The room fell into silence. Some people looked surprised, others were exchanging glances. The first one to break the silence was the man in civilian clothes.
"And your people are in Paris, I presume?"
"Now that is a trade secret," Sergei replied, still maintaining his smile.
(fr) "General! You must get those people! Then we will be able to rebuild our nation - we cannot allow this foreigner to have them!"
(fr) "Besides, he can be holding them hostage!" The civilian exclaimed, almost losing his consciousness from excitement. A plan was born in that man's brain, in which he, like Moses the Savior, will feed everyone, rebuild his country and, of course, become the king. But he wasn't aware of the fact that Annette has been translating his every word to her boss this whole time.
"Though I don't speak French, it's not hard to guess that this person wants to get his hands on my people and my stuff," Sergei pointed his finger at the politician, his smile still in place.
"You really think I'm an idiot?" Sergei's tone turned serious as did his gaze. "I told you this only because I wouldn't mind selling you some of my products. And I'm absolutely sure that even your whole army wouldn't be able to catch me, no matter how hard they try."
"You're bluffing!"
Sergei's smirk turned nasty.
"Yeah? Catch then!" Something weird appeared in the guest's hand, which he threw right away. The object flew slower than the carrot did previously, so the civilian was able to catch it.
(fr) "Huh? Grenade!!!" The civilian bawled once he realized what he had caught. The General jumped to him and grabbed the grenade from his hands only to sigh in relief.
(fr) "Lower your weapons - it's a fake. I said, lower them!" The General growled, seeing that not everyone obeyed.
"And now imagine that instead of that grenade it could've been a bomb, that can obliterate this whole town," Sergei smiled serenely.
"Y-o-u-u-u! You wouldn't dare!" The civilian barked, he was pale as snow - and it also seemed like the room started to stink a little…
"Of course I won't do it. What am I, an idiot? Who then am I gonna sell the provision to? And the reputation means something in this business too, you know? So what? Are we gonna talk business or are we gonna continue this farce?"
(fr) "General! He's dangerous, you need to do something to him!"
(fr) "Yes, General. Our safety is jeopardized while he's here!" One of the officers joined him and received support from four others.
(fr) "Shut up. I know he's dangerous. However, his position is very clear: "Don't touch me and let's be friends" - and I'm happy enough with it!"
(fr) "So, there shouldn't be any problems until some idiot provokes him," the General frowned and looked at five officers that were placating the civilian.
(fr) "But…" one of the officers tried to argue.
(fr) "Shut your trap and don't you dare to argue! This is an order - don't touch that man, is that clear? Do you understand me??? Or you want a court-martial for disobedience?" He received only silence in return - everyone who tried to object lowered their heads in fear.
Sergei smirked while listening to Annette's translation. The officers who supported the politician were pretty young, somewhere around twenty five - thirty years old. They looked like some rich kids who somehow received their officer's ranks. The officers who supported the general were people of the older generation. They were disciplined and looked like seasoned soldiers.
"Okay, well, let's talk business. What do you want in exchange for food? I warn you, I cannot give you any heavy weaponry," the General returned to his seat, took a few calming breaths and spoke to the guest, who's been sitting quietly this whole time.
"That's alright, I mainly need the survivor's coins. Like these one." A coin appeared in Sergei's hand, he demonstrated it to everyone, then threw it to the General.
"I will trade one kilo of food for five such coins, or for one five-units-worth coin."
"Hm, we do have those, but it's not much. Frankly speaking, we couldn't figure out their use so haven't really tried to get them."
(fr) "General! Why are you sharing that information?! We will certainly regret this, and more than a few times!" The civilian was back at it again.
"Your friend is not happy with your honesty, I assume?" Sergei asked with a smile. "Let me explain the value of these coins. First of all, there are the so called "vending machines", where you can buy certain items for these very coins. It could be equipment, weapons, food and even skill books."
