the problem, not seeking revenge. Patriarch Hooper and Chairman Holloway only know that they’ve lost one of their own; they don’t seem to care how many residents this base has lost. I’m just here to remind everyone that the wheat harvest is in six weeks. If we don’t resolve this, we’ll all be starving. Of course, Patriarch Hooper and Chairman Holloway won’t be starving. I heard you two were enjoying steak and red wine just last night."
Director Lowell was being sarcastic again, but this time, Secretary Hawthorne merely glanced at him without trying to stop him.
Director Lowell and Secretary Hawthorne were part of the leadership contingent from Marris, while Chairman Holloway and Patriarch Hooper had their foundations in Corinth. The allegiances were distinct, and the battle lines were clearly drawn.
"Zion Lowell, you’re insolent! Not even the mayor of Vanport would dare speak to me like that!"
Director Lowell stood up, walked over to Chairman Holloway, and tossed a thick stack of documents onto the table before him.
"Chairman Holloway, they say your sons take after you. All of you enjoy raising beasts. You yourself keep three Tibetan Mastiffs—what do you normally feed them? And what about the wolfdog kept by Mr. Holloway, or your second son’s Rottweiler? Let’s not forget your illegitimate son who died on the road; he supposedly kept a few black dogs, too. Oh, and your daughter, the one who recently died of a sudden illness? She didn’t just keep dogs, she was fond of snakes as well."
Chairman Holloway’s face was stone-cold, and he said nothing. Director Lowell tossed photos down in front of him, one by one. The images depicted were bloody and gruesome. In the end, Chairman Holloway couldn’t stomach it and rushed to a nearby trash can to throw up.
"Seven or eight months ago, I heard Mr. Holloway’s dog bit someone. He then demanded the victim get on their knees and crawl in a circle to apologize to the dog. That person later went missing. Their family says they were dragged away by Mr. Holloway’s men."
"Zion Lowell, don’t you dare slander us! And stop dragging up all this nonsense. What does any of it have to do with the parasite infestation?"
"It has everything to do with it. I’m just helping you all unravel the truth."
"Have any of you heard of rabies? Or other viruses carried by carnivores? The base authorities made a mistake, it’s true. But this base holds a million people, not a hundred. The bodies of the dead had to be dealt with, and it wasn’t handled correctly—that’s the origin of the parasite. But what’s the origin of the bodies? It’s the Holloway Family’s vicious dogs! You let your savage hounds attack people, and after they were mauled to death, you didn’t even spare their corpses. All those different viruses mixed together and eventually gave birth to an unkillable parasite."
"I have over a hundred photos here, all taken within the last few days. Chairman Holloway’s mastiffs are still feeding on this... ’meat.’ Dare you claim you knew nothing about it? And where did this meat come from? The medical department’s morgue."
All eyes in the room turned to Chairman Holloway, including those of Patriarch Hooper, who had been his staunchest ally moments before.
"Zeke Holloway, you monster! Your whole family is a pack of monsters! You’ve harmed so many people and dragged my son down with you! I want you to pay with your life!"
Patriarch Hooper snatched a cup from the table and hurled it, striking Chairman Holloway right on the nose. Chairman Holloway’s bodyguards immediately closed in, and the tension between the various factions instantly reached a breaking point.
Chairman Holloway wiped the blood from his nose and sat in disheveled silence. After a long pause, he finally raised his head.
"My second son was the one who raised those vicious dogs. It was my failure to discipline him properly. I will have him atone for this with his life, as an offering to all the deceased residents of this base. Furthermore, the Holloway Family will donate half of our supplies to be distributed among the residents, and all the dogs will be put down."
Chairman Holloway was clearly throwing his least favorite son under the bus to take the fall. Everyone present looked on with contempt, but they knew it was the best solution they were going to get.
The Holloway Family was too powerful to be uprooted all at once.
And Secretary Hawthorne also seemed inclined to let the matter rest there, which meant the one above him felt the same.
"The Holloway Family will provide all the necessary equipment to help the base purify its air, water, and soil."
"If you ask me, Director Lowell, you bear the greater responsibility here."
Mr. Holloway, who had been sitting beside Chairman Holloway all this time, finally spoke.
"I’ve heard that all the livestock raised on the base have been going mad. The Undercity is your responsibility to manage. When the pigs started having issues, not only did you fail to do anything about it, you kept right on canning them and selling them to the public. Moreover, the first report of a pig attacking a person dates back half a year."
Director Lowell locked eyes with him. After a long moment, Lowell let out a cold laugh and was the first to break eye contact.
"We would never evade our responsibilities. All the livestock will be transported away and disposed of. But while we’re on the subject, perhaps Mr. Holloway could explain something: that person you had your men take away... where did they go?"
Mr. Holloway said no more, pointedly ignoring the director’s question.
"I propose the following: all of the deceased will be reinterred in a designated plot, and a stone memorial will be erected. Relatives who have lost family members will receive a triple allotment of supplies as compensation. Psychological counseling will also be provided."
Secretary Hawthorne made the final decision. No one raised any objections. The meeting concluded, but Secretary Hawthorne asked Chairman Holloway to stay behind. He knew his trial wasn’t over yet.
A short while later, a middle-aged man in his fifties entered the room.
Chairman Holloway shakily got to his feet. This man was a former leader from Marris. After the cataclysm began, he had been ordered to come to Wyrmrest Base to establish a shelter and transfer the entirety of the strategic grain and weapons reserves.
The fact that Wyrmrest Base could support a million people was entirely to his credit.
"Chairman Holloway, I heard everything that was just said. But I am not satisfied."
The man sat down, his gaze calm. But meeting those emotionless eyes, which betrayed neither joy nor sorrow, made the hairs on Chairman Holloway’s neck stand up.
"Mr. Mayor... please, speak freely."
"’A son’s failings are the father’s fault.’ So tell me, who do you think bears the greatest responsibility? Who should be the one to come forward and face the wrath and judgment of the people?"
Dejected, Chairman Holloway collapsed back into his seat. He understood the mayor’s meaning in an instant.
