Vivian's eyes turned bloodshot as she shouted angrily, "Mom! How can you say something like that? Nana is your own granddaughter! How can you wish her dead?!"
"You wretch!" the middle-aged woman snapped, then pointed at the thugs behind her and shouted, "You want money? I don't have any, but that bitch does. If she can't pay, drag her to a brothel."
The leading thug grinned greedily. He stepped toward Vivian, raising his hand to grab her.
Vivian backed away in fear and yelled, "You... what are you trying to do?"
"You can't bully my mom!" a small, trembling voice cried.
A small girl with black hair, barely five or six years old, thin and frail in hospital pajamas, rushed forward clutching a small fruit knife.
A thin trail of blood ran down her arm—her IV line had been ripped out, leaving a small wound that kept bleeding.
"Nana... no!" Vivian quickly pulled the girl behind her, gritting her teeth. "Get out of here, all of you, or else..."
"Damn it!" The blond thug lost his patience. He grabbed a handful of Vivian's hair and yanked hard.
"AGH!!" Vivian screamed from the pain as she fell to the floor.
"Don't hit her!" the middle-aged woman shouted. "She's pretty. If we sell her to a brothel she'll fetch a high price."
The thug laughed cruelly. "Hahaha... before we sell her, me and the boys will have our fun first. Call it an advance payment on the debt."
The thugs behind him laughed wickedly, mocking Vivian.
"Mom! Mom!" Nana cried, clutching the tiny knife with both hands, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Vivian's tears flowed too, but seeing Nana cry gave her a burst of desperate strength. She raised her hand and clawed at the blond thug's face.
"Agh! Damn it!" The thug, caught off guard, stumbled back. Enraged, he swung his hand toward her again...
SLAP!
"You bitch! You dare hit me?!" His face twisted with fury as he raised his hand once more...
Vivian's head throbbed from the first slap. Seeing the second one coming, despair filled her eyes. She glanced at Nana, who was sobbing behind her.
Vivian squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the blow. "Please..." she whispered, her lips trembling, "Someone... save my daughter..."
But... the pain never came.
Slowly, her eyes opened—and there stood a man, gripping the thug's wrist.
"Rover?!" She gasped in relief, but immediately panicked. "No, leave! Go! They will..."
Rover ignored her protest, fixing the blond thug with a cold smile. "This is a hospital—not your dirty slum."
The thug, enraged, let go of Vivian's hair and swung at Rover. "You little...!"
The attack came fast, but Rover had survived months in the Apocalypse. Death had sharpened his reflexes.
He stepped back, dodging easily, then kicked out...
BAM!
"AGH!!"
The thug collapsed to the floor, clutching his face and screaming, "Bastard! Bastard! Get him! Hurry!"
Rover calmly pulled out his phone with a smirk. "Touch me, and you're all going to prison."
On the screen, a call to the police—already running for over five minutes.
"The cops are on their way. None of you are getting out of here," Rover said with chilling amusement.
The thugs froze in fear.
They might be thugs, but they were nothing more than low-level lackeys hired to collect debts for their boss.
If they were arrested, their boss would abandon them without hesitation.
"Besides..." Rover continued, "assaulting women and children, causing disturbances in a hospital, illegal loan-sharking... well well... those charges alone are enough to lock you up for two to five years."
The thugs' faces went pale. The blond thug finally sobered up a little. He slowly stood, trying to act calm despite his fear, and shouted angrily, "You bastard! This is my business. And that bitch owes me money! She won't pay up, so of course I'm here to collect!"
"Eh?" Rover feigned confusion. "Do you have proof? Where's the debt contract?"
The blond thug had indeed prepared it. He immediately pulled out a slip of paper, staying a safe distance away so Rover couldn't snatch it, holding it up for him to see.
Rover took one look and burst into laughter. "Hahahaha... are you joking with me? The name on this paper isn't hers. So why the hell are you collecting from her?"
"But she's his wife! If he can't pay, then she should," the thug argued quickly.
"Ah, then in that case, kindly provide proof," Rover said calmly. "Proof that the borrower spent the money on her. And you must also prove that she and that man were legally married."
"Not only that—you also need to prove that Vivian accepted responsibility for his debt."
