Chương 57: Departure, Time to Head Home!

With the RV keys secured, his power supply problem was officially solved! Since he was just going to use the RV's engine and battery bank directly to generate electricity, the diesel fuel he had scavenged wasn't particularly useful anymore, aside from serving as a combustible accelerant. Vince ordered Cody Chu to resume perimeter watch.

He then took Zoe Chu and Seth Xu outside, unscrewed the caps on five crates of windshield washer fluid stacked by the pumps, dumped the blue liquid onto the pavement, and systematically refilled the empty plastic bottles with diesel from the heavy stainless steel drum. Five crates, sixty bottles in total. Exactly 120 liters of diesel perfectly portioned out. After that, they refilled the three now-empty steel drums with gasoline. Eight drums of gasoline. That was a solid 320 liters of fuel.

It would be more than enough to keep their vehicles running for a long time. After all the exhausting logistical prep, they finally had fuel, electricity, and combustible materials secured. Aside from suffering a few "minor" injuries along the way, the objective of this supply run had been achieved flawlessly!

"Do you know how to drive?" Vince asked Zoe, who was busy packing food into bags.

"I have my license, but I'm not really good at it... My brother knows how! When we rented that other RV, he, Seth, and Li Tian took turns driving it!" Zoe hesitated for only a second before throwing her brother under the bus without a shred of guilt. But Cody was currently on perimeter duty far away. So, Vince walked over, started the newly acquired Iveco RV, and pulled it up to the pumps to top off its massive gas tank.

This RV truly was fully equipped with a 10-kWh auxiliary battery bank, and its interior amenities were leagues better than the cheap rental the students had been using. Not only was it fully stocked with living essentials, but it also had a ton of outdoor camping gear stashed in the compartments, including a self-pressurized, gasified diesel camping stove! Whether used for cooking food or generating heat, that little stove was an incredibly versatile piece of survival gear.

Having finished inspecting his loot, Vince turned back to Zoe.

"Later, have your brother drive this RV back to my apartment building. I'll drive my cargo van; I still have a bunch of supplies loaded in the back... After that, are you guys planning to head back to your university?"

"Ah?" Zoe was completely blindsided by the question. Weren't we supposed to be hugging your thigh? Why are you suddenly sending us back to school?! But thinking it over, clinging to his thigh had purely been a one-sided fantasy on their part; they hadn't actually formally proposed the idea to Vince. So, she immediately pasted on a flattering smile and sidled up to him." Dage, you're planning on heading to the Quarantine Zone eventually too, right...?"

"Ah..." Seeing her dirt-streaked face inching uncomfortably close, Vince leaned his neck back defensively.

"So... Dage, since you're also going to the Quarantine Zone, maybe we could all travel together...?" Zoe asked, batting her large eyes at him.

"I'm not necessarily in a rush to leave in the next couple of days..." Vince wasn't an idiot. He understood perfectly well what she was proposing. She wanted his protection, and he needed mutual benefit. Furthermore, even if he did eventually make it to the Quarantine Zone, he couldn't possibly handle every single logistical issue relying solely on himself and Claire Su. Having three obedient laborers around was undeniably useful. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent.

Report it. More importantly, after spending a day observing them, he had a good read on the trio. One was a bit dense, one was a bit cowardly, and one was somewhat sluggish, but their overriding trait was obedience. They were highly malleable. That was vastly preferable to traveling with a group of cunning, backstabbing veteran survivors. Above all else, Zoe's Health Bar was glowing a vibrant, trustworthy green—just like Claire's.

Although he still didn't fully understand the underlying mechanics of the system's alignment colors, his intuition told him that if a situation ever mirrored the encounter with the petty scavengers downstairs, Zoe would absolutely turn back to help him!

"No rush! No rush at all! We're not in a rush either..." Hearing Vince's slight concession, Zoe's head bobbed up and down like a glitching NPC as she hurriedly agreed.

"Can you really make that decision for them...?" Vince raised an eyebrow, glancing toward where the other two boys were stationed.

