Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 181

Chapter 181: Spotted
“I heard this place was originally built to be a resort. Maybe we’ll find some nice views around the mountainside,” suggested Samantha.

Layla didn’t have any better options, so they followed Samantha’s plan. They had only taken a few steps when they heard some people mention a market.

“Have you heard? New items finally arrived at the market. I quickly bought these two packs of biscuits before they were sold out. Now we can eat for the upcoming week,” said a middle-aged man by one of the barrel fires.

His wife smiled happily. “Really? You managed to get two packs this time?” She looked so happy that she could cry.

Layla looked at Samantha with a frown. She couldn’t believe there were people who got excited over a pack of biscuits, but one thing did grab their attention: the market.

“Let’s go check out this market. Maybe we can find a vintage designer bag,” said Layla, pulling Samantha toward the main building.

They walked inside the renovated lobby of the resort, looking through the various signs for the different departments.

“Oh, look. They even have a housing department here,” Samantha said, pointing to a sign above one of the doors.

Layla rolled her eyes. “I don’t know who would want to live in this run-down place. They can’t even afford to heat the inside of this lobby.”

An elderly lady passing by overheard Layla’s comment. “Oh dear, if you’re looking for a place to warm up, the market upstairs has some heating,” she smiled warmly at the two young ladies.

Layla looked away in disgust. “Ew, don’t talk to me. I don’t need your germs.” She quickly grabbed Samantha’s arm again and dragged her up the stairs where the elderly woman had said the market was.

The elderly lady looked down at herself. Indeed, her clothes were ripped and dirty, making her look unkempt. She used to be a well-respected woman, but now she was nothing more than a simple woman trying to survive.

Upset by the rude remark, she hung her head low and made her way back to meet with the few family members she had left.

Layla couldn’t care less if her words upset the elderly woman; she only wanted to make it upstairs to see this ‘market.’

As they entered, a sea of people crowded the room, trying to take advantage of the heat coming from the wood-burning stove as they ‘shopped.

‘”Ew, why does no one here shower or wash their clothes? So disgusting!” Layla called out, not caring if anyone heard her.

Of course, many people did hear her, but nobody bothered responding. Who here had access to washing machines? Even if they went down to the stream to wash their clothes, they’d freeze to death before anything got clean.

As the two girls made their way to the chain-link fence, Samantha frowned. “How does this place call itself a market? There’s nothing here.”

Layla looked over and saw a few half-empty boxes of crackers and canned food. Other than that, most of the shelves were empty.

A young boy looked at the clean and pretty girls. “This is better than it’s been in weeks. Since the cold snap, there have only been empty shelves. Only recently did they start putting a bit of food and warm clothes on the shelves.”

Samantha looked over to where the warm clothes were displayed. Only a few sweaters in kids’ sizes were left, but what caught her attention was the brand!

“Layla, look! Isn’t that a DGM (a made-up luxury brand) sweater? It’s in perfect condition too!” Samantha pointed to the sweaters.

Layla looked over, and sure enough, they were luxury brand sweaters. She couldn’t believe her eyes; before the disaster, these sweaters would have gone for thousands of dollars each!

“It must be him. There’s no other explanation; my brother must have donated them!” she said with anger in her eyes.

She couldn’t believe that anyone other than Julian would have the ability to simply sell such high-end items. Even worse, she felt like those things belonged to her!

She stormed out, back down the stairs in anger, leaving Samantha to run after her.

When Samantha finally caught up to Layla, she tried her best to pacify her. “Well, think about it this way: since those clothes are here, he must be nearby!”

This was the first thing she thought of when she saw the sweaters. Her heart beat with anticipation; she couldn’t wait to see him again.

Layla paused for a moment. “Yes, you’re right. He must be close by! Let’s take a look around before we head back to the car.”

Samantha quickly agreed. She wanted nothing more than to see Julian again. In her mind, they’d been married for years now, and he was her man!

After leaving the main building, they set off to explore the rest of the base, choosing one of the main walkways.

The walkway took them past various ‘scenic’ areas that had once been filled with beautiful flowers and sculptures.

They walked by a few smaller buildings, trying to gauge if there was anyone ‘of importance’ around. Unfortunately, most of the units were empty. Even the ones with people inside stayed quietly locked.

“It’s getting cold. We should head back soon,” said Layla. They had been walking around for almost an hour, and the freezing cold was starting to get to her.

Samantha couldn’t bear to give up just yet and tried to convince her to keep going. “Let’s just check that last area in the back, over there,” she said, pointing to a somewhat secluded building.

It was in a private area, and the building itself looked nicer than the others they’d seen so far.

Layla frowned but agreed after seeing Samantha’s pleading expression. “Fine, but after this, let’s go back.”

“Yes! We’ll be quick!” smiled Samantha.

They walked over to the building, enjoying the view of the valley as they approached. The building had a few large trees surrounding it, making it feel like it was part of the forest below.”This is one of the few nice places left here,” said Layla, approvingly. Unlike many of the other buildings that were more central, this one looked clean, and there wasn’t any trash lying around.

Samantha walked forward, looking around for anyone to talk to so she could ask if they had seen or heard from Julian.

She even walked up to one of the doors on the first floor, ready to knock and ask around, but before she made it that far, something on the top floor caught her eye.