chsdbacks Chapter 318: Exchanging for Supplies 2
Chapter 318: Exchanging for Supplies 2
Evelyn Ford emerged from the home goods store, the two burlap sacks she’d brought now stuffed full. She loaded the items onto the truck, and the two of them continued their shopping spree.
They bought some fruits and vegetables, various seeds, chicken and duck eggs, as well as some secondhand fabrics and clothes. The prices weren’t cheap. Evelyn traded calligraphy supplies—brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones—along with books, magazines, and even cassette tapes, white sugar, brown sugar, and condoms.
These items were less risky to trade than tobacco and alcohol, and they were easy to exchange.
The cassette tapes, magazines, and condoms were the bestsellers, fetching the most supplies in return.
By the time they left the supply cooperative, the truck bed was already piled with goods. Evelyn stored everything in her space and decided to try her luck at the gas station.
Meanwhile, on another street, Mr. Landry and his men were being driven to Tarr Hospital.
"Find them! Tear this city apart if you have to, but find those two! I want them to die without a proper burial."
The gas station was swamped with trucks. By the time it was Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick’s turn, two hours had already passed.
"Fifty points for one liter of gasoline."
"Can I trade with supplies?"
The staff member nodded. "You can."
Evelyn offered a cigarette. "I’ll trade with these."
The man took the cigarette, sniffed it, and looked up at Evelyn. "How much are you looking to get?"
"Five barrels."
"Ten cartons."
Evelyn nodded. "Deal."
The man didn’t ask for their identities. He had a worker from the oil depot bring out the barrels and load them onto the truck bed. Evelyn handed over ten factory-sealed cartons of cigarettes.
"Need any diesel?"
Evelyn seemed conflicted. "I don’t have any more cigarettes. Would you take white liquor?"
"White liquor is worth less."
"What’s the exchange rate?"
"You get three ounces of kerosene for a pound of liquor."
That price was outrageous. Evelyn refused to trade.
"That’s too expensive. I only have twenty-two pounds of liquor."
"Fruit wine or sweet potato wine?"
"Sorghum liquor." Evelyn had no intention of selling it cheap.
"Sorghum liquor? Let me check it. If it’s pure, one pound of liquor for two pounds of kerosene."
Evelyn handed the worker a small cup of the liquor. After uncapping it and taking a sniff, he gave Evelyn a peculiar look.
"You can get the kerosene at Station Three. Take this token and go over there."
Evelyn took the token. The worker kept the cup of liquor for himself.
They arrived at Station Three and exchanged for forty-four pounds of kerosene. Then, Ronan Kendrick drove away from the gas station.
"Cigarettes are still more valuable," Evelyn remarked. The ones she had traded were a common brand, costing only about 120 yuan per carton before the apocalypse.
The gasoline barrels were huge, 200 liters each. Five barrels of gasoline would last them a long time.
After stowing the gasoline from the truck bed into her space, Evelyn glanced at the time.
"Let’s find a hotel and rest for the night."
"Okay."
They drove around for a bit and found a budget hotel, once again using cigarettes to pay for their stay.
The room was cleaner than the inn in Westeria, and it even came with hot water and dinner.
Looking at the three packs of cigarettes she’d traded, Evelyn felt no regret. She took a comfortable hot shower, then began to inspect the day’s haul.
"Tarr City is in worse shape than I expected."
Evelyn took out a storage battery and an electric blanket. After connecting them, she pulled out her own quilt.
The hotel’s quilt had a damp, musty smell that was very unpleasant.
Prices were higher than Evelyn had imagined, goods were scarce, and the class divide was severe. She had thought people in the city would be living better, but it turned out they were eating coarse noodles and wheat bran.
A car horn blared outside. Evelyn went to draw the curtains, but a glance outside revealed someone completely unexpected.
Kevin Holloway, the young master of the Holloway Family. Back during the nematode outbreak, he was receiving VIP treatment on the top floor of the medical department building.
He was now standing at the entrance of the restaurant across the street. Beside him was a young, demure woman clinging to his side.
Evelyn thought of the supplies the Holloway and Hooper families had made off with, and a vicious glint flashed in her eyes.
’So, they’re in Tarr City too.’
’That makes things easier.’
Drawing the curtains, Evelyn took two prepared meals out of her space and set them on the table. Ronan Kendrick had already changed his clothes. The room was a bit chilly, so Evelyn took out an electric heater as well.
"Kevin Holloway is outside. Remember him?"
Ronan Kendrick was surprised. "He’s still alive?"
"He’s tough to kill, apparently. His Holloway Family and the Hooper Family took everything from Wyrmrest Base. It’s time to settle that score."
Ronan sat down next to Evelyn. "Do you think we should tell Taylor Vance and Zion Lowell about this?"
Evelyn nodded. "I think we should."
How Taylor Vance and Zion Lowell chose to deal with it would be their own business.
"We’ll follow him later. Then we’ll know where he lives."
They would probably never get the supplies back, but those two families had to pay a price.
After dinner, Evelyn stood by the window, watching Kevin Holloway eat in the restaurant across the street through a pair of binoculars. As soon as he and the woman came out, she and Ronan Kendrick immediately went downstairs, got in their truck, and followed.
Tarr City was several degrees colder than Immeasurable Mountain. The sky was gray, and as evening fell, a mixture of rain and snow began to fall.
The truck followed at a safe distance. An hour later, Kevin Holloway’s car entered a villa complex in the suburbs. Evelyn and Ronan parked their truck in the woods outside the complex. As night fell, Evelyn stored the truck in her space, and the two of them hopped the fence.
"This way."
As they walked, Ronan Kendrick disabled the complex’s surveillance cameras. When they reached a three-story villa, Ronan climbed up first, then used a rope to pull Evelyn up after him.
They were in a man’s bedroom, lavishly furnished and with underfloor heating.
A watch lay on the table, sounds came from the bathroom, and clothes were scattered on the floor.
Evelyn recognized them as Kevin Holloway’s and the woman’s clothes.
Ronan took the knockout powder Evelyn gave him and blew it through the crack under the bathroom door. The two people inside fainted immediately.
Evelyn collected everything in the bedroom, not even sparing the ceiling light fixture. The entire room was stripped bare, leaving nothing but the radiator.
Besides a few servants, they heard no other movement in the villa. Ronan knocked the servants unconscious, and the pair proceeded to loot the three-story villa from top to bottom, cleaning it out completely.
"The rest of the Holloways probably live in the neighboring villas." Evelyn even unhinged the door. If she’d had more time, she would have pried up the floorboards too.
"Wake Kevin Holloway up. We can just ask him," Ronan said. He went upstairs and tied Kevin up.
Evelyn took out some medicated oil and waved it under his nose a couple of times. Kevin Holloway slowly regained consciousness.
He stared blankly at the two masked figures for a long moment. Just as he was about to scream, Evelyn pressed a gun to his temple.
"Where are the rest of your family members living?"
Kevin Holloway was trembling violently. He guessed he was the victim of a home invasion robbery and, fearing they would kill him, could only confess everything honestly.
"In the villas next door—Number Nine, Ten, Eleven, and Twelve."
Evelyn gave a cold smirk. "All for the Holloway Family? One villa per person? Where are the Hoopers?"
Hearing the name "Hooper Family," Kevin Holloway didn’t react for a second.
Evelyn jabbed the gun hard against his temple. "Wyrmrest Base. The Hooper Family. Where are they?"