Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 144

Chapter 144: Ice Tigers
The following morning, Rayne and Julian woke up early to set off on their journey into the city. Rayne took out a whole set of clean, new clothes made from nanofibers and handed them to Julian.

This would save time by not having to wash the previous clothing they wore. Rayne had long gotten used to this handy feature of her system.

“These nanofibers really work well. The temperature difference when I’m not wearing them is night and day,” said Julian after getting dressed.

While Julian was getting dressed, Rayne was checking the footage from the cameras. She was happy to see that no one came out or approached the RV.

“Ready?” she asked Julian.

“Ready,” he smiled.

They both exited the RV and noticed that there was already movement inside the farmhouse. Fred walked outside and noticed that Rayne and Julian were also awake.

“You all wake up early too, huh?” he said cheerfully. After a short greeting, he walked off toward the barn, stating that the animals started their day even earlier.

Rayne told him that they planned on going into the city and would be gone for an unknown amount of time, asking for him to help watch over their RV.

After everything was settled, the two of them set off toward the city.

City R was a relatively new city and had a standard grid layout. The path that Molly suggested was over a small bridge leading straight into Ice Tiger territory.

The bridge was a decent distance away, so after they walked a good way from the ranch, Rayne pulled out a pair of white motorcycles.

“Oh, I remember this motorcycle from when I first met you in the valley,” said Julian. He smiled, remembering the fun moments they had together.

They hopped on the motorcycles and drove off toward the bridge, but as they made it a little over halfway down the bridge, a group of armed men walked over to stop them.

“Halt!” shouted the man leading the group.

Rayne and Julian parked their motorcycles and raised their hands above their heads.

“We’re here to request a deal for passage into the city,” stated Julian.

The man looked at them for a moment and saw their motorcycles. “Fine, follow me. Bring your motorcycles.”

Rayne and Julian complied and wheeled their motorcycles over to the group of men, who then led them across the bridge.

They stopped in front of a large office building. Rayne looked up and realized that this must have been a bank office previously, but now it was one of the few tall buildings that still stood.

“Leave the motorcycles here. I’ll bring you to meet the boss,” said the man coldly. Before they stepped further inside, two men walked over and patted Rayne and Julian down, looking for any hidden weapons.

They checked through Rayne’s backpack, noticing that it was pretty empty with only a water bottle inside.

After passing the check, the leader of the group led them into a stairwell and brought them up to one of the top floors.

“Boss, I have people here wishing to make a deal with us,” said the man.

Rayne expected to see an older man sitting in the executive office chair, but instead, it was a woman… and a young one.

She looked like she was in her early 20s, and Rayne thought that she must have been a university student here before the apocalypse began.

“Welcome to the Ice Tiger territory. I hear you want to make a deal, let’s hear it,” she asked in an authoritative voice.

Rayne was impressed that someone so young had turned out to be a successful leader, though she was still a gang leader.

“We would like to request passage through your territory into the city,” said Rayne.

Initially, she had thoughts of offering rare goods that she felt a gang would want, like cigarettes, condoms, alcohol, etc., but after seeing the leader, she left it open-ended.

The leader looked at Rayne and raised an eyebrow. “And what are you offering?”

Rayne thought for a minute, then answered, “We’ve come from the south and brought a variety of items with us. Is there anything you have a need for currently? I might be able to provide.”

The leader leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. “Well, that’s a very lucrative offer. Let’s see… With the freezing temperatures recently, staying warm has been a problem. Bring me something that can help me and my people stay warm.”

Rayne nodded. “Very well, I accept.”

The man who brought them in escorted them back outside to where their motorcycles were parked.

Rayne was impressed that they didn’t take the motorcycles as additional payment, thinking that so far, these people seemed normal.

“We will wait for you on the bridge, don’t take too long,” he said and turned to stand back at his post.

Rayne drove back across the bridge and found an abandoned mechanic’s shop.

Julian parked beside her. “What are you thinking of bringing over?”

“I’m thinking of bringing a wood-burning stove and a pile of warm clothing. That should be enough. What do you think?” she said.

“Hmm, it couldn’t hurt to give a little extra. Let’s add a second stove,” he said after thinking for a minute.

Rayne followed his suggestion and took out two wood-burning stoves and a variety of warm clothes.

The stoves were heavy and couldn’t be carried by hand, so Rayne also pulled out a small handcart. She placed the two stoves along with a few bags filled with random warm clothes. Before moving out, she also added a big bundle of firewood.

“Okay, let’s go back,” she said after loading the handcart.

Julian did the honors of pushing the cart while Rayne walked beside him. Since they had no way to pull the cart with the motorcycles, she decided to store them and walk to the bridge.

“Oh good, you’re finally back,” said the man who met them earlier and led them back toward the tall building.

This time, the leader of the Ice Tigers came out of the building along with a large number of their members.

“Oh good, you brought the items. Let me see,” she said and stepped forward.

Rayne observed the surroundings, mentally counting the number of people that were present. She made it to over a hundred before her attention turned back to the leader.

“Wow, you really proved your sincerity! Very well, I agree to let you enter and exit the city through our territory. The only condition is that you are not to harm any members of the Ice Tigers,” she finally stated.

“We don’t plan to cause trouble,” Rayne replied.