Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 86

Chapter 86: Gas Station
She walked around, looking for a gas can first before taking other things off the shelf. After walking through most of the aisles, she finally found the one that had basic car accessories, including cans of motor oil and empty gas cans.

Quickly, she picked up three of the bright red containers and brought them out to her father.

“Dad, I found some! They’re not the large ones, but it’s better than nothing. I’ll go back inside and grab more items. The store is fully stocked!” she said, running over.

After handing off the gas cans to her father, she went back inside and began swiping the shelves for items. She walked over to the register and grabbed a number of plastic bags, filling them with all sorts of random items.

She filled three full bags with snacks—chips, crackers, candy, chocolate, and jerky—before heading to the next aisle. There, she filled a number of bags with different kinds of sodas, water, juices, and teas, moving cases of water to the entrance for easier transportation.

Reginald came over after filling up the car and gas cans and helped Ella move all the items into the car and trailer. He was surprised to see a completely untouched store like this and happily got to work.

The father and daughter worked well together, Ella filling the bags with items while Reginald packed them into the car.

About 15 minutes later, Reginald turned to Ella. “Is there anything else? We’re pretty much at max capacity right now.”

“I think that’s it, Dad. Let me take another quick look to make sure we didn’t miss anything,” she said and entered the store once more.

While there were still a few items left here and there after her looting, most of the important things like medicine, first aid, and hygiene items were completely wiped clean off the shelves. Especially items like toilet paper and feminine hygiene products were prioritized because they’re less common to come by.

She continued to look around the store when the wall of cigars and cigarettes caught her eye. No one in her family smoked, but Ella felt that these items would be important to those who did. She figured that once they got to the government base, they could most likely be traded for useful goods like food and water.

She quickly picked up another plastic bag and stuffed it with as many packs of cigarettes and cigars as she could, filling a second bag with matches and lighters.

Once she was finished, she went back out to the car and got into the passenger seat. Reginald looked over to see what was inside the bags that Ella brought over and noticed the cigarettes. At first, he was surprised because he knew that Ella wasn’t a smoker, but after a few seconds of thinking, he came to the same conclusion she had while inside the store.

Nodding his head in approval, he was happy to see that his daughter had such good foresight.

Thankfully, one of the items that Reginald found inside the gas station store was a printed map of the area, making his job of navigating to the government base a lot easier.

They ended up driving for another five hours before they finally arrived at the base’s location. It was very early in the morning, and the three of them were exhausted.

At the entrance of the converted base was a military checkpoint, inspecting all of the vehicles entering and leaving the premises. Guards with weapons and armor walked around, ensuring that no unsavory characters were infiltrating the base.

“Hello. Please state your business,” said one of the guards sternly.

Reginald lowered the window. “Hello. We are refugees, hoping to move here.” He looked at the guard calmly, waiting for further instructions.

The guard looked him over and peered inside the car, noticing Ella and her mother.

“Very well, pull up to that counter and pay the entrance fee. They will provide you with more information,” he said after jotting down the vehicle’s plate number.

“Thank you, sir,” replied Reginald. He then proceeded to drive over to one of the parking lots that had the sign for registration. After parking the car, he got out with Ella and walked over to what looked like a repurposed toll booth hut.

Even though it was very early in the morning, the line for registration was very long, winding deep around the parking lot. As they waited in line, a small family was walking back to their car with sullen expressions.

“Do we really need to give up all of the food we brought just to become registered residents?” asked one woman in disbelief.

Her husband looked over. “Unfortunately, the registration fee is steep. We should have put in more effort to find more things. In the grand scheme of things, it’s just because our items are of low value that we needed to trade off so many.”

Reginald frowned after hearing this conversation.

“Dad, how steep do you think the fee is?” whispered Ella. She had also heard the conversation between the husband and wife and was now wondering how bad it was.

“I’m not sure, but it sounds like it’s not a small amount,” he replied. The two of them waited in line for over an hour, and by the time they reached the registration desk, the sun was already making its way up into the sky.

“Welcome, are you here to register as members of the base?” asked the administrative woman.

“Yes, our family of three. This is my daughter, and my wife is in the car,” replied Reginald.

The woman nodded. “Okay, here are the three forms you need to fill out. One for each of you. And here is a list of accepted items to pay the registration fee. Please keep in mind that the fee is per person, and there are discounts for experienced professionals in certain fields. All of the information is on the back of this paper.”

Reginald accepted the papers and moved over to the side to read them. “It seems like the entry fee is about a month’s supply of food per person. Certain foods hold more weight than others based on shelf life and rarity,” he said to Ella.

“What about the discounts? You and I are architects, maybe we can be eligible for a discount,” she asked.

“Hmm, unfortunately, I don’t see that as one of the needed professions. It’s mostly medical professionals, with a few farmers and livestock keepers,” he answered.

She frowned but somewhat expected this answer. “It’s okay. We have enough, and we can always go out to get more. Plus, Mom will be safe and happier here.”

Reginald nodded. “Okay, go back to the car and bring enough to register the three of us. I’ll stay here and fill out the forms.”