"Ha ha, wipe off your drool, such vending machines are almost a myth, very few people even stumbled upon those and the items on sale are always different - sometimes it's just an outright rubbish for exorbitant price," Sergei was shamelessly bluffing. He never once saw such a machine, however… he heard quite a few rumors and some of those sounded real. "And most of all, each vending machine has a limited "lifespan" and a small assortment of items. Even if you're lucky to find one, it will possibly disappear in a day."
"So, you need coins for something else," the General noted after listening to the merchant's speech.
"Yes, the second value of those coins is their requirement for using a skill," Sergei informed them with all seriousness.
"I've never heard of that before."
"It's because not many people are aware of that and it only applies to relatively nonweapon proficiencies. The gunsmiths can create two arrows at a time, but if they use a coin - they can create four." Sergei learned about this himself only a few days ago from Sylvie, but decided not to allocate the coins for that. They had enough arrows already and, besides, a coin for an arrow - was too expensive.
"Well, it's somehow understandable now why you need the coins. But certainly, you accept other items in terms of payment?" The General asked thoughtfully. They didn't really have much coins to spend, but they desperately needed some food… lots of it.
"Of course, I buy equipment, weapons, ammunition, medications, agricultural tools, industrial machines. A lot of things actually, but usually I would just ask to get something for me."
"Understood. What else can you offer except for carrots, and in what quantities?"
"At the moment I can only offer some vegetables and potatoes…" Sergei wasn't allowed to finish as one of the officers interrupted him.
"Why are you separating vegetables and potatoes? A potato is a vegetable!" One of the younger officers stated sarcastically.
"Because potatoes are my core product, its numbers are one hundred times greater than those of, let's say, carrots. By vegetables I mean cabbages, carrots, onions, etc. There are other products as well, but, unfortunately,
I already have buyers for wheat and corn. I will be able to get some fresh meat in a week's time, if you're interested, of course. And some fruits in two weeks."
"Is that so? For what price?" The General asked - he was astonished by the assortment.
"Everything for five coins per kilo. And one more thing - if you decide to resell my goods, don't overcharge too much. One or two extra coins tops. If I find out that you're charging more than that I'll stop doing business with you."
"Why does it matter to you, what price your goods are resold at?!" The civilian barked out.
"I don't like being taken advantage of." Sergei looked at the civilian's ugly mug and gave him a nasty smirk. He had a long face, huge eyes and an expression that screamed "first after god".
"I take your point and guarantee the compliance with your requirements, but you still didn't tell us which volume of goods can you provide? I have a lot of people and not enough food." Demarais steepled his fingers.
"To start off, how about… let's say, forty tons of potatoes and five or maybe even ten tons of vegetables?"
"That much?!" The civilian gasped. But the moment he got over his shock, his eyes lit up with desire to get his hands on that source of provision.
"You said "to start off". It means that you can provide even more than that?" The General clarified, ignoring his civilian colleague.
"I can. But it all depends on you. Consider it a loyalty test. Looking at how this deal goes, I will consider whether to continue our dealings or not," the guest said, looking at the civilian and his entourage.
"I understand," the General nodded. He really did understand the caution of the man sitting in front of him, and it was justified, considering the atmosphere in the army and the behavior of certain… individuals.
"It's getting late - you wouldn't mind spending the night here, would you? It will take a lot of time to gather the coins and find the suitable place to store the food," Demarais said after checking the time.
"Of course," nodded a very tired and hungry man.
"Jacques, arrange a dinner and sleeping quarters for our guest," the general spoke to the middle aged officer, who stood to his left.
"The dinner is not necessary," Sergei smiled and a boiled potato appeared in his hand, it smelt so good that everyone present had their stomachs growling in an instant.
The rations of common soldiers consisted of unleavened bread and soup made of pasta and a little bit of spam for flavor. The officers' rations were much better, however it was a long time since they ate potatoes. Plus it was evening, so everyone was hungry.
Jacques stood up and escorted the guest to another building near the headquarters. Despite it being the evening, the streets were bustling with life. The roads were patrolled; the gunshots could be heard from the shooting range nearby; some people were transporting supplies on wheelbarrows; the guards were as still as owls, taking a note of everything that was going on around them in their area of responsibility.
