With one bottle of rum, obtaining blood from four individuals, totaling 800ml, Aiden headed straight for the post office.
The post office ntioned by the junk dealers was just a few minutes’ walk away, right next to the road leading to the city center.
Moreover, for a post office, it was considerably large, resembling a building the size of a typical large mart.
Aiden entered through the main entrance as instructed by the junk dealers.
“...”
The first things he saw were the reception and lobby, where custors were greeted.
Aiden moved beyond the reception to a corridor for employees. In that corridor, the third room on the right was where he needed to go.
Standing in front of the firmly closed door, Aiden knocked.
After a mont, with a creaking sound, the door opened.
“I haven’t seen you before. Are you a junk dealer?”
The one who spoke to Aiden was a black man in his forties.
With sharp features, he sat at a desk inside the room.
Behind him, stood a man and a woman ard with rifles.
Adding the guard who had opened the door, there were four of them in total.
Aiden nodded to them.
“Yes, I’ve co to complete a request I received.”
As Aiden explained the details of the request and handed them the letter he received from Owen, the man in the room, after confirming the na in the letter, suddenly gripped it tightly with both hands.
For a mont, Aiden thought – No way.
Rip!
The man tore Owen’s request letter into pieces and scattered it on the floor.
Watching the paper fragnts flutter, Aiden asked.
“Why would you do that?”
“The guy who should receive this letter died a week ago. It seed to contain personal information, so I disposed of it here.”
The unexpected story was that the owner of the letter had died.
The man continued speaking.
“So, if you were expecting compensation, forget it. The one who should receive it is gone, so we can’t give it to you either.”
“That’s regrettable.”
Though he said that, Aiden didn’t co with the intention of receiving sothing more from them.
Of course, if they had offered compensation, he would have taken it, but there was no need to force demands on an unexpected situation like this.
So, he smoothly transitioned to another topic.
“Rather than that, do you have any tasks to entrust?”
“We have plenty of work. But we don’t usually leave tasks to unfamiliar junk dealers.”
The man said sarcastically.
Perhaps because they were a gang in the midst of a war, their wariness was high.
Though it was an unexpected situation, Aiden responded.
“Is there anything you urgently need to acquire now?”
“Naturally, weapons. If you can sell ammunition, we’ll buy it.”
“Anything else?”
“We also need dical supplies.”
“What specific dical supplies are you looking for?”
“Anesthetic, antibiotics, and hemostatic agents.”
Aiden nodded and then asked naturally.
“I’ll look for pharmaceuticals. By any chance, do you know of any suitable places? I don’t mind going to dangerous locations.”
“...”
The man stared at Aiden intently in response to that question.
The issue of where to get them was sothing junk dealers had to figure out; it wasn’t a question thrown at a gang.
However, Aiden already had an idea of the gang’s situation.
According to the information from the junk dealers, the gang called the Rock Boys had about 2,000 mbers.
And the gang involved in the ongoing war was also of a similar size, with the war continuing for about two weeks in this city.
So, the injured person would be a minimum of three digits.
He didn’t know exactly, but there was bound to be a significant shortage of dical supplies on the gang’s side.
So, Aiden was trying to extract information using this as bait.
As if to say, ‘It’s urgent for you, not for .’
Despite the gang mber’s displeased expression, he soon opened his mouth.
“About 50km north from here, there’s a city called Conway.”
Aiden had a mory of Conway from the map.
It was one of the small cities with an original population of around 60 000.
“There’s a comprehensive hospital in the center of Conway, right next to a university. Look into that.”
“You an the university, not the hospital?”
“After the zombie outbreak, the hospital people took refuge in the university and set up a camp. I heard they moved all the supplies there at that ti. But about two years ago, they couldn’t contain the zombies, and the camp was destroyed.”
“...”
“If you search through their corpses, you might find sothing.”
He seed to provide information so easily.
It appeared that there were considerable zombies in the area the man ntioned.
However, dealing with cities swarming with zombies was sothing Aiden was accustod to, so he casually continued the conversation.
“How about the price of the dical supplies?”
“Obviously, we won’t trade weapons for it. But if it’s food, we’ll give you plenty.”
When Aiden asked about the specific quantity, he imdiately received an answer.
It was regrettable that he couldn’t replenish ammunition with dical supplies.
However, when exchanging for food and water, the price was about 50% higher than other places.
