Chapter 194 The Empire of Comfort and Control
Chapter 194 The Empire of Comfort and Control
s
Lucas was the first to notice something odd–peopleing and going from thest vi at the edge of the camp. Each time someone exited, they were carrying something in their hands.
“What’s going on over there?”
Theresa waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t bother. You’ll just upset yourselves if you see it.”
Just then, a sweet little girl came trotting over with a pound of meat in her hand. “Theresa! My family bought more meat! Come have dinner at our ce tonight–Mom’s making braised meat!”
Theresa pinched Yuki’s cheek affectionately. “Tell your mom to make a couple more dishes–I’ve got guests today.”
“I’ll go buy more meat, then! I’ll treat you to dinner!” Yuki chirped before scampering back toward the
vi.
Lucas stared, baffled. “You have a market here? That sells <i>pork</i>?!”
“Yep. Which is exactly why I’m not taking you in there–no need to torture yourselves.”
At that point, both Lucas and Theron fell into stunned, brooding silence. Theresa’s camp had massive farms, an industrial–scale food processing nt, livestock, a marketce selling pork, fortified defenses, and a mature trading system… Compared to that, their camps felt like primitive settlements in Karifa.
<i>Just </i><i>how </i><i>powerful </i><i>is </i><i>she</i><i>?! </i>
Yuki’s family warmly weed Theresa and her two tagalongs for dinner. Yuki’s mother pulled out all the stops, preparing a steaming, mouthwatering spread. They even had drinks on the table.
For Lucas and Theron–who’d been scraping by since the start of the apocalypse–this was the first time in forever that they’d seen food like this: shakshouka, braised meat, chicken and potato stew, stir–fried garden greens, and sauteed zhini.
Ordinary home cooking, sure, but made with the freshest possible ingredients. The zhini alone had to be greenhouse–grown. Where else could anyone get something like that right now?
Even Lucas, who had asionally mooched a meal at Theresa’s before, felt moved by how rare and precious this was.
“You didn’t have to go all out,” he said, eyes on the table. “Whatever you normally eat is fine.”
Yuki tilted her head. “But this <i>is </i>what we normally eat.”
“Ahem.” Theresa gave a quick cough. “Let’s keep it lowkey. No need to shock our dear allies.”
Lucas and Theron were rendered speechless.
By the end of the meal, both men werepletely floored. Watching the residents return home in small groups after their shifts, calling out greetings to Theresa like it was the most natural thing in the world…. that kind of peace and prosperity didn’t exist in their camps. In fact, it probably didn’t exist anywhere else in the apocalypse–except here.
Chapter 194 The Empire of Comfort and Control
45 Free <b>Coins </b>
Theresa waved off their stunned looks with a smirk. “Don’t be discouraged. Sure, you’re nothingpared to me, but you’re still doing better than most camps! As long as you don’tpare yourselves to <i>me</i><i>. </i>people still think your bases are pretty solid.”
Is that supposed to <i>be </iforting?
The two men were too demoralized to even respond.
Later that night, after returning to Theresa’s bunker, Lucas finally broke the silence. “Theresa, I’d like to make a trade with you. I want tomission you to process a batch of food for me.”
He’d brought back arge haul from the provision depot, but due to poor storage conditions, he’d been worried about spoge. Now that he’d seen Theresa’s setup for food processing, he knew exactly what he needed.
“We’re friends,” she said easily. “So, of course, I’ll do it–let’s just talk price.”
Lucas fell speechless for a moment before saying, “I’ll give you 0.2 pounds of goods per pound processed.”
“Make it 0.5,” she countered. “And I’ll allow you to trade for our dehydrated vegetable packs–three pounds of grain for one pack.”
Lucas thought for half a minute. “Deal.”
Theresa made her profit through trade surpluses–importing raw materials, exporting refined goods, and pocketing the difference. She had no interest in conquering or managing other camps. Why bother with the hassle of governance when she could enjoy all the benefits without the burden?
Conquering a camp meant taking on its people and their needs. But this way, her camp drew in their raw goods, returned just enough processed items, and hoarded all the real wealth. She carried none of the risk -only the reward.
All she wanted was absolute camp hegemony.
Her ambitions weren’tplicated: stay on top. She wasn’t trying to be a good person. She wanted a dominant camp. And she meant to rule it like one.
After hammering out the deal, they spent some time discussing the next day’s offensive direction. The conversationsted until midnight, at which point Theresa assigned them to stay in one of Kyle’s guest -cabins.