LOSS System: Last Store Standing

Jack looked between the two representatives.

“What is it?”

The refugee at the front hesitated before saying, “We talked it over. Once the heat wave passes, all of us have decided to stay.”

They had traveled a long way to reach this place, and there was little reason for them to leave again. Jack wasn’t surprised by the decision.

“There’s something else,” the refugee continued. “Nine of us are going to keep living at the agricultural supply center.”

Jack blinked.

“At the agricultural supply center?”

“Yeah. Justin, Chen, Wesley, and the others.” The refugee paused. “Before we came over, Justin specifically asked us to tell you first. He was worried you might be unhappy if you found out later.”

“Why would I be unhappy?” Jack asked irritably. “The agricultural supply center isn’t mine. You can live there if you want. Why do you need to report it to me?”

The two refugees exchanged a glance.

“It wasn’t yours before,” one of them said. “But from now on, it is.”

Jack stared at him.

“What do you mean, it’s mine?”

“We all agreed on it,” the refugee explained. “Everything inside the agricultural supply center belongs to you now. No one else gets to come in anymore.”

Jack shook his head.

“That’s unnecessary. I’m not that possessive.”

“We knew you’d say that,” one of them replied. “But it doesn’t change our decision.”

Jack opened his mouth, then finally waved a hand.

“Whatever. Do what you want.”

Both refugees visibly relaxed.

“If only nine people are staying there, what about everyone else?” Jack asked.

The two had only just relaxed, but their expressions immediately became uncomfortable again.

“The others...” one began hesitantly. “They want to move somewhere near you.”

Jack gave them a puzzled look.

“Why not stay together at the agricultural supply center? Isn’t there plenty of room?”

“There is,” the refugee said. “But everyone feels safer living closer to you.”

Jack rolled his eyes.

“So you’ve decided to treat this place like your personal granary?”

“No!” Both refugees shook their heads at once.

“We’re not planning to take your supplies for free,” one hurriedly explained. “Once the heat wave passes, we’ll go out and search for supplies.”

The other added, “You said you might hire us, so everyone wants to live closer in case you need help. That’s all.”

“All right.” Jack waved a hand, no longer teasing them. “If you want to move here, then move here. I don’t mind.”

Smiles immediately appeared on their faces.

“Anything else?” Jack asked.

Neither answered right away.

After a moment, one of them spoke somewhat awkwardly.

“There is one more thing.”

“Go ahead.”

“Could you run electricity to the agricultural supply center too?” the refugee asked. “Right now, we’re relying on energy-storage units. Whenever they run low, we have to bring them all the way here and ask you to recharge them.”

Jack didn’t answer immediately.

Since Justin and the others intended to remain at the agricultural supply center permanently, relying on energy-storage units would indeed be inconvenient. The units would have to be transported back and forth for charging, and the CUEV itself also needed electricity. If they failed to keep track of its remaining power, the vehicle might die halfway through the trip.

After considering it, Jack nodded.

“Sure. Once we’re finished with the work here, I’ll have Walter and the others figure out how to run power over there.”

“Thank you!” both refugees said immediately.

“No need to thank me,” Jack replied. “You’re right. Making the trip back and forth every time would be inconvenient.”

The two paused, then smiled.

Jack smiled as well and waved them off.

“All right, get going. Everyone else is still waiting for dinner.”

They nodded repeatedly and returned to the CUEV.

The vehicle soon started and carried the sacks of potatoes into the darkness. Jack remained inside the fence, watching the taillights recede until they disappeared completely. Only then did he return to the convenience store with Megan.

By the time the two representatives reached the agricultural supply center, everyone else was already waiting near the warehouse entrance.

The CUEV had barely stopped when Justin hurried over.

“What did Jack say?”

One of the representatives climbed out.

“Exactly what we expected. He didn’t make a big deal out of it.”

Justin immediately asked, “He didn’t agree?”

“That’s not what I meant.” The refugee shook his head. “He said we could live wherever we wanted. He also agreed to run electricity over here.”

Justin and the others finally relaxed.

“Good,” Wesley said with a smile. “Now we can build the perimeter wall without worrying, and we can keep growing things too.”

The people nearby laughed.

At that moment, one of the nine refugees who had decided to remain at the agricultural supply center spoke up.

“Do you remember the ruins we passed before we got here?”

His name was Tom.

Everyone looked at him in confusion.

Chen thought for a moment.

“You mean the ruins that looked like an electronics mall?”

“Yeah. That place.”

“What about it?”

Tom looked around at the others.

“Since Jack agreed to run power over here, maybe we could head there one morning or evening and take a look. There might still be something useful inside. Even if we can’t use it ourselves, we could bring it back for Jack.”

Justin immediately shook his head.

“No. It’s too dangerous.”

Tom opened his mouth, but Justin didn’t give him a chance to argue.

“The agricultural supply center only has one CUEV. That means no more than two people can go. If you run into mutant beasts or raiders, you’ll be in serious trouble.”

“Even if we decide to go, now isn’t the time,” Wesley added. “Everything waits until the heat wave is over.”

Tom remained silent for a moment before asking, “Did all of you see the protective gear Noah was wearing?”

Everyone looked at him, unsure why he had suddenly brought up Noah.

