The Endgame Chronicles (by Hugh White) novel Chapter 36

Chapter 36

The pickup’s bed held 20 big cardboard boxes.

Inside were ten full boxes of instant mac ‘n’ cheese, five boxes of dry pasta, two cases of bottled water, a crate of assorted meats and canned goods, and one crate full of gold. They hadn’t even taken the price tags off. You could tell they had hit a jewelry store on the way out.

Hayley stared at the haul. The gold alone looked like 30 to 40 pounds. She couldn’t help but feel a little impressed. These people’s love for gold really was etched into their bones.

Still, bringing gold was a smart move. Even in the apocalypse, precious metals still held value.

She sorted the supplies into her storage and stashed the gold, then claimed a pistol from the pile. It was a police-grade handgun, definitely looted from places they shouldn’t have been rifling through.

Hayley felt very much like a public-spirited vigilante.

After all, who else was going to deal with those scavengers? Most sane people would run from a mob like that. Only she would charge in, drive them off, and then kindly leave them as zombie snacks.

That way, she could make sure they couldn’t harm anyone else.

Otherwise, she could’ve just scared them off her territory instead of luring them in and killing them.

“Well, you don’t often see bad…ahem, I mean, good people like me anymore,” she mumbled.

She figured these items counted as her reward for doing the right thing.

Hayley gave herself a pat on the back and accepted her spoils with a smug little smile.

Right then, the system pinged in her head.

Ding!

[Base defense detected *1

[Successfully defeated 6 enemies. Loot captured: 20 boxes! Congratulations, you have earned 26 points! Points shop unlocked!]

Hayley’s eyes lit up. A points shop!

A menu popped into her mind, showing a stack of items. Food, medicine, guns, and base- building supplies, each with stats.

[Energy bar *1: instantly refills stamina; holds off hunger for 10 hours-5 points.

[Loaf of bread *1: refills stamina; holds off hunger for 20 hours-8 points.

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Chapter 36

+25 Bonus

[Valenex *1: stops bleeding; eases pain on contact-20 points.]

She scrolled to weapons and found every kind of firearm imaginable, some with extra damage or improved accuracy. Each one looked amazing, but the prices were steep. She only had 26 points.

Hayley eyed the shop and found herself looking forward to the next raid on her territory.

Her monitor then beeped again.

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