Adding a few more questions and receiving a definite answer that they would also trade with blood, Aiden concluded the conversation and left the post office.
“Conway...”
With a new destination in mind, Aiden returned to the vehicle where his companions were staying.
* * *
The next day.
After setting up a hideout in the town of Preston, south of Conway, Aiden spent the day and headed towards the mission in the morning.
However, once again, he didn’t bring any of his companions.
The main reasons were the supplies and the vehicle.
To enter Conway, infested with zombies, he had to hide the vehicle in an appropriate place.
However well he might hide the car around here, moving around with only supplies and a vehicle was too risky.
There was an ongoing gang war just below, and the junk dealers were moving around for the gang’s mission.
So, Aiden judged that it was better to move alone.
He left Arian and Sadie to guard the vehicle and supplies, entering Conway alone.
“...Heading north from here.”
As Aiden left the residential area infested with zombies, a spacious road and the grassy field on the other side ca into his view.
It was Highway 60, just a few hundred ters away from the Arkansas University, his destination.
Along the road that crossed Conway from east to west, a few abandoned restaurants were visible.
“Hmm...?”
Without much thought, Aiden was about to pass by one of those restaurants when he stopped for a mont.
His gaze fell upon a small ice cream shop.
The entire glass wall was shattered, indicating that it was open enough for zombies to crawl inside.
However, by chance, he saw sothing rolling on the floor beneath the checkout counter.
Up to this point, Aiden hadn’t paid attention to other places, but there was no reason to leave behind a visible harvest.
So, Aiden entered the store.
As he did, two zombies inside sharply glanced at Aiden, then turned their heads away.
Aiden deliberately didn’t provoke them and approached the canned food he discovered.
“...”
Without any concern, he picked up the canned food rolling on the floor.
Interestingly, it was strawberry canned food.
Moreover, its condition wasn’t bad at all.
The can looked intact, and its content hadn’t leaked.
Aiden, who didn’t know if there was more like this, explored behind the checkout counter.
There was a door leading to the inner warehouse, and several more similar canned foods were stored inside.
Perhaps it was because this was a place that sold ice cream with various fruits.
Strawberry, apple, peach, pineapple, and more.
Various fruit canned foods were abundant.
Aiden gathered all the remaining items in the warehouse.
A total of seven.
“...Not bad.”
As Aiden walked, it was an unexpected harvest, as much as finding money.
Although not very high in calories, the food was sweeter than other bland-tasting foods, making it suitable for children.
For Aiden, who was traveling with Sadie, it was a useful food item.
With the canned goods in hand, Aiden ignored the zombies lingering nearby and continued to head north.
Soon, the vast university campus ca into view.
“Kiiiii...”
Standing on what used to be a grassy field on the campus was a seemingly dozens of zombies.
Though the density seed slightly lower than in residential areas, it was still a considerable number.
If we consider the entire city, the number of zombies might be close to ten or even twenty thousand.
To think that nearly one-third of the population of a city that originally housed 60 000 people turned into zombies.
No wonder the gang passed on information so easily; it was indeed a dangerous place.
Aiden pondered this as he unfolded his map.
The map he obtained from the military base in mphis was large and sowhat inconvenient to look at, but it detailed the layout of the university buildings.
The number of buildings drawn on the map was more than twenty.
Among them, Aiden already knew which building he had to go to, having heard it from the gang.
A five-story building in the shape of a ‘C.’
It was supposed to be the last stronghold of the survivor group that had settled here.
According to the map, it was located near the northwest side of the university campus.
Checking the direction, Aiden resud walking.
As he progressed through the campus, Aiden soon felt a strange uneasiness.
The zombies that had been swarming outside the campus gradually decreased as he moved inside.
“Hmm...”
Aiden, aware of this, looked around.
Indeed, the density of zombies seed suspicious.
Dozens of zombies gathered in a tennis court without any obstacles.
In contrast, the open ground in front of the building on the opposite side was completely empty.
It wasn’t that zombies were naturally scattered; they seed to be swept in one direction.
In Aiden’s experience, there were two possibilities in such cases.
Either there were predatory mutant variants like a Bigfoot, or people had been moving back and forth.
Aiden leaned towards the latter.
Considering the ongoing gang war, where dical supplies were being bought at a high price.
So, it was quite likely that not just other junk dealers, but even gang mbers had co here risking danger to collect these supplies.
