LOSS System: Last Store Standing

Jack held out the packages, and Elias took them almost before they had left his hands.

The moment he recognized the images on the packaging, his grip tightened.

“Are these seeds?”

Jack smiled and nodded.

“That’s right. They’re all ornamental plant seeds.”

Elias’s excitement settled a little when he heard they were ornamental plants, but he wasn’t disappointed.

“That doesn’t matter. As long as they can still sprout, they’re valuable.”

“I can’t promise they will,” Jack said. “But they should have a better chance than the seeds from the agricultural supply center. It’s just a shame there are only a few packages.”

“A few are enough. If even some of them sprout, we can collect more seeds from the plants later.” Elias carefully held the packages against his chest. “I’ll find Marga and have her plant them.”

Before Jack could remind him that they still hadn’t solved the tool problem, Elias had already hurried out of the convenience store.

Jack watched him disappear through the door and shook his head.

“Does he really have to be that impatient? We were just talking about tools.”

Megan rolled her eyes.

“You have no idea how fortunate you are to have those seeds.”

Jack was about to argue when he noticed that Megan seemed to be holding something back.

“What is it?”

“I’ve decided what I want to convert into an unlimited supply,” Megan said. She hesitated briefly before continuing, “The convenience store has sanitary pads, right? If possible, that’s what I want to choose.”

Jack hadn’t expected that answer, but he didn’t question her decision. Just as he was about to confirm it with LOSS, the system’s voice sounded in his mind.

“Designated resource: sanitary pads.”

“Confirm selection?”

“Confirm,” Jack replied immediately.

A moment later, the system spoke again.

“Human, resource conversion completed. The designated resource is located in the guest room on the second floor. Please inspect it yourself.”

Jack raised an eyebrow.

“LOSS, since when do you tell me where the converted resource is?”

No answer came.

Jack couldn’t resist taking another jab at it.

“Wow, LOSS. I didn’t realize you played favorites. Megan chooses something, and you immediately tell her where to find it. When it’s my turn, you confirm the conversion and disappear.”

The system remained silent.

Jack turned to Megan.

“It worked. The sanitary pads are in the guest room upstairs. You can check them later.”

“All right.”

Jack was still curious about her choice.

“I thought you were going to choose the anesthetic. Why did you go with sanitary pads instead?”

“The anesthetic was my first thought too,” Megan said. “But after thinking about it, I realized it wasn’t as urgent as I first assumed. We won’t need it every day.”

She continued,

“Sanitary pads are different. They’re a basic necessity. There are already three women here, including me. Ava is still young, but she’ll need them eventually too.”

That made sense to Jack.

“You’re right. That never even crossed my mind.”

Jack studied Megan with renewed curiosity.

“Speaking of which, we’re the same age. How are you already a doctor? Even with how little I studied, I know medical training isn’t something you finish in three or five years.”

“You remember that I finished high school at sixteen, right?” Megan asked.

Jack nodded.

“I completed a six-year medical program after that and started my family medicine residency at twenty-two. Before we came here, I was already in my third and final year.”

Now Jack understood.

“No wonder you were already in the final year of your residency at twenty-five.”

Then something else puzzled him.

“But I used to follow you on Instagram. How come I never saw you post anything about working in a hospital?”

“You think medical training leaves you with that much free time?” Megan asked. “Whenever I had a chance to rest, I’d rather sleep than take pictures and post updates.”

“You posted often enough whenever you traveled or went out to eat.”

“Do you think about work while you’re on vacation?”

Jack gave the question serious consideration.

“No.”

“Exactly.”

The mention of her old life seemed to bring something else to mind.

“It’s a shame I never got to finish,” Megan said. “I wonder how my supervising physician reacted when I suddenly disappeared.”

Jack caught the change in her tone.

“Don’t dwell on it. There’s nothing we can do about what already happened. Besides, so what if you didn’t finish the last part of your residency? You’re still the best doctor we have here.”

“I’m not as fragile as you think,” Megan said. “I just remembered it and felt a little sentimental.”

Jack grinned.

“I know. But the conversation was getting too serious. I had to say something.”

Megan had no response to that.

She knew Jack had only been trying to keep her from dwelling on the past. He had done something similar when those men came to cause trouble. The moment one of them openly threatened to kill anyone who stood in their way, Jack had walked straight up to him and started slapping him.

