WARNING! SURVIVOR KATHERINE SIGNED THE CONTRACT AND BECAME A RESIDENT OF YOUR HAVEN. AS A REWARD YOUR HAVEN RECEIVED 10 XP. CONGRATULATIONS, KEEP EXPANDING YOUR HAVEN AND MAYBE YOU WILL MANAGE TO SAVE AT LEAST SOME PART OF HUMANITY.
The familiar message informed Sergei of Katherine's acceptance. He never doubted it anyway - refusal meant death or a life worse than death.
"I'll tell you a little about my plans. First of all, we need to expand the haven. We need more fields and buildings. And for that we need some survivor's coins. To get those we need to kill zombies. The average is eight coins for ten zombies. It's impractical and time consuming. And also dangerous." Sergei said and looked at the girls who became worried upon hearing about killing zombies.
"Another option is trading. I made a deal of selling potatoes for 5 coins per kilo. We harvest about four hundred kilos from one field and if we sell them to other survivors we'll get two thousand coins. One field costs one hundred coins. It's a huge income. However I don't know how many coins they have so we can't really count on it. In the shop the price is one for one. It's a robbery, I know, but it's still more than nothing." Sergei sighed heavily.
"We need to find other camps and start trading with them. I plan on returning to Russia, but my gut tells me that it won't be an easy journey so we need to get stronger first."
"We also need more people but I'm not going to accept just anyone. We need only reliable people so if you have someone on your mind please tell me. Also, tell me if you have any information on other camps." He looked at them expectantly but none of them spoke, some even seemed upset.
"And if any of you wish to become system users or players in other words, I will help you." Those words provoked a certain reaction among the girls.
"Stop, stop, stop. Don't panic, I haven't finished yet. I'm not forcing you to hunt or fight. After becoming a player you'll get a useful bonus. It could be a skill, an item or something else entirely. You'll get stat point - they can make you faster, stronger, tougher. And you can possibly get a skill that will allow you to easily move heavy stuff or to dig up the field in a matter of seconds - pretty convenient huh?" He made a little joke at the end but judging by their serious faces, no one got that.
"For now our objectives are as follows. First of all, we need to finally sort through that mountain of loot. Second of all, we need to build an infirmary. And third, we need suitable storages for provision and materials. That's about it for now. Any questions?"
"What happens to us if you get killed, Boss?" The tiny blonde girl named Natasha, asked after raising her hand.
"I have no idea." Sergei shrugged.
"What happens to those who break the rules?" Sylvie asked.
"It depends. If it's something serious then the perpetrator will be exiled or thrown to the zombies. Why you all are looking at me like that? There are rules and they need to be followed, there will be no prosperity without discipline and order, only anarchy and degradation. More questions?"
"If we find our family members or relatives and friends, will they be able to join the haven?" It was Orianne who asked the question this time.
"If they agree to the terms of the contract - of course. If they violate those terms then… well, I already told you what will happen with those idiots. I'm not going to tolerate freeloaders and troublemakers, I'm not kind and merciful person. I've seen more shit throughout my life than you can imagine. Anything else? No? Then let's feast and forget about the bad things. There are no zombies or bandits in this place, but there's food and good weather."
Everyone dug in with gusto. The dinner turned into a real feast. Canned fish and meat, good alcohol (Sergei didn't drink as he was forbidden due to the medication he was taking), canned vegetables and fruits. The blue-heads had hoarded so much good stuff! Everyone was able to eat until they were full, but they all drank cautiously so no one really ended up drunk.
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Alice woke up early as usual. She peeled the potatoes, brought some water from the pond and started cooking breakfast on a gas range. While the food was cooking she headed to Sergei's tent to "wake him up" with her patented method.
"Good morning, Alice, you are already up and about?" Melanya came out of her tent and saw Alice walking towards Boss' tent.
"Good morning." Alice smiled brightly. "Yeah, I am responsible for a lot of things including making breakfast. We have more people now so I had to get up earlier than usual."