“Kii...”
Aiden, considering the possibility of encountering people, passed through the zombies standing here and there and entered the interior of the university campus.
Soon after, the building he was looking for appeared.
The entrance was blocked by all sorts of barricades, and the building’s na was carved above.
“Bear Hall...”
An odd na.
Now that he noticed, there was also a sports football stadium with the sa na right next to the building.
It seed that the building na was derived from the university’s sports team na.
anwhile, the barricade that had to block the entrance was severely damaged.
Bullet holes pierced through tal plates, torn clothes hung on the edges, and even bones were scattered underneath.
If what the gang mber said was true, it had already been over two years since this place collapsed.
However, the traces of the fierce battle at that ti were still vivid on the barricade.
“...”
Aiden crossed over the barricade and entered inside.
Sunlight entered through the windows inside the barricade, making it bright enough.
Moreover, there were a few lecture halls next to the corridor, but their insides were completely empty.
The only noticeable things were a few zombies lying on the floor.
They didn’t seem to have fallen long ago.
That ant there had been a sniper here, after all.
Aiden thought so as he tried to climb the stairs to the second floor.
However, Aiden, who was already on the stairs, had to stop his steps.
The space leading to the stairs was completely blocked from top to bottom by a security shutter.
“This is... troubleso.”
Aiden murmured under his breath with a click of his tongue.
What blocked the passage was a steel pipe shutter, several thin and long pipes connected with a linking ring to create a sh-like structure.
Because of this, although Aiden could peer into the staircase, the shutter itself was not in a state that could be simply opened with human strength.
After the shutter was lowered, perhaps the zombies went on a rampage here.
The rail part next to it was severely bent.
To open this, Aiden needed a tool to cut the iron bars, or Arian.
But Aiden didn’t have such tools either.
So... eventually, it ant he had to bring Arian here.
Aiden was silently contemplating this counterasure.
Bang!
From sowhere, there was a loud noise.
“...!”
Aiden quickly assessed the direction and distance of the noise.
It was not from the south, where Aiden ca from, but from the east.
And the distance seed to be only a few hundred ters away.
So, Aiden moved away from the stairs and ran down the corridor.
And in this C-shaped building, he entered a lecture hall that could monitor the east where the gunshot ca from.
“...”
There, Aiden hid his body under the window facing east.
And he slightly lifted the already lowered blinds to look outside.
Although nothing was visible yet, Aiden already had a pistol in his hand.
anwhile, outside, zombies had already started to go wild.
Hundreds of zombies scattered throughout the school campus rushed towards the noise.
As a result, the area around the building where Aiden was hiding experienced a significant decrease in zombie density.
“...”
However, that explosion ended with just one.
It wasn’t soone engaging in combat, but rather a way to attract the attention of zombies.
In that case... the opponent’s purpose was undoubtedly this building where Aiden was.
It wasn’t a good situation.
Whether the opponent was a junk dealer or a gang mber, they wouldn’t peacefully share the harvest available in this building.
At that mont, Aiden heard footsteps.
Looking out the window, soone who had dodged the zombies was running towards the building.
Aiden confird the person’s presence and moved imdiately.
He put on the bulletproof helt he had been carrying.
Approaching the entrance of the lecture hall, not the window, Aiden got close and stood still.
Then, a little later.
“Haa... Huff...”
Soone who had escaped the zombies ca into the building and caught their breath.
The person, who stayed at the entrance for a mont, soon regained their breath, and slowly walked down the corridor.
There were no colleagues following.
Probably just one opponent.
Aiden’s plan was decided right there.
Hidden behind the classroom door, he waited until the intruder passed by, then sprang out and grabbed the person from behind.
“What-“
Before the intruder could say a word.
Aiden grabbed their neck with one hand to stop their movent and brought a gun to their head with the other.
Whether the cold sensation was transmitted or not, the intruder, who was about to start a riot, stopped their actions and raised both hands.
“Who are you?”
Aiden asked quietly.
Then, the intruder, a woman, responded with an annoyed tone.
“Damn it... I’ll tell you everything, so don’t shoot.”
“Don’t waste ti talking. Just answer.”
A clicking sound was heard.
But Aiden calmly waited for the woman to open her mouth.
“I’m Ella, Ella Watson. I’m a junk dealer.”
Soon her answer ca.
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