"There's new people?"
Jun asked Marianne as they climb down the stairs.
"They're Adrian's old friends."
Jun scanned the new faces at the back of the group. Three old uncles and one little boy. All three of the uncles looked like they have their fair share of how the real world works while the child looked like a calm lamb that can be quickly brought to the slaughterhouse.
Jun noticed that they were watching something, and so he turned his head. Bernard was teaching the female members some critical points on how to kill using a live infected as the subject. He also saw Sheila patting Adrian's shoulder. Then, he finally saw Edward, who was lying down on the floor.
A few support group members, who weren't that keen on fighting infected were looting the bodies.
"What happened here? Is Edward okay?"
When the group heard Jun's voice, they all turned their heads towards him. Jun was a bit uncomfortable by the sudden attention, especially by Adrian, who has this weird look in his eyes.
"Are you guys, okay? Not... Look at you guys. I was just gone for a few minutes, and you're already like this. You guys won't probably live for a few days without me." Jun condescendingly said as he started laughing loudly.
Adrian lowered his head as if he was thinking of something. At the same time, Sheila looked at Jun, then she said, "That's true. We'll probably die more quickly without you."
Hearing Sheila speaks on their behalf; the other members were a bit unhappy. Then they pondered to themselves, which concluded that it was true.
They voiced out their opinions and thought of other ways to phrase it, but all of them meant that they agree with what Sheila said.
Jun wasn't used to them, acting like this. He felt weird having too many people acting affectionate towards him. He smiled wryly as he backed off while scratching his head.
Just then, his eyes widened when he saw Gina placing her hands on top of a dead Hunter. He hurriedly stopped her, saying that he needed the body for something.
He took something out of his dimensional storage. A round transparent crystal appeared on his hand.
It's the low-tier essence crystal that he crafted.
He placed the crystal on the Hunter's body.
No reaction.
Then, he used his finger to give the crystal some energy.
After a few seconds, the crystal brightened. It trembled slightly, followed by a dim flash of light.
The transparent crystal turned into green with a slight hint of red, then dropped down and hit the Hunter's dead body. The crystal went through its back, and the body cracked, then turned into dust.
Jun sighed; he was expecting this since he knew that all of its essences would be sucked out. Although he knew what could happen, he couldn't help but be disappointed since he really wanted to get some bones from an evolved infected. Jun promised to himself that he wouldn't absorb the next evolved infected he kills and will use its body for experimental purposes.
Jun wasn't satisfied with the results, but that doesn't mean his group members weren't. Everything that they witnessed was something new for them.
They crowded around him, asking what happened. He explained that this item would be their store specialty, so he can only say a few things about it. When he told them that it's an item that can increase their stats, all the members gulped.
All of them stared at the reddish-green crystal with longing. But why are they going to sell it? Why don't they just use it for themselves?
They didn't ask more and followed Jun as he went into the armory.
Jun was able to cart away with the jackpot at the police station. He looted one M60 machinegun, an M203 grenade launcher, seven M16 Armalite rifles, nine short firearms, and numerous ammunition of different calibers.
He got three bulletproof Kevlar vests and four sets of riot suits. He left those foldable baton sticks in the rack and never even looked back. When there was nothing else worth taking, he met with the group in the lobby.
Jun distributed the loot between the group. He gave one M16 Armalite and boxes of bullets to each member of the main group.
Since Edward was still unconscious, he kept his M16 and will just give it later. Most of the females preferred not fighting on the front line and only wanted to do miscellaneous work. Jun saw that there was no need to give them any gun, so he gave Bernard a handgun and two extra clips for their safety. He didn't even consider giving Paterno and Old John's group a firearm, and they weren't also expecting to be given one. Jun gave Marianne a handgun and some extra bullets.
Jun stashed the remaining loot in his dimensional storage. The guns that remain were one machine gun, one grenade launcher, four Armalite rifles, one is reserved for Edward when he wakes up, seven handguns. He didn't distribute the kevlar and riot gears since it will only encumber the wearer, and there's no real need for it for the moment.