"I've seen you walking into Boss' tent yesterday morning, you've spent fifteen minutes there and now you are going again." Alice turned bright red upon hearing that while Melanya continued. "I didn't mean anything by that, it's just… I'm pretty much useless… All I can do is doing my duty as a wife. So if you don't like what you're doing I can replace you. Don't think I'm a slut, it's just… the only thing I know, the only thing I was taught to do was how to be "a good wife"."
"Thank you," Alice replied with a smile. "But I'm doing this because I want to, no one asked me. I just want our Boss to feel energetic and cheerful. If anything happens to him… I don't want to go back to my old life, I'd rather die. Alright, I'm gonna go - keep an eye on the food, okay?" She pointed at the pot.
"Okay, Alice."
After Sergei was successfully awakened everyone joined for the breakfast. The menu consisted of boiled potatoes and tea with some suspicious looking cookies.
"Gautier, Louis today we are heading to the Louvre to sell potatoes. Pack two backpacks with forty kilos each, we'll get right back after that."
"Yes, Boss." Louis nodded.
"Yasss… Boss." Gautier replied with a little difficulty - his younger brother translated their Boss' words to him, also he recently started learning English and was making a little progress.
"Girls, prepare yourselves morally. Don't plant anything today, I'll buy four new fields tomorrow and we'll have an agriculture day! I would've helped you of course but I'm injured." The Boss said rubbing his injured shoulder. In fact, it didn't really hurt that much anymore.
In two hours Sergei and his two "potatoemen" arrived to Louvre and, as the saying goes, he "came, saw and"… sold potatoes, after that they quickly headed back. They teleported from Sergei's "favorite" abandoned apartment. It had a sturdy front door and he was the only one with the key - it allowed him to determine if anyone was following him. It won't stop anyone too eager from entering but it would show him that it was time to change the apartment.
After they disappeared the building was swarmed by a lot of weird people.
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"There are no signs of life in the apartment. Neither are there any signs of zombies." Said a man in camouflage clothing who kept his eyes closed for some reason. His forehead was covered in sweat, he was really focused and tense.
"Is your skill telling the truth?" Another man inquired. He was also wearing a camouflage and held an assault rifle with telescopic sight in his hands.
"Maybe it's not, I don't know what skills our target has at his disposal, it's possible that he has a skill of camouflage." The man replied and finally opened his eyes.
"Damn it. Alpha, Gamma, take your positions in the building and report about any movement."
"Roger."
"Roger that."
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In a small room sat two individuals, they were drinking cheap wine and munching on boiled potatoes and canned tuna.
"Basile, you're incredible! You really exchanged those coins for food! And you know what they're saying?" A middle-aged man asked his companion after drinking half of his cup in one go.
"What?" Asked the salesman that made a few deals with Sergei.
"That these are not just ordinary potatoes! You start feeling better after consuming them, wounds heal faster and the symptoms of starvation pass much quicker."
"That's a bullshit! There's no such thing!"
"Ha ha ha, I agree!" The man laughed and finished his wine, then he took a bite of a potato, chewed it slowly, swallowed and only them spoke again. "You think you can buy some more?"
"Yeah." Basile answered and poured himself another cup of wine. "He promised to bring another eighty kilos by tomorrow."
"Awesome! Here's fifty coins I'll come back tomorrow to pick up my nine kilos."
"Good luck, and try not to die on your little foray."
"Ha-ha-ha-ha, don't worry, I'm a tough son of a bitch! Now drink! Drink - wine is a little too hard to come around these days."
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Upon returning to his haven Sergei bought medium sized field for four hundred coins. It covered an area of over 160 square meters (1723 square feet). He decided to leave it for now because he wanted to set up a certain day for planting and harvesting for all of the fields. In the afternoon Sergei was approached by old Mark.
"You have some news for me?" He asked, setting aside the book he was reading.
