Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 177

Chapter 177: Clearing the Land
Rayne walked around, ‘plucking’ trees from the ground. Her speed alone would put any forest clearing company to shame, clearing a huge area in only a few minutes.

“It’s a bit hard to tell how big this area is. Would you mind flying the drone to get a better view?” asked Rayne. She was looking around at the space she had cleared but couldn’t tell if it would be large enough.

She wanted to make sure that she cleared enough area before inviting anyone here so that she wouldn’t have to explain how the trees were cleared.

Julian agreed and took the drone. It was an advanced model that could measure and take photos, making the planning process a lot easier.

Julian flew the drone around while Rayne continued to clear trees along the perimeter of the lake. Once the drone footage was taken, Rayne walked over to take a look.

“Okay, so I’ll just need to clear out this section behind the lake, and I think we’ll be good,” she said.

She had already cleared out a massive area in the forest, making room for a warehouse, housing, and even a section of farmland.

“It’s a shame there’s so much snow on the ground right now. I would love to place a warehouse of sorts and start filling it with supplies,” said Rayne.

While the first step of securing and clearing the land was done, the snow really hindered any future progress.

“We should go out and find a good-quality mobile home. If I can store it, it would save a lot of time and effort building housing in the early stages,” said Rayne.

She was looking through her system, and while she had any building material imaginable, the closest thing to a mobile home she had were the different kinds of RVs.

Julian looked around, feeling that the landscape transformation was insane. Within an hour, the previously forested area had been cleared out completely.

“We will also need to find some skilled people to help develop the area. While mobile homes are a great start, we’ll eventually need larger buildings,” he chimed in.

Rayne fully agreed. “Yes, finding skilled and honest people will be the most important. The thing I’m worried about the most is how to handle unrest within the settlement.”

Julian smiled. “You don’t need to worry about that. We can give that job to Noah and Ian. They happen to specialize in this area.”

Noah and Ian had been taking care of each side of Julian’s business for him. They were both well-versed in how to garner loyalty and maintain order. Assigning them to this task would be very beneficial to the future base.

Rayne smiled but then frowned. “Would it be too much to assign them to this? The world is different now, and they have their own lives. What if they don’t want to step up to such a stressful role?”

She didn’t want anyone to work against their will, especially those two who were close friends to Julian.

He smiled, happy that she had such a caring heart. “Don’t worry about this. I grew up with them, and they need a sense of purpose to stay sane. All these years, I never forced them to stay by my side—they volunteered.”

Rayne was surprised to hear this! She assumed he kept them close because they were the few people he could trust.

Now that she knew they did their work voluntarily, she felt a lot happier. “Well, in that case, I’ll pitch the idea when the time comes. If they don’t want to, we’ll figure something out.”

After finishing up in the forest clearing, they packed up and made their way back to the highway. Rayne cleared a few more trees along the way so that they could fit a vehicle through to the clearing in the future.

Rayne pulled out a fresh copy of her SUV, which had a full tank of gas, as they got to the street.

“Shall we take a drive through some rural areas to see if we can find those mobile homes?” offered Julian as he started the car.

“Yes, I’d like to!” agreed Rayne cheerfully.

On the way back to the government base, they took a few small detours in search of a good-condition, quality mobile home.

Their journey took them through a few small towns until they finally found a community of mobile homes that appeared to be in decent condition.

“It doesn’t seem like anyone is living in this area anymore. The snow on the surface hasn’t been touched,” observed Rayne.

It would be horrible if they just walked into someone’s home without warning.

As they approached the first mobile home, Rayne looked at its exterior. It was a standard rectangular shape and the largest of the mobile homes in this community.

“It looks nice from the outside. The owners must have taken great care of it. Hopefully, the same can be said for the inside,” said Rayne, approvingly.

She knocked on the door, ensuring that she was not encroaching on someone’s private property. After not hearing a reply, she pulled out a lockpicking tool from her system and began unlocking the door.

She wanted to keep everything in as good of a condition as possible, so she opted for the lockpicking route instead of smashing a window.

As they walked in, Julian took the lead to check every room before letting Rayne explore.

The first thing she noticed was the old furniture.

“An elderly couple must have lived here,” said Rayne. The furniture was upholstered in a vintage flower-print fabric, and there were hand-crocheted blankets folded neatly in the corner.

Outside of the thick layer of dust, the home seemed very organized and tidy.

Rayne walked over to a side table where there were small picture frames. She looked down, realizing her assumptions were correct.

In the photo, an elderly couple was holding a small child happily.

“I hope they’re okay wherever they are right now,” sighed Rayne.

She continued to make her way through the house, looking for any potentially damaged areas. The house had three bedrooms and one bathroom, with a kitchen and living room.

Rayne was impressed with how spacious the home felt inside since the exterior looked rather small.

After finishing her interior inspection, she walked over to Julian, who was waiting for her in the living room.

“Good?” he asked. From what he could tell, it was a charming home and would work well for their purposes.

“Yes, it’s a lovely home. It’s also nice and spacious on the inside,” said Rayne happily.

Julian smiled and then walked over to hold her hand.

“Babe, tell me the truth. This won’t hurt you, right? I mean, storing this…” he said worriedly.

Rayne propped herself up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for being concerned about me. This house should be within reason; I won’t pass out from it,” she reassured him.

He looked into her clear eyes, looking for any signs of hesitation. He saw her look directly into his eyes with a gentle gaze and sighed.

“Okay, fine. I’m going to hold you just in case…” he finally agreed.

They walked outside of the house, and Rayne walked up to the side of the house, placing her hand on it.

Just like he promised, Julian placed his arms around her waist, silently praying that nothing happened to her.

Rayne closed her eyes and gave the mental command: store.

While she did end up feeling some discomfort, the pain was less than a typical dull headache. Julian squeezed her tightly until he saw the house vanish from sight, leaving only the dark dirt in the place where it once stood.

“You did it!” announced Julian before Rayne had a chance to open her eyes.

She turned around, smiling. “See! I told you I would be fine!”