Chapter 8
Trading
Several hours later, the crowd gathered on the rooftop, their faces filled with worry.
Only Caesar and a few others remained calm, seemingly unconcerned that the walkers would storm the building.
Morales, Andrea, and the others had been trying to escape the building for the past few hours.
But no matter whether it's through the building's drainage system or the connections between high-rise buildings, there's no way to escape.
There were enough zombies to completely seal off the area.
Rick was also exhausted. He acted like a nice guy, going into the sewers and following Glenn up the roof. He did it all.
Having caught his breath, Moore rested his hands on his knees and chuckled hoarsely, "A few idiots, they can't escape no matter how much they run away."
"I urge you to release me immediately. If you make me the captain, I will take you out."
"Otherwise, your lives might be in danger."
Moore's words, hoarse and unpleasant, irritated Andrea: "Even if you're beaten to a pulp, will you shut up?"
The woman caught Moore's attention, and Moore smiled wickedly, not angry but teasingly saying, "Oh, really? Beauty."
"Would you like to experience my power?"
Mo'er licked his lips and thrust his lower body forward.
Enraged, Andrea drew her gun and charged at Mor.
Before Andrea could reach Mor, she delivered a powerful punch to Mor's sleep switch.
His eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
"Remember to learn to shut up, Moore." Rip tugged at his gloves and gave Moore a disdainful look.
Moore's outburst only intensified the anxious atmosphere.
Morales stood on the edge of the rooftop, looking at the wandering zombies all around, trying to find a way out.
Jacques and Andrea, standing nearby, also wanted to lend a hand.
No matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find any hope of escaping.
Glenn glanced at his companions a few times, then strode over to Caesar and whispered, "You can lead us out of here, right?"
Caesar shrugged: "I don't know what you're talking about."
Glenn took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and softened his voice: "What do you want? We can try our best to satisfy you, it's just..."
Glenn glanced back at his companions, his eyes pleading: "Just don't use us as scapegoats, don't treat our lives like they're yours."
Caesar did not speak.
The two men looked at each other for a moment, and Caesar nodded: "Alright, I can take you out, but you have to take us to the quarry."
"A quarry?" Glenn hesitated for a moment, then agreed, "Okay."
"Go and tell your people to pack their things."
Caesar watched Glenn walk to his companions, and a few seconds later, Morales and the others were overjoyed, their gloom instantly vanishing.
"Notify Tite to prepare the rocket launchers," Caesar ordered Rip.
"Okay." Rip took the walkie-talkie and went into the stairwell.
A few minutes later, Rip returned to Caesar's side and whispered, "Tite said we'll be on Baker Street in twenty minutes. There's a restaurant on the other side of the street."
"That's a good place to lure away the zombies."
After waiting a while, Rip continued, "We don't have many rocket launchers left from the outskirts of the city, so we have to use them sparingly."
Caesar smiled and patted Rip on the shoulder.
"For safety reasons, there's no need to conserve ammunition for now."
"I guarantee we'll soon have an abundance of ammunition, more than we can use."
Rip's lips twitched; this was nothing short of a fantasy.
But since he was the boss, Rip didn't deny Caesar's idea.
You're right.
Caesar understood Rip's thoughts through his distrustful gaze, but who was the fool and who was the wise man remained to be seen.
Twenty minutes later, at the back entrance of the department store, countless supplies were laid out at the entrance.
Emergency food items include energy bars, compressed biscuits, canned food, nuts, dried meat, multi-tools such as knives, flashlights, and radios, as well as tents and sleeping bags.
In addition to these, there are also beverages such as cigarettes, alcohol, and coffee.
These things are piled up to the brim.
Morales, sweating profusely and panting, put down a large bag of sleeping bags.
Glenn, Andrea, and Jacques, who were standing nearby, were in no better shape.
Caesar nodded. "Good efficiency. Rip will bring the big truck from the alleyway in a bit."
"You just need to load the goods into the truck."
Morales asked, "Are there any supplies for us among these?"
Originally, he only planned to carry some supplies with his companions.
Now that we have big trucks, we can carry a lot of things at once. If I help out with some hard labor, I should be able to get something in return.
"no."
Caesar shook his head, showing no sign of compromise, and said instead, "That truck will be ours. Your help in moving things is just part of the price you have to pay for escaping the department store."
"I'm already being very kind by allowing you to put your own supplies in your backpacks."
Caesar wasn't some pushover; these supplies were his own, so of course he wanted to use them on his comrades, not just give them away to outsiders.
boom--
A cylindrical rocket crashed into the restaurant, its powerful kinetic energy carrying astonishing destructive force, instantly turning the restaurant beyond recognition.
The remaining flammable and explosive gases released a powerful burst of energy, sending billowing black smoke swirling out of the store and rising up the walls.
The two explosions shook the ground, causing cracks to appear in the concrete.
The zombies, like insects drawn to light, followed closely into the restaurant.
The department store was located on Baker Street, and the ground tremors were transmitted into the department store.
Caesar's face lit up with joy, and he quickly said, "Rip, Jimmy, go and drive the big truck outside."
"it is good."
Rip clipped his sunglasses to his necklace, grabbed a baseball bat, and rushed out the back door.
Jimmy quickly followed, also carrying a baseball bat.
Two or three zombies wandered into the backstreet at some unknown time, and Rip stepped forward and swung his stick fiercely.
A zombie was struck in the face, its jaw dislocated, teeth scattered on the ground, before it collapsed.
Like a charging warrior, Rip easily felled every walker that stood in his way.
Jimmy, following behind, frantically raised and lowered the baseball bat repeatedly.
I've been busy all day, but I don't even know what I've been busy with.
The two quickly got into the large truck blocking the alley entrance; its long rear cargo box could obviously hold a lot of supplies.
The zombie lying on the ground struggled to get up.
Morales, dressed in black protective gear, rushed out and began frantically smashing a stick against the zombies on the ground.
Perhaps due to their lack of experience in dealing with zombies, it took the two of them a long time to finally manage to kill a few.