"Yes. I thoroughly studied your medical history. Your problem is caused by brain injury and I have no idea how you even survived! I'm not gonna waste some words - I've found a similar medicine that can help you. It called "ZLL-0B1", it's a rare medicine but not as rare as the "Apulin". It was used for brain cancer treatment." The old professor said and passed him the piece of paper with the medicine's name on it.
"I see. Thanks for the information."
"I will continue studying your disease and tell you if I find anything else."
"Thank you. I would really appreciate that."
The rest of the day was boring. Sergei read his book and rested while others slaved out on the field. In the morning Boss went to sell potatoes once again while the others harvested the crops and planted new ones. After the harvest he had accumulated two tons of potatoes!
After thoroughly checking the front door and making sure that no one overly curious tried to enter, he summoned Gautier and Louis and they headed out.
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"Hey! You came! I am so glad to see you. Here are your coins." The salesman smiled widely upon seeing "the potatoes-seller". He looked much better compared to when Sergei first saw him. The bruises and bandages were gone and he looked much more healthy.
"I see you are doing well." The potatoes-seller said and shook his business partner's hand.
"But of course! I get a ten percent finder's fee per a deal so I earned handsomely, so to say."
"A commission? Not bad. By the way, I need a favor. Can you find these pills for me? "ZLL-0B1" and "Apulin Z-10"? I will pay you handsomely if you find any of those."
"Never heard about those, but I'll ask around." The salesman nodded and wrote the names down in his notebook.
"Alright, I'll head out then."
"Wait! Maybe you'll think about a much bigger deal?"
"No. Maybe when I'm completely healed, but not now. See you tomorrow."
"Okay…"
Upon getting back to his haven, Sergei sent Gautier and Louis to help others on the fields - they already had enough time to rest in his opinion. They thought otherwise of course since they had to carry forty kilos each… But no one cared about their opinion.
At the moment the farming fields covered 320 square meters of the haven's territory. Thirteen people could easily handle this amount of work. However… Sergei spent 400 of his newly acquired coins to buy another middle-sized field. Now the fields covered 420 square meters of land. His sla… employees were not particularly happy about this… But Sergei still did what he wanted.
"I think that's enough number of fields for now." The "head farmer" declared at the dinner and everyone sighed with relief.
"Ha-ha-ha, I'm not a complete scoundrel, you know? I won't give you more work than you can handle. But, to be honest, four strong men would've done more work in much shorter time. Now let's eat, tomorrow is a new happy day." The scoundrel said and attacked his food. After some time his scowling employees proceeded to eat as well.
In the morning Sergei sold another batch of potatoes, but instead of returning home he went searching for another survivors' camp. He learned about it from one of the girls.
The second camp was hostile to the Louvre, because it presented itself as the only representative of the official authorities in the city and the camp refused to obey them. Sergei decided to venture into this adventure only because his shoulder was almost completely healed. Potatoes truly did wonders, or maybe it was because he was a player… But according to Old Mark it was both.
The further he ventured from the Louvre the more zombies he met on his way.
"There are six of them, and all of them are slow. If I start killing every zombie on my way I won't go far. Come on, Sergei, just run past them! Guys don't follow me okay? Well fuck me…!"
One of the six slow zombies turned out to be fake! It moved so fast that Sergei almost made a "gas attack". The sprinter zombie got kicked in the chest and then received a sword to his head, which beheaded him instantly. The human retreated hastily without even bothering to gather his loot.
Three more zombies came limping towards him upon hearing the sounds of struggle, a few others tried to exit through the closed windows of nearby buildings - and succeeded. Some of them died from the impact some just broke all of their bones…
After running a mile Sergei stopped and hid behind a car. There was a huge horde of zombies around the corner - no less than a thousand! Luckily Gai noticed them and stopped him, or else… Or else he'd have to run back!
"I won't get through here and there are some of those chasing me from behind. Sergei you are so unlucky! Between two routes you'll inevitably pick the worst one!"
"Argh!"
