“...Good job.”
Under the bridge of the militia that took control of Springfield, Aiden was receiving final confirmation from the woman who had given the request.
“Our mbers have been safely recovered. Also, we’ve confird the supplies you provided them.”
The woman from the militia placed bullets and food on the table.
Following the conditions of the contract, Aiden was replenishing the supplies he had consud during the mission.
Additionally, the woman added a hefty tal container.
It was the gasoline that Aiden had requested as part of the reward.
“Check the goods.”
At the woman’s words, Aiden first picked up the bullets.
There were approximately 300 rounds of ammunition on the table.
The condition... wasn’t bad.
It seed they were stored in a warehouse or similar, as so packaging was damaged, but it wasn’t a significant issue.
Aiden nodded, sweeping the bullets into the bag he had brought with him, adding to the weight of over 400 rounds, including the ones he originally had.
It was by no ans a small amount.
With this amount of ammunition, they could sustain themselves for several days in terms of food and water.
However, at the sa ti, it was woefully inadequate for piercing through cities like Peoria.
Since entering the Midwest, the number of people, especially zombies, had increased.
So, from now on, Aiden needed to pay attention to the supply of bullets that would pierce through the heads of those creatures.
“...”
Along with such thoughts, Aiden inspected the gasoline.
Gasoline was not well preserved compared to other fuels.
If stored haphazardly, it would deteriorate to the point of being unusable within 1 or 2 months.
Therefore, special additives were required for long-term storage.
Thus, checking the condition of received gasoline was a necessary process.
Aiden examined the color, sll, and viscosity of the gasoline.
All indicators that would change first if the fuel were to deteriorate.
Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any major issues.
Although there were signs that deterioration might begin soon, in today’s world, it was an acceptable item.
“Confird. But... did you hear any news about mutants?”
Referring to the mutant that suddenly collapsed and died just before leaving Peoria.
The woman nodded her head.
“Do you know why it happened?”
“We don’t know. However, we’ve heard of such incidents occasionally.”
“Occasionally?”
At Aiden’s question, the woman lightly nodded.
“Yeah, occasionally. We’ve also found a few mutants dead for no apparent reason a couple of tis from about two months ago.”
It was a puzzling phenonon.
Zombies, especially mutants, dying suddenly, almost like patients.
At least, Aiden had never witnessed such an occurrence.
However, even after asking a few more questions, the woman didn’t know anything beyond that.
Since no one cared about why a dead zombie died, it wasn’t anyone’s concern.
So, Aiden turned away from the outpost.
The mission was over, and the reward had been received.
Since there was no reason to stay here any longer, Aiden collected his belongings and returned to the vehicle.
“Is it over? This ti you’re fast.”
Between the alleys a bit away from the outpost.
Perhaps being confined to the car for so long was frustrating.
Arian was outside.
She was helping Aiden load luggage into the car.
And then, at that mont.
“Who followed us?”
At Arian’s words, Aiden frowned.
Perhaps the presence itself was never welco.
An intruder right after receiving the mission reward.
It wasn’t a pleasant sight.
“How many?”
“One. And, soone we know.”
“Soone we know?”
“Yeah. Mia, was it?”
Aiden, who was about to take out a gun while moving the luggage, stopped his hand.
It didn’t seem like a marauder trying to rob them of supplies.
So, Aiden stepped out of the alley and revealed himself on the road.
Then.
“Oh, here you are. Almost missed you.”
Mia, who spotted him, approached as if saying it was fortunate.
There was a small bag on her back, and a handgun was strapped to her waist, but she wasn’t holding any weapons.
Perhaps she had co simply to talk.
Relaxing his guard a bit, Aiden asked her:
“What’s up?”
“Ah, well...”
Mia hesitated for a mont.
However, soon she pulled sothing out of her bag and began to speak.
“I have a request for you.”
“A request?”
“Yes. And this is the reward.”
What Mia revealed from her bag were portable bombs, including grenades and flashbangs.
Since most of the bombs Aiden had were depleted, these weapons caught his interest.
However, Aiden looked at Mia quietly, rather than focusing on those weapons.
Her eyes, looking at Aiden’s black helt, seed sohow desperate.
“Couldn’t you make this request through the militia?”
“...It’s a personal matter.”
“What do you want?”
“Please find my father in Peoria.”
Aiden made a short hum.
In fact, he had so suspicions from the mont Mia ntioned the request.
Knowing why Mia and her two brothers went to Peoria was sothing Aiden already knew.
However, in the end, they couldn’t et their family there and beca isolated by zombies.
So, was she entrusting this task to Aiden, the one who saved them?
It was not sothing difficult to understand.
However, there was a problem.
“The reward is too small for that.”
Peoria was a dangerous city.
Even if a junk dealer were asked to go back there, they would probably refuse, even if offered a large sum.
Of course, Aiden wasn’t asking for such a job.
However, considering this, the few bombs that Mia brought didn’t match the situation at all.
“I know. I have more to offer.”
Mia took out a map from her belongings.
There was a bright red mark near the city center.
“Our supplies are likely in places we explored in the city. We couldn’t pick them up while running away from zombies, but if you go there, you can recover them easily.”
“So... You want us to go inside the city and recover the reward ourselves?”
