Reborn Cave Queen of the End Times novel Chapter 175

Chapter 175 Word from the Central Shelter

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Two days later, David came out of the kitchen with a hand on his aching back. The dozen apprentices behind him all looked wrung out too.

They’d worked two days straight, no breaks, to make 108 grand dishes. Real showstoppers- every one of them a heavy hitter. It had run them into the ground.

Autumn was generous about it. Each of them got a home comfort set: a game console, a tablet, a power bank, and a case of soda. The reward put spring back into a dozen sore-backed young men. They grinned, thanked her over and over, and hurried off to their own little nooks to play.

Autumn swept the dishes into her space and duplicated them ten-thousandfold without a second thought. She couldn’t put David and his crew through that every time, after all. So with ten thousand banquets on hand, she’d just send Silas a set with each trip.

When Leonel organized another run to the central shelter, Autumn handed over the tightly packed banquet. “I’ve packed your meals separately. This set is for Silas. Don’t mix them up.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t get it wrong.” The man grinned. “We’ll be back in a week.”

Leonel nodded along with Autumn. “Safety comes first. Off you go.”

The little boat drifted off into the distance, carrying Aurora Base’s hopes with it.

A week later they returned as promised, bringing the latest word from the central shelter and five hundred tons of gold.

This time, Autumn was truly floored. The rich at the central shelter were unbelievably rich. She’d sent so little and pulled in this much gold that she almost felt embarrassed about it.

Autumn couldn’t wipe the grin off her face.

“How are things at the central shelter now? How are Silas and the others doing? Does Gordon still hold power there?” Scott asked first.

The squad leader who’d led the run answered. “The central shelter has absorbed everything it could from the area. Seven or eight nearby provinces are pretty much emptied out. Once the acid rain hit, the wild little shelters mostly collapsed. So every day people go to the central shelter looking for a way to survive.

“That’s made the central shelter arrogant. Unless you’ve got money, supplies, or you’re young and able-bodied, they won’t take you at all. Plenty of poor people sell their own children just to

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16:01 Mon, Aug 24

Chapter 175 Word from the Central Shelter

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grab a spot. The ones who can’t get in throw up temporary shacks on the outskirts to hide from the rain. So the place is like a big shell with a trash rim. The middle is lush and peaceful. the edges full of theft and chaos.

The population inside is somewhere between twelve and fifteen million now. People go missing there constantly, especially the young, good-looking boys and girls. They vanish without a trace all the time. Reporting it does nothing, because nobody cares. It’s heaven for the rich and hell for the poor.

“Silas is doing very well. He’s sharp, and he tapped a line whose top end runs the shelter’s security. He knew to play it right and paid the man plenty of good things. He even pulled a tenth off this last shipment as protection money. So his business runs smoothly. He’s cleared out all his stock and keeps pushing us to resupply faster. He says he’s already taken orders from several big tycoons.

“Those tycoons are all smiles with him now for the sake of his goods. One even gave him a beautiful woman, though Silas turned her down.

“Gordon holds power at the central shelter in name only. In practice, the people under him have started hollowing out his authority. Gordon is a businessman at heart, and how many businessmen truly understand power? The man Silas tapped comes from a family that’s always walked the political road, tied by marriage to the other power holders. Bit by bit they’ve boxed Gordon out. He pays, they profit.

“Gordon’s no fool, though. Being sidelined and bled at the same time, he’s building his own network. Most of the tycoons who came in from elsewhere have been pulled to his side. Right now it’s a bit like an aging emperor and a young, powerful regent circling each other.

“But they share too many interests to turn on each other openly. The acid rain forces outsiders to seek out big shelters to survive, so fresh manpower keeps pouring in. The central shelter isn’t ready to fall yet.

“That’s the situation, more or less.”

Scott said, “Looks like this acid rain really is a crisis and a windfall in one.”

“It does,” everyone agreed with a nod.

“Silas says he’s still a bit short on hands. Give him another hundred people, and he might make even more.” Leonel spoke up. “So we need to talk over whether to send more.”

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