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"Master, didn't you tell Sister Mafuyu to make a duty roster?"
"She already did."
"One 'Red' duty and two other tasks per person every day!"
"And right now, it's my mealtime."
Uzaki Hana beamed as she said it.
Julian let out a long sigh. "Fine. Come with me to the tent."
This is to help them get stronger, he told himself for the hundredth time.
Hand in hand, the two of them slipped into the tent.
Outside, Mafuyu stayed behind, eyes fixed on the surveillance monitor.
Suddenly, a few figures appeared on the screen.
"Someone's heading toward the warehouse!"
"Master! Stop what you're doing!"
She knew when to prioritize. She immediately shouted toward the tent.
A moment later, Julian stepped out in a bathrobe, looking deeply annoyed.
Outside the warehouse, Julian slung his blade over his shoulder and casually cut down a few wandering zombies blocking the way.
Soon, he came face-to-face with the group from the cameras.
There were eight of them, all strong-looking men. Not your average ragtag survivors.
"Hey, brother. Did you take over this supermarket warehouse?"
The leader stepped forward. His skin was slightly dark, his tone calm and polite.
"Yeah," Julian replied evenly. "This is my turf."
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Nanami Kento. I lead a survivor camp with a few dozen people."
"There are a lot of elderly and children in our camp. We need food."
"Think you could spare some?"
He was polite. Very polite.
"Nanami…"
Julian paused.
That name rang like thunder in his ears.
If he remembered correctly, Nanami would eventually become the strongest Awakened in N City. The largest survivor base in the entire city would be built under his leadership.
And now he'd run into him this early?
Judging by his current aura, he probably hadn't awakened yet.
Still… building a camp this soon, taking in the elderly and kids?
That was something Julian genuinely respected.
If it were him, strangers lived or died on their own. He wouldn't lose sleep over it.
"Boss, why are we wasting time talking?" A bald man muttered from the side. "We've got the numbers. You think we can't take him? Why be so polite?"
"Hammerhead, watch your mouth," Nanami snapped, shooting him a glare. "If he can hold this place alone, he's got some real strength."
"We're here for food. Don't make unnecessary enemies."
Hammerhead had been a thorn in his side ever since joining the camp. Hard to control. But manpower was scarce. Nanami hadn't had the luxury to turn him away.
"I've got food," Julian said calmly. "A lot of it."
"But I'm not giving it away for free."
"If you want food, bring gold, gasoline, or diesel to trade. I'll take as much as you've got."
He had originally planned to collect those supplies himself, but now that Nanami's group had shown up, he could trade off the food with shorter shelf life instead.
Why run around scavenging when he could stay inside with the AC on?
"Fair trade. Deal," Nanami agreed without hesitation.
"Tanaka, go grab a few barrels of fuel from the pickup. We can refill at a gas station on the way back."
Several of his men jogged to the large pickup parked by the roadside and carried over eight barrels of gasoline.
"Ten liters each. Eighty liters total."
"How much food can that get us?"
They set the barrels down in front of Julian.
"Eighty liters…" Julian thought for a moment. "I'll give you eighty jin."
Eighty jin. About forty kilos.
There were 3,500 kilograms of food in the warehouse with less than 30 days left before expiration. Roughly 7,000 jin.
If he cleared out ninety percent of that, it would be about right.
"Only eighty jin?" Hammerhead exploded. "Why don't you just rob us?"
"Do you have any idea how important gasoline is right now?"
Julian looked at him coolly. "If gasoline's so important, then drink it when you're hungry. Drink it when you're thirsty."
"You—!"
Hammerhead grabbed his iron rod and lunged forward, only to be yanked back by Nanami.
"Hammerhead, don't be stupid."
He turned back to Julian and nodded. "Eighty jin it is."
Julian might dislike that bald idiot, but Nanami's character was solid. If he agreed to a deal, it would stick.
At that moment, Mafuyu ran over to Julian's side.
"Master, need my help?" she asked, blinking her big eyes.
"Go inside and bring out eighty jin of food. The stuff that expires within ten days."
"Yes, Master!"
She nodded obediently and skipped back toward the warehouse.
Hammerhead's eyes locked onto her the moment he saw her.
Damn…
She was stunning.
Especially those long legs.
He could play with someone like that for a year.
Dark thoughts began forming in his mind.
Not long after, Mafuyu and Hana came out together, each carrying forty jin of food like it weighed nothing.
For them, it was effortless.
"Master, we've got the food!"
They set the eighty jin down in front of Julian.
"....."