The restaurant Aiden entered had a narrow and vertical structure, almost like a train.
On one side were tables for custors, and on the opposite side, a long bar with scattered chairs.
“Kiik...!”
Aiden pushed through the zombie standing in the narrow corridor and entered the restaurant.
In the back, there seed to be a kitchen and a second floor, but Aiden first explored the bar.
Originally, it was a place where a bartender should stand.
Behind it, there were nurous bottles, whether for decoration or for sale; it wasn’t clear.
“...”
Examining those bottles, Aiden quietly brightened his eyes.
Surprisingly, most of the bottles were unopened.
Moreover, they were distilled spirits such as rum, whiskey, vodka, and others.
Distilled spirits, once sealed, were virtually non-perishable.
Aiden carefully examined each dusty bottle and put them in his bag.
The count was a whopping eleven bottles.
Because of that, the bag beca bulky and even heavier, but it was a weight Aiden could easily handle.
This alone was already a significant harvest.
If he could et a gang and make a deal, it would be easy to replenish at least gasoline.
He continued to search inside the restaurant.
On the cloudy chalkboard, which had turned hazy on the tables where custors used to eat and drink, the nus sold at the store were written.
“Steak, chicken, burrito, taco...”
Aiden muttered those nus and sighed shortly.
None of them were nus that used long-term preservable food.
And shortly after, the result of searching the kitchen was as expected.
The kitchen was filled only with traces of spoiled ingredients.
The only thing he barely found was a single can of pineapple.
It had a reasonable taste, but practically, it wasn’t a valuable item as it lacked in providing sufficient sustenance.
However, even canned pineapple wasn’t entirely bad.
From what Aiden had observed so far, canned pineapple was Sadie’s favorite among all the canned foods.
“I should give this to Sadie.”
Aiden murmured so and soon left the store.
Should he search more places?
He had thought so, but looking at the sky, a considerable amount of ti had passed without realizing.
If there were no other matters, Aiden wanted to make a deal with the survivors and secure blood within the day.
Arian, who needed to continuously consu blood, was practically starving right now.
So, Aiden chose to return.
The weight felt in the back bag wasn’t bad at all.
* * *
“I brought food.”
The survivors were staying at a funeral ho.
Aiden was no longer at the small hole in the wall but stood at the entrance on the opposite side.
The door protecting the wall was a thick iron plate covered with iron sh, and it was the only one.
In a city where zombies were swarming, the door looked precarious.
It was now wide open, revealing Aiden on the other side.
After bringing food, the survivors inside the barricade finally faced Aiden.
“Is it really true?”
What Aiden offered was a large can of corn and two bottles of rum.
Of course, there were nine more bottles besides these.
However, Aiden judged that they wouldn’t be able to buy all of them and brought only a small amount for now.
If they perceived that there was plenty of supplies, the value would eventually diminish.
“Did you really go there and co back? How?”
The first to speak was a woman among the six survivors, looking at Aiden as if in disbelief.
She had consistently shown sharp wariness towards Aiden.
“You don’t need to know about that.”
“What, what did you say?”
“More importantly, are we going to make a deal?”
Aiden had no intention of engaging in unnecessary conversation, so he imdiately got to the point.
The fact that blood was the price of the deal had already been explained to them.
Looking at the blood collection syringe Aiden took out, the woman frowned and stepped back.
“Are you insane? How can we trust you!”
Naturally, the woman refused.
But Aiden was unfazed.
He then looked at the other five who were standing behind the woman.
“What about the rest of you?”
Survivors exchanged glances in response to Aiden’s question.
It was a difficult atmosphere to step forward since one person had already shown distrust and stepped back.
To overco this, Aiden added a word.
“The price is one blood donation per item.”
At Aiden’s words, the eyes of the survivors widened a bit.
In other words, it ant he would sell one can of canned food and two bottles of rum on a first-co, first-served basis.
Above all, the price of all the items was the sa.
Considering the market, it was an unreasonable offer.