"You have a busy place here," the guest noted while taking in his surroundings.
"That we have, we constantly train new recruits and clear the area in search of provision, equipment and any survivors," Jacques replied honestly.
They didn't have much time to chitchat as they approached their destination in just a few minutes.
"Well, it's not a mansion of course, but this is one of the best apartments that we have at the moment," the officer said and opened the door. The apartment was indeed not bad - though there were bars on the windows and the front door was made of steel… There was an oil lamp on the table along with a candle that wasn't lit. But the natural lighting was still enough to light up most of the room.
"I hope you don't take offense, but I need to lock you in for the night. This is a military facility so it is off limits for outsiders."
"Hah, it would've been weird if you allowed me to walk freely around the military base," the man smirked and sat down on the bed.
"Thank you for understanding." The officer started walking towards the door but stopped. "Beware of Gustave, he is a very dangerous and short-sided man, and as you saw, almost half of the top officers of our division listen to him…"
"Forewarned is forearmed, don't worry about me," Sergei replied with a smile. The door lock clicked, indicating that it was securely locked. Then the second click was heard - the second lock was locked as well, then the third one after that…
(rus) "So, his name's Gustave then… I'll remember that."
"Annette, what's the status on those cameras?"
"All clear, boss. There's no electricity in this building."
"Good, did you leave me something for dinner?" The boss's stomach growled cowardly, he spent too many calories this day.
"Of course, Boss!"
"Okay." Sergei teleported to the haven and immediately felt so much better. It was a very tough and full day…
"Boss!" Alice ran to her boss and looked him in the eyes. "You've done well, boss!" She smiled brightly and hugged Sergei.
"It was hard, I almost thought I wouldn't make it!" Sergei replied with a laugh. The day was full of adventures and dangers.
"Enough with being touchy-feely you guys! Come on, boss, let's eat! We are starving!" Anne shouted. It turned out that no one ate yet as they were all waiting for Sergei to return. He sat at the table with a laugh and declared war on the food in front of him, until one of the sides of the conflict was completely exterminated. Spoiler: the food stood no chance…
A huge harvest of potatoes and vegetables was gathered that day, that's why the table was full of variety of delicious food! But after a tough day the food was particularly delicious, plus the company of so many beauties warmed his heart.
Gai was sitting beside Annette, talking to her in French and, surprisingly, the girl was even laughing. Professor Curie sat awkwardly nearby and silently consumed his food. No one blamed him for dragging the boss into the lab, but the scientist was a smart man and understood that they took a big risk. Besides, there was also the problem with the evacuation, but, thankfully, everything worked out.
Of course in case of a mortal danger Sergei could've hidden in the haven, but then the citizens would've probably ended up being locked inside for months, if not years.
At first Sergei planned to sleep in the apartment that was provided to him by the military, but decided not to risk it and stayed the night in the haven, but not before setting an alarm.
****
"We need to get him and his people. I'm certain that they're in Paris, so we need to find our way into Paris!"
"We tried that already and lost half of the expedition!"
"What about that tunnel?"
"Nothing. We need some heavy equipment to demolish that armored door."
"Nonsense - there must be another way to open that door."
"Our tech guys examined everything, it opens only from the inside and likely only once at that. I don't think there's a way to open it. And no way of blowing it up either - the construction is too sturdy."
"Damn it! But that person needs to get provision from somewhere! We must follow him."
"Our people are on guard, he won't be able to contact anyone without us knowing."
"What are we going to do?"
"Wait and see. Let's watch how he delivers food and then decide. We also need to find the evolved with the interrogation and spying skills."
"I agree."
"Me as well…"
Several people were gathered in a secret room, or rather five officers and the civilian from before. Upon finishing their discussion they all began to dine. And for said dinner they had meat, some vegetables, fresh fish, various canned food and a few bottles of expensive wine, it was all in abundance as well - clearly much more than six people could possibly eat.
****
Knock, knock, knock…
"Sergei Vitalyevich, are you awake?" Jacques asked from behind the door.
