Wasteland Queen: My Harvest Power novel Chapter 65

Chapter 65 A Truckload of Doubt and a Dash of Disdain

Finished

Victor nodded. “Done. Your squad operates under Platoon Two from now on. This is Nash Bellingham, the platoon leader.”

Reina gave Nash a respectful nod. “Pleased to meet you, sir. I’m Reina. These are my people.”

Chloe, Dylan, Sasha, and the Grishams stepped forward, introduced themselves, and saluted.

Nash waved off the formality. “We’re in the same boat now. We eat together, we bleed together. So let me make one thing clear: I don’t care whether you have abilities or not. When trouble hits, everybody pulls their weight. Nobody looks out only for themselves.”

“Yes, sir!”

The group answered in unison.

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Nash led them to the motor pool and pointed at a battered armored vehicle.

“This is Platoon Two’s spare. It’s been overhauled-runs fine. It’s yours now. You’ll be Squad Nine. We’ll sort out your barracks after today’s mission.”

“Wait, there are barracks too?!” Chloe practically jumped with excitement.

This was perfect; they no longer had to worry about a place to live.

Reina lit up too. “Do I get barracks?”

Nash grinned. “Squad leaders get a private room. If your contributions are big enough, you can even apply for a two-bedroom with a balcony.”

“Seriously?” Reina was only now grasping the perks of having an organization behind her. Free housing? This was incredible.

That alone saved her 5,000 points a month.

Nash smiled and asked, “Does anyone here know how to drive an armored vehicle? If not, I’ll assign a driver to your squad.”

They looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.

None of them had even driven a tricycle, let alone an armored car.

“Just assign someone,” Reina said,

Nash made a call. A gaunt, middle-aged man appeared. “This is Ernest Kent. He’ll handle your vehicle.”

“Hello, I’m Reina, the leader of Squad Nine. These are our members.” Reina gave a brief introduction.

Ernest wasn’t talkative. He barely nodded, climbed into the driver’s seat, and that was that.

The convoy rolled out, heading straight for the wilderness.

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15:02 Sat, Jun 20 M

Chapter 65 A Truckload of Doubt and a Dash of Disdain

About 50 miles in, scattered mutant beasts appeared along the road.

Finished

They took one look at the armored convoy and bolted. Reina couldn’t even tell what species they were.

After another stretch of rough terrain, they reached the stone cottage she’d marked.

“This is it.” She messaged Victor. “Take the side road up ahead. Two hundred yards to the sweet/potato field.”

“Copy.”

Victor relayed the turn to the lead vehicle.

The convoy turned off the main road and rolled up on a vast, dark tangle of vines.

“This is it? We’re supposed to dig edible sweet potatoes out of this?”

The Platoon One leader sneered, messaging the Platoon Three leader, “The Boss dragged us all out here for a field of ultra-high-contamination weeds?”

Platoon Three’s leader was equally unimpressed. The boss was taking orders from a teenage girl now?

But they were already here. No point going home empty-handed.

“Let’s wait and see. If it’s a bust, we’ll split off and scout the area. If we find one or two low-to-mid contamination mutant beasts, the trip won’t be a waste.”

Platoon One’s leader scoffed. “What’s there to see? This is a patch of ultra-high contamination territory. Not even a mutant beast can be seen, let alone sweet potatoes.

“Wesley, don’t waste time. Just tell the Boss we’re going to act independently.”

“Fine. But you’re doing the talking.” Wesley Vanderbilt, Platoon Three leader, didn’t want to face Victor’s ire alone.

“Deal.”

The two leaders formally requested permission to operate independently.

Victor agreed without a word.

Two-thirds of the convoy peeled off and disappeared down the road.

Reina watched them leave, and half her irritation faded.

She’d only suggested a sweet-potato run. She hadn’t expected Victor to bring both Platoon One and Three.

At least the two platoon leaders had only brought a couple of squads each. If they’d shown up with their full units, this would’ve turned into a circus.

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