Chapter 404 The First Recruits
“I, Darian te, will follow only your orders from now on! Whatever you say, I’ll do it!”
Theresa studied the quick–witted boy. “Your name is Darian te.”
“Yeah! And this is my dad, Chadric te.”
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Theresa’s gaze shifted to the middle–aged man beside him, whose color had returned. She gave him a small nod.
Chadric, however, regarded her with wary eyes. “Miss, what exactly do you want us to do?”
“Nothing much.” Theresa crouched down so they were eye level. “I want you to be a leader of the resistance here in this camp.”
“Resistance?” Chadric’s eyes widened.
“Don’t you want that?”
“I want it more than anything!” Darian shot to his feet.
“Darian…”
“Dad, this camp has already pushed us to the edge of death. What could be worse than that?” Darian’s voice was steady. “Do you really want to go on living like this?”
Chadric fell silent.
Darian pressed on. “You were coughing so badly just now. Without thisdy, the camp would’ve thrown us out or sent us to the researchb. We’ve already been to the brink once. I’m not afraid of dying!”
Theresa couldn’t help her satisfaction at the boy’s resolve.
Atst, his father spoke<i>. </i>After holding her gaze for a long moment, Chadric said, “We’ll do as you say, miss.”
“Good. I’ll give you whatever help I can,” Theresa replied. “All you need to do is grow your strength.”
“Alright.”
With two more recruits secured, Theresa stood. Her eyes dropped to the food in their hands, and she pulled rice balls, braised eggs, and instant noodles from her domain. “Stop eating that. Eat these instead.”
The boy’s eyes lit up instantly.
So much good food–and she’s giving it to us!
“Do you have somewhere to store supplies?” Theresa asked.
The father and son exchanged a look. “The camp’s security is tight. We can’t take much out. We can only hide things in the dump
Theresa thought for a moment, then brought out a pile of instant noodle seasoning packets.
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Chapter 404 The First Recruits
“Keep these. You can use them to recruit followers.”
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Before the apocalypse, these oily, salty packets were considered junk food. After it, they were priceless.
Packed with fat and salt, they could turn a nd meal into a feast and provide much–needed energy. If people were willing to scrape grease off the floor, that said everything about how deprived they were.
If Darian could hand out seasoning packets to others, he’d easily draw a following. What was more, they were small, easy to hide, and worth a fortune.
After weighing it, Theresa handed over a generous supply.
The father and son stared at the pile in shock.
These… these <i>are </i>like <i>gold </i>now! And <i>she </i><i>just </i><i>gave </i><i>them </i><i>to </i><i>us</i><i>! </i><i>How </i><i>rich </i><i>and </i><i>generous </i><i>must </i><i>she </i><i>be</i><i>?! </i>
“Ma’am, we’ll recruit for you, but you don’t need to give us so much,” Darian said, still stunned.
“This is too valuable,” Chadric added, hesitant to touch them.
Things like this were for people on the third floor and above–no one else ever got them.
Theresa smiled faintly. “Do your job well. I’ll be back. And if you seed, what I give you next time will be a thousand times better than this.”
Both the father and son gasped.
A <i>thousand </i>times <i>better</i>? <i>What </i><i>kind </i>of <i>power </i><i>does </i><i>she </i><i>have </i><i>to </i><i>promise </i><i>that</i><i>? </i>
Still reeling, they watched her walk away.
Only when she had disappeared did Chadric exhale. “Son, I think we’ve met a benefactor.”
“I know! She saved you–she’s my benefactor!”
Chadric smiled, ncing at the blood–stained stic bag in his hand, tempted to finish what was inside. But Darian snatched it away and tossed it into the dump. “Dad, I’m never letting you eat that kind of thing again.”
–“You…”
“We’d better gobble these before that manager finds out and we’re in trouble again.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Chadric took the braised egg and rice ball Theresa had given them.
They were ready to eat right out of the packet. Soft, fragrant rice wrapped around filling–one bite was enough to bring tears to their cyck.
This <i>is </i>incredible<i>! </i>
In more than two years of the apocalypse, they hadn’t tasted anything like it.
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