Leon hesitated when he heard that.
After a moment, he finally asked, “Isn’t June going to do anything about it?”
Ray shook his head and sighed.
“June’s a government official. There are a lot of things she can’t do even if she wants to. Besides, she still has hope in the Federation. More importantly, as the leader here, she can’t be the one to personally crush everyone’s hope.”
“I get it.”
Leon’s heart sank as he immediately understood the problem.
June really wasn’t in a position to tell everyone such a cruel truth.
After all, there was nothing more frightening than people driven mad by desperation.
Once people lost all hope, there was no telling what they might do.
The two quickly finished breakfast, and Ray took Leon to pick up a basic set of toiletries.
Once they had them, they headed straight for the makeshift meeting room.
Calling it a meeting room was generous.
It was really just a toy store that had been slightly converted for the purpose.
They weren’t the first to arrive.
Seven or eight young people were already sitting inside, their expressions grim.
As more people gradually arrived, Ray introduced Leon to everyone.
Including Leon, there were fourteen able-bodied adults in the camp.
Once everyone had arrived, June began the day’s meeting.
“Today is the fourth day since the monsters appeared,” June said with a serious expression.
“We still haven’t heard anything from the federal government. At this point, we need to start preparing for the long haul.”
June paused there.
Seeing that no one reacted too strongly, she continued.
“I want the able-bodied people in the camp to start actively searching for food. We don’t know how much longer the water in the tower will last, so we need to stockpile more drinking water.”
“Starting today, we’re cutting the camp from three meals a day to two. Drinking water will also be rationed, and we can’t afford to keep wasting tap water.”
Low murmurs immediately spread through the room.
Leon felt a wave of frustration.
He had only just gotten his toiletries and hadn’t even opened the packaging yet, and June had already put an end to freely using the tap water.
A middle-aged man raised his hand.
“Captain June, do we have to turn over all the food we collect to the camp?”
June shook her head and explained, “Only thirty percent. Going out to gather food is dangerous, and making you hand over everything wouldn’t be fair.”
Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.
If they really had been expected to hand over everything, they would have had no choice but to find ways to slack off and hold something back.
“Then I have no objections.”
The middle-aged man sat back down.
A young man with dyed yellow hair stood and asked, “Do we only have to turn over food? What if I happen to find some gold jewelry or something?”
June glanced at the yellow-haired young man and frowned inwardly.
Her expression remained blank as she replied, “No. The food you turn over is mainly for the elderly and children who can’t go out and search for supplies themselves.”
“Then I don’t have any objections either.”
The yellow-haired young man sat down as well.
Leon watched the exchange thoughtfully.
Just then, June suddenly said, “It’s best to search for supplies in pairs. Leon, team up with me later.”
Leon froze for a moment at suddenly hearing his name.
He hadn’t expected June to personally ask him to team up with her, but that was actually a good thing.
June had a gun and professional training.
Partnering with someone like her was an advantage.
At the very least, he wouldn’t have to worry about his own partner harboring malicious intentions.
Ray stared longingly at Leon, his face full of envy.
He wanted to team up with June too, but unfortunately, she wasn’t interested in having him as a partner.
“Everyone, your safety comes first when you’re out searching for supplies. Don’t throw your life away over a little food,” June warned them solemnly.
There weren’t many able-bodied people in the camp to begin with, and she was genuinely worried that someone might do something reckless and get themselves killed out there.
If possible, she would have preferred for everyone to stay safely inside the camp and wait for rescue from the federal government.
The problem was that they had already lost contact with the federal government for four days.
Deep down, June had long since stopped expecting much from them.
Once the meeting ended, Leon followed June downstairs.
“I should tell you in advance that we have a specific destination in mind this time, and there may be some danger involved.”
June’s words made Leon pause.
‘What do you mean?
You knew teaming up with you would be dangerous, and that’s why you picked me?’
Leon was just about to fire back in annoyance when June said, “If we actually run into danger, I’ll go in first. You just need to back me up when the time comes.”
Hearing that, Leon’s irritation faded considerably.
At least she was volunteering to take on the most dangerous part herself.
“All right.” Leon nodded.
“It’s better if we make these things clear beforehand.”
Seeing no resentment on Leon’s face, June felt quite relieved.
There were two reasons she was willing to work with Leon.
First, the kid had only recently graduated from college, so he was still relatively straightforward and didn’t have too many schemes running through his head.
Second, he seemed reasonably agile.
At the very least, if they really encountered danger and had to run, he wouldn’t slow her down.
“I’m planning to go to the second floor,” June explained.
“That floor is mostly cosmetics stores and health supplement shops. The cosmetics might not be useful, but the supplements still are. Some of the malnourished children in the camp may need them.”
“But the second floor is relatively close to the supermarket on Basement Level 1. There’s a good chance monsters are lurking around there, so we’ll have to be careful.”
That got Leon thinking.
Skincare products might be worth trying on Feebas.
He could even try giving it some of the health supplements.
Pokémon had extraordinarily robust vitality, after all.
There was no need to worry about Feebas getting too much nutrition or overdosing on supplements.
“Then I don’t have a problem with it,” Leon said.
The two soon reached the second floor.
The closer they got to Basement Level 1, the more tense they became, and the more cautiously they moved.
Neither of them was in the mood for idle conversation anymore.
June led the way with her handgun raised, while Leon remained alert, watching their surroundings and keeping an eye out for danger from every direction.
June gently pushed open the door to the emergency stairwell and cautiously swept her flashlight across the area.
After confirming that their surroundings were safe, she lowered her voice and said, “Clear. We’ll search the stores carefully, one at a time.”
“Okay.” Leon nodded.
June checked the names of the nearby stores.
When she realized they were all beauty shops, frustration spread across her face.
“This is the cosmetics section. Looks like we’ll have to take a bigger risk.”
“Are you sure everyone in the mall ran up to the sixth floor? It doesn’t look nearly as chaotic here as I expected.” Leon frowned, his voice full of doubt.
June replied with certainty, “When people encounter danger, their first instinct is to run outside. Why would they head upstairs? Besides, this is only the second floor. Running down to the first floor would obviously have been the safer choice.”
Leon breathed a sigh of relief, looking visibly reassured.
“That’s actually great news! If this place wasn’t thrown into chaos, it means those monsters haven’t made it up here yet.”