The Endgame Chronicles (by Hugh White) novel Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Today, Hayley would have fried chicken. Tomorrow, it would be campfire stew, and after that, roast beef.

When Hayley was out exploring the territory, she usually didn’t bother cooking. She would just grab something from her inventory-like a breakfast burrito, a tortilla wrap, or a grilled flatbread sandwich.

Everything came out just as hot and fresh as when she first put it in.

Even with gloves on, Hayley could feel the crunch of the fried chicken, as if it had just come out of the fryer. She tore into it, and juice immediately burst from the tender meat. The garlic soy glaze sent waves of flavor straight through her senses.

She washed it down with a swig of ice-cold cola.

Pure heaven!

In the middle of the apocalypse, being able to enjoy food that tasted like it came from the old world felt like the ultimate luxury.

All her exhaustion from the day melted away.

Hayley devoured the chicken like she hadn’t eaten in weeks, easily enough for three people.

Summer and the pack caught the scent and padded over, tails wagging. She tossed them the leftovers she couldn’t finish. They happily crowded around her, munching with tails wagging.

Once they had eaten their fill, Hayley stood up, stretched, and walked around to digest.

She checked on her chickens, ducks, pond, and garden.

The chicken coop had more and more eggs piled up. Just recently, a batch of chicks had hatched. Thanks to the system, the poultry were stronger and bred faster than normal.

The ducks hadn’t hatched yet, as their eggs took around 40 days compared to 20 for chickens, but several mothers were already nesting.

What surprised her most were the two little goats. They were growing like weeds, getting stronger every day.

Hayley remembered the seller saying they came from a line bred for goat’s milk. Soon, she would have fresh milk too.

Her vegetable patch was thriving. Fast-growing crops like lettuce and chives had already exploded with harvests.

Every single day, she had to pick them. The next day, they had already grown back.

She couldn’t stand waste, so no matter how busy or tired she was, she made time to collect

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Chapter 43

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everything.

One whole storeroom in her shelter was now filled with fresh produce.

Other crops like carrots, spinach, romaine, and lettuce were almost ready to harvest, too. After that, tomatoes and potatoes would be ready to start producing in full force.

The fish pond had doubled in numbers. Tiny fingerlings darted everywhere, plumper every day.

Hayley had barely touched the pond since she wasn’t much of a fisher, but with the system helping, she didn’t need to. The pond practically took care of itself.

Everything at her base was moving in the right direction. The territory was expanding, the resources multiplying. The future actually looked bright.

The next day, as usual, Hayley went out to expand new territory. This time, she took her armored vehicle.

She left Summer and Ace behind with seven dogs to guard the base and patrol the mountainside. If any zombies showed up, they could handle them. She took the other eight dogs with her to claim the next hill.

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