Chapter 537
Morning soon came and we were preparing for the president's departure.
Since the materials for making bullets they've sent us were still being processed, Oscar and I decided to send them several barrels of 5.56s, 7.62s, 9mms, and .45 ACPs that we had on stock. Shotgun shells and other calibers were also sent over to them but the ratio between the four I mentioned earlier was widely skewed.
They numbered close to a few hundred thousand but a portion of them was the cheap steel-cased ammo the old man bought in bulk. They were purchased before it all started and we still had a lot in stock that was mainly used for trading with other camps and training new gun owners.
Aside from those, the samples and the recordings of the undead we collected so far were handed over to them but copies of the original recording stayed with us. The specimens were kept tight and secure in a large shipping container so as to not have problems when flying over large distances.
A few more things were done in between but after their departure, things went back to dealing with this thing together.
Several days have passed and a lot of things happened in between.
For the first few days, I was busy working in my workshop with Rin and the others. We melted scrap metal, made lead projectiles, tumbled cases, and etc., replenishing the ammo we sent over to the president by using the materials they've sent and the ones we had on hand. I couldn't simply leave it to Rin because the workload was enormous and I even stopped going outside. However, I had to give it to her because most of the prep work was done already and I only need to do the finishing touches for the most part.
When taking breaks with creating bullets, we would be gathered in my room to polish and maintain the firearms we collected from each run, making sure that everything was in working condition. This type of job still needed a bit of meticulousness but I brought in a few people like Chris, Charlotte, Lois, Olivia, Alex, and the other young ones that wanted to learn more about other firearms to further their knowledge and to familiarise themselves with different ones.
I finally had the time to teach more classes in the day and it was refreshing. My group and I would always face rotting bodies after rotting bodies and it was nice to see a different scenario. Kaley was by my side the whole time and I even let her teach a few classes in between. She would take over the class that wanted to learn about using long rifles while I would always teach the classes for handguns.
Our 'shooting range' that used to be just a plot of land with a dirt mound had already developed to be similar to indoor shooting ranges and it was sound-proof and had the proper equipment available. Safety measures were in place and not anyone could simply enter and waste bullets. Classes were scheduled properly and only 'certified' teachers like me, Kaley, Oscar, Matthew, Johnny, and etc. without asking permission. It was closed to the public and only a few people had the key to open the facility.
At the same time this was happening, I let Tatiana form a group with Mikhail to continue with whittling down the threats outside and exploring several points of interest we could gain a lot of supplies and valuable information from. As soon as they came upon a gold mine, they would stay put and give a call to the main base so they could get some help with hauling the supplies back. In other times, they would take down the walls made of piled-up bodies, clearing the road for safe passage.
As for Jared and Ibarra going to the La Mesa Dam with Artem and his group, Vera would give me updates regarding their status but Jared would also give me tidbits of information on an hourly basis. He would mention the streets that they've cleared, the hard drives they collected, the relays they've installed, and the place they've last visited. Most of the time, I would hear him squabbling with Ibarra because of their different tastes for the MREs that they've packed, but Artem would stop them by giving his speech about how hot pockets were superior.
Speaking of food, a few vacant houses were slowly converted to vertical gardens, and not only food was grown there but also medicinal plants that could be used in place of our medicine. Finding more genuine replacements for sickness was key and a separate greenhouse was being planned solely for growing such plants. Aside from those, our mushrooms were a huge hit for the kids so most households would have fruiting bags of their own, hitting several birds with one stone.
'Having everyone well-fed is the key but teaching them to do it themselves is much better… Teach a man to fish…'
Kaley and I decided to hang around inside the main base for a few days more so we would have an idea of what everyone's relationship with each other was like.
From time to time, we would catch Alex speaking to Jared for short bits but she would stop the moment the girls would start teasing her. A few couples would sprout here and there but Marisha would make sure to educate them properly. A few things couldn't be avoided when couples were alone so they needed to be smart and responsible for themselves. All we could do was to remind them about our current situation and the things that would occur the moment they got careless.
In that time frame, Kaley and I opened the idea Micah proposed to me to Marisha. Kaley had more or less agreed with me and we decided to tell her mom to know her opinions about it.
“And you planned this when?” Marisha was rubbing her glabella.
“Right before they left, she actually sprang it up the night before…” I replied.
“It would be difficult… that kind of thing is frowned upon in this country… It would be much harder for our people to accept that kind of thing compared to just implementing it. People might question your leadership if you just go on about it without planning ahead.”
Kaley spoke up, “That's why we decided to bring it up with you first mom, any suggestions?”
“Hmm, tell me, what did your other… partners say about it? I say partners because I don't know the exact number of your 'group' anymore…”
“Mom…”
“Are you two sure that the girls coming here wouldn't be exclusive to just your group? Judging from your circle, no one seems to be getting out, it just gets larger and larger… Kaley, can you even satisfy this young man or is he just that… young?”
“Mom! It's not- We're just-”
“I'm joking obviously, can't you see that? Anyway, what if we do it gradually? You know, letting a few know at a time?”
Kaley's eyebrows scrunched, “How would that work?”
Marisha smiled as she looked at her daughter, “Kaley, you know my job, right? People tell me everything, I know which ones need that sort of thing the most. A few of them are, for lack of a better word, s.e.x.u.a.lly frustrated while a few just needed a quick release or in between. Some just wanted to experience it without being in a relationship while a few wanted to experience something they couldn't do with their current one.”
I interjected, “Umm, we think it's not a good idea to have couples going behind their partner's backs. Well, unless their partner allowed it.”
“Hmm, good point. We need to establish a rule like that. Kaley might one day invite them all into your room…”
“Mom!”
“I'm joking! Can't you tell?”
“…”
“Anyway, the issue still remains. Let's just let it simmer for a while and work out a few things before they arrive. In all honesty, a few people would be happy that this service would be present.”
“Really? Who?”
“I'm not gonna say who are they but you know what I'm getting at, right? Let's have them experience it first as a test run before we let the others that just wanted to do it, do it. Obviously, I'll talk to the girls first to get a piece of their mind as to how they resorted to doing that kind of stuff and go from there. Let's keep everything discreet first and work something out with the people I've talked with.”
“That sounds okay…”
“It wouldn't be smooth sailing but let's see what would happen first. Anything we missed?”
“Um…”
We spent the rest of the day talking with Marisha and it was a great idea to talk to her first. She would joke around to fish a reaction from Kaley and it was nice to see the two getting along and able to talk about subjects like this professionally for the most part.
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