May Peace Grace Us

Chapter 70: Protagonist—Sooner or Later

Alfred was looking forward to it more than anyone. Winter was torturous because it did not allow them to do so many things at once, but it did allow them to use the time to organize things in the best optimal state they could be, at least in management-wise. With a lot of time at hand and little work to do compared to other seasons, Alfred was able to cleanse some filth that was trying to stain all his hard work.

Perhaps the only good thing about winter other than that was that Base A(the former city A and, because of Alfred's lack of desire to name the city's base), was that they are not really too devoid of fresh winter vegetables to eat. That certain resident area was indeed a great marvel in this chaos-ridden world.

He placed great importance on them and made sure to protect the area well enough. Planting various monitors nearby, he came to know that this little miracle was in fact dependent on the people staying there. Every time someone who is not a resident there or at least has not had a deep connection to its residents will cause the plants in the garden to wilter. He was a little puzzled, but he came to understand it was a defensive mechanism of sorts.

Through observations and data he collected over time, he concluded that the people were the reason for the garden’s existence. He has yet to understand how it came to be. He had various guesses, but none of them fitted the situation at all. It was not caused by an individual, nor, was it really a blessed land or pure land described by those sacred texts. It was more like a little gift of sorts by something, but with a fatal mechanism that others more or less cannot forsake unless they are willing to forever lose it.

People there seemed to know the reason for their home’s specialness, but they kept a tight mouth over it. Other than that, they are also very guarded towards outsiders for other unknown reasons, something Alfred was looking into to get a little more deterrence in their next negotiation for supplies and resources. Other than Lieutenant DeClaire from the outside, they trust no one else.

Other than being a little observant to them, Alfred more or less took a bystander role towards them. Not interfering with them unless necessary, so as to not be an enemy of theirs. The community has great influence on the base due to the resources they have. Stumbling and going against them for no great reason will not bring any benefit and would only bring more trouble as necessary.

But thinking of the general situation, it isn't a bad thing at all. At least the power-structure of the base will have a neutral party who will not keep the balance of things. No matter how strong and cunning he might be at running the base, there will always be a time when people will fall into the temptation of greed. Just like something from his previous life.....

Besides that point, Alfred found the neighborhood so special. A coincidence or to a really well-hidden edge, from what Lieutenant DeClaire has told him, this is where that girl's family has lived. And out of sheer curiosity towards that fox that had outwitted him, Alfred had his investigation into the family through his current and limited authority and contacts.

Stephen Justine was the father of Aila Justine. When he appeared at the virtual meeting arranged by the government, he more or less had some place to pick as to where they were now. Perks of being an insider this time around. Going to them is easier now that he has a general idea of what he should do and what should be done.

But doing so is unwise, given their unyielding attitude as well as the threats that are truly yet to manifest in this apocalyptic world. With a still standing government, it will slow down to an extent, though ultimately it still appears. It was just that the existence of a much larger authority, even if it is a dying one, does work wonders in making people behave subconsciously.

Realizing this perk, Alfred really regrets being too slow in his last life to have missed out on this chip in his bag. Being in the highest position at the beginning was so convenient that he was asking why the hell those old base leaders were too dumb to not use it to its fullest. If it was him, he could have guaranteed that the base he was managing would not easily be short of supply and there is no need to send people to death for just short-term benefits. The existence of a working body of a huge authority is more than enough to not allow unlawful acts to be restrained for at least a long time.

In his previous life he had so many questions as to why the government had disappeared silently. Being back in time, he came to know some things and prevented the immediate death of the government, preventing a fast descent into the now lawless society. Although they had lost most authority, they still had some voice over the people in the country, so Alfred did not hesitate to use them for his own benefit.

“Sir!” a man called out as Alfred was out to make a round in the now snowless city. He had planned to do a clean up on the frozen zombies that are now thawed away by the hotter weather now.

“What is it?”

“There is a huge number of zombies going in the city's direction.” Said the man.

“Which direction?”

“In the eastern area.”

“Estimation of zombies?”

“At least a few hundred.”

Alfred weighed the pros and cons when he finally decided to just call the nearest squads in the area to deal with the zombies. The numbers were big, but not yet too much for those squads to deal with. He personally thinks this is the best practice for them when the waves become bigger and life-threatening in the future.

After giving instructions to the man, he also called another man whom he especially recruited to assist the squad if necessary. He was a prominent name back then with his Ice ability, though not as lethal as that one from the Hyenas, he is more than enough to provide back up.

Next thing he did was to call others to prepare for a meeting on how to make up a team who would be going out to get resources the city might need. Summer is the most dangerous time of the year as well as the time when they will be needing more supplies inside their base. Waves and waves of zombies will come flocking at them as the sun will lose any deterrent effect on the undead.

Alfred would be using this knowledge to exchange some favors from the other bases. Although he cannot outwardly say it outright, he could use some statistics to make it convincing enough for them not to doubt him and his words. Little by little, he thinks he could make a prestige among the leaders that others will be more hesitant to mess around with his turf.

More importantly, he wanted to use this as a way to gain the recognition of Stephen to welcome him and his people one day. He could see that Stephen was very reluctant to reveal more than necessary about his base. It might be because Albert was there that he was cautious so as not to slip in that information. The boy was known to have died, and from that point of view, Alfred could understand why the man was being careful. If the world is orderly and lawful, he will be accused of k********g despite the fact the person who was said to have been kidn*pped was the one who sought shelter for the man.

Then there was also the nephew of Lieutenant DeClaire that the man was also hiding. If Alfred was also in the same position, he would also be very careful as to not let those who were hiding behind him be exposed. From the expression of the lieutenant when he saw Stephen, he could make out from the soldier to storm over there and retrive his relative. And he could also tell that the man on the virtual screen was pretty aware of the thought of the officer.

In the special room he made just for the sake of the virtual meetings, he then especially used his privileges to make private inquiries in regards to the base Aila and her friends were hiding. With many options to choose from, he wanted to narrow down the choices to be fully prepared to have a visit to them. After things get a little better and more independent from him, he could visit there to get to know more of these unassuming people who have slipped past his monitoring and influence.

And when that happens, wouldn't it be fun when they finally meet each other officially, as leaders of this changed world this time around?