Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 180

Chapter 180: The Barclays Arrive
As the vehicles filled with supplies left the safe house with the Barclays and Samantha, Katrina and Cal made their way back to the underground bunker.

“Why didn’t we go with them?” asked Cal. From his understanding of the mission, he was supposed to stay with them until they found Julian.

“What’s the rush? They’ll go there and raise havoc, and by the time we show up, they will have either found them or gotten a solid lead,” replied Katrina with a smile. “Plus, you have no idea how big of a shit hole that base is.”

Cal’s eyes widened. “What do you mean? I heard the base was great?”

“Haha! Great if you live on the streets!” she laughed. “You may not know, but I’m from Leader Mai’s team. We had a group of people stationed there until just recently… and you wouldn’t believe the horror stories!”

Cal couldn’t believe it. All of the information he had heard made it seem like a great place in the mountains. There were supplies, running water, and even electricity. He couldn’t picture how bad it could really be.

Katrina shook her head, seeing his bewildered expression. “Trust me, it’s not a great place. People are only barely surviving. I can’t imagine how much worse it’s gotten since the cold snap.”

Cal couldn’t help but think of his partner, Ace, who was currently stationed at the base. Initially, Cal had been slightly jealous that Ace got chosen for the mission at the base, but after hearing Katrina’s words, he suddenly felt like the lucky one.

They quickly made their way back to the underground base to wait a few days before meeting up with the Barclays.

Meanwhile, a few hours later, the train of cars finally made its way to the government base. The snowy roads made it difficult to drive, and only as they approached the base did they finally release their held breath.

“You’re lucky you’ve been serving my family for years! Next time I’ll personally toss you out of this car if you drive like that again!” yelled Layla.

The poor servant driving her car caught a hidden icy patch on the road, causing the vehicle to spin out of control.

“I’m so sorry, Miss! I didn’t see the ice on the road—”

“I DON’T CARE! You nearly KILLED me!” she hissed, cutting him off.

The entire trip so far had gone horribly, and Layla was ready to explode. Thankfully, they had approached the gates of the government base.

The line was much shorter today than the previous few days, and they only needed to wait about ten minutes before it was finally their turn.

Of course, for Layla and her mother, ten minutes felt like an eternity. After they finally made it through the checkpoint and were told to wait in yet another line, they lost it.

“Do you even know who I am?!” shouted Mrs. Barclay.

The guard on duty felt a headache coming on and sighed. “Ma’am, even if you were the queen of a foreign land, you would still need to wait in this line.”

She exploded at his rudeness. “Queen or not, my son is the CEO of REN Corporation! I demand to be treated with the respect I deserve!”

The guard chuckled. “Haha! Ma’am, have you taken a look outside? Do you think the world cares who your son used to be before the disasters? People out here are only worried about surviving the day.”

He had run into all sorts of people since working this post, but this woman was something else. She must have been living a cushy life if she’s still flaunting her son’s status around.

Mrs. Barclay’s mouth moved, but no sound came out. She didn’t know what else to say, so she finally turned her head angrily and instructed the servant to drive to the next parking lot.

When they finally made it to the counter to purchase a resident card, Mrs. Barclay didn’t bat an eye when hearing the cost.

“Madam, perhaps we should reconsider? They’re asking for a huge amount, and while we have a decent amount with us, this will really put a dent in our stocks,” one of the servants came over to advise.

“Nonsense, they’re just asking for some food. We’re not so poor that we need to think twice about something like that,” she retorted with a snort.

Seeing as her words fell on deaf ears, the servant nodded and quickly went to pay the required amount.

Mrs. Barclay watched as the bags of food were piled onto the counter.

Frowning slightly, she shrugged. “Well, I’ll just have Julian compensate me. It’s the least he could do,” she said out loud.

The servants who were unloading the goods kept quiet but internally shook their heads. They couldn’t understand how someone could be so oblivious to their own situation.

Her son was the reason why she was living like a queen while the rest of the world starved to death.

The registration process took a while due to the large number of people in their group. Outside of the main family and Samantha, there were also several servants who had joined them to take care of everyday needs.

About an hour later, they were finally allowed inside the base.

After parking their cars, Layla stepped outside with the rest of her family. She looked around, noticing the miserable expressions on everyone’s faces.

“What kind of gross place is this? Mother, are you sure we made it to the right place?” she turned to look at her mother.

Mrs. Barclay also frowned, looking around. Everyone looked dirty and sickly, making her want to cover her mouth with a handkerchief.

“Let’s hurry and ask around for that stupid boy so we can get out of here as quickly as possible,” she said, holding back her disgust.

Mrs. Barclay went to join her husband back in the warm car, while the servants were ordered to begin their search for any clues about Julian’s whereabouts.

“Mom, Dad, we’re going to take a walk around,” said Layla. She and Samantha had been bored from sitting in the car all day and wanted to get out for a bit.

Mrs. Barclay smiled. “Of course, sweeties, just be careful and don’t stay out too long!” She always allowed her daughter to do as she pleased, and today was no exception.

Layla grabbed Samantha by the arm, and they set off to take in the sights.