Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 100

Chapter 100: New Neighbors
The other men in the room agreed. “Yes, bro. We trust your judgment,” they said.

Rico closed his eyes and began thinking of the best way to achieve their goal. “Ideally, it would be best if they let us inside—at least one of us. I’m going to observe the girl, and maybe we can coax her into inviting us inside for a quick moment,” he suggested.

“For now, just observe them and act friendly,” Rico ordered. The other men nodded. They were running low on supplies and weren’t sure if they’d be able to afford the payment for the next month.

On the other side of the wall, Rayne was setting the table to enjoy the stew with Julian. When she brought over the slow cooker and opened the lid, a beautiful, hearty stew greeted her, filling the room with a comforting scent.

Rayne frowned at the strong, appealing scent. “It seems like we’ll need to eat less fragrant food in the future, or rely on the food from the system. I didn’t expect the stew to give off such a strong scent.”

Julian looked over at her worried expression. “It’s okay. In the future, we’ll be more careful. Don’t worry.”

They ate their dinner quickly, and Rayne placed everything into her system to clean up. Both of them were exhausted from the long day and decided to go to bed early.

The next morning, they woke up to a soft knock on the door. Julian went over to answer it, only cracking the door slightly.

“How can I help you?” he asked coldly. While he didn’t want to come off as rude, he knew that being too kind and trusting right now would only invite leeches or trouble.

“Hey, I’m just here to say hello. I’m your neighbor, Randy. Just wanted to introduce myself and let you in on some information!” said Randy.

Julian observed the tall, skinny man, wondering what he wanted to share. “Well, go on,” Julian said curtly.

Randy smiled and scratched the back of his head. “Well, word on the street is that the base has finally begun to implement its contribution point system and the point store. They’ll be making an announcement about it in front of the main lobby area at noon.”

This was indeed news to Julian, and he decided that it would be good to hear what the announcement was all about.

He looked at Randy and nodded. “Thank you for this information,” he said, then quickly shut the door.

Randy stared at the closed door, feeling awkward. “You could’ve at least given me your name,” he mumbled and turned back to report to the others.

“Who was it?” asked Rayne as Julian shut the door.

“Some guy named Randy. He said he was our neighbor and came to give us information. Apparently, today at noon, the base will be doing a big announcement, and I think it’s worth checking out,” stated Julian.

“Oh! Yes, for sure, let’s check it out. Maybe we’ll gain some leads on finding a chemist,” she said happily.

Julian looked over at her smiling face and debated how he wanted to tell her about Damien. A part of him wanted to keep her out of the loop, but at this point, they were already bound too closely together.

It was better to tell her about the hidden dangers of Damien’s underground organization so that she could at least understand what was happening if they ever found themselves face to face with them.

“Hey, Rayne, after we get back from the announcement, there’s something else I need to tell you. It explains why I needed to fake my own death, and the dangers you might run into if you continue to stay by my side,” he said in a somber and slightly guilty tone.

Rayne saw his expression and understood that it was a very serious topic. “Okay, that’s fine. I’m not worried about danger. I’ve realized that this new world will only continue to get increasingly dangerous, and running away from it will be impossible,” she smiled.

Over the last few weeks, she’d reflected on herself and her weaknesses. She understood how trusting and naive she had been at times, and was lucky that nothing too bad had happened as a result.

The future would be even more uncertain, and filled with even more danger. It was about time for her to toughen up and face this reality.

Meeting Julian was one of the luckiest things that had happened to her, right next to her miraculous system. While she was still shy and new to love (Dillon had been a poor example), she understood that she had real feelings for Julian, and wanted to remain at his side.

Julian felt relieved seeing her smile. He firmly decided to tell her everything, not withholding any information. They were a team now, and he owed it to her.

Changing the subject, he looked down at his watch. “We still have some time before the announcement at noon. Would you like to take a walk around the base and see what things are like?”

“Yes! I’ve been wanting to look around. Let me get changed, and we can go,” she said, running into the bedroom and closing the door behind her.

A few minutes later, she came out in her usual all-black athletic wear and held a dirty-looking tan jacket in her arms.

“Do you like it? I dripped motor oil and paint on it, then rubbed dirt into it to make it look less new,” she said, showing off her creation.

Julian looked at the jacket, which had a few rips and stains, and gave her a thumbs up. “Nice work. It actually looks naturally dirty, you did a good job!”

Rayne put on the jacket and a plain black baseball cap, handing another one to Julian. She also gave him a pair of glasses with fake lenses, helping him somewhat cover up his appearance.

Julian put on the items and said, “Now I feel very scholarly!”

Once they were ready, they set off to explore the base. Rayne made sure to double-check that the front door was securely locked before they left and that everything was in order.

“I’ve been thinking… maybe we should set up a small camera outside our door. I have a few different models. One of these small cameras was even recommended to me to spy on my boyfriend by the store clerk,” she laughed as they walked down the stairs.

“Haha, I think that’s a great idea. It never hurts to be too careful. I’ll help you install it when we get back,” agreed Julian. He was happy to hear her considering things like cameras and safety equipment.