Chapter 202 Arlan’s Motive
Arlan was a bit surprised. He thought that the leader would be one of the two female teachers. He didn't think that it was actually the young man in front of him.
Arlan renewed his opinion about Brandon. He was not even in his twenties, but he managed to lead a group into safety.
Brandon felt a bit nervous when he sensed the change in Arlan's gaze, but he quickly calmed down.
"What was your name again?" Arlan asked with a smile.
"Brandon." Brandon replied. He wondered why Arlan had suddenly taken an interest in him.
"Brandon, is it? Follow me. I have something important to tell you." Arlan had high hopes for this young man. He could make use of his talent in devising tactics. Other than Winter and Cedrick, he didn't have another strategist under his command. Most of his subordinates were powerful warriors, but they were lacking when it came to planning and scheming. Although Brandon was still quite young, Arlan believed that with some training, Brandon could become a top strategist in his territory.
Brandon furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but he still nodded his head. Arlan was the person who saved them so he had to give him some face. Furthermore, he was also curious about his objective.
Arlan brought Brandon to a separate room. He couldn't bring him out since Brandon was still in quarantine. He didn't want to break the rules because it would hurt the acting president's image to the public.
"Sit down." Arlan said as he pointed at a seat.
After sitting down, Brandon stared at him and asked. "Sir, is there anything I can help you with?" He knew that Arlan had a motive for bringing him somewhere private.
Arlan leaned on his chair and said in a serious voice. "Brandon, Maharlika is in a mess right now and even the government is crippled. At this moment, almost 90% of our country's population is already infected with the zombie virus, while the remaining 10% is struggling to survive."
Brandon's expression turned solemn upon hearing this. He thought that the government managed to save the country's key officials, but from Arlan's words, it seems like that wasn't the case.
Arlan continued. "This shelter has more than 2 million people, but the government can't afford to give them enough resources. Each family can only eat once a day and the food they receive is just processed food or compressed biscuits. Fresh meat and vegetables are very rare. Luckily, there is still accessible water. However, if more people come to the shelter, the resources won't be enough for all of them."
"Sir, just say what you want to say." Brandon said.
Arlan smiled in embarrassment. "Ahem! To fill in the needs of the people, that's when our soldiers will step in. I brought you here since I believe that you have what it takes to be a great soldier. Don't get me wrong. I'm not going to send you to the battlefield. I want you to be a strategist for the army."
"A strategist?" Brandon was taken aback by his words.
"That's right. What do you think?" Arlan wasn't too hopeful. Not many people had the guts to fight with those zombies. Even being a strategist also had its dangers since they had to be on the battlefield sometimes.
Brandon scrunched his eyebrows as he fell into deep thought. With the collapse of the country, he could no longer pursue his college and even finding a job would be very difficult. "If I become a strategist, what benefits do I get?" He asked while looking at Arlan.
Hearing this, he knew that there was a chance to get this talented young man. Arlan smiled as he patiently explained. "We don't use cash now and in my territory, we use a currency called credit points. Everyone can earn credit points by doing jobs assigned by the army or the government. These credit points can be used to exchange for resources in the store. I made our old currency as the basis so 1 credit point is worth 1 Maharlika Peso. A normal soldier earns 50,000 credit points a month and this will increase as their ranks go up. As for strategists, we don't have one in the territory so I haven't thought about it yet... How about 60,000 credit points as your starting salary?" He didn't want to give Brandon a high salary for the time being.
Brandon took a deep breath. If 1 credit point was worth 1 Maharlika Peso, that means Arlan's offer was worth 60,000 Maharlika Peso. He wouldn't earn this amount of money even if he graduated from college. Most fresh graduates only earn about 20,000 Maharlika pesos and some would even earn less than that. This also means that Arlan placed a high importance on strategists.
Arlan didn't rush him. He just quietly stared at Brandon who was still in deep thought.
After a couple of minutes, Brandon raised his head and replied. "I accept your offer."
"Good!" Arlan clapped his hands. "Once your quarantine ends, someone will come to pick you up. They will bring you to an island where my territory is located. We will talk again when the time comes."
"Yes, sir!" Brandon shook hands with Arlan. He also had high expectations for his future, but then he suddenly thought about his friends. "Sir, what about my friends? Do you have any plans for them?" He asked.
Arlan's smile faded.
Seeing this, Brandon's face fell. "Sir, there are three talented people that I wish to recommend from our group. The first one is Carlo. He is a very athletic guy and he is also very strong for someone his age. If trained properly, he could be a great soldier. Another one is a girl named Arianne. She is also good at devising tactics. Lastly, there is a girl named Celine. She is a sickly person, but she is good at handling business matters. Her father is also the mayor of Quezon City so she has some background in politics." Brandon wanted to save his closest friends so he had to make Arlan value them.
Arlan revealed a look of interest. "If what you say is true about those people, I will take them along." He still had to do a background check on the people he mentioned. He wasn't foolish enough to believe his words right away.
Brandon heaved a sigh of relief. "You can rest assured, sir."
"Don't worry. I'll look into it. You may go back." Arlan smiled at him.
Brandon returned to the quarantine room and everyone immediately asked him why he was taken to a separate room.
"Brandon, what did you guys talk about?" One of the female teachers asked inquisitively.
Brandon stared at her calmly and replied. "Sir Arlan was just asking if we had seen more survivors in Quezon." He didn't want to tell them about what he had talked about with Arlan.
The female teacher was still suspicious of him, but she didn't ask more questions.
Brandon went to a corner and Carlo quickly followed him.
"Hey, buddy." Carlo called out to him.
Brandon turned his head. When he saw Carlo's face, he knew that this guy was also curious about his conversation with Arlan. "What is it?" He pretended to be oblivious.
Carlo scratched his head. "Ays. Nevermind."
Brandon chuckled and beckoned to him. "Come here."
Carlo went closer to him.
"You want to be a soldier like Sir Sigurd, right?" Brandon asked.
Carlo was surprised when he heard this. "Yeah. I think he looks cool, but why are you asking me this?"
Brandon stared at him seriously and said. "Carlo, the world is no longer the same as before. With the outbreak of the zombie virus, our country's government was paralyzed. The government wouldn't be able to feed everyone and it would be very difficult to find a job. We have to be strong in order to survive in this harsh world. You have to make use of your abilities to stand out from the rest."
Brandon's heavy words stunned him. "Did Sir Arlan tell you something?" Carlo asked in a low voice.
Brandon nodded his head gravely. "I don't know the full details yet, but from Sir Arlan's words, I assume that humanity is in great danger this time. Carlo, I hope you won't decline his offer when the time comes."
Carlo furrowed his eyebrows.
"Hey! What are you two discussing?" A teasing voice suddenly interrupted them.
The two turned their heads and saw Arianne and Celine walking towards them.
Brandon shook his head and didn't say anything, while Carlo shrugged.
"Come on! We've been through a lot in the last few days." Arianne shamelessly sat in between them.
Celine wasn't as shameless as her so she just stood there awkwardly.
Brandon gently pushed her away. "You are a woman so please have some respect for yourself. The others might misunderstand our relationship if you act like this."
Arianne snorted at his words. She then stood up and elbowed him before storming away. Celine didn't know what to do and just followed Arianne.
"Aiyah! Brandon, you are smart, but you really don't know how to talk with women." Carlo laughed at him.
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