Are You Ready?

The next day was calm as usual, and earthquakes were nothing out of the ordinary for the people at Base K. They were more interested in discussing the situation with the people from R country.

"The coastal areas around R country triggered a tsunami, and I heard it destroyed two more cities."

"Good riddance. Those people deserve to die for their own sins."

"I'm worried that more and more people will turn to piracy. They know we have supplies and are determined to occupy our territory."

"The people of R country are shameless by nature, ambitious. I'm not afraid of them. If we can't beat them at sea, I don't believe we'll lose to them on land."

Alice listened to similar conversations along the way until she reached Ignatius's house and saw him admonishing Hurley.

"Be careful on the road. If you encounter danger, have someone come back and report. I'll send people to support you. And, Alice, no matter how capable she is, she's still a girl. Take care of her."

"Okay, I know. You've said that several times already," Hurley replied, looking somewhat helpless. He wasn't lacking in brains.

Alice: "..."Base Commander, are you ready?" she asked, walking over with a smile.

Ignatius turned to look, somewhat embarrassed by her sudden appearance, and cleared his throat awkwardly.Five trucks, a hundred people. Is that enough for you?" 

Alice couldn't help but glance at Hurley, silently questioning why he didn't intervene. Did they really need so many people? Going out in such a grand manner would surely alert any spies.

Hurley shrugged helplessly, indicating he didn't know either. He had already warned against bringing too many people along, but who knew...

Alice could only approach Ignatius and whisper, "Base Commander, three trucks and thirty people should be enough. It's best to use the excuse of transporting supplies. And send the other two trucks separately to confuse the enemy."Since the trucks and people had already been mobilized, sending them back would raise suspicions, so they had to split up.

"Will three trucks be too few?" Ignatius asked solemnly, having heard from Hurley that the arsenal was quite large.

"Not too few, just about right."Alice said

Seeing their insistence, Ignatius decided to remove two trucks and reduce the number of people from a hundred to thirty.

Of course, Ignatius didn't tell them they were going to transport weapons. They would understand when they arrived.Three trucks were ready to go, and many people, seeing the commotion, came to inquire about the purpose of the trip.

"I heard there's plenty of food at Base G, and we plan to go and trade with them a bit," Ignatius patiently explained to the crowd.

This explanation wasn't entirely false. Since they didn't need the remaining two trucks and their crew, Ignatius decided to send them to various bases in the surrounding area with various seafood and dried fish to trade for supplies. For example, at Base Y in the north, where they had plenty of grain but lacked meat, they could complement each other and gather information about other bases along the way. Ignatius thought this was a good idea, killing two birds with one stone.

And so, with five trucks and nearly a hundred people, they set off in a grand procession.

Alice and Hurley drove their own vehicle, not joining the others. Everyone knew Hurley was the Base Commander's nephew, so naturally, they followed his orders.

With a map in Hurley's hands, he led the way, followed closely by Alice, with the three trucks bringing up the rear.

Base K was 2,800 kilometers away from Peach Blossom Village, and this journey would take at least half a month to complete.

Alice was used to life on the road and didn't find it difficult to endure.

On the first day, they traveled five hundred kilometers and stayed overnight in a small town.

After the apocalypse, almost all cities had become ghost towns, leaving only the sound of the wind in their wake.

Some people had never traveled far from home before, and seeing this scene made their hair stand on end.

But for Alice and Hurley, this was routine. For dinner, they decided not to attract attention and planned to make do with some dry rations.

Crawford approached them, smiling, "Mr. Hurley, Miss Alice, we're making pancakes. Come join us. It's better to have more people; this place is too empty."

Not only was the surroundings empty, but the nearby residential buildings were also dark and lifeless.

Alice politely declined with a faint smile, "No need, we've already eaten our rations. We're not hungry now. You go ahead and eat."

Crawford didn't leave in a hurry; he stood by their car and asked in a lowered voice, "Miss Alice, what are we really doing on this trip?"

Hurley calmly scrutinized him and casually asked, "What's wrong? Didn't the Base Commander tell you?"

"The Base Commander said we're going to transport supplies, but while all the other trucks are loaded, ours are empty. I'm just curious. If it's inconvenient to say, never mind," Crawford felt that something was off.

"Don't think too much. We're just hauling goods," Alice chuckled.

Crawford didn't press further, thinking he would find out sooner or later. As he returned to his teammates, Julius, who was close to him, approached and patted his shoulder, "So, did you find out?"

"Miss Alice just said we're hauling goods. What else could it be besides transporting supplies? Let's focus on our own tasks," Crawford said, picking up a freshly baked pancake and devouring it.

Julius nodded absentmindedly, "Yeah, makes sense."

After eating and drinking their fill, they left a few people to stand watch and rested in the cars.

At Base K, the night was quiet.

"Ah!" A scream pierced the sky.

"Pirates are coming, wake up!"

Suddenly, the alarm blared through the night sky of Base K.

The members of the Allen family immediately woke up. Arnold grabbed his weapon and said seriously, "Mom, Dad, stay here. I'll go check it out."

Alexander also grabbed a gun and followed him, "Big brother, I'm coming too."

As they ran out onto the main road, they heard gunfire erupting.

Not far away, Ignatius was leading the defense against the invasion by the people from R country, but they were being forced back with each passing moment.

It was because the people from R country had more weapons and overwhelming firepower, almost forcing them into retreat.

Alexander couldn't stand by and watch. He took out the submachine gun that Alice had left behind and fired a barrage of shots, cursing angrily, "These damn bastards, let's kill them all."

Arnold glanced at him and said, "I'll go to where the Base Commander is. You cover me."If the Base Commander couldn't hold on until Alice and the others returned with weapons, Base K would fall.

"Okay.Alexander said

"With Alexander providing cover, Arnold successfully made his way to where the Base Commander was.He propped the submachine gun on a sandbag and opened fire directly.

A large number of enemies fell, and Ignatius glanced at him gratefully. But now wasn't the time for words; driving back the enemy was the priority.

Seeing that Base K had submachine guns, the pirates' firepower gradually diminished, and they began to retreat.

At the same time, many pirates surged into the courtyard area.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The pirates banged on the door with their guns, shouting, "Open the door, damn it!"