Trash in the Apocalypse

Chapter 244: Preparation Trip

After a few minutes, Grandma Teresa woke up. Jun did his best in persuading her to level up. He would also bring some female members of the group since their levels were kind of low. Even if they have no plans in hunting, a few more stats would be better.

Jun hasn't seen Adrian's group for a long time, but he had no plans to call them back just for a meetup. It takes a lot of time and resources to venture out and the occasion isn't up to par.

The main assault team were hovering around at level 11 and 12. Every day, they head out to reclaim the outskirts of the town and the surrounding mountain and forest. Evo was still his stubborn self and was forced to join the 'carrying' he planned to do.

The event would be for tomorrow when it was Black Haven's turn to clear the Northern Mines.

Jun spent the entirety of noon together with his grandmother. The time lost would never be replaced but it's still not too late to catch up. He's a bit familiar with Chloe but they weren't that close.

In the afternoon, he brought Grandma Teresa and Chloe for a stroll. Together with Jamie's group of young women, they set out for the Calvary Hill. The three elders; Bernard, Dyna and Gina vehemently refused to join them. They were busy with their own jobs and much prefer the young survivors do their thing.

Evo helplessly followed behind the crowd. Jun accepted Bernard's group's excuse but he can't let Evo stay idle. He was in charge of development and other important things! Gaining a few more stats in wits should make everything much easier for him. 

A modified jeepney stopped in front of Black Haven. There was a reinforced ram in front and wires at the window preventing people outside to reach inside. It might not do much but when moving, it was impossible for regular carriers to latch onto the window.

"Okay, everyone please board. This is our transportation for this afternoon, so please relax and enjoy the ride." Jun said happily while assisting Grandma Teresa board the vehicle.

After everyone got on board and Jun signaled for the driver to drive. He leaned then watched the scene outside the window.

The town was bustling with people. It felt like a different place from the one on his memories a few weeks ago.

"There's suddenly a lot of people..." Jun murmured. 

"Of course, what did you expect?"

Jun became surprised that someone answered him, so he looked around. He noticed Evo sitting opposite him. The two of them both boarded last and were seated at the entrance of the jeepney.

"What do you mean?" said Jun.

"You told a bunch of guys to come here if they want. Then, later on, a group from Angono arrived claiming you sent them here. We also recaptured the whole town. Together with a few independent barrios and barangay, the population skyrocketed." replied Evo.

"Then why do you look troubled?"

"We're about two thousand people cluttering in this town. Resources get depleted faster. There are not enough carriers to kill and not enough food to go around. The farm is producing food for us, so we don't have a problem. The thing is, what about the people? Although you renounced your mayorship, everyone knows that you're still the one in power. The people were still busy scavenging the town dry, and when I say dry, I mean licked-clean dry. Most of the major places were already looted clean and scavengers were already looting random houses for the hope of finding food."

"Can we talk about this later?"

"You were gone for two weeks! We need to do something about this!"

"I know, I know. I'll take care of everything. I'll cook something up and I'll rely on you on other technicalities. Just like the old times." Jun grinned and signaled for Evo to look around. 

Everyone appeared busy and doing their own things, but Jun can sense that all of them were listening. Of course, they would! There was nothing to do except to eavesdrop on the current state of the town.

Evo clicked his tongue and looked to his left. People of all ages were staring at them. Some kids were even waving at them.

The jeepney stopped in front of the local church. A shortcut could be found beside it. Besides, traveling on the jeepney to enter the alleyways would be impossible.

Jun and Evo led the group this time since they were outside of the compound. Although the town was safe from carriers, there were still small and big wild animals randomly getting lost in town.

Jun saw people coming in and out of the church. Evo noticed his curiosity and gave some explanation.

"After we cleared the public market, some people investigated the ghostly ringing of the bell. It would ring every morning, noon, and afternoon at the same exact time as the other day. People thought it was cursed until one day when the church's doors opened. The priest inside knew that the area was cleared by some group and started preaching how God saved him. After that, people started going to church every day to offer some prayer. Maybe, it became a habit or people just want something to believe in. He's also a tough one, he managed to survive by himself all this time."

"Ohh," Jun answered with a lack of interest. "By the way, what skills does he have? He's a priest, so probably heal, or is it buffs?"

"Nothing. He hasn't even leveled up. He claims that as the instrument of God killing people who lost their souls was a sinful thing to do. Unexpectedly, those words worked for some people and they get "blessed" daily to repay for their sins. They even donate food and crystals to the priest."

"That's just a waste. Well, it's their stuff, so I won't meddle with what they want to do with it."

"You don't believe in God?" Evo asked with raised eyebrows.

Jun looked back at the church then sighed. "Bruh, I lost faith a long time ago. If there's really a God, it better make its presence known. With things looking like this, sooner or later, people would probably start cursing at him."

"That mouth of yours... haa... if other people hear you, you might get in trouble."

"It's fine. We're family. Everyone is. Ohh, that's the place. Do you see that staircase? That's where we're headed."

Jun already gave enough essence of power to everyone who doesn't have at least ten points in power. After making sure that everyone has the minimum ten points in power, Jun led the way and brought them up the Calvary Hill's first resting area. Thanks to having high enough power, everyone reached the first resting area with ease. Even Chloe had no problem climbing the stairs.

The bushes glowed and produced berries and everyone ate them on the spot. Jun told everyone to wait here and brought Evo on the second resting area. Along the way, he fed him a few essences of power until the stat reached 20 points, so he could climb with ease. Unfortunately, Evo still had a hard time climbing through the last steps even with a high power stat since the final steps required some level of willpower.

Jun watched his friend climb the last step then became dazed while staring on thin air.

Several seconds later, the life in Evo's eyes returned and he looked around. Tears suddenly welled up on the corner of his eyes as he searched for something.

"Is that a dream?" Evo asked Jun in puzzlement.

"I'm not sure myself. We have the same reaction though after waking up. I'm actually surprised that Adrian didn't tell you about this."

Evo ignored Jun and asked his own question. "Can I go back? How do I go back?"

Seeing his friend become like this, Jun felt sadness. He remembered the first time he first reached the top and entered the illusion. For him, the illusion was like a parting gift that pulled him out of a dark place. A gift that helped him move forward and let himself loosen up.

For Evo to act like this, he must have met someone truly special for him.

Jun shook his head, increasing the sadness that Evo was currently feeling.

"There are benches here. Go first and take a seat. I'll follow you after I activated the monolith."

Jun felt the smooth surface of the rock in front of him. He gathered energy on his hand, then transferred them to the gray monolith. 

[Altar's Blessing]

[Description] You have received a blessing from the altar. Increase experience gain by two-fold for three days. You can't receive another blessing for seven days.]

After getting the buff, Jun went back and sat beside Evo. Both of them stared at the almost setting sun on the horizon.