Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Why Do You Get to Drink First? I Should Be the One to Drink First.

The window was tiny, not even large enough to fully show a single face.

Combined with the sandstorm, one could only vaguely make out a person wearing sunglasses and goggles peering from it.

The person stared outside for a moment, then raised a hand and waved in their direction.

Seeing this, Dominic Crawford frowned instinctively.

"Are they telling us to go over? Could it be a trap?"

Jayce was already putting on his hat, mask, and goggles. "Don’t worry, I’ll go take a look!"

"No!" Dominic Crawford immediately objected. "It’s too dangerous! If something happens to you, how will I answer to the base commander? I’ll go!"

Jayce paid him no mind. "What did my dad say before we left? Have you forgotten? Sierra and I are in charge of this mission. You’re supposed to listen to us!"

Of course, Dominic Crawford hadn’t forgotten, but he was still uneasy, so he turned his gaze to Sierra Sullivan.

He didn’t have to say a word; Sierra Sullivan already understood what he meant.

She knew he was hoping she would persuade Jayce not to go.

Just as Sierra Sullivan was about to speak, Jayce had already opened the car door. "Ah, Mr. Ziegler, that’s not right of you. When you can’t win an argument with me, you try to get Sierra to intervene? That’s not going to work!"

Before the words were even out of his mouth, he had already jumped out of the car and slammed the door shut.

Watching Jayce’s receding back, Dominic Crawford was dumbfounded.

’I didn’t want to ask Sierra, either!’

’But Jayce won’t listen to a word I say!’

Seeing the deeply conflicted look on Dominic Crawford’s face, Sierra Sullivan smiled. "Don’t worry, Captain Crawford. Jayce is very capable. You should trust him. He doesn’t do things he’s not sure about."

"I know Mr. Everett is capable, and I do trust him, but—"

"There are no ’buts’!" Sierra Sullivan cut him off. "He’s already gone. Can you pull him back now?"

That, of course, was impossible.

Dominic Crawford sighed and fell silent, his eyes fixed on Jayce.

Jayce moved quickly. In the brief time they had been talking, he had already reached the factory door.

He stood about a meter away from the main entrance.

Although they couldn’t hear him or see his expression, from his confident stance and gestures alone, they could tell he was negotiating with the people inside.

The exchange was brief.

After about two minutes, Jayce turned around and gave them an OK sign.

Seeing the gesture, Dominic Crawford let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. "He did it! Let’s go! Everybody out!"

He had just finished speaking when he heard a car door open.

He turned toward the sound and saw only the back of Sierra Sullivan as she strode purposefully away.

He froze for a second, then a silent smile spread across his face.

’Just a moment ago, I was wondering how Sierra could be so unconcerned about Jayce. Do those two really have feelings for each other?’

’Looks like I misunderstood her!’

’Sierra was just acting calm. In reality, she was just as worried as I was.’

Seeing that the others hadn’t moved yet, Dominic Crawford snapped, "What are you all spacing out for? Get out of the cars, now!"

No one dared to delay a second longer. They quickly got themselves fully geared up and jumped out of the vehicles one by one.

Although Sierra walked quickly, each of her steps was steady and sure.

The sandstorm had been raging for a long time, and a deep layer of sand already covered the ground.

If you weren’t careful with your footing, it was easy to sink into the sand and stumble.

Walking on sandy ground like this was incredibly draining.

Despite not having gone far, she was already covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

Sierra disliked the feeling and did her best to ignore it.

Once she was standing next to Jayce, Sierra Sullivan asked, "What’s the deal?"

"A ton of water for a ton of canned food."

Jayce’s reply was direct and to the point.

You couldn’t say either side got the better end of the bargain; it was a perfectly balanced trade.

’This trade alone proves it,’ Sierra thought. ’There are no Water Ability Users among the people in that factory.’

She’d known that Water Ability Users were valuable, but this gave her a much more visceral understanding of just how valuable.

’To think Autumn Lynch possesses such a precious Superpower.’

Sierra was at a loss for words.

’Would it be a waste to just kill Autumn Lynch outright?’

The thought was fleeting, and Sierra quickly pushed it aside.

’My knife isn’t at her throat yet. It’s too early to be thinking about this.’

The people in the factory were very cautious.

But no matter how cautious they were, they were still short on water.

Since they had decided to trade, they had no choice but to open the factory door.

They didn’t open the large double doors, but rather a smaller, single door just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Sierra peered through the doorway. It was pitch-black inside, but she could make out what looked like a lot of crates.

She couldn’t see anything else.

After a moment, someone carrying a crate approached the doorway.

They didn’t seem to have any intention of coming out, merely passing the crate through the opening.

Dominic Crawford immediately stepped forward. After carrying the crate a safe distance away, he opened it.

It was a full crate of canned braised pork.

Dominic Crawford picked up a few cans and inspected them carefully. They were undamaged, and the expiration dates were still good.

Dominic Crawford put the cans back and gave Jayce a slight nod. "They’re good!"

Jayce jutted his chin toward the doorway. "Got the container ready?"

Before long, a large red water barrel appeared at the door.

Without another word, Jayce quickly filled the barrel with water.

Even over the roar of the sandstorm, Sierra could hear muffled, joyous cries erupting from within the factory.

"Water!"

"It’s really water!"

"We finally have water!"

"Let me have the first drink! Please, just one sip!"

"Why should you go first? If anyone’s getting the first drink, it’s me."

Hearing these voices gave Sierra a basic understanding of the situation inside.

’They really are desperate for water.’

A person can survive a week without food, but not without water.

From the sounds of the arguments alone, she could tell there were quite a few people inside.

With that many people, no matter how much they conserved, their daily water consumption would still be significant.

It was a small miracle they had survived this long into the apocalypse.

Without a steady water source, they wouldn’t last much longer, even with a stockpile of canned food.

Sierra lowered her gaze, remaining still and silent.

’These people are pitiable, but I’m no savior.’

The fact that Jayce was trading water for their canned goods was already a huge help to them.

’If they’re truly at their wit’s end, they can always go to the base.’

’If they handed over all their canned food, they could definitely get a few places to live in return.’

As these jumbled thoughts ran through Sierra’s mind, the trade continued.

Just as their trade was about to end, a few more cars arrived in the courtyard.

A single glance at the vehicles told them that these were also people from the base.

The next moment, Autumn Lynch and Hugo Cheney were the first to open their car doors and get out.