They chatted as they walked towards the city hall. Adrian carried Edward like a sack of rice on his shoulders. Jun tried taking Edward, but Adrian insisted that he can do it, even though he was sweating profusely and breathing roughly. It's almost noon, and the group decided to have a proper meal. The group chose to cook their meals at the municipal building since it was much safer there.
The place was already secured and barricaded. Most of the room they already cleared of infected when they came here earlier. They stayed in the lobby since there's a lot of chairs for them to sit down, and they could see all the entrances of the building.
The support group brought out items from their dimensional storage. They have a double-burner gas stove, propane tank, lighter, rice cooker, and someone even brought out a water dispenser, then asked the group if anyone wanted some coffee. All of these items have been taken from the Super 9 store that they ransacked.
The group was harmonious and were happy as they worked. All of them finally have some time to relax and rest. They made a circle of chairs and cooked food while chatting. Adrian was sitting beside Edward. Sheila just used cure on both him and Edward since the personal cooldown period of ten minutes just ended.
Jun assessed the three new faces and felt like they looked familiar. The one on the right has a mustache, the one on the left has a beard, and the one on the center is a huge fat man. They're all in their mid-thirties. When Jun asked who they are, they gladly introduced themselves.
The mustache said, "First of all, I would like to thank Mad Dog, for allowing us to stay with your group. I feel really safe here, and if possible, I would like to contribute. Even not as a core membe—"
The fat man stopped the mustache guy from talking. He noticed that Jun wasn't interested and took the initiative to stop his pal from saying too much nonsense. He then said, "Mad Dog, we really thank you for helping us. People call me the Chanchan, on my right, is the Monkey, and this man on my left is the Bear."
Chanchan slightly lowered his gaze, not daring to meet with Jun's eyes. He was also biting his lips while waiting for Jun's answer.
If you work on the dark side of things and you live in this area, it's almost impossible not to know who the Mad Dog is.
He is someone known for his persistence and pettiness. He has an elite crew that can deal with anything, from physical fights to psychological ones. Once you got on his wrong side, you'll be in it for a long time.
Noticing that Jun wasn't replying, Chanchan raised his head just in time to see Jun in deep thought. All of a sudden, Jun laughed, which scared the trio, making them shiver from their spots.
" Hahaha... I don't really like that name, but well... Nevermind. Do you have food? No? Okay, foods free this time, but you'll have to work for the next ones." Jun smiled as he stood up. He then patted the trio's shoulders as he left.
The trio was elated with the underlying meaning of what he just said. Did they really got accepted that easily? When Jun was still a few meters away from them, they started to thank him repeatedly. Mustache kowtowed, and Chanchan tried to do the same but couldn't because of his stomach.
As they were peacefully enjoying their time, waiting for their food to be cooked. Several gunshots echoed on the buildings back entrance. They turned their heads and saw the Mayor repeatedly banging on the glass door, shouting for them to open it. Beside him was his secretary holding a baton, looking like a sexy disciplinary teacher. His bodyguard was shooting any infected that ran towards them.
The group members all looked at Jun, waiting for his decision.
Jun strode towards the door at his regular pace, but for the three people outside, it felt like an eternity. He stood in front of the door, just watching everything that happened outside. The bodyguard was using a six-inch barreled Colt Python .357 Magnum revolver. It was beautiful. He vaguely remembered a zombie show that uses that same gun but doesn't know what happened to the show. Too bad that he couldn't watch the next three movies that were supposed to be released in later years. He loved that show.
"Hey! What are you dazing out there for!" the mayor shouted. "Open the fvcking door!"
The mayor glared at Jun, his eyes already becoming bloodshot. His secretary was now helping the bodyguard as she pushed back any infected that got near while the bodyguard was reloading.
Jun chuckled at the sight. The thin secretary was more useful than this old man.
"Hey, a*shole! If you don't open this door, right now! I—"
"What? Tell me."
Before the mayor could finish what he wants to say, Jun pulled a handgun from his dimensional storage and pointed it at the mayor.
The mayor became speechless at Jun's reaction.