Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night - Chapter 202

Chapter 202: Making Preparations
There were many problems that came with living in an apocalyptic wasteland. The scarcity of resources being a major headache for all who wished to survive. And though Gravestone had for the most part solved the issues regarding food, water, and shelter. There was still one major resource that they were lacking.

It’s hard to think of a world without modern transportation. Whether that be automobiles, trains, or airplanes. But for the vast majority of human history, these things did not exist. And in this post apocalyptic world was worth its weight in gold.

In fact, it was worth a lot more than that. Sure, there were diesel engines which could regularly make use of bio-diesel. But few had the means to produce such a life saving substance. Few outside of Gravestone, that is.

The good thing about taking in the trustworthy refugees from New Reno and the surrounding areas was that there was some degree of expertise that came with this. People with special backgrounds such as engineers and doctors held critical knowledge that would essentially be lost to time once they perished in this world.

With the food shortage issue being completely solved, thanks to Lily’s ability, Zane had decided to get her to grow a very special crop on the side. And that crop was hemp. Why hemp in particular? Well, for starters, hemp could be used as a building material for a wide variety of things such as clothes et cetera.

But more importantly, the oil of its seeds could be converted into a drop in bio-diesel. And considering the fact that modern transportation was wholly necessary to continue the journey between Reno and Gravestone, Zane felt solving the fuel supply issue was paramount, especially in regards to his plans for building an outpost in South Reno.

Growing the hemp was straightforward enough. With Lily’s ability, a vast amount of hemp seeds could be harvested for use in biodiesel within a single day. As for the manual labor of converting the seeds into oil, and by extension biodiesel, this could not be solved with Zane’s undead minions.

The reason for this was simple: they could only really work at stations which were obtained via the system. Such as the Grim Forge, Stygian Iron Works, et cetera. Making biodiesel required a living population, and because of that, Zane asked around for help in this matter.

Luckily for him, one of the refugees he took in was an engineer, and was capable of building a biodiesel converter with the supplies that Gravestone had access to. But to do so required time, and because of this Zane’s plans to invade South Reno and establish an outpost were put on hold.

After all, to move the amount of troops needed to take the ground from the Undead, let alone the materials and the equipment required to build an outpost. Zane would need a lot of fuel. Not only that, but he would need vehicles with diesel engines.

Luckily for Zane in the wasteland, many things were free for the taking. While his Humvee was a military vehicle, and thus used a diesel engine. Zane would ultimately require more than just that if he wished to accomplish his goals.

And because of this, he set out the population of Gravestone on a quest. To recover as many trucks and utility vehicles which were powered by diesel engines as possible. After all, it would be a great undertaking to ensure that this outpost was built and maintained.

Thinking about the scale of his operation, not only would Gravestone need a small fleet of trucks, they would also need to clear the roads between them, and even maintain the highways when they began to erode. The sheer volume of resources Zane needed was by no means small.

The preparations alone for this venture would take months to achieve. And because of this, Zane was at an impasse. He sat down in his personal quarters within the bunker and sighed heavily as he spoke his thoughts aloud to nobody in particular.

“I never thought I’d be planning a major operation like this. People severely underestimate logistics and supply. Because this is going to be a fucking nightmare…”

Unbeknownst to Zane, he had a visitor who approached the man with a cup of freshly brewed coffee in her dainty hands. Without saying a word, Maya got Zane’s attention by pulling on his pants, where the man looked over to see the adorable little girl holding out a cup of coffee for him.

This caused Zane to smile, albeit briefly, as he accepted the girl’s gesture and patted her on the head, all the while complimenting her for her efforts.

“Thanks Maya, I don’t know what I would do without you…”

Though the girl did not make a single expression on her face, her eyes shone ever so slightly upon receiving this praise. She then climbed into Zane’s lap and looked over the blueprints. There was an intelligent gleam in the young girl’s eyes, almost as if she understood everything she was looking at.

Whether it was the logistics, supply, or the blueprints for the outpost itself. There was a level of intelligence and comprehension within the young girl’s eyes that was well beyond that which someone her age should have.

Curious about how Maya seemed to understand his scribbling, Zane took a sip from his coffee mug before posing the girl a question.

“What do you think I should do? I mean, the preparations alone for this undertaking, winter will be upon us before it is even completed. We may have to wait until next year to establish the outpost. And by then…. By then, New Reno may not even exist anymore….”

Among the many pieces of paper on Zane’s desk was a map, which Maya immediately unfolded and pointed to a small town outside Reno. A town known as Fernley. Though Maya did not say a word, the moment she looked at Zane with a determined expression on her otherwise stoic face, Zane knew immediately what she meant.

“Don’t tell me….”

That’s right, Maya was pointing at the location of another Tier I Horde King. Zane’s scouts had been looking for such a target for him and the girls to slay. After all, over the course of the past few weeks, their progress in leveling up had stalled.

Zane had been so focused on developing his community of survivors so that they didn’t have to rely entirely on himself that neither he nor the girls had really gained any major boosts in levels or combat capability.

Although Zane did not understand how Maya knew the whereabouts of another Horde King, he was grateful for the news. It took him only a few moments of contemplation to truly understand what Maya was trying to tell him, which he was quick to express aloud.

“So… You’re telling me I should leave the management of Gravestone to someone else, and instead focus on my own personal development, and that of the girls?”

Maya silently nodded her head. There was an aura of wisdom surrounding her that was simply unnatural for a girl her age to have, but it was something that compelled Zane to do as she said.

Perhaps Zane might question how the girl had gained such an ability, but before he could even think of this, Maya pointed towards the top of her head, a silent yet adorable gesture which asked Zane to reward her via more head pats. Something which Zane was all too eager to comply with.

“I think you’re right… I have put off my own progress for the sake of the community, but at the end of the day I can really only rely on myself in this world… Fine, I’ll leave the matter of the outpost in the hands of someone more qualified.

In the meantime, the girls and I are going to go hunting. It has been too long since the undead have felt the sting of my blades. I wouldn’t want them to become too comfortable, now would I?”

Once more, there was no visible reaction from Maya. Instead, she simply sat obediently in Zane’s lap. Acting as if the man had come to this conclusion entirely on his own, and not via her own intervention.

Zane would not even question the girl’s unnatural intelligence and wisdom. Something he would normally do if it were anyone else that he encountered. Why this was the case? He honestly couldn’t say.

Hell, the very idea of questioning Maya had not once appeared in Zane’s mind. Perhaps that in and of itself was a part of the girl’s ability. Regardless, Zane would neither question the girl’s unnatural abilities, nor go around telling the Elena and the others that he learned about the Horde King in Fernley from Maya.

Instead, on the following day, Zane would send his scouts out to Fernley so that they may confirm this information. Only after this had been done would he ultimately put together a plan with the girls on how best to deal with this new enemy.