Although rum had value, it wasn’t as much as the food.
But through this, Aiden aid to create competition among them.
It was to avoid any further hesitation.
As expected-
“I’ll do it. Give canned food.”
The woman who had tried to demand vehicle parts during the day raised her hand assertively.
Aiden nodded.
“Alright. Anyone else?”
“Well, then, count in too.”
Next, a middle-aged man responded.
Perhaps he was quite a connoisseur; his eyes couldn’t leave the rum.
“Honey!”
“Oh, consider it as a drink. When will we get another chance like this?”
Then, the middle-aged woman next to him restrained him, and the man begged with a strange excuse.
Were they a couple?
Finally, the woman sighed and stepped back, and the man burst into a smile.
“I’ll take the last one.”
Next, a young white man who looked about in his twenties raised his hand.
Having sold all the items he brought, Aiden opened his mouth satisfactorily.
“Okay then. Should I go in, or are you guys coming out?”
“We’ll co out. Is that okay?”
The woman who raised her hand first looked at the group and said so.
She ca out first, followed by two other n.
And-
“...Really insane, all of you.”
The woman who had never stopped doubting Aiden muttered such words and went into the building.
Watching her retreating figure, the woman who ca out whispered to Aiden.
“She’s got a dirty personality, doesn’t she?”
In response to her words, the man who followed Aiden laughed.
The woman continued.
“I’m Claire Collins. Aiden Lee, right? I heard it earlier, is that your na?”
Aiden nodded.
Then, this ti, the middle-aged man and the young man each introduced themselves.
“I’m Miles Bell. The one over there is Hailey, my wife.”
“I’m Joseph Tucker. By the way, the woman who was irritated earlier is Erie Kelly. I thought I’d tell you since you might not have a chance to hear her na directly.”
Aiden quickly rembered their nas.
And he continued to gaze fixedly at the last one who hadn’t revealed his na yet.
He was the youngest black man standing guard.
He looked like he had just beco an adult or was about to reach that age, a late teenager.
“Oh, I’m... Maverick Price.”
He noticed Aiden’s gaze inside the black helt and revealed his na.
Having heard everyone’s nas, Aiden took out the blood collection syringe.
Then, Claire, who beca the first participant, spoke with a slightly tense voice.
“Is that okay?”
“Of course. Can’t you see this?”
Aiden pointed to his now yellowed lab coat and the na tag from his doctor days.
“Oh, you were a doctor?”
Joseph reacted to that, and Miles seed more relieved than before.
It was not much of an item when you thought about it, but at tis like this, it was useful to gain minimal trust.
Aiden skillfully completed the blood collection with his gloved hands.
200ml per person.
Bright red blood poured from the syringe into the plastic water bottle.
“Good job.”
Having finished the blood collection, Aiden handed the canned corn to Claire.
Claire, who examined the canned food, nodded as if there was no problem.
“Ha, it feels like donating blood and getting snacks.”
Next, Miles and Joseph also finished the blood collection, and they each took a bottle of rum.
Before the survivors who completed the transaction went inside the barrier, Claire turned to Aiden again.
“Can you co back tomorrow by any chance?”
It was a sentence with a strange expectation.
Aiden already knew what she wanted.
“Did you say you needed car parts?”
“...Yes.”
Claire nodded.
The eyes of the people around her focused on her.
“I appreciate your hard work today. So you seem like pretty skillful guy. If possible, I’d like to go out on the streets with you. While I look for parts, you can protect .”
Claire said.
But even if it wasn’t in the city, there were quite a few zombies in this city.
Moving with people and avoiding them was quite troubleso, to the point of being a daily headache.
So he asked.
“Do you really have to go?”
“I’m fine if I don’t. But, do you know how to disassemble an engine? Do you know the types of parts?”
“Well...”
Aiden shook his head with a wry smile.
Of course, Aiden had a certain level of car repair knowledge, a bit better than an average person.
However, that was only to so extent, just slightly above the level of an average person.
