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Julian woke up early.
Today was going to be busy.
He had to deliver supplies to the villa district and also transport goods to East Lake Island.
The supply request list from the villa district had already been sent to his phone.
Aside from basic food, the rest of the requests were all over the place.
That girl Asuka asking for a mouse and a graphics card was one thing, but some people even wanted massage chairs and refrigerators.
A refrigerator made sense. It could store more food.
But a massage chair… what the hell was that about?
The world had already gone to hell and they still wanted luxury?
Ten gold bars. Not a single one less.
"Mafuyu, can you drive?" Julian asked.
"Huh? Drive?"
"I'm not very fast, but I can learn," Mafuyu replied, lowering her head.
"That's not what I meant!"
"I mean driving seriously. A truck!"
Julian sighed.
"Oh! Oh!"
"Driving! Yeah, I can drive!"
"I learned manual, so I can handle both manual and automatic."
"But trucks…"
"I've never driven one."
Mafuyu's face turned slightly red.
She had misunderstood.
"As long as you can drive, it's fine. This is a small box truck, two-ton load. It's pretty easy to handle."
Julian nodded.
If Mafuyu could drive, they could each take a truck. That way they could deliver everything to the villa district in a single trip.
Next came the loading.
One truck was packed full of food, while the other carried all the random stuff people had requested.
"Hana, stay home and watch the place," Julian said, rubbing Hana's head.
"If anything happens, call me."
That morning, Hana's pupils had developed another silver ring, which meant her strength had improved again.
She should be able to handle watching the house alone.
"Okay!" Hana nodded, though her eyes flickered slightly.
Julian paused.
He had the strange feeling that Hana and Mafuyu were hiding something from him.
But this wasn't the time to worry about that. He had work to do.
"Mafuyu, just follow behind me when we drive."
"We'll keep it around 40 kilometers per hour."
Juliann reminded her.
Trucks were heavy. If they drove too fast, accidents could happen easily.
If the truck flipped over, the loss would be huge.
Julian and Mafuyu each grabbed a walkie-talkie and climbed into their trucks.
After Hana helped clear a few zombies lingering near the gate, Julian and Mafuyu set off.
Along the way, Julian controlled the speed from the front, and the drive went smoothly.
…
Under an elevated highway, several people were crouching in the bushes near a bridge pillar.
"Brother Gaku, we've been waiting here two days and only caught two cars," complained a young man wearing a Messi soccer jersey.
"All we got was half a box of instant noodles and a single loaf of bread."
"This efficiency sucks."
"Going to the supermarket is more efficient. You dare go?" Brother Gaku shot him a glare.
"We're staying right here. It's the safest place."
"In two days, none of us have even been injured. That's proof enough."
Brother Gaku was a burly man.
There was no helping it. Every supermarket nearby was crawling with zombies.
He had personally seen a team try to raid one. They hadn't even made it through the entrance before joining the zombie crowd.
Camping by the road might be a little hot, but it was safe.
If zombies showed up, they could fight them. If they couldn't win, they could run.
And if a car came along…
That was harvest time.
After all, anyone still driving around at a time like this was probably carrying supplies while fleeing.
The loot would definitely be good.
"Everyone, heads up. A car's approaching!" shouted a bald man sitting on top of a van while holding binoculars.
The four people hiding in the grass immediately became alert.
Business was coming.
They grabbed their iron rods and other weapons.
As soon as they forced the car to stop, it would be time to act.
"Tiger, it's your turn!" Brother Gaku signaled to the bald man.
Tiger nodded, put down the binoculars, and jumped off the van.
Now it was his time to perform.
He pulled out a sign from the van.
On it were eight big characters:
"Out of fuel. Food in exchange for gasoline."
It was a simple little trick.
Use food to lure passing vehicles into stopping.
Even if the other party suspected something, once they stopped the car, they wouldn't be able to escape.
Of course, standing in the middle of the road was a bit risky.
But at this stage, people's morals hadn't fully collapsed yet. Nobody was ruthless enough to run someone over deliberately.
Their previous successes had all worked this way.
Tiger held the sign and walked to the center of the road.
Everyone focused intensely, waiting for the moment the vehicle stopped.
The cars got closer and closer.
Two trucks.
Tiger's eyes lit up.
Trucks!
There might be a lot of good stuff inside!
This haul could make them rich!
Tiger waved the sign enthusiastically.
The trucks weren't moving fast, only around thirty-four kilometers per hour. There should be plenty of time for them to react.
Closer.
300 meters.
200 meters.
The trucks showed no sign of slowing down.
Tiger froze.
What was going on?!
Didn't they see someone standing in the middle of the road?!
The sign was huge! The words were huge! How could they miss it?!
Food! We have food!
Don't you want it?!
"Tiger! Move!" Brother Gaku shouted anxiously from the bushes, popping his head out.
If the trucks weren't stopping, Tiger would be hit!
"Ah! Right! I need to move!"
Tiger finally reacted.
But he was so nervous that his legs refused to cooperate. He stood there trembling.
The truck was only 100 meters away.
"Tiger! Slide tackle!" Messi shouted from the side.
If he couldn't dodge, he could at least slide and lie flat!
Tiger nodded.
With his legs going weak, that was the only option left.
He struggled to take a step forward and lowered his body…
And then…
He sat down flat on his butt.
The concrete had too much friction. Sliding wasn't happening.
At that moment, the truck reached him.
Tiger hesitated between lying down or rolling to the side.
Bang!
The truck knocked Tiger over.
There was a brief bump as the vehicle rolled over him.
Then the second truck rolled over him too.
Completely merciless.
"Tiger…"
The tough Brother Gaku shed tears of regret.
After getting run over like that, there was no way he could still be alive.
"I told you, holding a sign doesn't work," Messi muttered.
"We should've set up a roadblock."
"Tiger's dead and you're still making comments like that?!" Brother Gaku smacked Messi on the head.
"I… wait!"
"Brother Gaku, look!"
"Tiger stood up!"
Messi pointed at the road in shock.
Everyone turned to look.
Tiger was slowly getting to his feet in a very strange posture.
Crack…
His limbs were twisted, and his neck hung crooked to one side.
"Brother Gaku, look!"
"The truck stopped! Someone got out and is coming over!"
Messi looked toward the other direction.
A long-legged beauty was walking toward them while tying up her long hair.
"You go check on Tiger."
"The rest of you come with me. Let's take that beauty and those two trucks!"
Brother Gaku slapped Messi on the shoulder and led the other two men as they jumped out of the bushes.
"....."