"Motherfucker!" He shouted when a zombie suddenly fell from the sky right in front of him. It jumped out of the window of the building near which he stood, talking to himself as usual. After quickly eliminating the "commando" zombie, the human fled in panic - the sound of a body falling attracted the horde's attention.
The fact that zombies gathered into hordes was a big plus because the streets became almost empty, but if you end up stumbling upon one of those hordes…
Suddenly he heard the sound of gunfire coming from somewhere ahead. Fortunately for Sergei, this sound was apparently more interesting to the horde than the previous one that he made, so they all headed to the north.
"Should I go check? Or should I return?"
"Argh!"
"I'm trying to think here!" A zombie that somehow managed to sneak on him, growled and by that discredited itself and ended up being mercilessly beheaded.
"A coin!" The man exclaimed and picked up the survivor's coin. "Heads or tails, if it comes up heads I'm going, if tails - I'm not going! Damn it, it's heads…"
Sergei became rather lazy lately so he hoped it will land on tails and he could return to his haven…
After following the horde for ten minutes, Sergei finally found the source of the noise. A fierce battle took place near the huge twenty-storied office building. Thousands of undead tried to smash their way into the fortified building, meanwhile dozens of machine guns and assault rifles mowed them down like grass. But the sound of battle attracted even more zombies - it was a vicious cycle…
"GRRAAAAHH!!" A giant zombie made it to the window with a loud roar and ripped off the iron bars in one swift movement. Two fast zombie-mutants quickly jumped inside through the now available window and immediately were met with alarmed shouts and rapid gunfire. But after some time a light machine gun roared to life and the giant zombie's head was blown to pieces. Someone inside brought an iron plate and a few people quickly welded it to the window.
"Those guys are serious!" Sergei gasped while watching how the remaining zombies were slaughtered by the people who ran out of the building armed with bats, swords and makeshift spikes. There were women and teenagers among them as well. No mohawks, no military uniforms - people looked civil and calm.
After having watched that scene for a while, he finally decided to go meet them. He got out from under the car, killed two nearby zombies and headed to the building.
(fr) "Stop right there! Who are you?!" Someone from the cleanup team shouted upon seeing a lone person.
(eng) "Do any of you speak English? I want to start trading with your camp."
"Trading? What makes you think that we need anything?" Asked a rugged looking man in English.
"Everyone needs something. Go get someone who's in charge."
"Wait here, and don't try any tricks!"
He shouted something to two armed men nearby and probably told them to guard him while he went to bring their boss. He returned in a few minutes with a man in his forties.
"So you are the merchant? I don't see any goods though. What are you selling, your body? Ha-ha-ha." The man looked scary with a prosthesis in place of his left eye and with half of his face covered in scars. He looked tough and exuded an aura of danger.
"I've been in Paris for only two weeks so I don't know much, but I'm looking for a sales market. It was a great fight, by the way, I honestly thought none of you would make it."
"I thought so too, ha-ha-ha." The one-eyed man laughed but then suddenly got serious and looked into the weird merchant's eyes. "And what do you, my dear "merchant", have to offer?"
"Food and water." Sergei said nonchalantly.
"Oh? If you are talking about that poison that people collect from The Seine River (one of the main symbols of Paris), then no thank you. But food is much more interesting. What do you have to offer?"
"Potatoes."
"Potatoes?" The old warrior asked again because he surely misheard that the man was selling potatoes…
"Yep."
"Considering how long it's been since the beginning of the apocalypse, your potatoes should begin to rot already." The man frowned.
"No, my potatoes are fresh." The "merchant" shrugged.
"Do you think I'm an idiot? The soil is poisoned, what are you talking about?" The man asked in annoyance and one of his guards even laughed.
"Let's say, my people can grow vegetables and purify water, the vegetables are more nutritious and even have healing properties." Sergei said, maintaining a serious expression.
"A skill?" The man asked, shocked.
"Maybe. I'll bring forty kilos of potatoes in an hour and you can see it's quality for yourself."
"Okay. What do you want in return?"