“I recognize that gear,” Tom said. “It’s Environment-Adaptive Protective Gear. My old settlement had a set too. It can keep the wearer cool.”

“Your old settlement had one?” Chen asked.

“Only one. The older people there said they found it in the ruins of an agricultural supply center.” Tom paused before continuing. “This is an agricultural supply center too. Jack’s people already found quite a few sets, but this place is enormous. They might have missed some. If we can find a few more, we could wear them to the electronics mall.”

No one answered immediately.

Chen still didn’t understand Tom’s insistence.

“Even if there are more sets somewhere, we can wait until the heat wave ends before searching for them.” He looked at Tom. “Why are you so determined to visit that electronics mall now?”

Tom didn’t respond at first.

After a while, he finally said quietly, “I once found something in the ruins near my old settlement.”

Everyone fell silent and waited for him to continue.

Tom raised his head.

“As long as we have electricity, it could be extremely useful.”

“What exactly is it?” Chen asked.

Tom looked around at the group.

“The elders in my old settlement called it a Residential Climate Control Unit. RCCU for short. Unlike a PCCU, an RCCU is designed to be installed in a fixed location.”

Wesley looked confused.

“But don’t we already have PCCUs?”

“It’s different.” Tom shook his head. “An RCCU is much more powerful than a PCCU. It’s real home air conditioning.”

He pointed toward the warehouse around them.

“Look at this place. The warehouse is huge, but most of it is nearly sealed. If we can find enough RCCUs, we might be able to turn the entire warehouse into an air-conditioned building.”

Everyone instinctively looked around.

If RCCUs were really as powerful as Tom claimed, the situation would be completely different.

“More importantly,” Tom continued after a short pause, “Jack’s people could definitely use them too.”

The others looked at him in confusion.

“I’m guessing Jack’s shelter also relies on PCCUs for cooling,” Tom explained. “But if they had RCCUs, they’d replace the PCCUs without a second thought.”

“Are you sure they’re really that much stronger?” Chen asked.

“I’ve never seen one operating myself, but the elders in my settlement were certain.”

Tom didn’t hesitate.

“They said that back in the old world, almost every household had this kind of air conditioner.”

Justin’s expression gradually grew serious.

If the trip were only about making the agricultural supply center more comfortable, he still wouldn’t let anyone take the risk. But if the electronics mall really contained equipment Jack could use, they couldn’t simply ignore it.

Justin quickly made his decision.

“We’re going to that electronics mall, one way or another.”

He turned toward Tom.

“First, we search this place again and see if there’s any more of that protective gear. If we can’t find any, I’ll ask Jack to lend us some.”

Tom nodded.

“The same goes for CUEVs,” Justin added. “We’ll borrow several. If the RCCUs are really there, we’ll be able to bring back more of them.”

With that, Justin headed deeper into the warehouse.

Tom quickly followed. Wesley and Chen exchanged a glance, set aside what they were doing, and went after them.

The other refugees who had decided to remain at the agricultural supply center joined them as well.

The nine soon split into smaller groups and headed in different directions. They planned to search the areas they hadn’t examined carefully that morning or the previous day, especially places where clothing, tools, and protective equipment might have been stored.

The remaining refugees stood where they were.

After a while, one of them looked toward the makeshift enclosure where everyone was living.

“If Tom’s right, staying at the agricultural supply center might actually be better than moving closer to Jack.”

Someone beside him nodded.

“But haven’t we already decided to move over there?” another refugee asked hesitantly.

“If there’s a better option, there’s nothing wrong with changing our minds.”

“That’s true.”

The person who had first raised the subject looked in the direction Justin and the others had gone, then waved a hand.

“It’s too early to talk about this.” He stood and brushed the dust from his clothes. “Whether we stay here or not, we should help search for the protective gear first.”

He hurried after Justin and the others.

The remaining refugees began getting up as well.

Some headed toward another row of shelves. Others entered the nearby sections, while several reopened boxes that had been moved aside during earlier searches.

Before long, every refugee who had been organizing boxes and scrap metal had joined the search. The sounds of crates being moved, shelves being pushed aside, and people calling to one another echoed throughout the agricultural supply center.

They searched for a long time but found no protective gear.

Every overlooked area was examined again, and the boxes scattered around the facility were opened one by one. Some people found damaged work clothes. Others dragged a collection of dust masks from behind a collapsed shelf.

None of it was what they needed.

The search gradually expanded, with the refugees spreading into different parts of the facility.

Chen pushed an empty box aside and looked at Tom.

“Are you sure there could still be some here?”

“All I can tell you is that the set from my old settlement came from the ruins of an agricultural supply center.” Tom shook his head. “There must have been some here originally. I just don’t know whether Jack’s people already took all of it.”

Chen nodded and was about to search another area when the sound of metal scraping across the floor came from the distance.

A shout followed from another section.

“Everyone, come over here!”

The people nearby immediately stopped what they were doing and hurried toward the voice.

A refugee stood behind a collapsed shelf. At his feet was a metal case that had just been dragged into the open.

The lid was already raised.

Inside, several familiar sets of gray protective gear had been folded neatly together.

Tom hurried over and lifted the set on top.

“This is it.”