Ray glanced around furtively.
After making sure no one was paying attention to them, he leaned close to Leon’s ear and lowered his voice.
“Leon, I’ve got two pieces of inside information for you.”
“What kind of information?” Leon asked curiously.
“More people came to the mall today, but we only managed to stop four of them. Several others secretly made their way down to the supermarket on B1, but none of them ever came back out.”
Leon asked in confusion, “So the camp gained another four people?”
Ray waved his hand and explained, “No. Those four went back. They’re all the breadwinners in their families and couldn’t just leave their families behind. But they’re coming back tomorrow with everyone. Who knows if they’ll make it to the camp safely, though.”
Ray’s face filled with worry.
“Man, there are more and more people in the camp, and we’re burning through supplies faster and faster. I don’t know how much longer this place can hold out.”
“And more people are coming to the mall looking for supplies too. I’m guessing our camp’s population is going to keep growing for a while.”
For the survivor camp as it currently stood, having more people wasn’t actually a good thing.
Even Ray thought so, and the others in the camp felt it even more strongly.
But Leon knew perfectly well that June would never refuse to take in people who came seeking shelter.
She had an incredibly strong sense of responsibility by nature and couldn’t stand to watch anyone in need of help be driven into a desperate situation.
“If that’s the case, why don’t you put up a warning at the entrance telling survivors who don’t know what’s down there to stay away from the supermarket?” Leon asked, puzzled.
Ray looked utterly exasperated.
“We put one up the day before yesterday, but some people just refuse to believe the warnings.”
“Those guys probably thought we left the warning there because we wanted to keep all the supermarket supplies for ourselves, so they ignored it.”
Leon: “…”
But putting himself in their shoes, if he were starving and searching a supermarket for supplies, he probably would’ve ignored the warning outside too.
After all, if you were already on the verge of starving to death and could barely keep yourself alive, who had the luxury of worrying about danger?
“We’ve got a plan for tonight. Remember to come along when the time comes. June and I will both be there,” Leon said.
“What?!
Tonight?” Ray exclaimed, then hurriedly lowered his voice and warned him, “It’s even more dangerous at night than during the day!
Whatever we’re doing, can’t we do it in daylight?”
“You’ll find out when the time comes.” Leon deliberately kept him in suspense and didn’t explain anything further.
…
After eight that evening, the people June had specifically called for gathered in her office.
The dim office was barely illuminated by the faint light of a single flickering candle.
June said, “Leon, explain the plan to everyone.”
Leon nodded, then went over the plan to open the water tower’s cover once again.
“Sure, going at night lets us avoid the bird monsters that are active during the day, but there are bat monsters at night. Are you sure nighttime is safer than daytime?” Ray was the first to question the plan.
He was one of the people most opposed to exposing himself beneath the open sky.
With his build, if he went out into the open and caught the attention of a bird monster, he figured he’d probably be the first one to suffer.
“But we have to take the risk. Otherwise, there’s a very real chance we’ll die of thirst,” Leon said.
Blondie impatiently demanded, “Then why do you need me and Old Harris to come along? Have some conscience. We just came back injured after putting ourselves on the line for the camp.”
He didn’t dare question June, so he could only direct his anger at Leon.
Beside him, Old Harris was also glaring venomously at Leon.
“Two reasons.” Leon held up two fingers.
“First, you’re both depleted and weak right now, so the bat monsters that feed on blood won’t consider you their first targets.”
“Second, you’ve got the scent of that Ghost-type monster on you. The bat monsters will think you’re prey that’s already been claimed by the Ghost-type monster, so they won’t consider you priority targets.”
Old Harris and Blondie: “…”
After hearing Leon’s explanation, Ray vaguely felt as though the word “DANGER” had appeared above his head.
He hadn’t wanted to go in the first place.
Now he wanted to go even less.
“Then here’s the question: why exactly do I have to come on this mission?” Ray looked at Leon with an aggrieved, dissatisfied expression.
‘At dinner, you were thumping your chest and saying you’d look out for me, and this is how you’re looking out for me?
Please, I’m begging you—go look out for somebody else!’
“Ray, you know what they say: with great power comes great responsibility. You’ve kept the camp running smoothly these past few days, but if you want to become one of the camp’s managers, you’ve got to make some contributions to the camp, right?”
“I asked you to come today precisely because I’m looking out for you.”
Leon spoke with the earnest patience of someone offering heartfelt advice.
In truth, Leon wasn’t actually fooling Ray.
He and June had discussed it during the day.
Ray had been handling the camp’s day-to-day affairs for the past few days without making any mistakes.
June had wanted to put Ray in charge of the camp’s daily operations for some time, but because she had to consider the issue of democratic legitimacy, she’d been looking for an opportunity to make the arrangement official.
Today’s operation was that opportunity for Ray.
Of course, part of the reason Leon had called Ray along really was because he wanted to use him as a shield.
But sometimes risk and opportunity went hand in hand.
If you wanted power, you at least needed some accomplishments you could point to, right?
Ray more or less understood what Leon and June had in mind.
Ray was already fairly shrewd, and his thoughts quickly began racing.
If he passed up this opportunity, June’s opinion of him would definitely drop quite a bit.
If he left a bad impression on the person in charge, moving further up in the future would be difficult.
After hesitating for only a fraction of a second, Ray firmly declared his loyalty to June.
“June, I’m willing to follow your arrangements.” Ray’s voice was as resolute as if he were swearing some solemn oath.
Blondie and Old Harris exchanged a glance, then decisively nodded and said in unison, “June, we’re willing to go too.”
June nodded in satisfaction.
“In that case, let’s head out now.” June put on the camp’s only bulletproof vest and picked up their sole remaining police handgun.
“If the bat monsters really attack us, you run first. I’ll stay behind and cover your retreat.” June made the promise with a resolute expression.
Ray and the others felt their eyes redden as they looked at June, deeply moved.
At that moment, June seemed larger than life in their eyes.
The corners of Leon’s mouth lifted slightly at the sight.
‘That’s the leader of our camp.
That’s June Sutton!’
Once everything was settled, the group gathered their tools and cautiously made their way up to the rooftop through the emergency stairwell.
The stairwell exit wasn’t far from the water tower, only about a hundred meters away.
Using the bright moonlight, June carefully scanned their surroundings.
“No sign of any bat monsters. Stay close to the wall and be careful. Try not to make any noise,” June instructed the four people behind her.