It wasn’t as specialized as disassembling the engine and distinguishing parts.
“I used to be an auto chanic.”
Claire added.
For that reason, Aiden had nothing to say.
However, there was another problem.
“In the end, while you disassemble the car, I have to protect you, right?”
“That’s right.”
“It’s going to be dangerous. It’s sothing I can’t handle alone, at least.”
If he disassembled a vehicle on the road, noise would inevitably be generated.
Even if that wasn’t the case, being in an open area for a long ti would naturally attract the attention of zombies.
To face the pouring zombies in such a place and protect Claire.
Even for Aiden, it was an impossible task alone.
“Of course, I know it’s dangerous. I can handle it. And it’s not just going. Our colleagues will go too. Isn’t that right?”
Claire said, looking around at the survivors.
However, they avoided Claire’s gaze and couldn’t respond readily.
Claire sighed frustratingly and tried to persuade them.
“Everyone... now you know. There’s nothing here. Miles, what did you get from that damn mart after searching for three days?”
Miles, who had been looking at the bottle of rum, let out a dry cough.
Then, Claire turned to Joseph standing next to her, and the one guarding the barrier, Maverick.
“Joseph and Maverick too. Don’t you rember? I told you that the mart area is impossible, and despite the danger, you went to the city just the day before yesterday to find food.”
“...Yeah, I did.”
Joseph shrugged his shoulders in response, while Maverick remained silent, staring at the ground.
Claire continued to argue with them.
“We have to leave. We barely have any stored supplies left. Staying here ans starving to death.”
“Hmm...” Miles let out a sigh.
Although he had a sowhat stubborn impression, he whispered sothing to his wife.
It seed like he was seriously considering Claire’s proposal.
Joseph nodded in agreent with Claire’s words:
“I agree. It’s reaching the limit to endure here.”
A faint smile appeared on Claire’s lips at his words.
anwhile, the youngest Maverick, whether confused or just observant, kept watching between them.
Claire, gaining montum, asked Miles and Haley:
“What about you? What do you think?”
“Well, it seems we’ve reached the limit here. But leaving here could be a different issue. Wouldn’t it beco even more dangerous?”
“It’s not like we can starve to death here.”
“That might be true. That guy alone ca back with food intact from the city.”
Miles pointed at Aiden as he spoke.
Aiden didn’t bother to react and waited for Miles’s words.
“And what about Erie? Convincing her won’t be easy.”
“I’ll try, but even if she opposes until the end, it doesn’t matter. Only those who want to leave can leave.”
“...”
With Claire’s firm words, Miles closed his mouth with a short sigh.
Claire, determined, looked back at Aiden again.
“So, those who want to leave with will help . Is that okay?”
Aiden nodded.
But before that, there was sothing to address.
“But do you have supplies for the trade? You won’t be able to provide blood as compensation from tomorrow onwards.”
“Ah...”
Claire remained silent for a mont.
Even after deciding to leave this place, it seed Claire was frowning at the lack of supplies.
“I’ll take care of that. If I can provide blood, I’ll receive supplies instead.”
Aiden nodded. Even though it seed like they had nothing to offer other than blood, it would do for now.
“Then co back tomorrow. I want to leave here as soon as possible.”
“Got it. I’ll bring my colleagues tomorrow.”
“You, colleagues?”
With a slightly surprised look, Claire asked.
Her gaze contained a hint of caution.
“I have two more. Is that okay?”
“Of course... It’s good to have more people.”
She said so, but Claire’s face seed sowhat uneasy.
If Aiden, a sturdy man like him, had two more with him, even if there were more people, Claire might be worried about potential betrayal.
However, since Aiden was confident that she would dismiss those worries when Claire saw his colleagues tomorrow, he turned without saying anything.
“Then co back tomorrow morning.”
Having finished the conversation with the survivors, Aiden turned and walked away.
It was already sunset.
With quick steps, he headed towards the temporary shelter where his companions were likely waiting.
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