Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System

Just as Dillon opened his trembling mouth to answer Damien, there was a soft knock on the door.

Tristan quickly excused himself to answer it and came back a few moments later.

Dillon used these few additional minutes to figure out what to say, but his mind continued to blank.

He could no longer use the weather as an excuse, and because he was so close to catching Julian previously, he couldn't say that there was no trail.

Tristan walked over to Damien and whispered something into his ear, then handed him a small object.

Dillon was still nervously standing still, staring at the floor when he heard Damian chuckle in a deep voice.

"Well, well. Today is your lucky day indeed. It seems like your men were being held in the holding cells with other captives. They brought back some news", smiled Damien.

He lifted the object, holding it between his fingers.

Dillon looked up and saw a familiar bullet. "This! Where is this from?", he asked with wide eyes.

"Haha, your little underling brought it back with him. Along with the news that the government base has been wiped out", laughed Damien.

He stood up from his chair and walked over to Dillon.

"This is your last chance. You, yourself, will go out this time and find Julian. Don't come back until you do!", he said grabbing Dillon by the collar of his shirt.

Dillon held his breath, nodding his head. The sweat had already begun to seep through his clothes, creating dark spots on his back and underarm areas of his shirt.

As soon as Damien let go of him, Dillon quickly scurried off to get ready to find Julian himself.

"Pathetic dog", spat Damien.

"Hopefully this time he will produce results. Your methods are as effective as always", said Tristan, walking over to stand beside Damien.

"Ha! If only I could go out there myself! I hate relying on others...well except you. You've never once failed me", he grinned.

Tristan looked at him expressionlessly, "You honor me. Now if you excuse me, I need to send vital data to the labs. It seems this version of the drug has bred cannibals"

"Go. Tell them to stop being useless, I'm tired of these nonstop setbacks", sighed Damien. He was so close to achieving his goal.

As soon as Julian's head gets delivered on a silver platter, he will personally lead the charge to take over the country and lead the world into a new era.

---

On the other side of town, Rayne and Julian were finally approaching the rural areas where most of the farming and agriculture was done.

The once fertile fields were now overgrown with weeds, replacing the usual sight of seasonal vegetables.

"The poultry farm should be right up this hill over here", pointed Rayne.

They drove up the hill and pulled down a long gravel driveway. As they got closer to the barn, Rayne opened the window and heard the clucking sounds of chickens inside.

"Oh my goodness! I think we've found them!", she called out happily.

Julian parked the car in front of the barn and stepped out of the car, walking over to open Rayne's door for her.

"Thank you", she smiled and hopped out.

They walked over to the entrance of the barn door, excited to reveal the chickens inside.

"One more step and I'll blow your heads off", a man's voice called out from inside.

Rayne and Julian both froze, they were so excited about the chickens that they didn't realize that there was someone else there.

"We apologize for intruding! We're been looking for chickens for our settlement, and came out this way in hopes of finding them", said Rayne, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

"Beat it missy, these chickens are ours, go find your own!", he shouted from inside.

Rayne frowned, she could tell from all of the sounds inside that there were at least a hundred chickens.

"Surely you can spare a few?", asked Rayne.

The man laughed, "Now why would I give you any of these chickens that I worked so hard to raise? Now get out of here before my hand gets tired of holding this shotgun!"

Rayne looked up at the door, "Please wait! We are not asking for you to give them over for free! We would love to trade for them! Please, we only ask for a few chickens"

The man behind the door didn't reply for a few minutes, leaving Rayne standing awkwardly in front of the barn.

Julian walked over and placed his hand on Rayne's head, "Come, we can try a different farm".

Rayne looked up at him and nodded quietly.

They walked back over to their car when the bard door finally opened, revealing a short man in overalls.

"What kind of items do you have to trade?", he finally asked.

Rayne quickly turned around and smiled. "We actually have a large variety of goods right now. Is there anything specific you're looking for?"

The short man looked over at her and the large SUV behind her.

"Ya'll got any cigarettes? I've been dying to smoke one", he said putting his gun down.

Before Rayne could answer a young girl ran out of the barn, "Daddy no! We need medicine and food for the chickens!"

Rayne looked down at the cute but messy girl and smiled.

"Hi there, do your chickens like eating corn? I happen to have a few bags of dried corn", smiled Rayne, bending down to meet the girl at eye level.

The girl hid behind the man's leg and peeked out, nodding at Rayne.

"Well well, I guess I can settle without a cigarette for a while longer. How many bags of corn do you have? We'll take them all", said the man, patting the girl behind him.

Experience new tales on My Virtual Library Empire

Rayne was happy that they seemed like nice people, even after such a rough greeting. She walked over to the trunk of her SUV and quickly filled it with sacks of dried corn, clothing, and canned food items.

He looked at the girl who had dirt all over her face and decided to add soaps, shampoos, and other hygiene items.

Julian walked over to the man, "Is it just the two of you here?". There were a lot of chickens here for just a father and daughter to handle.

The man shook his head, "Nah, we've got a small group of people living here. Mostly the local farmers and their families".

Julian nodded then looked back to see if Rayne was ready to present their 'goods' for trading.