Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 74

Chapter 74: Countryside Haul
The father-daughter duo set off, riding their old bicycles toward the small shopping strip on the other side of town. It took them over thirty minutes of nonstop biking to finally reach the small shopping plaza.

When they arrived, they noticed that they weren’t the only ones out looking for food today.

“Heya! You folks looking for food too? Seems like a number of us are out today doing the same thing,” an older man said as he saw Ella pull up with her dad.

“Yeah, the weather’s finally gotten better, so it’s possible to come out and look for supplies,” replied Reginald, sounding casual.

While these people seemed nice on the outside, his keen businessman instincts told him that he shouldn’t trust them.

He turned to Ella, whispering, “Avoid as many people as you can and stick close to me.”

Ella thought her dad was being overprotective but listened to him anyway. “Got it.”

They entered the supermarket first, noticing that many items had already been looted or blown away in the storm. Reginald quickly walked through the aisles with Ella, grabbing anything that could be useful.

They managed to get a decent amount of food and water: mainly biscuits, crackers, a small bag of rice, some flour, pasta sauces, and spices, along with a few other items.

Ella even found a pitcher with a water filter built in, quickly putting it in her duffel bag. She continued to follow her father around the store until more people flooded in.

“Let’s go to the next store; I want to try to get your mother some warmer clothes,” he said quietly as he watched people begin to fight over a bag of bread.

Ella watched them fight with horror. It was just a bag of stale bread, yet people were fighting over it as if it were a precious diamond.

She quickly followed her father out before people could take notice of their filled duffel bags and try to attack them.

The store next door to the grocery store was a basic, cheap clothing brand. It was Ella’s first time inside, and she frowned as she looked around at all the poorly designed clothes. The store was practically untouched, as the majority of people focused on looting food and more expensive items.

Reginald noticed his daughter’s displeased look. “We can’t be picky now. It’s less about looking good and more about staying warm. The summer months are coming to an end soon, and when it gets cold, we won’t be able to find even the ugliest warm clothes.”

Ella nodded. She understood this but still wasn’t pleased with the looks or the quality. She followed her father around once more, occasionally picking out some warm sweaters, pants, and socks.

She also picked out a good amount of underwear for her and her mother, since they hadn’t been able to bring much from their city villa.

She watched her father pick out a large amount of warm clothes for her mom and barely anything for himself, so she took the liberty of walking over to the men’s section to pick out some items for him.

Once both of their duffel bags were stuffed, they quickly left the store to head home. While there were a few more stores left in the small shopping plaza, Reginald didn’t feel comfortable staying with the influx of people.

They walked out behind the grocery store, where they had hidden their bikes in the bushes.

“Dad, they’re gone! Someone stole our bikes!” exclaimed Ella as she looked around the area.

Her dad frowned, searching alongside her. “Yes, it seems someone was watching us as soon as we arrived. Let’s go, we need to move quickly. I have a bad feeling,” he said sternly.

They ran up the hill, back toward the direction of their house, trying to stay hidden between the trees.

What they didn’t notice was that a group of men was watching them from the shadows.

“You. Go follow them from a distance and take note of which house they’re from. I can tell they must have some decent things since they don’t look like they’ve been suffering too much,” said the leader of the group.

The man he pointed to quickly stood up and ran after them, keeping a good distance from Ella and her father.

Once they got out of the neighborhood near the shopping plaza, they both slowed down to catch their breath.

“It’s going to take us a few hours to get home. I hope Mom doesn’t get too worried,” said Ella as she bent over, panting.

Reginald frowned. He didn’t want his wife to worry, and he also didn’t want to spend so much time away from her.

“Let’s push ourselves to get home as soon as possible. We can relax once we’re there,” he said as he walked off with a small jog.

Ella grunted, feeling the lack of physical activity over the years catching up to her quickly, and followed her father, doing her best to keep up.

It took them a few hours of jogging and walking to finally make it back home.

The man who was following them fell to the ground after seeing which house they walked into. “Those people are animals to be able to jog like that for so long.” He leaned against a tree, taking a moment to relax before making his journey back to report to his boss.

Ella flopped down to the ground the moment she got back to the basement. Her father followed her down the stairs, carrying both of their stuffed duffel bags to present to his wife.

He felt like a hunter bringing home his caught prey to present to his wife. As he placed the bags beside her, he immediately leaned in for a kiss. “Are you okay? Did you miss me? Are you proud of my haul today?” he kept asking questions, waiting for his wife’s praise.

She giggled. “Yes, I’m okay. Yes, I missed you terribly. And yes, I am incredibly proud of my capable man, bringing home so many items.”

She leaned over and patted him gently before turning her attention to the two duffel bags.