"But here's the best part—under current law, any loan with interest rates over 1.5 times the bank's rate is illegal loan-sharking. That little paper you're holding? It's worthless. Not even good as toilet paper."
"Actually, no... it's too stiff to qualify as toilet paper."
"You... you..." The thug stammered, his face turning white. He understood parts of it but couldn't form a coherent response.
"Who the hell are you?" the middle-aged woman shouted. Suddenly her eyes widened. "Ah! I know! You must be that slut's new lover, right? Hahaha! Do you know how many men she's been with? You're just another one of her dogs!"
"If you love that slut, then pay her debt! If not, get lost! You think you can scare me with the law?"
Rover glanced at her and replied, "No, this isn't intimidation. It's simply the truth."
"Oh, and I almost forgot... if she refuses to pay, then you are the one responsible for the debt."
"You..." The woman gritted her teeth in fury.
But before she could spit out another word, a squad of police officers and hospital security arrived. They quickly apprehended the thugs.
Rover had already recorded everything on his phone, from the moment the gang showed up to the final confrontation.
This wasn't the Apocalypse yet, nor was it some low-IQ dystopian novel where brute force solved everything.
Letting the law handle them was the fastest way.
The middle-aged woman was also taken away for deliberately bringing thugs to cause trouble.
She sat on the floor, screaming and crying, "Everyone, look at this! My daughter-in-law is a shameless whore! Her husband disappeared years ago, but instead of searching for him, she's been sleeping around!"
"And now she refuses to pay his debt and tries to dump it all on an old, miserable widow like me! Why is my life so pitiful?!"
She wailed endlessly, ranting and raving. Rover had no patience to argue with a delusional fool.
He let the police drag her away, adding another charge—falsely accusing him.
Facing the law, no matter how much she cried, it was meaningless.
After everyone was taken away, only Rover, Vivian, and the little girl Nana remained, staring at him with wide, curious, and admiring eyes.
Rover glanced at Vivian and said softly, "Go inside and calm your daughter down first. Wait for me a moment."
Only now did Vivian fully regain her senses, and warmth surged through her chest. She never expected that in the moment she needed it most, Rover would appear to protect her.
All her life she had endured everything alone, but now, with Rover standing in front of her like a shield, her heart pounded wildly. A feeling of warmth and safety completely washed over her.
Vivian obediently nodded, then carried Nana back into the room.
She checked Nana's condition, reattached the IV line, then stepped aside. The room quieted down. Vivian gently stroked Nana's hair and frowned, saying, "Nana, you must never do that again. Do you know how terrified I was?"
Nana pursed her lips obediently and nodded. "Nana won't do it again because Uncle Rover is here now. He will protect Mommy and Nana."
Vivian froze, her face flushing red. "W--what are you saying? And how do you even know his name is Rover?"
"Nana heard Mommy say his name—Rover!" Nana smiled sweetly, her expression pure and innocent. "Mommy, Uncle Rover is so strong and so cool! As long as he's here, Mommy will be safe... and Mommy will smile again."
"You..." Vivian sputtered, embarrassed. "Nana, where did you learn things like that?"
"Nana saw it on the internet. Nana also reads webnovels."
Hearing that, Vivian let out a long sigh. She worked every day with no one to care for Nana.
She didn't want Nana to feel lonely, so she let her use a phone. She never expected her daughter to learn so many strange things online.
Vivian scolded, "Nana, starting tomorrow, you are not allowed to use the phone anymore. You have to read books instead, understand?"
Nana pouted. "What's so fun about reading books? There are so many interesting things on the internet. Nana even knows that..."
Cub!
"Ack!" Nana yelped, clutching the spot where Vivian flicked her.
Vivian sighed again. "You must read books so later, when you go to school, you won't fall behind your friends."
Nana's face fell into deep gloom. "Mommy... you don't have to pretend. I know... I don't have much time left... do I?"
"Nana, what are you talking about?" Vivian trembled and raised her voice in panic.
Nana bit her lip, tears falling, but she still forced a smile onto her small, innocent face. "Mommy... if I die, don't be sad, okay? Uncle Rover will stay with you."
"Nana..." Vivian pulled her into a tight embrace, her voice shaking. "I will save you, Nana. You will live... I will definitely save you."
Nana hugged her back, a soft smile on her pale face. "Mommy..."