"My brother listens to me!" Zoe declared confidently. But just to be sure, she turned and yelled toward Seth, who was standing not too far away.

"Seth! Are you in a rush to get back to the university?!" Seth had been leaning against their rental RV, lost in thought. Although Zoe had adamantly declared this morning that they had to stick with Vince, he and Cody had harbored their doubts. But after witnessing Vince slaughter those three mutated zombies with terrifying ease, Zoe was undeniably right. Vince Lin was horrifyingly powerful.

Hearing Zoe's sudden question, he reflexively turned his head and answered instinctively: "Isn't the Quarantine Zone over there? Yeah, I'm in a rush..." The moment the words left his mouth, he saw Zoe glaring at him, her eyes practically shooting venomous daggers. Then he noticed Vince standing right beside her. He instantly realized she was asking on Vince's behalf. He frantically backpedaled.

"Not in a rush... what's the rush... I'm not in a rush at all..." He even managed to force a stiff, incredibly ugly, polite smile in their direction.

"See, Dage? He's not in a rush either..." Having extracted the desired answer, Zoe instantly spun back to Vince with a triumphant smile.

"... Alright then. But let's get one thing straight right now. I'll provide you with a secure place to stay, but you're entirely responsible for your own food and water. Do not expect me to feed you."

"Go call your brother back. The supplies inside this gas station are enough to feed you guys for days. The municipal water has already been cut off. I want you to load every single piece of food, every bottle of water, every sugary drink, and every piece of candy into the RVs. Cram both RVs as full as physically possible. Hurry up. We're getting ready to move out..."

"Got it, Dage!" Zoe agreed with boundless energy, then broke into a jog to fetch Cody from his patrol route. With all three vehicles fully fueled, and taking advantage of the trio hauling supplies, Vince walked back to the warehouse. He twisted the dial, killing the massive generator. The deafening roar died, and the world returned to an eerie quiet. It's just a shame that zombie aggro is so polarized, Vince thought. Either there are only a handful nearby, or you pull a massive, unmanageable horde all at once.

If I could just farm them in manageable waves... my Max HP would skyrocket. After all, the one thing the apocalypse wasn't short on was zombies. He had only kited the horde from the street south of his residential complex. The dense cluster of residential buildings to the north was still fenced in, meaning there were likely still a massive number of trapped zombies inside. He would definitely find a way to farm them for HP eventually.

He did one final sweep of the warehouse, ensuring he hadn't missed any vital supplies. He found a large wooden board and dragged it over to the blown-out doorway, leaning it against the frame to partially block the entrance. If it rained heavily again, he didn't want the water blowing in and ruining the generator's internals. By the time he finished, his energy bar had hit zero, automatically unequipping the [Revitalization Crystal]. [350/385] His Max HP had successfully regenerated.

The thick scabs on his abdomen hadn't fallen off yet, but the pain had completely vanished. He returned to the main hall to help the trio pack. However, while they focused exclusively on hoarding food and water, Vince prioritized sweeping the shelves for lighters, cartons of cigarettes, and high-proof alcohol. With societal order collapsed, fiat currency was worthless. If they eventually made it to the Quarantine Zone, these consumables would become the new hard currency....

"Do one final check. Make sure all the high-calorie, high-sugar, and high-protein foods are loaded..." Seth and Cody closed the cargo doors on their respective RVs and climbed into the driver's seats.

"We're all packed, Dage!"

"If you're done packing, then get in your car." Vince stared in confusion at Zoe, who was standing right next to him. Why isn't she getting into her brother's RV?

"Ah? I... I'm riding in the same car as Dage!"

"Then you're driving?" Vince had originally hoped to relax for a bit. But then he remembered that the entire back of his cargo van was currently stuffed with a massive amount of highly flammable and explosive materials... A cold chill ran down his spine.

"Never mind. I'll drive it myself..." He turned and climbed into the driver's seat of the cargo van, casting a resigned look at Zoe, who had somehow beaten him to the punch and was already buckled into the passenger seat. He stuck his arm out the window, gave the side of the door a firm double-tap, and shouted to the RVs behind him.

"Let's go! Move out!"