"Yes," Sergei replied sleepily.
"The General is inviting you to breakfast."
"Okay, give me a minute."
Sergei returned from the haven in advance and laid down on the bed after taking off his clothes, so now he was quickly putting his clothes back on as if he only just woke up.
"I'm ready."
Jacques opened the door and led the guest back to the HQ. An officer cafeteria was located on the first floor and it smelled rather delicious.
"M?" Sergei was surprised upon entering the cafeteria - there was some fresh bread on each table along with some ham and eggs. Most of the officers were already seated and drooling while waiting for when they were allowed to tuck in.
"You are doing rather great, I see."
"Ha-ha, not exactly. It's just you are our special guest so I allowed them to be more generous with today's menu," clarified the General. "Please, have a seat, or else my people will drown in their own drool."
Sergei smiled at that and took a seat.
"Would you like some tea? Or coffee?" A pretty young woman approached them.
"A coffee please, strong, no sugar. Mmm, where did you get the eggs?" The omelet smelled heavenly.
"We have our own hen house," replied The General.
"Hens? Really?" Sergei perked up.
"Are you interested?" Demarais laughed.
"Of course."
"Let's discuss it after the breakfast, for now - let's enjoy our food."
Sergei took a sip of his hot coffee and started to eat. The bread was day-fresh and rather obviously cooked by a very skilled baker, the ham tasted like game, but was not bad and the omelet was very delicious.
"You have a very good chef," Sergei commented after finishing his last bite.
"Yes, but he's always whining about being forced to cook hogwash, ha-ha. So this is him going all out."
"Thanks for the food."
"Nonsense, let's discuss our deal."
Sergei was escorted into the General's private office, where they were left alone.
"We are ready to buy everything you've mentioned earlier, in those exact quantities. The coins are ready. When will you be able to deliver the goods?"
"Whenever I want," Sergei waved his hand and summoned a sack of potatoes.
"You've got… a very useful skill."
"Yeah… But I've noticed that there aren't many system users among the soldiers," Sergei commented, deciding to change the topic. He noticed yesterday that he didn't see anyone in the system gear at all.
"System users?"
"That's what people who got the power of the system along with the special skills are called in Paris."
"Oh that's what you were talking about. We call them the evolved," The General said rubbing the back of his head. "Yes, there are few of them, the soldiers are used to firearms and almost none of them were ready to fight the undead with only bats as a weapon. Almost all of our evo… system users are recruited civilians."
"I see. Well let's get back to business. I would like to buy a hen and a rooster. What other livestock do you have?"
"Nothing else, unfortunately."
"But where did you get the ham?"
"From the forest. Forest animals have been showing some rather suspicious signs of activity and aggression lately, but that's to our hunters' benefit."
"Understood. I offer one hundred kilos of potatoes for a hen and the same amount for a rooster."
"I think it is a good deal," the General smiled.
The General escorted his business partner to the warehouse where a cart full of coins had been waiting for him, along nine officers and the civilian, many of which looked at him rather skeptically.
"The whole delegations is present, I see," the merchant commented with a smile, after having a look around the warehouse.
"They just don't trust you."
"Huh, I wouldn't have trusted someone like me if I were them as well," Sergei laughed and went to the center of the storage. One wave of his hand - and a huge mountain of sacks appeared beside him, there were potatoes, cabbages, carrots, onions, beets and even some garlic!
"This is… unbelievable," the civilian mumbled.
"Ha ha, excellent!" The General was extremely pleased.
"I'll be taking this," Sergei stated and sent the pile of coins into his haven. There was a whole lot of those! Two hundred thousand coins! Sergei honestly didn't believe that everything would go this smoothly, but either a miracle had occurred or the trouble was yet to come.
"Of course, of course. I aways pay my bills and am looking forward to our very fruitful cooperation and the next delivery." The General said with a wide smile, which was shared by the officers that supported him. The rest were scowling and giving Sergei dirty looks.
"Do you have enough money for that?" The merchant asked the General.
"…We will find the money, I promise."
"In three days."
"Three days?"