End of the World? I'm the Boss novel Chapter 432

Chapter 432 Her Question

5 Pearls

Handing over every last resource in the entire base couldn’t have come close to matching their worth.

“What I mean is…”

Langston’s mouth moved, but the words dragged. “I was hoping the vehicles could become shared assets for everyone here. It’d make travel a lot easier for the whole… base…”

He met Robin’s gaze and found he couldn’t quite finish the sentence.

Before she’d walked through his door, every one of those demands had felt perfectly reasonable.

But standing in front of her now, he could practically hear the grinding of his own calculations, loud enough to carry clear across the settlement.

“What I mean is…” he tried again. It still didn’t come.

On top of everything, Northreach had already sent explicit word to keep a close eye on this group and not push so hard that they bolted.

He knew exactly what those armored vehicles represented. Robin had options, and Heningford and Northreach weren’t the only operations in the area. If she decided to leave, nobody had the power to stop

her.

“Tell you what,” Langston said, his expression settling into something more businesslike.

“I’ll admit that wasn’t entirely fair of me. But we do have a standard that everyone follows here, and making you the only exception would stir up resentment. Every resident who brings back supplies contributes twenty percent to the communal pool. For your group, I’m thinking forty, whole group, not every single person. What do you say?”

That actually drew a laugh out of Robin. “I’d say that’s not going to work, Commander Calloway. I’ll contribute ten percent more than everyone else, not twenty. Forty percent is twice what your other residents pay, and that’s a long way from fair.”

Langston hadn’t expected her to push back that hard. He bit down, held it for a long beat, and finally gave a stiff nod. “Fine. Thirty percent.”

As long as he kept this group here, eating a small loss was a reasonable trade.

And thinking about it practically, people this capable would pull in substantial resources every time they ventured out. Thirty percent of a large haul was still nothing to dismiss.

“I’ll have someone process your registration. As of today, all of you are official Heningford residents.”

Robin’s smile was small and easy. “The honor is ours.”

She left Langston’s quarters, and a staff member was already waiting to escort her to the accommodations Heningford had set aside for the group.

Out of respect for those two armored vehicles, they hadn’t been handed tents. What they got instead were

11:01 am MM MM

Chapter 432 er Question

blic and–white corrugated tin shacks, modest and utilitarian, but standing upright and solid.

“Ms. Neel, you’re back

The survivors she’d brought along surged toward her the moment she appeared. “We honestly didn’t think you’d actually get us a place to stay. We don’t even know how to begin thanking you.”

Robin gave a calm, unhurried nod. “You didn’t quit on yourselves. I just showed you the road.”

Honestly, measured against most other bases that had risen from the apocalypse’s wreckage, Heningford was a genuinely solid place to land.

Part of that was likely the quiet weight of Northreach’s backing behind the scenes. With that kind of foundation, Heningford didn’t need to bleed its newcomers dry just to keep the lights on. In her previous life, it had carried a decent reputation–and she could see exactly why.

“Now that you’re settled, get some rest.” Robin paused and looked at one of them directly. “Your sister was injured, wasn’t she?”

thank The person blinked, caught off guard, and then something warm and startled moved across their face. “I can’t believe you remembered us. You were the one who pulled her out. We never even got to say you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Robin said, and waved it off.

She checked in on Ella and the others. Their space was tight but clean, and it would serve well enough for

now.

“I’m going to take a look around,” Robin said. “We won’t be staying long. Once I find who I’m looking for, we’ll be moving on.”

Ella’s head came up immediately. “Do you want me to come with you?”

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