Chapter 284: Chapter 192: Daydreams
Unlike Paige Summers, Claire Chapman couldn’t quickly come to terms with the idea of Corpse Refining. To a large extent, some of his views were heavily influenced by his father. As a soldier, his father loathed such unorthodox methods.
However, he and his father were still different.
During his time out in the world, he had been constantly exposed to new things, ideas, and perspectives.
So, it was just a matter of him not being able to wrap his head around it at the moment.
Despite this, he still did a good job of comforting May Joyce.
Paige Summers and Sean Raines didn’t know exactly what he had said, but afterward, although May Joyce’s occasional glances toward Sean Raines were filled with fear and disgust, she ultimately didn’t cause any more trouble. She didn’t even mention the matter to anyone.
For Sean Raines, that was enough.
The journey leaving The Foundry went relatively smoothly.
Perhaps because they had secured the supplies, everyone was a little worked up and had fewer inhibitions, so they were exceptionally efficient at killing Zombies. Moving in fits and starts like this, it actually took them until the third day to get clear of The Foundry’s vicinity.
Upon returning to a relatively safe area, everyone collapsed from exhaustion.
They had fought too hard before.
But even though they were exhausted, it had been truly exhilarating!
Many of the team members looked at each other and couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
After fighting side-by-side for all this time, the members of the two teams had developed a sense of camaraderie, and the atmosphere between them became much more harmonious.
Claire Chapman and Paige Summers were both happy to see it.
The supplies, which Paige Summers had carefully selected, were revealed to everyone on the night they left The Foundry.
That night, the team members were indeed very excited, but at the same time, they were left scratching their heads.
The metals were certainly precious, but their weight made them incredibly difficult to carry back!
Of course, this was a problem for May Joyce’s team. The normal procedure for a supply run was for the team’s Space Ability User to transport the goods back to the city for everyone to divide. But theirs had died long ago; even their rations for this period had been provided by Bloodfall.
At the thought of this, even someone like May Joyce felt embarrassed.
Food was so precious in the apocalypse!
Just because someone was willing to share with you didn’t mean you could take it for free!
Just looking at Claire Chapman’s face, May Joyce couldn’t bring herself to ask for the previously agreed-upon share.
In the end, she only asked for forty percent of the supplies.
But even forty percent was more than they could carry back with just their own manpower.
So, May Joyce suggested, "After this mission, everyone is exhausted. How about we go to Stoneridge Base to rest and recuperate for a bit? There’s a Southreach contact point there. I’ll be able to find someone to come get the supplies quickly."
"Of course," Claire Chapman said with a smile, agreeing without a moment’s hesitation.
May Joyce’s heart fluttered. ’Is it because he’s worried about my safety? Or can he just not bear to leave me?’
Well, the reason was actually something else entirely.
The real reason was that Paige Summers had given Claire Chapman a heads-up earlier: they had to go check on Zephyr Mercer and make sure he wasn’t quietly harmed by Rhonda Chapman again!
And so, the group once again set off for Stoneridge Base.
Along the way, Paige Summers put the word out.
If any team member wanted to quickly exchange their share of the supplies for Crystal Cores, she would be happy to buy them.
This was definitely good news.
The people from Bloodfall all knew how sought-after her custom-made weapons were in Central City. No one was willing to miss this opportunity, and they all swarmed her to plead their case.
"Vice-captain, how about this? I don’t want the supplies, and I don’t want the Crystal Cores. I’ll trade it all for a good weapon that suits me!"
Looking at their fawning faces, Paige Summers couldn’t help but laugh.
"It’s possible," she said, "but you all know it takes me a while to make a weapon. This isn’t an assembly line at an armory; you can’t expect to get it in a day. Based on the current situation, one weapon will take at least three or four days." She deliberately gave them a generous timeframe, afraid they would be too impatient. In reality, if she could settle down somewhere, two days was enough for a weapon that wasn’t too complex.
Seeing that she had agreed, the team members nodded ecstatically. "Quality work takes time! It’s just a little wait. No problem, we’ve got plenty of time!"
"That’s good, then. Alright, sort yourselves out and make a list. I’ll take you one by one."
At these words, the team members instantly devolved into chaos, with no one willing to give way to another.
In the end, it was Claire Chapman who had to shout to stop them. He decided the order would be based on each squad’s role: those who were regularly on the front lines would go first, and the others would have to wait.
Seeing the exasperated look on Claire Chapman’s face, Paige Summers gave a sly smile. She had done it on purpose. ’You have to make a big splash if you want to catch a fish!’