Mia remained silent.
However, that silence ant affirmation.
Arian, who was silently swallowing a sigh, stood next to her.
Sadie, sitting in the car, looked at them with a puzzled expression.
Then, Aiden slightly raised his head.
Without much thought, it was an unreasonable demand.
To ask them to bring back the rewards left inside Peoria.
Even if the items said to be in Peoria were false, the few grenades Mia offered were worth at least half the value of the gasoline Aiden received as a reward.
So, Aiden asked for the reason rather than outright refusing.
“Why are you so determined?”
“Why? Well...”
“Being there in the city. Isn’t there a higher chance that he’s already dead?”
Even for Aiden’s group, entering and leaving that place easily was difficult.
And yet, an ordinary person going there alone.
It was a situation where survival could not be guaranteed. Even in terms of probability, it wouldn’t be more than 5%.
However, Mia had offered a reward to that low probability.
Even if the goods supposedly in Peoria were false, the advance paynt of the grenades alone was worth it.
So, Aiden asked for the reason.
“...I thought he died too. If there hadn’t been a letter from my father a week ago.”
According to Mia, her father had directly handed over a letter to a militia group mber.
“When I asked the guard on duty at that ti, it was clear that my father had co in person. He couldn’t confirm his face because he was wearing a helt like yours, but his actions and voice were the sa.”
“Then, did he go into Peoria?”
“He didn’t go in. He had already been there, and he ca back. Do you know what this ans?”
Mia took out a small fra.
Inside it was a faded photograph.
It seed to include Mia and her two brothers, possibly her parents.
“This is an item from our house.”
“House?”
“We’re from Peoria. The house where my family lived three years ago is in that city.”
“Then, did your father go into Peoria, took this photo, and ca back alone?”
“That’s right! I don’t know how, but if it’s not that, I can’t explain it.”
Going in wouldn’t be easy, but he ca back with an item from his house.
It was a story that was hard to believe.
However, since Aiden had no reason to argue with Mia about the truth, he changed the direction of his questions.
“Was your father also a mber of the militia?”
“No, my father was a junk dealer like you. He used to work as a truck driver originally, but he disliked being part of such organizations.”
“Does he have a junk shop around here?”
“He mainly traveled between Kansas City and Springfield. But... he went missing about two weeks ago. He didn’t return even after the expected date.”
Mia spoke while looking at the photo she was holding.
Her father in the photo had the usual stern expression.
“Then, he returned after just a week, leaving only a photo and a letter before disappearing again.”
“Do you know why your father made such a decision?”
“Yes. It was written in the letter. He contracted so kind of fatal infectious disease.”
“Disease?”
“He called it a deadly epidemic. That’s why he couldn’t co back.”
A deadly infectious disease. The first thing that naturally ca to mind was the zombie virus.
If it was truly the zombie virus, there was no need for him to leave such a letter.
However, if it was a contagious disease to the extent that he couldn’t even et his family...
Aiden, who used to be a doctor, focused on that aspect for a mont.
Taking his silence as a refusal, Mia quickly continued talking.
“I won’t ask you to bring him back. Just receive and deliver the letters I send and... reply, please.”
Mia handed over a discolored envelope.
A letter delivery. To be honest, it wasn’t a very useful request.
The reward was vague, and the risk seed quite significant.
However, Aiden noticed that Mia’s father had been active around Kansas City.
That was the place Aiden and his group were heading to.
Moreover, Mia’s father had been there directly just two weeks ago.
It was a chance to obtain quite accurate information about the situation in Kansas City.
However, Aiden wondered if this opportunity was worth accepting the uncertain reward.
After a short consideration, Aiden spoke.
“If you promise one more reward, I’ll accept the request.”
“What do you want? I don’t have much to offer.”
“Blood. I an, blood donation.”
It was a fortunate event, because they were short on blood in the car.
If Mia and the other two siblings can also give blood, they wouldn’t run short until they reached the next city.
However, Mia’s expression subtly changed at Aiden’s words.
“Well, I don’t mind as long as you solve the request... But just in case...”
“I’m not a fanatic. Don’t worry.”
Mia nodded with a wry smile.
After that, Aiden and Mia discussed so details about the request.
Once the matter was settled, Mia left, leaving behind the letter, the bombs, and even her blood.
“Did you accept the request just because of the blood?”
Arian, who had been listening to the conversation, asked.
Aiden took off his black helt and spoke.
“Not just that. There’s sothing bothering .”
“Bothering you?”
“According to the militia’s information, news from Kansas City has been cut off recently. Whether it’s a coincidence or not, I don’t know. But... Mia’s father went missing right from that point.”
“Are you saying there might be sothing wrong in Kansas City?”
“There’s a possibility. That’s why I wanted to check it out.”
Understanding Aiden’s intention, Arian nodded.
“Are you going back to that city again?”
“I have to. However, this ti, I’ll go alone. It seems there were not as many mutants as I expected.”
Springfield was a place where regular zombies were more common than mutants.
So, moving alone was much more manageable than bringing along comrades.
Moreover, there was no one to rescue like before.
“...Alright.”
“Good. Then today, I’ll return to Morton where we stayed yesterday.”
That way, Aiden decided to stay one more day near Springfield.
The night passed quickly.
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