Chapter 33: Staggering Quantities
The first time Caesar opened this warehouse, he'd worn the same expression.
Enough staple food to feed thirty-plus people for over a year.
Based on a standard rice bag—25 kilograms, or 50 pounds—and converting all the food to rice equivalent, they had approximately 288 bags.
This was survival security. The guarantee that people could work without worrying about starving to death.
The best harbor against the apocalypse.
Perhaps numbers alone weren't shocking enough. If you piled all this rice in a single room, it would fill the entire space completely.
Tear open the rice bags, heap the rice into a small mountain, and you'd need half a minute just to walk around it.
Dale's aged face lit up with immense joy. Not for his own survival—he was overjoyed that with this much food, more people could live.
"This is wonderful. With this much food, we can eat for a long time."
"That's right. From now on, we won't need to rush when scavenging for supplies."
In the past, the quarry camp would wait until food ran critically low before being forced to send people out scavenging.
It created panic in the camp and left those outside distracted, frequently leading to accidents.
Initially, the quarry camp had far more people. Some left. Some died. That's how it became what Caesar had found.
The crowd cheered and celebrated. Joy enveloped everyone.
After leaving the camp, everyone inevitably felt fear about the future—whether they could survive, whether they'd encounter danger.
This food was the perfect stabilizer, completely lifting the dark cloud hanging over everyone's heads.
The group erupted with boundless enthusiasm, rapidly hauling the supplies with unstoppable smiles on their faces.
"Thank you for everything you've done."
While Caesar watched everyone moving the supplies, Amy appeared in his line of sight, pulling Andrea along.
Amy had fair skin, but not the usual pallid white of most Caucasians. More like the warm white of jade—she looked very vibrant.
Amy stood before Caesar and spoke solemnly.
Caesar paused, then waved his hand dismissively. "This was the effort of all the people who went out. Not just me."
"Besides, everyone in the convoy who contributed labor has earned the right to enjoy these spoils of victory."
"Mm." Amy raised her eyebrows. "You're quite eloquent."
Just then, Andrea pulled Amy aside and stepped in front of her, raising her chin.
"Caesar, why won't you let me join the scavenging teams?"
"Do you look down on me?" As Andrea spoke, she was extremely aggressive, as if daring him to say yes so she could throw a punch.
Caesar's smile faded. He looked at her coldly.
"Andrea, you lack clear self-awareness."
"Based on your abilities and personality, if no one helped you, you'd die your first day out there."
Caesar's words stabbed into Andrea's heart like sharp needles.
She'd never been treated this way before. In the past, whenever she combined a foul temper with a hard attitude, the other party would usually back down.
But now.
Caesar was the first person who dared to strip away her seemingly fierce exterior and openly question her abilities and personality.
Andrea's chest heaved violently. Her face flushed red. She glared at Caesar in fury.
Amy sensed trouble and quickly grabbed Andrea, trying to pull her away.
Unexpectedly, Andrea yanked hard, breaking free from Amy's interference, and lunged toward Caesar.
Caesar stood in place, watching this farce unfold.
"Andrea! Come back with me. Stop making a scene."
Amy knew Andrea's temperament and tried to soothe her gently.
"We don't need to argue with him about this, right?"
"Just believe in yourself. That's all that matters."
Andrea drew a handgun from her waist. The situation immediately turned ugly.
People hauling supplies immediately backed away, avoiding this emotionally unstable woman and whatever she might do.
The scavenging team members all drew their weapons and aimed at Andrea.
Morales approached with a dark expression, warning, "Andrea, you don't know what you're doing. Put the gun down now!"
Daryl said nothing. His crossbow pressed against Andrea's head.
T-Dog, Glenn, Jimmy, and the others all watched Andrea like predators.
The scene made Andrea feel instant regret. She shouldn't have been so impulsive.
But when she looked at Caesar, his eyes were calm as still water, as if he didn't care about her gun at all.
Andrea felt humiliated. Her hand trembled slightly as she gripped the pistol.
Her gaze lowered. Andrea saw Amy's pleading eyes—her beautiful blue pupils seemed filled with tears.
Amy shook her head. "I'm begging you, Andrea. Put it down!"
Andrea gritted her teeth and slowly lowered the gun.
The moment she lowered it, the stock of Daryl's crossbow smashed viciously into Andrea's face.
The heavy blow made Andrea's vision go black. The pistol clattered to the ground.
Immediately, Amy positioned herself in front of Andrea, staring at Daryl with determined eyes.
Daryl turned and walked away, tossing out a single comment.
"Stupid woman."
"Alright, everyone disperse. Get back to your tasks!"
Caesar waved his hand, dispersing the combat personnel who'd gathered, sending them to guard outside the market.
The situation still wasn't optimistic. Although he didn't know whether Martinez and his men were still alive, they remained a threat.
Caesar needed to send people to find Martinez. Ideally, they'd also learn Woodbury's situation and location.
Caesar's mind dwelled on Woodbury's abundant material stores and its ability to partially recreate pre-apocalypse life. He crouched down, approaching Andrea.
He reached out. Amy still blocked his way.
Amy hesitated a moment, then moved aside, watching Caesar quietly.
Caesar pulled down Andrea's eyelid and shined a flashlight on her pupil. "You know about your sister's personality problems, right?"
Seeing Andrea's pupil contract normally, Caesar withdrew his hand.
Amy was silent for a while, then nodded. "Andrea's always had that kind of personality. We have a pretty big age gap and didn't see each other much."
"She's very protective of me. Since the apocalypse started, that protectiveness has only gotten stronger."
"She desperately wants to become strong enough to protect me. Joining the combat teams would probably help her get stronger quickly."
Caesar picked up Andrea's gun from the ground. The body was silver-white, well-maintained, but barely used.
Andrea doesn't even know how to engage the safety, Caesar thought.
Seeing this, Amy quickly said, "That gun was a birthday present from our dad. But she doesn't know how to use it. Joining the combat teams would at least teach her to shoot. That's what she's thinking."
For more chapters, leave a review or powerstones(100)
or
go check out my patreon that has 50+advance chapters($12) patreon.com/Twilightsky588