let's go down for dinner.

At six o'clock in the evening, Alice went with her family to Ignatius's house. As they walked halfway, they saw a group of people carrying a stretcher rushing towards the hospital. The person on the stretcher was injured and groaning in pain.

Among the onlookers, someone remarked casually, "Judging by the looks of it, they must have encountered pirates again."

"Resources for survival are already scarce, and the people from the R country are too much. They not only claim territories as their own but also rob fishing boats at sea."

"They know we don't have weapons, so they don't dare to confront them head-on at sea. That's why they are becoming more and more arrogant. If this continues, they will eventually come ashore to attack us."

"We keep asking if the Base Commander can do something, but all we can do is bear it silently and swallow our grievances."

"Those damn R country people, one day I'll wipe them out, and let them be arrogant for a while longer."

Alice listened to the conversation in the crowd for a while before walking away. She knew Ignatius wasn't an inactive Base Commander; if he had the capability, he wouldn't allow the residents of the base to be harmed. As for the reason behind his inaction, she speculated it was either a lack of weapons or transportation, perhaps warships.

Arriving at Ignatius's house, only Hurley and the aunt responsible for cooking were there.

"Where's the Base Commander?" Atticus didn't come empty-handed and brought two bags of gifts, courtesy of Alice.

"Just now, someone reported that another person was attacked by pirates. Uncle went to check the situation. Please wait for a while," Hurley explained before personally serving them tea.

After a while, Alice and Hurley went up to the rooftop."The main reason the base hasn't confronted the pirates head-on is the lack of weapons. Remember the batch of military/firearms from Peach Blossom Village? I want you to help me bring them out," Hurley said.

With his limited space, Hurley couldn't fit the weapons unless he cleared out some items or borrowed Alice's space.

After a pause, Hurley continued, "If you're unwilling to make this trip, I'll store the goods in your space first, then clear out mine to make room for the weapons."

Of course, Alice was willing to help with this small favor. "No need for the trouble. Let's go together. If there are too many weapons for your space to handle, we'll need to make a second trip."

Hurley smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

"Will Base Commander suspect anything if just the two of us bring back the weapons? It's best to bring along a few more people," Alice suggested.

Hurley nodded. "Tomorrow, I'll ask him for a few people and arrange for a few more cars to accompany us. Once everything's set, we'll depart."

Eliminating the pirates was urgent; otherwise, the credibility of the Base Commander would diminish by the day. Some people, pushed to the limit, might even resort to betraying the base.

Such incidents had occurred before. Ignatius had ordered the detection of spies, and anyone seen inquiring about sensitive information was to be reported. After employing such strict measures, the base had calmed down considerably. However, many spies still infiltrated the base, especially those from the R country who looked very similar to the locals. As long as they could speak their native language, it was challenging to distinguish between them.

Capturing spies was a daunting task, especially with other trivial matters keeping Ignatius busy. Hurley looked at her with dark eyes and explained, "If it were anyone else, I wouldn't bother with this, but Ignatius is my uncle and the only family I have in this world. I can't just ignore him."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "Then please understand that I'm helping you, not the Base Commander, and certainly not the people of this base."

She could assist in transporting the weapons back, but she wouldn't intervene to help them eliminate the pirates unless the pirates posed a direct threat to her survival.

Just as they finished their discussion, they saw Ignatius approaching with a less-than-pleased expression. Spotting Alice, Ignatius forced a smile. "The fish is almost ready. Let's go down for dinner.""How are those people?" Hurley asked.

Ignatius's smile faded upon hearing this, replaced by anger. "A ship with over a dozen crew members, only five returned, barely clinging to life. Whether they survive is up to fate."

"We had a meeting at the base today, planning to organize a group to strike against the pirates. Even if we can't do much to them, we'll do our best to protect the fishermen." Ignatius took a deep breath, weariness evident in his expression.

"Don't rush into action. Tomorrow, I'll take a few cars and go get weapons," Hurley interrupted.

"Where are you going to get weapons? You can't just pick them up off the street."Ignatius said

Hurley then revealed the secret hidden in his home, and Alice happened to overhear.

It turned out that the weapons in Peach Blossom Village were leftovers from previous conflicts, originally stored in an armory. After liberation, the place was forgotten, and when they finally remembered and went to look for it, they couldn't find it at all.

In the end, they had to let things take their course, waiting for the villagers living there to discover it and report it to the authorities.

Until the apocalypse arrived, no one had discovered the existence of the armory.

Hurley's grandfather had been a soldier before, and he had told him about this when Hurley was a child.

Hurley used to take it as just a story until the apocalypse came, and with more and more robbers, he had to find weapons to protect himself.He had no means of purchasing weapons and happened to think of the armory in Peach Blossom Village, so he went there.Surprisingly, after his inquiries and studying the terrain suitable for building an armory, he actually found its exact location.After opening the armory, he took several guns and a box of ammunition, cramming just that into the limited space.

Later, just as he was about to leave, Peach Blossom Village was occupied by bandits.Then, he met Alice, who was transporting supplies!

Upon hearing this story, Ignatius was both amazed and delighted. With this batch of weapons, they wouldn't have to fear the pirates.

After a while, Ignatius asked anxiously, "After such a long time, won't those weapons have been discovered by someone?""Hurley's lips twitched. 'It's hard to say. Let's just hope your jinx won't come true.'"

Seeing Ignatius's distressed expression and his anxious demeanor, Hurley coughed lightly. "Don't worry, the armory is well-hidden. It hasn't been found for decades, so it's unlikely to be discovered anytime soon."Don't ask him why he's so sure; it's just a guess.

Ignatius was somewhat reassured, and he immediately said, "For the next few days, don't go out to sea. Bring the weapons back first."

Hurley nodded in agreement.

Alice also nodded. "Base Commander, rest assured, we will definitely bring the weapons back."

"You're going too?" Ignatius sounded somewhat surprised, not because he underestimated women, but because the journey was arduous, and Alice was willing to go along.

"Is there a problem?" Alice raised an eyebrow. "I'm not afraid of going out to sea."Compared to pirates, the bandits on land were nothing.

Ignatius choked for a moment, thinking about Alice's resolute character, so he didn't try to dissuade her. It might all be in vain in the end anyway.

After a while, he continued, "I'll try to choose trustworthy people for you, but there are many spies infiltrating the base. I'm not sure how many there are, so be careful. If someone stabs you in the back, it'll be disastrous."

Not only ordinary people but also the higher-ups in the base, Ignatius didn't trust them because previous anti-bandit operations had all failed. The reason was leaks in the plan, which nearly led to the annihilation of some of their forces.