Megan knew he probably would have reacted the same way if anyone else in the settlement had been threatened.

Even so, the memory affected her in a way she hadn’t expected.

She pushed the thought aside and changed the subject.

“All right, enough joking around. What are you going to do about the tools?”

“That’s what I was going to discuss with Elias before he ran off.” Jack considered it for a moment. “Maybe we should return to the agricultural supply center. We should be able to find suitable tools there.”

Megan thought back to their previous visit.

“That should work. We were in a hurry last time and only searched a small part of the building. We already saw plenty of farming tools near the Flexible-Frame Barrier Mesh, so there should be a lot more in the areas we never reached. We might even find other supplies we haven’t thought of yet.”

“That’s what I was thinking. Now that we have the CUEV, the trip will be much faster too. If we can’t bring everything back at once, we can make several trips. We should be able to go back and forth a few times in one day.”

“Do you remember the way?” Megan asked. “Because I don’t.”

Jack tried to retrace the route in his mind, but nothing came back clearly enough.

“No. I think Gordon and Harvey are the only ones who know how to get there.”

“Then at least one of them has to come with us,” Megan said. “Neither of them knows how to drive the CUEV, which means you’d have to drive.”

Jack understood what she was getting at.

“Do you think you can handle the trip?” she asked.

“I can’t say I’m completely confident,” Jack admitted. “But confident or not, someone has to go. Otherwise, the people outside won’t have the tools they need.”

“That’s why I should drive,” Megan said. “Gordon or Harvey can give me directions. We’ll bring back the tools we need first and leave everything else until after we retrieve my car.”

Jack still wasn’t convinced.

“What if something happens along the way?”

“I know what you’re worried about. I won’t go inside to search. I’ll stay with the CUEV and wait outside. Once the tools are brought out, I’ll help secure them to the vehicle.”

Jack considered the plan before reluctantly agreeing.

“Then take Harvey. He’s stronger than Gordon, so if anything goes wrong, he’ll be better able to protect you.”

“Fine. Harvey can guide me.”

“Get ready, then. Leave as soon as possible and come back early. Take the gun too.”

Megan nodded and went upstairs to gather what she needed.

Jack found Harvey outside and explained the plan. Harvey agreed immediately, but before they could part ways, Elias hurried over.

“I got carried away when I saw the seeds,” Elias said, looking slightly embarrassed. “I didn’t remember the tools until after I left.”

“I knew it,” Jack said.

He explained that Megan and Harvey would be returning to the agricultural supply center. Once Elias learned that everything had already been arranged, he left with one less thing to worry about.

With nothing urgent left to handle, Jack remembered the Polar Pulse Ice Synthesizer.

He returned to the machine, plugged it in, and confirmed that it had power. Then he filled a large basin with clean water and poured it into the reservoir.

A row of physical knobs on the side controlled the water flow and cooling intensity. Jack set both to moderate levels, closed the front compartment, and switched on the ice synthesizer.

A low mechanical hum came from inside. Water began flowing into the molding chamber, accompanied by a faint vibration through the outer casing.

Jack waited, but no ice appeared.

“It is working, right?”

He leaned closer. The ice synthesizer continued humming, with the occasional sound of water passing through the pipes.

According to the system, the internal molding chamber would rapidly freeze the water once the ice synthesizer was connected to power and supplied with water. Jack had no idea how long a batch of ice cubes would take, though, so there was little point in standing there and watching it.

He left the ice synthesizer running and went outside to check on Megan and Harvey.

Harvey was already seated behind Megan on the CUEV, carrying a storage bag and several ropes for securing the tools. Megan had taken the driver’s seat and brought the revolver with her.

Jack looked at both of them.

“Be careful out there. If you run into real danger, don’t hesitate to use the gun. Your safety comes first.”

“I know,” Megan said. “Don’t worry.”

Harvey nodded as well.

Jack stepped aside, and Megan started the CUEV. The vehicle moved slowly across the open ground at first, then picked up speed as it followed the direction Harvey indicated.

Outside the moat, the fourteen men were setting up their tents under Gordon and Vane’s supervision. The sound of the passing vehicle made them stop and look up.

They watched the CUEV trail dust across the wasteland until it disappeared into the distance. Many of them made no attempt to hide their envy.

The leader watched it leave as well.

But unlike the others, envy wasn’t the only thing in his eyes.