Edward was full of smiles and was vibrantly chatting with Jamie. Some of the women have already changed into a brand new set of clothes. All of them dressed smartly and chose sports wears.
"Boss, look at these! I think these are useful!"
Edward called to Jun as he passed by the clothing section. Edward noticed the stern expression on Jun's face and dropped the jacket he was holding. He followed after Evo, who was walking behind Jun.
"Is there a problem?"
"It's not really a problem. There are just a few things we have to deal with. There's nothing to worry, though. Jun will take care of it."
The people finally noticed that something was happening and had to follow the trio. They thought that the infected were attacking again, and some readied their weapons.
Adrian was playing with a panda plushy when he noticed the parade. He quickly hid the item in his dimensional storage.
Unlike Edward, he didn't ask anything and just followed.
The line of people followed Jun towards the entrance.
Sheila's group met them on the stairs when they were going up. They reported that the area was safe and asked what's happening. Evo gave a simple explanation; there are guests outside.
Everyone has different reactions to the news. Now that they thought about it. The mall is one of the most safest and most sought out places in the whole region—a stockpile of food, clothing, and other necessities that are needed by everyone to live daily. Most important of all, it has a working security system and surrounded by walls that make everyone feel safe.
The Gaisano Mall is located in a unique spot. Behind the mall was the Laguna lake. A man-made lake than spans hundreds of kilometers that take hours to navigate from end to end. You can even go from Laguna or Pasig using this lake. Just be careful of where you pass by. There's a lot of nets in the shallow areas due to being used as fish ponds by people.
The left side of the mall was an old warehouse owned by a private company. To the right was an empty plot of land full of weeds and wild shrubbery.
Jun heard the screeching noises of the shutter being lifted up. He took his shield from his dimensional storage and wore it on his left hand. He readied the revolver that he got from Neil and made sure that it's loaded.
The shutter was opened, and Lieutenant Cedric smiled when he saw them.
Before Jun could say anything, Evo ran to the front.
"Hello there, Lieutenant. Nice to see you here. In our house. Can I do something for you?"
Evo wasn't polite. He didn't use any respectful tone nor an inquiring one. He was literally asking if there is something that they need.
Lieutenant Cedric frowned. He was feeling the cold atmosphere that the opposite group was sending him but chose to ignore it.
He was sent here on a mission by the mayor. They need to get a lot of food and a lot of water. With their dimensional storage, hauling an entire shelf back should have been easy.
"Didn't know you own this place." he chuckled and stepped forward. Before he could take another step, a chubby arms holding a newly cleaned butcher knife blocked him.
Mike stared at the lieutenant with no care about the glares of his officers.
"Boss doesn't like strangers coming into his house. You are strangers. Not allowed."
Lieutenant Cedric shook his head and chuckled. Even though he saw this guy earlier, he wasn't sure if he was a newcomer or a hidden member of the group.
"No, no. Jun knows me. We fought the zombies together."
Jun stepped forward. "That's true. I'm claiming the mall and the surrounding area as my territory. Is there something you need from me?"
Seeing how cold Jun was suddenly acting, the lieutenant couldn't help but curse inside his head.
"We are scavenging food for the survivors. This is the most probable place that has everything, so we're starting here."
"I know what you mean." Jun grinned. "But I can't allow that. Look here, what would you feel when people start looting your house? I would feel sad. I would be so angry; I might kill them."
As Jun spoke, his throat had a bit of red light. He was using Threaten as he talked with the lieutenant.
The lieutenant flinched and took a step back. When he noticed himself getting scared by this young man, he felt shame and anger boil inside him. He took a step forward and proudly raised his chin. He stood correctly, showing his blue uniform stained with blood.
"You don't own this place. You can't stop me." the lieutenant said and walked forward.
"I can," Jun said as he raised the revolver in his hands.
The majestic looking Colt Python, with its white body, sent shivers to the people watching the scene.
The officers who were used to being respected were unhappy. They took their guns out from their backs. Although they have dimensional storage for storing things, they were too used to having a duty firearm on their sides. Due to having no holsters at the moment, they had to put them in their pants.
The police officers drew their guns, and so Jun's group was forced to defend themselves.
Adrian was the first to react and quickly brought out his M16 rifle; he stepped backward and vanished from sight. Marianne had this illusion of fiery flames burning behind her as background. Its actual effect was still unknown. Bernard shouted, "Haaa!" and everyone felt a sudden increase in their defense. .The rest of the members aimed their guns towards the officers.
"You need to leave," Jun said.
"We can't leave without food. We haven't eaten for days."
"People will die if you don't."
"There's a huge probability that that's true." the lieutenant calmly took his gun from his back then aimed at Jun.
Both groups seemed to be scared, but none were willing to compromise. They were waiting for the leaders to make their decisions. When suddenly, someone shouted.
"Okay! That's enough! Nobody needs to die." Evo said. Then, he whispered to Jun, "We're setting up a store, right? This should be a good place to start things up. Don't scare our first customers away."
Jun raised his brows. "And what? Will they pay us paper money?"
"Of course not!" Evo replied while looking at Jun as if he was an idiot. "We'll trade them for crystals. "