"Survivor's coins, five coins per kilo."
"…That's an unusual request but okay. If your "potatoes" satisfy me then we'll start trading."
"Deal." Sergei waved his hand and left.
(fr) "Do you believe him, sir?" A man approached his boss, he looked like an old warrior who was through hell.
(fr) "No, but if he's telling the truth… It will become a blessing. You know the position we are in."
After five minutes of walking and three severed heads the merchant found a place where he safely teleported to his haven. However, he suddenly got an idea so he quickly went back to the real world. He ran back to the place where he beheaded three zombies, took one of them and returned to the haven with it. Then he approached the abyss and threw the body inside.
THE ABYSS RECYCLED THE MATERIAL. THE HAVEN RECEIVED 10 POINTS OF BIOMATTER.
"Excellent! Gai, zombie bodies also give biomatter points so I will be sending them here from time to time."
"Yes, Boss…" Gai nodded in defeat.
"Now go collect the usual amount of potatoes, I've found a new buyer."
"Yes, Boss…"
Soon Sergei returned to the camp located in the office building with a backpack behind his back. The territory was partially cleaned by that time. Dozens of people were dragging the bodies and burning them, others were collecting shell casings and the rest were fixing their barriers. The guards immediately reported about the arrival of their guest to their higher ups and the man with one eye walked out of the camp.
"Are those really potatoes?"
"Yep, you can see for yourself. You can even cook them if you want."
"Hm? They really are! And pretty fresh as well! But are they edible?"
"How about this, I'll return in the evening, meanwhile you can you check them out, run some tests or whatever, you can even burn them if you want. But you will pay for each kilo. I was heading to Sancre-Cur anyway, or what's that building's name…"
"Aaa, so you were heading to the Basilica? You want to trade with them?"
"Yes."
"I can ask one of my people to show you a secure route. We deal with them quite often, so we have found several safe routes."
"That would've been wonderful."
"Jean, you've heard me, take this man to the Basilica."
"Yes, captain. Sir, please follow me." Said a young man wearing a camouflage, he had a knife hanging from his belt on one side, a gun on the other, and a bat behind his back. The merchant nodded and followed after his guide.
"Please, be as quiet as possible, the further we are from the Seine the more dangerous it gets." The guide whispered.
"Why is that?" Sergei whispered back.
"I don't know, but for some reason zombies don't like going near that river, and what's even weirder, most of them are gathered on the south of the Seine. They just migrated there. Then someone got the idea and started blowing up the bridges so they wouldn't return."
"Yeah? I thought it was the Louvre's forces who cleaned up the area."
"The Louvre? Ha-ha-ha, that was funny." The guy laughed and covered his mouth with his hand. "The only thing they can do is scare civilians and some smaller camps. They were just lucky that zombies left."
"I see."
"Now we are going down into the sewer. There's a huge horde further ahead, plus it's safer down there!" The guide said and opened the manhole with a crowbar that he took from under the nearest car.
Two humans made their way through dark but almost dry sewage system, lighting their way with flashlights. It smelled quite bad but it was much better than running from thousands of undead.
"Is it okay that there are rats as big as cats?" Sergei asked pointing at the huge fearless rat that was sitting on the nearest pipe.
"Well no… but they don't attack people. They much prefer something that is already dead and there's a lot of that around here."
"They eat zombies? What about infection?"
"Animals didn't suffer from infection. However some of them started acting differently. For example, dogs get in packs and hunt lonely zombies. And, well, they get bigger."
"Man's best friends are useful even during the apocalypse!" The merchant summed up.
"That's right."
In about an hour the pair reached their destination.
"Well, that it. This is The Basilica of Sacre Coeur. Will you find your way back or should I wait for you?" Jean pointed at the manhole.
"No thank you. Here, as a token of gratitude." The man took two chocolate bars from his pocket and gave them to his guide.
"Thank you!"
The first thing Sergei saw upon crawling out of the sewers - was the barrel of the gun pointed at his face.