We've hidden ourselves from the unknown sniper, but he approached us without fear. We immediately pointed our guns at him, but he raised his arms and said, "I have no intention of becoming your enemy. Judging by your well-coordinated tactics, you must be well-trained. If that's the case, do you have a shelter? Can you let us in?" he asked.
To me, he appeared like an old man with those white hairs. "Why do you trust us so easily? We might be even worse than those raiders," I replied skeptically.
"It's a risk, but I don't have any other choice. My daughter is sick, and we don't have medicine to treat her. Because of this winter, her condition worsened, and we can't keep surviving like this! If possible, can you please take her? As long as she's safe, that's already enough..." The old man pleaded.
"And how do you suppose us to believe that?" Souta said cautious to the old man. He had already made a mistake earlier that almost killed his people.
"..., I know this is going to happen." He looks back to the rooftop of the building he was in earlier. The silence filled the air as they waited for the oldman's move. A few minutes later, there was a man carrying a girl on his back.
"This is my son and my daughter, I lost their mother... because of how reckless I was... though I still don't know if you and your group are good people, it's worth the risk, If I let my daughter die like this, I wouldn't be able to face my wife in heaven"
"..." Souta pause for a moment before making a decision, "Okay then, leave your weapons and come inside," he decided. The old man did as he said and went inside, their his men quickly scanned him and his son. They also took their weapons outside, Souta's there waiting for him.
"Well, take care of your daughter. We still need to make a temporary base. We will separate you from your son and daughter. That is fair with you, right? and don't worry, your son will stick to your daughter and watch her," Souta told him the conditions
"That is fine by me," the old man replied
Souta glared at him. "Don't make any funny ideas. We won't hesitate to kill your son and daughter,"
"I won't, don't worry," he said confidently.
After that, we set our temporary base and sent scouts to clear the remaining raiders in their base. as days passed, we looted many places on the town as many as we could while looting.
"This should be the last store here," Mike said, Mike is the name of the oldman that snipe those raiders the other days, though we were wary at him at first but in the end he was friendly and talkative.
[ Bzz bzz, Souta, it began ] Jenny said on the walkie-talkie, Souta immediately replied [ As planned, don't go near it yet ] Souta ordered his team to immediately go to their position to wait for the supplies to drop.
Hiding inside buildings to buildings, waiting for the supplies to drop, as it touched the ground, we didn't go near it yet and wait for it we didn't know what's inside, a monster? a bomb? we don't know. We even evacuate the civilians just in case in the base.
An hour passed, and something happened. it speaker began to talk.
[ Attention to all personnel ]
[ This is a critical situation, and we hope that everyone receiving this message has managed to find safety. We understand that you are waiting for the supplies to drop, and we appreciate your patience and caution. ]
[ We acknowledge that we have not been able to provide the protection you deserved until now, and for that, we deeply apologize. The current crisis has overwhelmed our resources and severely impacted our ability to respond effectively. It is with a heavy heart that we acknowledge the absence of the government, leaving the military as the last operational entity in the country. We are doing everything in our power to maintain order and protect as many people as possible. ]
[ To those among you who are part of large groups or factions, we urge you to prioritize the safety and well-being of civilians. Evacuating them from potential danger zones should be a top priority. We must unite in this crisis and work together to preserve human lives. ]
[ As for the situation at hand, we are still gathering information on these unknown entities. We can not confirm the nature of the threat, but we are treating it as a severe one. Until we can assess the risks and devise a comprehensive strategy, we must remain vigilant and cautious. ]
[ We understand that fear and uncertainty grip us all, but we must stand firm and resilient. Together, we can overcome this ordeal and protect what remains of our nation. Continue to follow any directives and orders issued by your superiors, and keep communication lines open. ]
[ We pray for the safety of each and every one of you. Let us not lose hope, for we are strong, and we shall endure. ]
[ May we all find the strength to face this crisis. May our actions be guided by compassion, courage, and unity. Stay strong, stay vigilant, and may the forces of good watch over us all. ]
[ This message concludes here, but our determination to overcome this apocalypse remains unwavering. God bless us all, and may we find a path to safety and salvation. ]
As the message ends, the box then suddenly opens by itself. The others also tell me that their box also opened by itself.
I began to approach it. "Souta! we can't allow you to do this, we still don't know if we can trust those military, I will be the one to test it, and this will also be my test to prove my loyalty to you" Mike said
"..." I thought for a moment "Okay," I answered, Mike then approached the box. He then arrived and immediately drank some water and ate some food.
"Do you feel anything strange?" I asked
He shake his head, "I dont at the moment, but you can order them to get it now and well find out if I die after time passes."
"Okay then," Souta then ordered everyone to take the box. Inside the box is food worth of a year for 1000 people with 10 box they collected it's 10,000 people worth of a year food or 1000 people worth of 10 years supplies.
The transaction went smoothly, though some team encountered problems such as a group that appeared when the box dropped or horde of zombies, but they dealt with it easily.
A week passed, and they went back to the town. With many survivors joining in the population increased twofold, the raiders that were captured were put to train and to pay the price they've done.
With around 1,000 survivors and 500 military personnel, the base bagan to grow, the training was more intense, and the security tightened, curfew was also added, and patrols become daily.
Representative of each group also added for the citizens to voice out their needs and wants. Also, as promised, we gave Jana and her group the 20%.