Anna Karolina Wont was upset but spoke weakly:

"The belt. Do you want to eat it?"

"Uh..." Jackie Wont was momentarily embarrassed.

Not wanting to argue with her brother, Anna Karolina looked at the backpack he carried.

"Did you trade for food?"

Jackie Won nodded.

"I got two cans of fish."

In reality, he had traded for four cans but had hidden two to eat later on his own.

Anna Karolina was disappointed.

"A gold ring for just two cans?"

Jackie Wont tried to cover up.

"Food's getting scarce. Getting even this much is lucky. Sis, this can't go on. Have you heard anything from James Lone?"

Anna Karolina Wont sighed in despair.

"He blocked me. What can I do?"

Jackie Wont was furious.

"That guy is so stingy! What's wrong with asking him for food?"

The two shared one can of fish, which eased their hunger a bit and gave them some energy to think.

Jackie Won suggested,

"Sis, you should add him back. Men care about their pride. James Lone must feel too embarrassed. If you lower yourself, cry a little, he'll definitely give in!"

Anna Karolina was reluctant to bow to James Lon.

But faced with starvation, she had no other choice and agreed.

She sent a friend request to James Lon again.

She had little hope he would accept, but to her surprise, the request was approved immediately!

Anna Karolina Wont was overjoyed.

"He accepted!"

Jackie Wont grinned.

"See? I told you—men are all the same. Now go win him over!"

Regaining her confidence, Anna said smugly,

"Don't worry, I know exactly how to handle James Lon."

After some thought, she initiated a video call.

To her surprise, the call connected quickly.

James 's face appeared on the screen, flanked by two women who were attentively serving him food.

Seeing the well-fed and relaxed James Lon, Anna 's anger flared.

Here she was starving, and he was enjoying a feast—with two women no less!

Meanwhile, James looked at her disheveled, exhausted appearance and felt nothing but disdain.

I wasted years on someone like her? What a joke.

Feeling pleased, he smiled and said,

"Well, trying to lose weight?"

Lose weight, my ass! Anna Karolina nearly choked in anger and glared at him.

"James !"

James Lon nudged Shirley lnr, who immediately picked up a piece of steak and fed it to him, leaning against him closely.

Chewing happily, James Lon stroked her head like she was a cat and said,

"What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy? Speak up or shut up."

Anna Karolina's stomach growled as she watched him eat steak while she had just been chewing on a leather belt.

From the corner, Jackie Won gave her an urgent look, signaling her to act.

Suppressing her fury, she said,

"James , you've really disappointed me! I can't believe you're this kind of man!"

Taking a sip of ice-cold cola, James Lon laughed.

"Disappointed? What gives you the right to say that? We're not even together anymore. Who do you think you are?"

Anna Karolina doubled down.

"You don't understand how I feel! We were together for years, and you couldn't even buy a house! You weren't trying hard enough. I broke up with you to push you to improve!"

"Keep lying. This is getting good," James Lon replied indifferently.

Monroe Anne offered him a piece of braised pork and asked sweetly,

"Master, is it good?"

James Lon chewed happily.

"Not bad. You're quite thoughtful."

Slut! Anna Karolina fumed, swallowing her saliva with difficulty.

"James , breaking up was my fault, but don't you think you're to blame too?" she asked.

"Other boyfriends are out there working hard. What were you doing? Working at a convenience store and driving taxis? What kind of future is that? What about our kids? I didn't want our children to lose at the starting line!"

So now it's about hypothetical kids? James Lon smirked.

"Don't bring kids into this. Also, we broke up, and you cleared out my bank account. What's that about?"

Before breaking up, Anna Karolina had transferred all of James Lon's savings—several thousand dollars—to her own account. It was his hard-earned money, and he had been furious about it.

Her confidence wavered at the mention of money.

Why is he being so direct? He was never like this before!

"I don't need the money," she lied. "I just wanted to see your attitude! You've really disappointed me."

"Attitude?" James Lon chuckled.

"Fine. I'll give you a chance."

He's coming around? He still can't let me go.

Overjoyed, Anna Karolina said,

"I'll treat you well. Let's get back together!"

She began plotting how to take control of the food once she got to James Lon's place, intending to kick out the two women.

Jackie Won's face lit up with hope.

But James Lone smiled and said,

"Don't rush. I want to see your attitude. Now, kneel."

Anna Karolina Wont froze, her anger bubbling up.

"James ! You're insulting me!"

Jackie Wont, desperate for food, whispered urgently,

"Sis, just do it!"

Anna hesitated.

The thought of kneeling terrified her less than starvation.

If it were just her and James Lone, she might have agreed. But with two other women and her brother watching, it was unthinkable.

She didn't have time to decide.

Insult you? James Lone sneered, throwing her words back at her.

"I'm not trying to insult you. I just wanted to see your attitude. Anna , you've really disappointed me."

With that, he hung up.

"Damn it!" Anna fumed, furious and humiliated.

Jackie 's face twisted with rage.

"Sis, you and he did all kinds of crazy stuff when you were together. What's kneeling compared to that? Stop acting so high and mighty!"

Anna Karolina was shocked.

"Jackie, how can you say that to me? And it wasn't that bad between me and James Lon!"

Jackie Wont snapped,

"Kneeling is nothing! It's just playful stuff between couples! Now look—we're still starving!"

Frustrated, he stormed into another room and slammed the door.

Anna sat in silence, regretting her decision.

Maybe I should've just knelt...

She was a pragmatic woman. She had dated James in college because he was handsome and gave her status.

But after graduation, he was just another lowly worker, so she dumped him once she passed her judicial exams.

Now, with the world turned upside down, James was a king with abundant food supplies.

Kneeling for him... might not be so bad.

She stared at his contact information, unable to decide.

Having eaten half a can of fish, she wasn't starving yet.

I'll wait a little longer.

At 2 PM, the trading market began.

Hawson Wer left with Jason and Katherine.

The purple mist shrouded their vision, forcing the three to stick close together and move cautiously along the walls.

Hawson Wer thought silently:

I hope Slave Collector shows up...