The Endgame Chronicles (by Hugh White) novel Chapter 175

Chapter 175

When Alex finished speaking, the four small bases all looked unhappy, but none of them dared say a word.

Hayley had saved everyone today, and if she didn’t get a bigger share, she could crush them without breaking a sweat.

Small fry had no right to complain.

“You’re Alex, right?” Hayley asked.

“Yes, Captain Reid. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Alex Kirk from Hope Base.”

Alex, for the first time, softened his tone. His eyes were still cold and empty, but he extended his hand toward her.

It was also his first time formally introducing himself. Even Liam had never gotten this treatment.

Hayley didn’t return the gesture. Instead, she shut him down instantly.

“Alex, relax. You don’t have to butter me up. I’m the most unfair person around. If people think shaking my hand gets you extra grain, they’ll swarm me every day trying to sweet-talk me.’

Alex’s hand froze mid-air.

“Oh, but anyway, I think your suggestion was fine. You all heard him, right?” Hayley pointed at the small bases. “Alex said, very cruelly, that your four bases get only 10%. You good with that?”

Alex’s lips twitched.

The four small bases were stunned as well.

They exchanged looks, then gritted their teeth.

“Yeah, we’re good.”

Ten percent meant one thousand tons. Each base would get two hundred fifty tons. It was half of what they originally expected, but it was still a massive amount.

Their bases only had around two to three hundred people each. Two hundred fifty tons were enough to feed their entire population for nearly ten years.

Realistically, the food wouldn’t last that long in storage, but it would definitely cover several years and would be enough to survive the worst period of the apocalypse.

Two hundred fifty tons was more than enough.

And really, what could they say? They had no bargaining power.

Alex had cut their share for Hayley’s sake. And they couldn’t afford to offend either Alex or Hayley.

“Alright, we’ll go with Alex’s plan. You four bases get 10% altogether, split evenly. That work?”

They looked around at one another. Their casualties were similar, and there was no point in calculating anything more precisely

now.

They all nodded. “Sure.”

“Leonard, give them their grain.”

Leonard immediately moved to operate the system.

The granary still had power, and everything worked through machinery.

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Unce he input the commands, the huge storage silos opened their overhead chutes and poured grain into the designated loading area. Each base lined up their heavy trucks.

Most of the trucks could load over 20 tons each, and a few giants could carry 55 tons

They filled every vehicle they brought. Two hundred fifty tons filled them completely.

Seeing their trucks packed full of food, the small bases finally felt the trip had been worth it. Their survival crisis was solved. Once they were done, Hayley turned to Liam. “Captain Caldwell, Alex said earlier that you get 30%. You alright with that?”

Liam’s eyes flickered, then he nodded once. “Yeah.”

Losing 10% wasn’t a problem, especially since it went to Hayley anyway.

“Good. Leonard, keep the grain flowing. Captain Caldwell gets 30%. Oh, and leave 200 tons aside. Captain Caldwell said he’s giving that to me.”

Liam chuckled faintly. At that moment, Alex stepped forward.

“Captain Reid, now it’s our turn.”

Hayley looked at him and smiled lightly. “Alex, I already told you I’m the most unfair person here.”

Alex frowned. “How do you want to divide it?”

“The rest,” Hayley said cheerfully, “is all mine.”

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